8. Chapter 8
Jason Stravetta signed his name for the millionth time, putting his pen down gently to avoid throwing it across the room. Leaning back in his desk chair, he frowned, rolling his shoulders. He”d been on this ship for a month and wondered how he would manage twenty-three more of the same.
Not for the first time, he wondered what the hell his father had been thinking by sending him to the Gambit. Yes, he was the company”s representative, and yes, he could use his business training, but to what end? This ship ran like a proverbial clock. Captain Arends saw to that, and his crew were all long-time employees of Stravetta Shipping. They had only colonists on board, and apparently they were terribly well behaved too.
Jason closed his deep brown eyes, letting his head fall back against his seat. Who was he kidding? He knew why he was here. Nothing had been said or written, but he knew, just as he was aware of his prosthetic arm–always there, and painful.
His father did not want him on Earth. Did not want him visible to their stockholders, or perspective buyers. He was seen as used by his service in one of the many armed conflicts that occurred periodically on Earth. Losing an arm and having severe PTSD did not make him the best company. He knew that. But he was still a son, still family, still worth…what?
Jason leaned forward, bringing both arms up to cradle his head after running his hands through his short, black hair. The thin black glove on his left covered the prosthesis, the leather soft, but not warm. Clenching his teeth, he wondered how many times he would go over this, feeling the coldness of his family”s rejection, and the anger that rose when he did so. So much for completing his time in the service, so much for the promises made to him before he enlisted. No wonder his obligatory therapist at the veteran facility warned him about becoming bitter, then tried to push into his mind to lessen those feelings. Fucking empaths. They always thought they knew better, knew more. Well, he”d punched that therapist and filed a formal complaint.
Looking down at his desk, he saw again the employment form for Dare Munro, Mindset Three. Another asshole mindset, here to fuck around with thoughts better left alone. This one would leave him alone, or he”d find out just how bitter Jason Stravetta was. And how lethal.
One month into the two-year voyage, Dare settled into a routine. He saw clients from the night shift from seven am to eleven am, day shift from seven pm to whenever he finished. In the intervening times between seeing the crew, he exercised, read, and reviewed his notes. Sometimes, he napped to make up for waking early and staying up late. It was an easy schedule compared to how many people he”d seen while on Earth, but the problems were much the same.
The crew were a well-adjusted bunch, but still had trouble with loneliness, anger, and boredom. There were times he sat across from one of the crew, wondering how much he was helping since most just wanted to talk about whatever was on their minds, albeit nothing really pathological. That was different, but fine overall. At least, he didn”t have to prove that the crew needed to see him to be ”paid” for his services. If they wanted to just talk, he”d listen and provide his counsel when needed.
Finished up with his morning clients, he spent a few moments straightening up the already pristine office. The young empath smiled to himself, realizing he was enjoying his work more than he had on Earth, especially without the specter of being hauled off to be experimented on or simply locked up forever. Today, he planned on seeing the doctor for a refill of his psychic ”dampers”. He still had several months put away but felt it prudent to make sure they could be formulated if not stocked by the infirmary. Dare shook his head. I should have thought about that before now.
Leaving his office, Dare turned left, heading for the elevator to take him down to the center of the ship where the medical facility was located. Repeated trips around the ship with Riis had finally given him an internal map. He could now find his way everywhere he was allowed. He knew where the bridge was, and engineering, but never visited either, as invitations were needed to do so.
Mulling over how small his world was, and how he was fine with it, Dare reached the infirmary, the door sliding open upon registering his presence. He heard raised voices and felt a solid hit of anger against his shields. Hastily raising his boundary higher, he inwardly berated himself for allowing them to lower. Feeling safe was no excuse.
Stepping out of the doorway, he took a few steps into the body of the room, noting that the voices were coming from Doctor Highland”s office. He could hear the doc”s low rumble, but the other voice was unknown and was the one radiating anger as though on fire. Wondering if he should come back later, the decision was taken from him when a tall, dark man burst from the doctor”s office as though expelled.
A wall of angry emotion, coupled with endless hurt, hit Dare”s shields, the force causing them to buckle slightly. Taking an indrawn breath, Dare forgot everything but the need to help mend that wound. Without conscious thought, he stepped in front of the man raging towards the exit, recognizing him a moment too late. It was Jason Stravetta.
Stravetta barely slowed, his anger a wave boiling before him. Recognition crossed his face, causing him to appear murderous.
”Get out of my way, you fucking empath. Touch me, and I”ll kill you.”
Dare”s eyes widened, the force of the other man”s emotion holding him in place. Before he could summon the will to move, Stravetta shoved him hard on the chest, causing him to stumble back and fall, his gasp of pain unheard.
The door slid shut, the anger receding as Stravetta moved away. Dare struggled to sit up, the psychic onslaught making him clumsy. He felt rather than heard Dr. Highland crouching next to him.
”Are you hurt, Dare? He gave you a solid shove. I”m sorry–I couldn”t stop him.” Highland”s brown eyes roved over Dare, looking for injury.
The empath closed his eyes for a moment, taking a deep breath. His shields were up but felt fragile. He held a hand up to stop the doctor from touching him.
”Give me a moment, doc. I need to get myself back together. His emotions…the hurt. Mr. Stravetta is a very dynamic person as far as his feelings go.”
Highland nodded, looking concerned, before sighing. ”How many times do I have to tell you to call me Peter? I”ll help you up when you tell me. I didn”t know you knew Jason.”
Dare shook his head, giving a tired chuckle. ”I don”t. I was warned about him, and unfortunately forgot that when I stepped in his way. I had to help. That imperative doesn”t happen to me very often.”
Peter shook his head. ”My advice is to work that imperative out as quickly as you can. Jason Stravetta doesn”t want help, especially from an empath. I don”t think he”d actually kill you, but I”m sure he”d hurt you if he could. Just stay away from him and his volcanic anger.”
Dare met the doctor”s eyes, his own wide. ”It”s not anger, Peter. It”s hurt. He”s been wounded so badly that he hides it with anger.” The empath watched Peter shake his head. ”Yes, I know that won”t matter if he slugs me. He needs help. I could help him if he”d let me.”
Dare started to get up, Peter taking his arm to steady him, giving him a stern look. ”You can”t help him, Dare, so don”t even try. I don”t know why, but he hates empaths beyond reason. Leave him alone for your own sake.”
Dare nodded, feeling the residual force of Jason”s pain as his shield reformed. ”I can”t force him to let me help, so stop worrying. It”s not that easy to forget that he needs me, though.”
Peter gave him a grim smile. ”Do it anyway. Jason Stravetta is trouble for everyone, but will end you if he can. I don”t want you hurt. Or dead.”
The empath smiled faintly. ”That would be an over the top response and cause him more problems on this ship.”
Peter pulled him into his office, waving him into a chair. ”You need to face a harsh reality, my friend. Jason Stravetta is the son of our owner. We are in the black and the only law is the captain, who is his employee. Jason has the power to do whatever he wants, including harming you. Thankfully, he lets the captain run the show. So far.”
Dare looked down, his face pale. ”I”ll stay away from him, Peter. For both of our sakes.”
The doctor stared at him for a moment before nodding. ”Thank you for that. Now, what brought you in here? You look healthy enough.”
The empath shook his head, then smiled. ”I”m fine. I came by to see about the medication I use to shut down my empathy while I sleep. I”ve still got quite a bit but wanted to check on how much you have stored.”
Peter returned the smile. ”Ah, the ”dampers”. Fortunately, I”ve got a vast supply of them. The last Mindset went into cryo-sleep on the way back to Earth, so I”ve actually got a surplus and it”s all yours. Did you know that medication is used to help non-gifted sleep? Another reason to have a big supply.”
”I had no idea it had more uses than just for the gifted. I hope the colony can formulate it. I can”t imagine waking each day full of other people”s thoughts and then having to remake my shields. It”s not comfortable to do that.”
Peter nodded understandingly. ”Don”t worry about that. The colonists have a doctor and a pharmacist, and this particular med is easy to formulate. I”ll make sure they have it way before we reach the planet. Anything else on your mind?”
”Nope. I”m good otherwise.”
Peter looked at the time, then stood up. ”I”ve got to finish up my charting for the day, and you”ve got to grab some food before your evening clients. Get your butt to the mess, and I”ll see you at the poker game in two days.”
Dare stood as well, giving the doctor a grin. ”Yes, doctor. I”ll take a damper before I arrive to play cards.”
”Nobody thinks you”ll cheat, you know.”
Dare”s grin faded a little. ”That”s why I”ll take them—so I won”t know what anyone is thinking or feeling.”
Peter rolled his eyes, muttering, ”Mindsets,” before shooing the young man out.
The empath left, waving a hand in the doctor”s direction, good humor restored.