the pilot’s chair, and my eyes drift to the stuffed dragon as I slide into my seat. There are six seats here, six cabins aft. Between that and the ship’s name, it’s pretty clear that whoever did all this for us knew Cat wouldn’t be here to need anything.
One by one the others emerge. Kal and Auri have found the infirmary, because she’s looking a little less rough after her run-in with the agonizer, and Scar’s munching on a stack of cookies that suggests she found the galley.
Zila peers at the pile in Scar’s hand. “That stack represents significantly more than your required daily calorie intake, Scarlett.”
The redhead smacks her butt. “Just more of me to love, Zee.”
I can’t help but smile. Zila purses her lips, mulling it over, and finally reaches out for a cookie.
Quick enough, we’re all in our chairs, leaning forward in anticipation. Everybody wants to know what’s in the box. Tyler swivels the pilot’s chair away from the forward displays to face the rest of us around the console.
“All right,” he says. “Scar, Kal, let’s see what you withdrew from the bank.”
Scarlett brushes away the crumbs, rises to her feet, and pulls the lid off the box. “Okay, first up, there are a bunch of packages in here we didn’t have time to unwrap. But they have our names on them.”
She hands a small parcel to Zila. Our Brain peels aside the blue wrapping and holds out her hand. Nestled against the cloth is a pair of gold hoop earrings like the ones she usually wears. But these charms are birds.
“Hawks,” Auri says, looking more closely.
“Very pretty,” Zila murmurs. “I wonder how they knew I’d like them.”
Next is a bigger package for our fearless leader. Goldenboy pulls the wrapping aside, all business, that handsome brow creasing when he finds a pair of boots inside. They seem perfectly ordinary: black, shiny, heavy tread on the soles.
“Something wrong with the ones you got?” his sister asks.
“No,” he says, puzzled, looking downward. “I mean, I haven’t been able to polish them for a couple of days… .”
“Oh great Maker.” Scar reaches out and takes his hand, concern on her face. “How are you holding up?”
“It’s been a struggle.”
Zila studies his gift for a moment before she speaks. “I suggest wearing them, sir. As Scarlett has observed, whoever left these gifts knows me well. We should assume they also know you and believe this to be necessary. So far, our benefactors have demonstrated they have our best interests at heart.”
Tyler considers this, shrugs, and leans down to start switching out his old boots for his new.
Scarlett opens her own parcel next. It’s about the size of Zila’s, and nestled against the blue wrapping is a round silver medallion on a chain. On one side the words Go with Plan B are engraved in a curling script.
“ ‘Go with Plan B’?” Tyler asks.
“Usually a good idea where your plans are concerned, brother mine.”
“Cold, Scar. Real cold.”
Scarlett lets the medallion twist on its chain between her fingers, looking at it carefully. On the flip side, I can see that it’s inset with a rough chunk of diamond. The cabin lights refract on the surface, tiny rainbows dancing in her eyes.
“Pretty,” I say.
Scarlett shrugs. “I guess diamonds are a girl’s best friend.”
“… They are?” Kal asks, glancing at Aurora.
Nobody has any wisdom to offer, and after a moment Scar eases the chain over her head and tucks the medallion inside her uniform.
Kal’s package is small as well, and when he opens it, we see a thin, silver, rectangular box. It has hinges, and it seems as though it’s meant to open, but when he tries to pry off what looks like the lid, it won’t budge.
“What is it?” I ask, craning my neck.
I’d assumed it was a Terran or Syldrathi device, but I’m met with a series of bewildered head shakes. Auri finally digs into her pocket, pulls out Magellan, and holds it over the little metal box in Kal’s palm. I can’t believe I’m now mentally calling this thing by its name as well, but I guess its personality program certainly does … set it apart from the standard-issue uni.
“Magellan?” she says.
“HI THERE! I MISSED YOUR FACE!”
“Yeah, yours too. Can you tell me what this is?”
“I. WOULD. LOVE TO!” The uniglass runs a line of green light down the length of the thing, and beeps. “THIS IS A TERRAN ARTIFACT, PREDATING INTERSTELLAR TRAVEL, BOSS! IT WAS DESIGNED TO HOLD BUSINESS CARDS OR