A short little installment coz Puke was bugging me.
O'Shea pinched the bridge of his nose and sighed, trying to ignore the look he was getting from Saraea. The two were sitting in the cramped confines of the engineering section, which wasn't the most pleasant location on the ship. In fact, it was a front runner for the lofty title of Most Unpleasant Place On The Ship. The main drive engine emitted a jarring vibration that set one's teeth on edge, as did the circulation fans for the life-support system. It was also hot, and humid, both also results of the life support system. Such an environment did however have the upshot of making it a very good place for a private conversation. The noise made it difficult to be overheard, and the sheer repellent nature of the engineering section made sure that no one came wandering idly by.
“So?” Saraea ask impatiently.
“So?” O'Shea echoed with a shrug. “I don't know,” he added after an uncomfortable pause. “Maybe. She's more stable than the others.”
“That's not saying much,” Saraea pointed out.
“True, but we haven't any real idea as to how stable she was to begin with.”
Saraea exhaled heavily. “That's an understatement. And the other?”
O'Shea barked out a short laugh. “Telepathy? Telekinesis? Hardly.”
“Damn,” muttered the tall woman. “Termination?”
“Hard to say,” O'Shea said with a shrug. “She seems stable enough. We'll have to keep an eye on her, of course, but drastic action shouldn't be necessary if she continues on as she has.”
“That's a relief.”
“You've developed a real emotional attachment to her, haven't you?”
It was Saraea's turn to shrug. “It was easy, at first. The unstable ones. They were clearly a threat, to themselves an everything around them. They were beyond help. But this one, she's got a clear understanding of right and wrong, and thus far has shown responsible use of her abilities-”
“Doctor Gwenllyn might disagree,” O'Shea interrupted with a wry grin.
Saraea smiled despite herself. “Seeing that pompous *** get slapped around made my year, I admit it,” she said. “But still... The girl is a sweetheart. The thought of putting her down distresses me greatly.”
“Me too,” O'Shea admitted. “The others, they were so far gone they didn't even realize what was happening, right up until the end. But this one, she knows what's going on, and if we try, she'll fight back. And I really don't know if even the two of us could handle her if she did.”
“That's a fact,” O'Shea agreed. “Not to mention-”
“I know,” Saraea said, rubbing her forehead. “Do you think he could be reasoned with?”
O'Shea laughed merrily. “Before the fact, not a chance. After the fact, if she hasn't already killed us, he definitely will. And it won't be quick.”
“Let's just hope it doesn't come to that,” Saraea said after a moments silence.
“By the Nine Divine Whores he sure did complicate things, didn't he?”
“I told you we should have brought him in. Think how simple this could have been!”
“The time wasn't right, you know that. Not that it matters now anyway.”
“You're right,” Saraea admitted. “He would have never gone for it back then and we would have had to terminate him.”
“A proposition much easier back then than it is now.”
“Speaking of which, what are we going to do about that?”
“Nothing,” O'Shea said firmly. “We say nothing, do nothing, sure as hell tell no one, and keep a bloody close eye on him in the meantime.”
“Sounds like a plan for the immediate future in general,” Saraea said agreeably. “Any discussion as to whether or not we've found the Original will have to wait until we've collected more information. Now what do you say we get out of here, I'm absolutely bucketing sweat.”
“Yeah,” said O'Shea, mopping his forehead. “Let's.”
They passed quietly through the ship's common room, managing to not disturb a sleeping Fiona, and almost made it to their respective quarters undetected. But just as they were passing Kagan and Alice's quarters, the door slid open, and the two wandered out, both bathed in sweat. Kagan gave Saraea and O'Shea a cursory nod as he headed towards the bridge. Alice, however, paused and looked slowly from O'Shea's sweaty face to Saraea's, then gave them both a big, knowing grin and scampered down the corridor after Kagan.