Chapter 50 What do you think
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Tamar hopped off the edge of the bed and walked over closer to the video camera, what she knew was in the corner of the room.
"Because I can access any communication signal on board this ship. He sent for you over the general broadcast net. When you reached the bridge, he spoke to you with every camera and communication devise there active. I heard everything he said, everything." Tammy wasn't sure if the girl she'd just met was even talking to her anymore, or if she even knew she was in the room. I seemed she was talking more to the wall than to her.
"You almost killed us, and I don't forgive, not that, never. If you want information, wait until we are whole again and Malachi might convince me you are more than what I've seen. Because if you aren't, then this trip was just a complete waste of time." Whirling around, Tamar skipped back to Tammy.
"Where's the food around here? I'm starved?" Tammy blinked. This girl had just went from sounding like she wanted to rip someone's head off, to happy, almost chipper in the space of a few heartbeats.
"Ahhhh, I could bring you something if you'd like. We have a galley that serves this medical bay. What would you like?" Tammy asked, pretty sure the answer she would receive.
"Meat, and plenty of it."
Yep, she'd been right.
"I'll see what I can do, and if you'd like to know, there is a bathroom through that door," she pointed towards the only other door in the room other than the entrance.
"Thanks," Tamar responded. Even though she already knew where the bathroom was, she'd smelled the concentration of disinfectant.
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"Damn it!" Captain Prey's fist pounded the arm of his command chair. "How did she know about nurse Jenkins? She's been in that room for the last two hours!"
"She just told you, sir. She's been listening to every signal sent on board." Joshua answered his question.
"How? There is no way she could be tapping into our internal comms. To do that... Central, are you having any interference with our communication system?"
"No, Captain, she's been very accommodating and has just been listening." Central answered.
"What did you just say?" Captain Prey reflexively looked upward.
"Our new quest has been very nice. Claw introduced us. She's not that chatty, keeps to herself mostly. But she has been very interested in what you've been planning." Tomas's jaw fell open.
"And you didn't find any of this strange," he threw his hands up. "Am I the only one on board this ship that still thinks I'm captain? Why didn't you report this to me?"
"Because all she wants is to be left alone with him. I have no idea how, but she can access certain functions of Commander Prey's suit, and has gotten pretty good with them. I have monitored Commander Prey's condition from the moment he came aboard. While all of you were doing your dead level best to keep that girl away from Commander Prey, his condition continued to worsen. Only when she finally reached him did he begin to recover. Whatever happened to those two down there, I would advise you leave them alone."
"You told us that only the one to whom these suits are bonded can use any of their systems, correct?"
"Yes, Captain, that is what I told you."
"Then how could she use Malachi's suit to eavesdrop on any of our communications?"
"That, sir, is a very good question and would I advise that you not to be the one to ask her?"
"And why would you suggest that?"
"Because she hates you the most."
"Why?"
"She sees you as the person most responsible for almost killing Malachi. She asked several times where he was and you wouldn't allow anyone to tell her. If she hadn't got to him when she did, he would have been dead within five minutes. She knows that and hates you for it. In her mind, that was far too close."
"How does she know that? How does she know any of this?"
"That, my dear Captain, she had not shared with me, and if you go down there and try to interrogate her, I promise you, you won't like how it ends."
"How do you know so much about this girl, Central?"
"That, Captain, is a conversation we need to have in private. Rest assured, I know enough to be sure you want to just give them both space right now. Besides, we may have bigger problems." Central brought up an image of Earth. In the holograph, several large vessels slipped from the Rougarian carriers and descended into the atmosphere.
"Do we have any idea what they're doing?" Captain Prey asked, all thoughts of his newest passenger forgotten.
"No sir, but I count fourteen ships entering the atmosphere. They're smaller than their capital ships, but each is over twenty miles in length themselves." Centrals gentle voice answered.
"Fine, keep an eye open for any new activity," the captain stood from his chair. "Mister Norton, you have the con. Inform me if there is any change. I have to have a conversation in private." With that, he stalked from the bridge and into his stateroom.
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This was just what Tamar had wanted, had hoped for. Sitting on the floor, her back propped against Malachi's bed, before her a large platter of every kind of meat she'd ever seen, and some she hadn't, but it all smelled like it had been sent from heaven.
Tammy had brought the platter in on a push cart and left a lot quicker than she had come in. Tamar hadn't given her a second glance. Pulling the platter that Tammy had been unable to carry with two hands, off the cart with one, she had settled to the floor and dug in with gusto.
She hadn't realized just how hungry she was until the first bite hit her tongue. For the next few minutes, she forgot where she was as she methodically removed every scrape of meat from every bone on the plate in front of her. Enjoying her meal to the fullest, her repast was interrupted as she heard several quick footsteps outside her room. Then the quiet, insistent beeping of several of Malachi's monitors cut through her self-induced meat coma, and she knew what was wrong.
Springing to her feet, she waited until Doctor Peters came into view so she could explain.
"I'm sorry dock, we've been separated too long," she nodded down to the now empty tray. "I was eating, but I'm done now."
"I don't see what that has to do with his readings. His heart beat is slowing, and his blood pressure..."
"We know that, doc. Just watch. This is all we need." Shedding her long hospital gown, leaving herself naked from the waist up, with only a small pair of panties covering below, she slip under the white sheet and crawled onto Malachi's chest, where she spread herself over him to maximize skin contact.
Within five seconds, every warning beep or buzzer went silent. His vitals all were in the green before Tamar had a chance to get comfortable.
"See, this is all we need, this and a blanket. At least that's what I think they're called. You know, a big thick piece of fabric that can be laid over us. It gets kinda cold with just his sheet." Tamar told the doctor while she peaked her head out from under the thin sheet.
"I'll see what I can do." Doctor Peters answered, shaking his head as he walked away from the room.
When Tamar woke up, she had no idea what time it was. She didn't even know if it was the next day, whether it was morning yet or still night. Being is space, there was no day, no morning or evening. It was hard to tell the time when the sun never rose or set. Poking her head out from under the covers, she looked around the still darkened room. For the first time, she got a good look at it. The walls were plain white, no windows, and had a bank of three lights running across the center of the ceiling along its length wise axis.
"We were wondering when you were going to wake up. When noon passed, I was wondering if we should wake you up or not. Doctor Peters said we should just let you sleep, so we did." Tammy stood in the door, a pleasant smile on her warm face.
"What time is it?" Tamar asked with a yawn.
"Four thirty six in the afternoon. You've been asleep for almost seventeen hours."
Tamar grabbed the corner of the heavy blanket she was under and waved it at Tammy.
"Yeah, that was me. You said you were getting cold, so I got you the thickest blanket I could find. Do you like the color?" Tamar hadn't even noticed the material's color. Looking at it again, she smiled. Light blue wasn't her favorite, but right then, she really didn't care what color it was.
"It's fine, thank you."
"I'm here to check Malachi again. He should be awaking up today. All of his injuries have healed, so it shouldn't be long now." Tammy walked over to the bed, over to the opposite side from where Tamar was laying. As soon as she began to lift the covers from off of Malachi, a quiet, but very noticeable growl could be heard.
"I'm just checking his wound. How many times have I done this, and you still growl at me? What would you do if I wasn't able to do this and doctor Peters had to do it?" The growl lowered in volume but didn't stop.
"He wouldn't get in the room, let alone as close as I've let you get. Tamar pulled the covers to her side of the bed so Tammy could see Malachi's side.
"And, ah... sorry. It's a force of habit. He did so much for me when we were on the planet. Now I just want to keep him safe." Tamar swung her legs off the bed and sat up.
"But he is safe." Tammy told her. "No one here wants to hurt him." she stretched her arm across the bed, trying to touch Tamar's arm, but she yanked it away as if she was a snake ready to strike.
"Your Captain almost killed him. None of you know exactly what he's become. I do. He is so much more than any of you realize." She touched his chest and sighed, her head dropping. "He saved my life more times than I can count. He introduced me to our God," she whirled around to face Tammy. "And this is how I repay him! He was almost killed getting me off that planet. How can I face him now? He's gonna hate me."
Tammy was taken aback; this was the most the mysterious young woman had spoken since she'd known her.
"He's not going to hate you. If this happened to him," she swept her hand over the scar on Malachi's chest. "To get you off that planet, then it was his decision. I've never met him before now. I've heard stories about him, that's all. But if he was this injured getting you here, you must mean a lot to him."
"You think so?" Tamar's voice came out small and weak, an almost squeak.
"The question is, what do you think?"
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