with him than she was with Ricket or Traveler. Jason quietly cursed to himself … that damn portal. What the hell was he supposed to do now?
“ Can you hand me my kit, Captain?”
Startled, Jason looked down at his feet and found the medical bag she’d brought with her. He handed it to her. “I’ll leave you alone. Let me know if you need anything.”
Jason stood and turned toward the dome’s entrance.
“ How’s your research going?” she asked, her voice no more than a whisper.
Jason stopped, but didn’t turn around. “Research?”
“ Uh huh.”
“ I’m not following.”
“ Courting a Jhardian girl? Or perhaps you’ve forgotten.”
“ Oh, I see. You’ve been fucking with me.”
When he left the dome, he didn’t need to turn around to know she was smiling.
* * *
Jason entered Deck 4B via the DeckPort. It was where The Lilly’s phase-synthesizer unit churned out a myriad of things, from weapons armament munitions to new technological prototypes—all of which were pulled from alternate slices of the multiverse. And it was here that Ricket spent much of his time when not on duty.
The phase-synthesizer was doing something, and making more than a little noise in the process. A new MediPod device, significantly larger than those in Medical, stood off to the side. It looked to be nearly complete.
Expecting to see Ricket alone sitting at his workbench, Jason was surprised to see both Granger and Ricket sitting at the bench together, with a 3D hologram of something floating several inches above the bench.
Granger’s expression changed when he saw Jason approach.
“ I did not drop by uninvited, Captain.”
Ricket momentarily looked up, then continued with what he was doing. “Captain, development of a new, substantially larger MediPod was far more involved than I had estimated. With the help of Granger, not only did we produce the necessary MediPod configuration, but he has offered to assist in the overall retrofitting of The Lilly with the more advanced technology found on the Caldurian ship.”
Jason tried to keep his face neutral, keeping his growing irritation and distrust hidden from the tall Caldurian. “I still would like to know ahead of time when non-crewmembers are coming on board,” Jason said sternly.
“ Yes, Captain, that was my mistake,” Ricket replied, now looking up at Jason.
Jason turned his attention to Granger. “Don’t interpret this as my not being appreciative of any help you can offer us. But I’m still not clear what your motivations are.”
“ Only time will tell, Captain. Rest assured, though: defeating the Craing is paramount to both our people’s wellbeing. As you learned while meeting with the Joint Chiefs and Secretary of Defense Walker, you have little time to prepare for the approaching Craing fleet.”
How would he know that? Jason thought to himself. His mind flashed back to the smoke-filled conference room. There had been a junior officer standing in the wings, refreshing drinks and lighting cigars.
“ Do I have to put a bell around your neck, Granger? What don’t you understand about uninvited eavesdropping?”
“ You were specific to this vessel; you never mentioned anything about the outpost,” Granger said innocently.
Jason knew there was little he could do to keep the Caldurian representative from prying where he wasn’t welcome. The fact of the matter was the Caldurians were substantially more advanced, and keeping them at arm’s length was probably an act of futility.
“ So what are we doing here? What is that thing?” Jason asked, gesturing toward the virtual object hovering above the bench.
“ This is what the Craing have been looking for. What they referred to as the source, but we refer to it as the interchange.”
Jason moved in closer, but stood back again when Granger simply expanded the virtual model out several more feet.
“ That looks more organic than any kind of technology.”
“ What you’re seeing
“ Can you hand me my kit, Captain?”
Startled, Jason looked down at his feet and found the medical bag she’d brought with her. He handed it to her. “I’ll leave you alone. Let me know if you need anything.”
Jason stood and turned toward the dome’s entrance.
“ How’s your research going?” she asked, her voice no more than a whisper.
Jason stopped, but didn’t turn around. “Research?”
“ Uh huh.”
“ I’m not following.”
“ Courting a Jhardian girl? Or perhaps you’ve forgotten.”
“ Oh, I see. You’ve been fucking with me.”
When he left the dome, he didn’t need to turn around to know she was smiling.
* * *
Jason entered Deck 4B via the DeckPort. It was where The Lilly’s phase-synthesizer unit churned out a myriad of things, from weapons armament munitions to new technological prototypes—all of which were pulled from alternate slices of the multiverse. And it was here that Ricket spent much of his time when not on duty.
The phase-synthesizer was doing something, and making more than a little noise in the process. A new MediPod device, significantly larger than those in Medical, stood off to the side. It looked to be nearly complete.
Expecting to see Ricket alone sitting at his workbench, Jason was surprised to see both Granger and Ricket sitting at the bench together, with a 3D hologram of something floating several inches above the bench.
Granger’s expression changed when he saw Jason approach.
“ I did not drop by uninvited, Captain.”
Ricket momentarily looked up, then continued with what he was doing. “Captain, development of a new, substantially larger MediPod was far more involved than I had estimated. With the help of Granger, not only did we produce the necessary MediPod configuration, but he has offered to assist in the overall retrofitting of The Lilly with the more advanced technology found on the Caldurian ship.”
Jason tried to keep his face neutral, keeping his growing irritation and distrust hidden from the tall Caldurian. “I still would like to know ahead of time when non-crewmembers are coming on board,” Jason said sternly.
“ Yes, Captain, that was my mistake,” Ricket replied, now looking up at Jason.
Jason turned his attention to Granger. “Don’t interpret this as my not being appreciative of any help you can offer us. But I’m still not clear what your motivations are.”
“ Only time will tell, Captain. Rest assured, though: defeating the Craing is paramount to both our people’s wellbeing. As you learned while meeting with the Joint Chiefs and Secretary of Defense Walker, you have little time to prepare for the approaching Craing fleet.”
How would he know that? Jason thought to himself. His mind flashed back to the smoke-filled conference room. There had been a junior officer standing in the wings, refreshing drinks and lighting cigars.
“ Do I have to put a bell around your neck, Granger? What don’t you understand about uninvited eavesdropping?”
“ You were specific to this vessel; you never mentioned anything about the outpost,” Granger said innocently.
Jason knew there was little he could do to keep the Caldurian representative from prying where he wasn’t welcome. The fact of the matter was the Caldurians were substantially more advanced, and keeping them at arm’s length was probably an act of futility.
“ So what are we doing here? What is that thing?” Jason asked, gesturing toward the virtual object hovering above the bench.
“ This is what the Craing have been looking for. What they referred to as the source, but we refer to it as the interchange.”
Jason moved in closer, but stood back again when Granger simply expanded the virtual model out several more feet.
“ That looks more organic than any kind of technology.”
“ What you’re seeing
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