10. Hi #7
Next came the quiet woman that had stood near the doorway back in the galley.
She stepped forward with a warmth that surprised Charlie, given how reserved she'd seemed before.
She introduced herself as Maren Laith, a Noethan, and someone from the engineering division.
There was something in the way she said "engineering" that made Charlie's ears prick up.
"Engineering?" Charlie asked.
Maren nodded, a small but genuine smile on her face. "If you need anything related to the ship's systems, I'm your person."
"Thank you," Charlie said. "I appreciate that." Charlie made to continue with a question. "You said you are Noethan. What does that mean?"
Maren's violet-gray eyes shimmered briefly.
"Well, Noethans are one of the older species in the Coalition, mostly because of our ability of perfect recall.
" Maren's eyes shimmered brightly as she spoke of something she obviously cared deeply about.
"So, for me, every schematic, every manual, every image I've ever seen of an engine, system, or panel?
All right here, stored in perfect clarity.
" At this, Maren pointed to her head. "Nothing is ever lost."
Charlie's brain caught fire. "Wait, you can remember everything? Even complex systems?"
"Yes!" Maren said, and Charlie could see the pride in it.
"Okay, okay. I'm curious. Do you have anything like a closed-cycle gas-core nuclear rocket?
With fissioning uranium plasma suspended in a hydrogen vortex, contained by a transpiration-cooled reactor wall, with a regenerative nozzle assembly?
The fuel system alone has over three hundred independent pressure regulation points.
On my planet, the best engineers alive haven't been able to build one. They've been trying for thirty years."
Maren's violet-gray eyes shimmered again. "I've built two. The second one took my team about six hours. The first took eight, but we were still calibrating our workflow."
Charlie's mind was already racing with possibilities. Every schematic she could share, every system they could compare, every question she'd been dying to ask since she saw the ceiling joints. And then, underneath the excitement, a quieter thought of Who do I tell about this?
The answer used to be Katie. The answer was always Katie.
"That's really amazing, Maren," Charlie said, and meant it, even as something behind her smile dimmed by a fraction. "You and I will be talking again, I know it."
"Sounds great, Charlie," Maren said, her smile broadening as Reyna led Charlie to the next individual.
Next was the man with the amber eyes who had watched her, standing near Selowen. He stepped forward and offered his hand, and Charlie realized he'd been paying attention during the handshake explanation.
"Orion Calev. Veladris," he said. His grip was steady and his voice had a quality Charlie couldn't place, something like a cello in a quiet room. "I'm the ship's Librarian."
"Librarian?" Charlie asked. "A space library. That sounds... incredible." Charlie saw Reyna smirk out of the corner of her eye.
Orion smiled. "We have an archive of knowledge from across the Coalition. Histories, sciences, cultures from hundreds of worlds." He released her hand but held her gaze. "I'd very much like to learn about yours, if you'd be willing."
"My culture?"
"Earth, and everything about it." Something in his expression shifted, a warmth that felt like genuine fascination. "I have a feeling you'd be an extraordinary resource."
Charlie wasn't sure if she'd just been complimented or recruited. Possibly both.
"We have so little information about your home planet and all the species that reside there," Orion continued. "I would very much appreciate if we could talk and allow me to absorb everything possible to give the Coalition a good idea of one of our lesser known planets."
"Do you really think I could help?" she asked.
"How couldn't you?" Orion asked, his hands clasping together. "You'd be a genuine source of first-hand experience. I don't think the Coalition has ever had a chance like this before." Charlie's eyes went wide at that.
"Oh," she said softly.
"At least, as long as the Captain allows this and thinks it's alright, of course," Orion stated, his eyes looking over at Reyna. "I should have led with that, Captain. My apologies. My curiosity got the better of me."
"Curiosity killed the cat," Charlie said, her tone light.
"Oh no, I'm so sorry to hear that," Orion stated, worry crossing his face.
Charlie balked. "Oh, um... no... it's, it's a turn of phrase."
"About your cat dying?" Reyna asked, her face concerned and intrigued at the same time.
"Well, not my cat," Charlie said.
"How did the curiosity kill him exactly?" Orion asked, suddenly genuinely intrigued by this concept.
"Um..." Charlie started.
"You know, Orion," Reyna interjected, a smile appearing on her face.
"I think you interviewing Charlie is a wonderful idea.
It seems we really don't know much about Earth.
" Reyna looked over at Charlie. "And if Charlie is okay with it, I don't see why not.
" Reyna raised her eyebrows. "It could be fun. " Charlie chuckled.
"I look forward to it, then, Charlie," Orion said. "I'll come find you at a time everything is sorted out here."
"I can't wait," Charlie said, and she meant it.
This time, when Reyna led her away from Orion and onto the next individual, it was the man that stood four feet tall.
"Tavi Breck. Tessarae," he announced, extending a copper-skinned hand toward Charlie. "We have handshakes on Solmari, so I got you."
His grip was surprisingly firm for someone who came up to her ribcage. And when she took his hand, Charlie could feel a faint crackle of something where their skin met, like a static charge that had opinions.
"Tavi?" Charlie looked at his crimson locs and the vivid plum markings across his features. "Your braids are so cool. I love that style."
Tavi turned to look at Reyna. "Okay, she's approved. She can stay." He winked at Charlie.
"I'm glad to have your vote of approval," Charlie said, winking back at him.
Charlie was laughing, and it startled her.
Not the laugh itself, but how easy it was.
She'd been on this ship less than an hour.
She'd been covered in batter, scanned by a device, shot in the head with a translation device, poked and prodded by an alien doctor, and interrogated by a blue man who didn't blink.
And here she was, laughing with a four-foot-tall copper-skinned person like they'd known each other for years.
Something about how quickly it all felt normal made the part of her still terrified grip a little tighter.
Tavi smiled before laughing heartily. "I think you and I are going to be great friends," Tavi said.
"It would be an honor to have that chance, Tavi," Charlie replied, and, despite everything, she meant it.
As they moved away from Tavi, Charlie realized that only left one alien she hadn't met.
"So," Reyna said, her voice shifting into something gentler. "This is Borran. He's a Brontari."
The other half of Selowen, Charlie thought, as she looked up. And up.
Charlie tilted her head back. Borran was even taller up close, and he was still staring at her with those small, unforgiving eyes.
"Hi, Borran," Charlie said in a small voice.
"You destroyed the Gula Cake batter," Borran said.
Charlie looked down at herself and the remnants of batter crusted across her clothes. "Is that what I fell on me?"
"Yes."
Charlie looked over at Reyna, hoping for some kind of lifeline.
Reyna obliged. "He's been trying to cook Gula Cakes all day, a Brontari specialty, and quite flavorful I might add.
But we had a malfunction earlier, and Borran wasn't able to use his kitchen for the better part of twelve hours.
" She paused and Borran huffed. "The bowl you fell in was full of what was meant to be his redemption batch and... well..."
Charlie remembered the massive bowl she fell in. She looked up again at the seven-foot bear, whose entire day had apparently been ruined by her falling out of the sky into his dessert.
"I'm really sorry, Borran. I can only imagine how frustrating that must have been."
Borran grunted. His shoulders did relax, but only slightly.
"Can I do anything to make it up to you?" Charlie asked.
Borran studied her. Looked her up and down. His eyes flicked to Reyna, then back to Charlie.
"On Earth," he said. "What was your favorite cooked dish?"
"... cooked dish?" Charlie asked. "Like my favorite meal?"
Borran grunted in agreement.
"Oh, easy. Chicken piccata. My mom's was the best..."
Charlie trailed off. Her mom, who would have been so excited to hear about where Charlie was right now, would have grabbed Charlie's hand across the table and kissed it and said something that made everything make sense.
And her dad. He would have lost his mind at her being here. His girl, on a real ship, in real space, surrounded by real space engines. He'd have wanted to know everything. Every bolt, every frequency, every material she couldn't identify.
And Katie. Boy, all the things Katie would say to her. She imagined their conversation would be—
Wait.
"KATIE!"