10. Hi #6
"Charlie, don't mind my Chief Medical Officer and her inability to contain herself," she said, a slight edge in her voice as she spoke Kess's title, her eyes on her CMO the entire time.
At that, Kess turned away, her shoulders shaking slightly as she approached the diagnostic cart nearby. Charlie wasn't sure whether to feel embarrassed or whether the CMO was starting to grow on her.
"I'm 74 years old," Reyna answered.
Charlie's eyes went wide. Reyna's eyebrows pinched together as she worked through the math.
"From the little I know of humans, I think your average lifespan is about 90 years?"
Charlie nodded, her eyes unblinking.
"That would make me... about 32 years old by human standards."
"Well," Charlie muttered, still processing the information. "Okay then."
Reyna chuckled. "Is that surprising to you?"
Charlie's eyes focused on Reyna's and she looked at her for a good, solid moment. "No, it's not that, it's just..." She broke off, trying to find a way to express what all that science and math and difference gave her brain. "It's just incredible, I guess."
"Is it?"
"Yeah. I mean..." Charlie stumbled, catching up to the fact that she'd just called this captain incredible. "It's just... something incredible, to live that long."
"Hmm," Reyna said. A small smile twitched in the corners of her lips. "You say that word a lot."
Charlie blinked. "What word?"
"'Incredible.' You said it about the Voxlink, too."
"You sure are tracking my vocabulary with impressive exactitude," Charlie quipped.
"'Incredible' is an incredible word to note," Reyna countered, her eyebrows rising at Charlie, the smirk on her face becoming more pronounced.
"Well, things here keep being incredible," Charlie said, crossing her arms. "It's not my fault your ship is impressive."
Reyna studied her before responding. "I'll let you off the hook for now, especially since you come from a non-contact planet, and seeing as you called my ship impressive."
"Well, forgive me for not knowing more than I did while being a poor little human on a non-contact planet," Charlie countered, emphasizing Earth's status with a dramatic wave of her hand.
Charlie watched as Reyna's eyes came alive. Something sparked in them, quick and bright.
"You're forgiven," Reyna said, and her expression told Charlie that this captain did not, in fact, forgive easily, but was making an exception she found amusing.
"I'm going to need a lot of forgiveness, aren't I?" Charlie said. "I already destroyed whatever your ship’s dessert plans were, screamed twice, and called your First Mate ‘Turbo.'"
"Three times, actually," Kess said from the diagnostic cart without looking up. "You screamed three times."
"Thank you, Kess," Reyna said dryly.
"Documenting accurately is part of my job."
Reyna rolled her eyes then looked over at Charlie with a smile. Charlie settled in her gaze, and for the first time since she'd woken up on the floor of an alien kitchen covered in batter, Charlie laughed. A real one.
Reyna smiled brighter at the sound of it, and something in Charlie's chest settled.
"I'm done here, unless there's anything else you need, Captain?" Kess asked, dragging out Reyna's title considerably longer than was necessary.
Reyna gave her a look. Again. That was easily the third look Reyna had given the doctor tonight. Charlie realized she was losing count.
"Thank you, Pheras. I appreciate your service this evening," Reyna said, matter-of-factly, before turning back to Charlie.
"You're quite welcome, Solas," Kess replied.
Reyna whipped around and... oh, yep, there's the fourth look.
You know, if Charlie didn't know any better, she'd think Kess and Reyna were sisters.
"I'll have Charlie's full diagnostic results later on, Captain.
You can return then and we can make sure we have everything we need to care for Charlie while she's here. "
Reyna stopped and turned on her heel. "Thank you, Pheras. I'll return later on to discuss."
"I'll be waiting," Kess replied.
"Now," Reyna said, pulling Charlie's attention. "I need to brief the Admiral about your arrival. My office is just down the corridor. And on the way, I'd like you to meet the rest of the crew."
Charlie hopped off the med bed. "More aliens to meet?"
"More aliens to meet," Reyna confirmed with a smile. "Try to contain yourself."
"No promises," Charlie said.
Reyna's office wasn’t as big as Charlie expected.
It wasn't cramped at all but instead felt personal.
A desk that looked like it had seen decades of use with a chair behind it, and several seats arranged in front.
Shelves along one wall held objects Charlie couldn't identify.
The room had the feel of a place where decisions were made and lived with afterward.
Torvax approached them, coming up beside Reyna. "I've called everyone in as you requested. All present and accounted for, ready for introductions."
"Thank you, Torvax," Reyna said. "Would you like to start?"
Torvax stood at attention, stock straight and all business.
"Though we have already met, I am First Mate Torvax, a Droven, and have been with the Emberkind for thirteen years.
My credentials include a First Sigil of the Judortanica Assembly, a First Manjoriam for the Coalition Council for Effective Protocol, a Second String placement on the—"
"Torvax?" Reyna interrupted.
"Yes, Captain?"
"Perhaps, instead of letting us know how impressive you are, you can ask our resident Earthling here any questions you may have?" And then almost immediately, Torvax began firing questions at Charlie with the precision of a formal interrogation.
"How long were you unconscious before you awoke in the vat of Gula Cake batter?"
"Uh..."
"Were you aware of any sensory displacement before materialization?"
"What does that even—"
"Did you experience temporal distortion?"
"Does that mean 'did I lose my mind?!'"
"Do you have any weapons on your person?"
"No, I have opinions about the Second Amendment."
"What is the current political structure of your planet?"
"Oh. WELL... that's going to take a while to explain. You see—"
"Okay, Torvax," Reyna cut in, her voice carrying that easy authority Charlie was starting to recognize. "Maybe we can leave the questions for later."
Torvax straightened. "My apologies. We can continue."
For a half-second, Charlie's brain started drafting the answer. Three branches of government, checks and balances, the whole civics-class rundown. Then the distance between here and there hit her like a wave, and the answer dissolved before she could speak it.
"Don't take it personally," Reyna said to Charlie as Torvax stepped back. "Droven, they're just... thorough."
"Thorough. Alright," Charlie said, noting that for future.
"They show care through diligence," Reyna added. "Every question he just asked you was his way of making sure you're safe here, as a guest."
At that, Charlie looked back at Torvax, who was standing at attention near the door, still watching her. She saw him slightly differently now.
"Thank you, Torvax."
A hint of a smile hit Torvax's face, there and gone so fast it might have been imagined.
Charlie didn't think anyone caught it. But apparently, she was wrong, because it seemed Reyna had, and Charlie watched her look at Torvax with a raised eyebrow before moving on to where the elder woman sat in the corner of the office in what looked like one the comfiest chairs Charlie had ever laid eyes on.
The woman smiled up at Charlie at her approach.
"My name is Selowen," she said, her voice low and deliberate, every syllable given its full weight. "I'm Kaelari-Brontari and I oversee the animal habitats aboard this vessel."
"You're two species?"
Selowen's smile was slow. "It's a longer conversation for another time. But yes."
Charlie had questions. A lot of them. But they could wait.
"Wait a minute. Did you say 'animal habitats?'" Charlie looked from Selowen to Reyna and back again. "You have animals on this ship?"
"Many," Selowen said. "From many worlds."
"That's what we do here," Reyna said. "We rescue, care for, and transport animals from all over the universe."
"Holy shit," Charlie uttered, amazed that there was a mission of this kind in the universe.
Reyna laughed beside her. "Yeah, I guess 'holy shit' is fitting." Charlie smiled sheepishly before Selowen spoke again.
"If you would ever like to, you are welcome to visit them, if you wish," Selowen said. "Many of them are always happy to meet someone new."
"I absolutely wish," Charlie said immediately.
Selowen's smile was slow and deep, and Charlie felt that structural calm again emanate from the woman in front of her.
"Thank you for the offer, Selowen." Reyna began to move forward, so Charlie said a quick, "It was nice to meet you," before following the captain to the next person.
As she followed Reyna to the next person, something about Selowen's presence lingered. That deep, permanent calm. Charlie had known one other person who carried herself like that.
She pushed the thought down before it could form a name.
Reyna led Charlie to stand in front of the doctor herself. She regarded Charlie with the same clinical assessment from before, but the edge had dulled. Slightly.
"I've already scanned every piece of your insides, so introducing myself to you formally seems unnecessary now. However, Kess Pheras. Chief Medical Officer. Kaelari."
"My trusty doctor," Charlie said, nodding. "Got it."
Kess's pale green eyes narrowed just a fraction. "Your examination results will establish a baseline. We will do further checks as necessary to monitor your progress on board our ship."
"Looking forward to it," Charlie said, which she had meant to sound confident but it came out slightly terrified. Kess's expression didn't change, but Charlie could swear she saw the twitch of a smile there.