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Ben: maybe it was cheating a little, but I gave Dr. M'Benga instructions to ask Kynon Nagada some questions while she was groggy from the anesthetic, and she told him in all innocence that your daughter is doing fine aboard Arrowprize, performing various tasks assigned to her and learning progressively as time permits.
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Jacqueline hadn't thought her shadowy, irregular status weighed upon her especially. When Ben told her the news and posted it on the bulletin board it took a little time to sink in, but after sleeping on it once she found she had acquired a new confidence.
It felt really good. Although Ben informed her that in all fairness her passage through the local C-Gates would have to be recorded as 2 Earth years' worth of Leave Without Pay!
She'd had (now) a total of 3 job tours in the Deployment Module but only brief tries at learning its controls; there were always so many other things to be done that by the time those were completed. Nyota Uhura was impatient and granted just a few minutes for practice purposes. The day after Jacqueline learned she was officially crew, though, Nyota being on watch it was Charles Tucker who took Jacqueline and Cayla Paulsen with him for a full simulation checkout. And on this occasion, after a long and sweaty stretch of helping move revised supply allocations around the Module, Charles gave both Cayla and Jacqueline enough hands-on time at the controls to get a reasonably solid feel of the operation.
Deployment itself, for instance, was no simple matter; you didn't just fire up the Warp Drive and pop out. First, all the tests. On Virtual Thrust, crank the drive up to a fraction short of redline max, then idle it down. Unlock the landing legs and lever them out two notches, sufficient to prove mobility without risking damage to the bulkhead behind. While the cockpit checked out screens and instruments, making sure that all units were operational and that their reports showed the DM ready to emerge.
That emergence was especially tricky. The procedure had been accomplished, Jacqueline knew, only by test prototypes in high Earth orbit. And from nose cone mockups, not real ships. The test DM's themselves were far from complete vehicles, just shells equipped wiht miniature drives and the ancillary emergence gear under test; thus the partial or total failures of the first 4 configurations tested posed no true danger to the safety suited test personnel. The 5th version was duplicated for Stargazer and Yamato; Arrowprize carried the 6th.
Dutifully Jacqueline performed the simulated tests. Once the DM itself checked out operational, next came Disconnect & Displace. In flight the nose cone presented a solid shield to the barrage of particles. Yet once Arrowprize reached destination orbit that shield had to divide itself, along a circle of ten meters' radius, freeing the DM to push forward out of the ship. And to move its considerable mass an auxiliary force was needed; you don't fire off Warp Drive, not even at low thrust, in a confined space.
So the button (now locked to simulation) cuts the magnetic currents, circulating to either side of the dividing line, one in the DM and the other in Arrowprize's own hull, to end the magnetorestrictive effect that has transformed a snug fit to a virtual weld and made the forward shield, effectively, an unbroken surface throughout the ship's voyage.
That action noted on the pilot's console, another switch permits liquefied gasses to expand and catalytically ignite between the DM and the necessarily sturdy bulkhead behind it. A single-shot pistol, of big caliber but inconsequential muzzle velocity, yet according to the manual it would do the trick.
From there it was a matter of navigation and maneuvering, things Jacqueline had practiced from the lesser aux positions in control. She enjoyed this runthrough anyway. Sitting in the actual DV pilot seat made it all so much more real.
"Too bad there's no good way to simulate docking," said Charles as they made their way back along the tunnel. Either here or back aft, where the Vehicle can refuel and transship cargo."
There was a lot more to learn, Jacqueline realized. Always.365Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIaVjWoCLht
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"Oh come on: Osric's on Nyota's watch for 2 hours yet," Cayla urged, so Jacqueline yielded and went to her friend's quarters for their usual ritual after a job or exercise: first shower, then refuel with a snack and chatter like magpies.
Showering involved a lot of splashing, a lot of laughter----in Jacqueline's case, at least, a throwback to school days. And because since the first few grades she'd been in classes with kids mostly 2 to 3 years older, the difference between Cayla's physical development and her own humble beginnings in the department disturbed her not at all.
What did was that all-too-usual mishap, an eyeful of shampoo. "Time out!" and she ducked over to reach outside and snatch up a towel. Eyes dried, she turned for reentry but stopped short. From this angle, with Paula off to one side Jacqueline was past the heavy spray to an upper corner of the large stall. And just below that corner sat a diminutive unobtrusive object---unobtrusive, except for the fact that it didn't belong there!
Jacqueline blinked; the thing was just small enough to hold in a nearly clenched fist and almost (but not quite) the color of the stall itself. Peering, she noticed a miniscule round spot, shinier than the rest, and then at one side, near the edge that met the wall, a tiny luminescent speck of green.
Something jogged in her memory; she almost recognized it. But then Cayla turned from rinsing her hair and with one hand shunted most of the shower head's spray into Jacqueline's face. So for a while there it was Katy bar the door.
Not until the two were out and dried and nearly dressed, chatting away as always, did Jacqueline's memory click. The gadget in the shower fit the description of the micro-vidcams Dolores's tame gendarme had used aboard here.
And dollars to doughnuts, that green light mean, "Recording."365Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOSnr15WHpS
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The jolt derailed Jacqueline's train of conversation; after some seconds she saw Cayla looking at her with a puzzled expression and said at random, "How's Osric getting along?"
"That's a coincidence." Now Cayla came up animated. 'I mean, he's constantly asking about you. Every time you and I do anything together he wants to know all about it---what was said, what we did, how you looked." She laughed, buy not very much. "I swear, if you were just a little bit older, I could get jealous."
If Jacqueline looked much of any way right now, she guessed it'd be perplexed. But Cayla didn't seem to think so. Reaching out to grasp Jacqueline's hand she said, almost pleading, "Hey, no! That wasn't a chop; I didn't mean it that way. I just...."
"Hey, space out; I know what you meant. Just the idea of anybody jealous over me, had me stopped, there."
Seeking a way out of this cul-de-sac of discourse, she said, "Well, his liking your buddies is better than not, I reckon."
But if Jacqueline thought she was off the hook concerning Osric Harcrow, she lost that illusion right away. "Osric's strange, you know. Very creative---as a lover, that is---but sometimes he gets really creepy ideas." She paused. "And he broods too much. A whole year of him, on Stargazer, I was beginning to wonder about. So---I like it here a lot, but I don't think I could take being with him the full ride. And once back on Earth...."
"Well, you've got to do whatever's best." But Jacqueline had heard enough; what she wanted was out of here, before the strange Mr. Harcrow came home. More more the guy sounded like a real gootz. Before she left, though....
"Excuse me a minute." She went into the bathroom, but not for the usual reasons. Once inside she stepped into the shower stall and yanked at the vidcam. As she hoped, it was only stuck on with a magnet and came free easily. She stuffed the little device into a pocket, paused to cycle the toilet for Cayla to hear if the sound reached that far and came back out.
"Well, I'm in line for a nap. See ya."365Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPKzkKUn5lI
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Heading towards control with his latest routine report for Earth, Sisko saw two people coming forward, baggage-laden, along the corridor. One was Elyse Cawthorn, the other a stranger, a young woman. Very young was his first assessment; the next was that the slim newcomer's erect posture added to her moderate height. Other details started to register; oval face now flushed to high color, regular features, emphatic dark brows over gray eyes, honey-blond hair coiled high at the back of her head.
He stepped forward past the bridge door to make greeting. "Elyse," then, "Hello; I'm Ben Sisko, temporarily in command. And you are...."
She met his handshake, "Talia Winters, replacing Kynon Nagada. For how long, they didn't tell me. But if it's the full tour---well, my parents and I said goodbye with that possibility in mind."
Ben smiled. "Hadn't you better give shipboard life a longer tryout first? To see if it really suits you?"
"I was raised on space work." She looked very serious. "And after all...to see a new planet!"
"Welcome aboard, then." Her hand was warm but not moist. "Are you feeling all right? No wobbles from the jump?" And of course she'd be used to 0G...
Winters smiled: "None at all. I'll be fine."
"Good." And to Cawthorn, "Are you seeing to everything?"
"Yes." She specified a room number. "All right?"
"Sure. Then I'll talk with you later, Winters." And he delivered his report pouch to the bridge.365Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡuft5PBhTAW
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Stopping by the galley to replenish her supply of fruit juice, Jacqueline encountered the new arrival getting the guided tour from Elyse Cawthorn and sat briefly to chat with them. Talia, Jacqueline was shocked to learn, was barely 18 by years experienced, and had actually been born later than Jacqueline.
Now how was that supposed to feel? Was she behind Talia somehow, or ahead? Well, she had nearly 6 years of growth before her that Talia had already been through. Oh well...
".... my first space weld, outside and suited up, when I was 15." In high orbit, living with her parents on the partially assembled macroC-Gate, that was, Jacqueline felt wonder; what a time it must've been. "And...."
But Cawthorn said, "Come on, Winters; we've got to get you settled in. You kids can talk later; there'll be lots of time."
So Jacqueline collected what she needed from the galley and went to quarters. There she inspected the tiny vidcam. What she knew of such gadgets could be written on a little blue bean, so she looked for its make and model designations, cranked up the computer terminal and began to search.
Finding its descriptive specs didn't take her long. Uh-huh, here were the function controls. In the drawer under the computer shelf she found the cord needed to patch the vidcam to her terminal input. Making certain that what she was about to see wouldn't be going out to any casual viewer on the system, she reverted vidcam access to 0 and began Play. But after a few minutes she stopped it and took a deep breath, for calmness.
Not only had this peeper been recording Cayla's showers (with or without her knowledge, Jacqueline didn't know); he'd also captured an incident when they'd had sex in the stall, standing up. The sound quality was nothing to write home about, but every surprising word of dialogue came through clearly.
Well, Jacqueline took it back to 0 again and set the terminal to Record. After 1 moment's thought she set up an unlisted file, tagged it "P. Tom," and resumed Play. There was Cayla alone, Osric and Cayla in rut, Cayla, Cayla. Osric achieving satisfaction all by himself, Osric with Cayla as the latter performed services Jacqueline surely considered "eerie" whether Cayla did or not....
Setting the play at double speed, soundless but time-saving as the terminal automatically switched bit rates to accept the data, Jacqueline ran it until she saw herself and Cayla enter the stall; then in real time she watched, fascinated, as the two laughed and cavorted. It was all so totally innocent, nothing but silly fun with no murky connotations. But in company with what she'd just seen, it make Jacqueline feel uncomfortable.
At the end she found she'd watched for barely 40 minutes, at normal speed Harcrow must have nearly 2 hours of covert voyeurism here. Well, all right for him; she looked up how to erase a recording and wiped this one totally. Then---her own copy, in the P. Tom file?
No. It might come in handy somehow.365Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQG3OR4ELAu
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The signal at the door found her not quite asleep yet. Grumbling, she put on a robe and went to answer it. When Osric Harcrow shoved past her and stood glaring, she felt some unease. But no surprise, not really.
Before she could speak he said, "You've got something of mine. I want it."
In her own rooms, Jacqueline Sisko didn't mind being pushed around. Not by this one, at least. "What makes you think so?"
"It's gone, and Cayla didn't take it. She didn't even know it was there. She still doesn't; I know how to ask questions without giving anything away." You just go right on thinking that. "So where is it?" He gestured away any denial. "Don't lie; Cayla told me you were there. And nobody else was. So don't bother to tell me any more damn lies!"
Jacqueline's eyes narrowed. "Just what lies do you think I've told you?"
"Well....." He was stuck, because thus far she'd made no statements, none at all.
"If you want something, you'll have to say what it is."
"You damn well know!"
"Well both damn well know---if you bother to tell me!"
"All right, it's a...."
She didn't let him off easy; he had to specify name of device, make, model, the whole shooting match. Then: "Okay" and she walked over to the terminal desk, hoping he wouldn't read any significance into that location, and handed him the vidcam. "Now you can get the hell outta my quarters. And don't you ever come here again. Not for any reason!"
For a moment Harcrow seemed apprehensive; then some thought changed his look to smugness. "I guess you're going to tell your dad I barged in here. Well, think twice. You did steal my vidcam."
So he had no idea she'd viewed the recorded action. Fine, leave it at that. "All you have to do is stay away me."
The man had the consistency of a tick. "Stay away? But I've been wanting to know you better." He gestured, waving the vidcam at random. "Hey, I'm sorry I blew up. It was just finding this missing and all, I kinda lost my head."
He stepped closer. "Actually I like you a lot. A girl your age----you know, the earlier she starts, the better it gets for her later on."
What in the----? What business was it of his when she started, and what did her periods have to do with anything. Get better? What was this boobbatch talking about?
With a skunky grin he said, "I can help; I know how to make it easy and I'm really good at it. Back home I..."
Why had it taken her so long to see what he meant? And what kind of person was this? How had he made it past the psychologists?
Abruptly she stepped back. "That does it. You don't just leave me alone; you get yourself off this ship. Request transfer now, go to Earth. You...."
"Leave the ship? Oh no, you can't sell that one. Cayla, she'd go with me. And that puts you shorthanded again, doesn't it? I don't think the captain would like this idea."
He really didn't know what he'd done, how far he'd hung his ass over the edge; he still thought he had points he could argue. And: Cayla would go too? Hah! But Jacqueline couldn't repeat Cayla's complaints; for all she knew, they might have been nothing more than letting off steam. Instead, "You just get off of here. Or...."
"Or what?"
"Or Captain Sisko gets a look at what you had in that vidcam and don't have now. It's...." Think fast! "....it's in a suspense file." She made a show of checking her wrist chrono. "In less than 16 hours it pops up and beeps Urgent for him. I think you'll want to be off this ship by then; don't you?"
His face changed; he reached for her. "Maybe. But I'm on here now."
She dodged free; this was getting way past the gootz stage. Through suddenly-tightened throat she barked, "Hold it!"
"Like hell! You broads are all alike; yell a little at first, but then you love it." One hand clawed out to grip her shoulder.
She knocked it away. "You're nuts!"
His eyes went narrow. "Don't you ever say that to me. I'll show you who's nuts. I'll...."
Unexpectedly her voice steadied, saying, "I'd better tell you something first." As her armpits sweat came so strongly she could smell it; it didn't smell all that good.
Seeing him pause, carefully she said. "There was a man, tried to do things to me. He didn't do them.. You know Sisko smuggled me on this ship?"
"So? Why admit that to me?"
Breathing came hard. "You want to know why he had to? Because I was wanted in 6 states, for what I did to Arthur Vinson."
Well, if Dolores' holovid plea hit network news, the search probably spread at least that far. And it was none of this muckhead's business that Ben had his nether parts hanging loos for the grabbing and was----now that she thought about it----probably spudded out of the real world and no return address.
Putting a name to the man, though, gave Harcrow something to believe; he stepped back a little. First stammering as he searched for words, he said. "S--so you'd rather have me on Earth, telling the law where to find you?"
Her fear lessened, she still had trouble breathing, though. "They already know." Gulp! "Look, Harcrow, officially I'm a crewmember now. And besides, that statue of limits, you know the thing I mean, it ran out a long time ago."
"Yeah?" He thought about it, then nodded. Apparently reaching another of his amazing compromises with sanity he said, "Well, all right I'll leave you alone. You probably wouldn't be any fun anyway, acting so tightass and all. But you can't chase me off this ship."
She didn't bother to say yes she could. Instead: "No. But that suspense file can." Slowly, his posture sagged...
When he was outside and the door locked behind him, Jacqueline went straight for the shower. But the way her legs began to shake, she had to sit down a minute, first.
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What was eating Osric, Cayla had no idea. He'd come in, gone to clean up, and come back out hardmouthed and pale, asking questions that made absolutely no sense.
Then he'd gone storming out, cursing someone or other in a harsh monotone. That was nearly 30 minutes ago. And now the door banged open and in he strode. "All right, we're getting off this ship, going back to Earth. Get our things packed. I'll go set it up with the captain."
Not pausing to hear any answer he turned away. "Wait!" Cayla stood, trying to grasp what was happening. "What do you mean, leave? Why? I don't want to go; I like it aboard here."
He came over and grabbed her by the shoulders. "You like what I say you can like. Now get us packed up." And again he left.
Shaken, Cayla stood indecisive. Osric's behaviior really scared her. He'd never hit her but once, and then cried and made promises s he hadn't believe even at the time but were nice to hear. But one thing she knew for sure; she never ever wanted anything like that to happen again!
She didn't want to leave Arrowprize, either. But what to do about it? She needed to talk to somebody. Not Jacqueline; this was too much to foist upon anyone her age. Who else? J.M. Colt? But the 2nd officer would be on watch by now; distracting him there wouldn't be a good idea.
If only she could get into the local C-Gate, be nonexistent for the next 2 ship's months like Captain Janeway and the rest. Osric would have to leave without her. But she'd never get anyone to activate the device for her....
Oh shit on it! If Osric was going to the captain, so would she. She packed, all right, but only her own things, including what she'd been issued here.
Then she took a final look around and left the rooms.
She found the captain in his quarters. The only trouble was that Osric was there first.365Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYRof8pPukx
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"I don't get it." Ben really didn't; he'd thought the two from Stargazer were settling in rather well. Certainly Jacqueline had nothing but good things to say about Cayla Paulsen. "You two want to leave. Why?"
Looking uncomfortable, young Harcrow shrugged. "It's hard to say, sir. Expectations, most likely. We signed on for a year on Stargazer and got shanghaied to a different ship, where things aren't the way we studied for and we don't know anybody....the group we trained with, and all that. So I feel---I feel----"
"Does Cayla feel the same way?" The door chime sounded. "One moment, please." He stepped over and admitted Cayla Paulsen. "Come in. Osric's just been telling me, you guys want to leave us. I don't understand just why."
"He's lying. I don't know what's eating him, but one thing's sure; I like it on here, just fine."
"Cayla!" Face reddening, Harcrow stood. "You know what we agreed. Don't try to go back on it!"
"Sit. Down." Deliberately, Sisko made his tone icy. It worked; as if the air had gone out of his legs, Osric Harcrow dropped back into his chair. "Now I want to hear more about this, Harcrow, you want to leave; never mind why, for right now. Paulsen, you don't want to go with him. Could you give me a reason?"
"I'll give her a reason," the man snarled.
As Cayla said, "Because this is a good ship; I feel at home here. And the way Osric is now, the way he's become, I'm scared to death of him."
"You damn well better be! I'll...." Standing, fists clenched and all control gone, Harcrow ranted.
"Hey!!" Sisko could still muster a good parade-ground roar. What in the worlds had happened to young Harcrow? He'd seemed rational enough before. Well, whatever had driven him over the top, Ben saw no reason why it should remain Arrowprize's problem. Quietly he said, "I've heard all I need to. Mr. Harcrow, your request is granted. Let's go."
"What? Where?"
"To the Earthgate. No, wait a minute." Sitting down at his terminal Ben poked up about 1/2 a page of text, printed it out and put it in a wrapper addressed to Starship Personnel, WASA. "This goes into the C-Gate ahead of you. I'm recommending your termination as a member of the crewing pool, with prejudice. Details will follow. Now get your ass in gear, mister. The next chair you sit in will be two years later and in Earth's own good gravity. Move it!"
Osric Harcrow still thought he had a voice here. "What about my things?"
"Paulsen?" Cayla looked up and nodded. "Take your own gear back to your quarters. Pack his and bring it to Earthgate. Make sure you miss nothing. The stuff'll lag you a few hours at Bolt Park, Harcrow, but I'm sure you'll manage just fine."
He marched the man straight to the transfer ring and took him inship, then along the corridor to Earthgate. All without pause, allowing his charge no chance to exchange a word with anyone they met who offered greetings. "Later," said Sisko to each and all, and that had to do.
At the C-Gate he sent off the papers, then said, "Get in; brace yourself for 1G." Then, looking only to see that the man was set for the jump, he activated.
Keeping in mind how picking J.M. Colt could get about C-Gating records, Sisko carefully logged in both transmissions.365Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡp8MylIheUe
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Marlena's watch still had some hours to go but Ben was in desperate need of someone to talk to. Back in his own quarters, he put the beep to Jacqueline's. His call woke her up but she seemed chipper enough and accepted his invitation to lunch. "...or breakfast, whatever."
His story, held until the coffee stage except that Jacqueline took decaf, didn't take long to tell. At its end he said, "I don't know; to me the young fella always seemed mostly okay, even if sometimes a little bit glib; a little too withdrawn, others. I never had any idea he was the kind of guy you'd see his wife with a black eye, she says she ran into a doorknob."
He paused, awaiting comment, but Jacqueline said nothing. So: "Did you every notice anything---odd---about him?"
Strangely hesitant, finally she said, "He seemed like kinda a gootz, was all."
"Gootz?! What is 'gootz'?"
"It's, well---oh, you know...."
The weirdest part was, he damn near did. Gootz: a word coming out of nowhere to spread throughout every school campus in the land. Nobody could explain it but nobody had to, because everybody knew. Everybody the right age, that is.
So he let it pass. "Well then----did he ever give you any trouble?"
"Ummm." Another pause. "Nothing to speak of."
But for a moment there, Jacqueline's face became a mask; from behind it her eyes showed a recalcitrant twinkle.
Not really, of course, because eyes don't twinkle; that's baby talk. Any more than they actually follow someone across a room (pitter-patter!). She must have blinked and looked aside some way, to and fro so the reflections changed.
"With Talia here," Jacqueline said now, "I guess the gender thing is really up the spout."
Oh, dammit! Ben hadn't even thought about that. All he could think to say was, "Maybe Charles is a latent polygamist." Then: "Polygamist, actually." And remembering: "Since he didn't have much luck with polyandry."
But Sisko had to pay for showing off his vocabulary by explaining the differences between the three words. Still it was nice to learn his daughter truly didn't know everything already.
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Awake and fed, Jacqueline decided she'd better see how Cayla was doing, and found her in the lounge talking with Talia Winters. Fine; together they gave Talia a quick overall tour of the ship. Then, after a full-gee exercise session, the consequent shower turned into a fair roughhouse--not hard enough that anybody might get injured, but definitely some robust tussling.
All in all, Jacqueline found the trio interesting and fun. For one thing, Talia's presence inhibited any discussion of Osric Harcrow, and for that, Jacqueline was eternally grateful.
Back in her room, though, she started to wonder. She'd seen it with others, and had it a time or two herself; when two friends team up with a 3rd, all of a sudden there's a competition no one asks for and no one wants, each to be everyone else's best friend and not become the odd person out.
She'd just have to watch out for that. Because there was something she'd thought about but never had the chance to try: if you define unwelcome competition; you can't be a target.365Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtonsE6469h
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As if Ben didn't have enough on his plate, Earthass brought news of an impending VIP visit, due to materialize within hours. "Senator Perry, is it?" Sisko shook his head. "Hadn't realized the old fart was still alive. He must be..." and was shocked to find out he simply didn't know the man's age.
Perry was no longer a senator, hadn't been for years since he stepped down in favor of Rick Berman, but he still carried the courtesy title. he was the man who had, back when he headed the space appropriations committee, witnessed the historic 3-fingered Annie fiasco of the 1st Warp Drive breadboard demonstration, seen the device's possibilities, and ramrodded the empowering legislation that produced first Jupiter-II and then the starships.
Since retiring he'd served as a consultant and watchdog for Berman---a roving ambassador, so to speak. Sisko knew the man had started a tour of at least 1 of the other ships, or both, by now. So it was no surprise that he'd come here. Or shouldn't have been, if Ben weren't so obsessed with other matters.
Stopping by the lounge he found Bruno Eustace and Odessa Vangelos pretty much at ease, and asked, "Could you guys check out the VIP rooms right now, see they're ready for company? Just the vitals; the frills can wait until our guest picks out what he wants. Okay? I'll appreciate this mucho."
They hadn't reported back when Beverly Crusher called to announce the senator's arrival, but Ben didn't worry. The hospitable formalities of greeting would take up the slack.365Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡs59us9jttL
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Heading incraft to meet the man, Sisko wasn't sure what to expect. Would he be ambulatory, wheelchaired, or what? Vaguely he remembered hearing that Perry had had two bouts with bad hips, successful operations, and heaven knew what. With that question on his mind he was unsurprised to find, when he met the group approaching along the corridor, that the senator hadn't come by himself. The woman alongside him, whose arm the old man held lightly, stood at medium height. Thin, somewhere in her late forties by Ben's guess, she had a pleasant expression on her somewhat triangular face. Curly brown hair, shortish, was showing some gray; not bothering to conceal it could indicate any of several attitudes. Being comfortable about herself was the one Ben hoped for.
"Senator. Benjamin L. Sisko, temporarily commanding. Welcome aboard."
Perry freed his hand to shake Sisko's. "Thanks." He turned towards the woman beside him. "Tonia Barrows, my keeper." Ben nodded to the woman as Perry continued, "She's been on Stargazer with me, then Yamato, and now here. Where, if you'll agree to it, we'd like to stay for some time."
"I'm sure..."
Perry interrupted. "We'll talk about that later. For now, let's pay a visit to your galley. C-Gate transit shouldn't make a man hungry, there's no excuse for it, but I generally am."
"Yes, sir. This way, then."
Standing aside he saw that notwithstanding his age, Senator Perry had a good mastery of Velcro in 0G.365Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSU0zhSrTQQ
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".....not even sure myself, how old I am by time actually experienced." Over coffee, his snack finished, Perry looked around the crowded table. "Earth time's easy; just check the current date and subtract. Which gives me 86. But what with C-Gating and time dilation, that number doesn't mean much. And the other one's hard to keep track of."
Ben thought about that. "Uh----your first trip, you went to Stargazer, then direct to Yamato, and back to Earth?" Perry nodded. "Do you know how long you were gone, by Earth time?"
The senator's scowl indicated concentration. "Yes. Nine years and 4 months, almost exactly."
"Okay. Including 3 jumps. And now C-Gating here to Arrowprize.... All right---say 40 months' total stay on the other two ships. At 10 to 1----yes. The way I make it, you dropped 3 years on shipboard, total. And four times through the C-Gates." Ben beamed triumphantly. "You arrived here, then, with 11 years difference in your 2 ages. Or close enough."
Perry mustered a pretty good grin himself. "75, eh? That's not too bad. This 1 uncle of mine...." He came back to the subject. "And so now all I need, to keep myself up to date, is to use your 25 ratio as long as I'm aboard."
He leaned forward. "Tell me this: How much longer, ship's time here, until Stargazer approaches destination and begins decel? Because at that point I'd like to C-Gate aboard her again. Arriving when they've been in orbit several months, and have had a chance to learn something about their planet."
For a moment the sheer scope of this guy's plans set Sisko back on his heels; then he considered the problem. Let's see now. Ben's trouble was that once he began to get the members straight in his mind, it went right ahead with them, so he didn't think to stop and use the pocket calc instead. "Okay: counting from the day we inGated here, we're now up to 1:13. The one you want is 3:36. So you're looking for room and board, sir, for---oh, 7 and 1/2 months, a little less. Yes, I think we can manage that."
Perry cleared his throat. "You won't need to. I can still do my timses in my head too, captain, and I make it---oh, 15 and 1/4 years Earth time, near enough. And my own thinking is for Tonia and I to bypass a number of those years totally, by means of your decelerator C-Gate. If you will be so kind as to permit us that usage."
What?! "Of course, senator. You just let me know what you plan in the way of a schedule, and I'm sure we can oblige. This old boy was as full of surprises as a pothole in a deep swamp!365Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjvGzoMr3bh
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Jacqueline wasn't keeping all the numbers straight; for 1 thing, her dad and Perry were working from basepoints they both seemed to understand but never stated aloud. She was fascinated, though. And now the senator said: "I'm worried about Stargazer. The last we heard on Earth, Byron York and his lady----striking woman, she is---had decamped to Yamato. And then Marcel leBouche, who'd gone out with Cadre 2-A as exec, messaged that Captain Janeway and both her co-execs and 3 other people had all vanished, God knows where but it would have to be by one C-Gate or another." Under bushy he squinted at Ben. "I don't suppose you've heard anything, know what it's all about?"
Jacqueline thought she'd burst from the effort of keeping quiet, until Ben said, "Happens we have, and do. Those 6 came here, five unconscious and Yasmin Armiger with the dart gun that does that little trick---and did here, too. She took them through our loop C-Gate once; when she came out we thought we knew what to expect and were ready for anything, but we were wrong. She zapped our team in control and C-Gated again there. If we hadn't had remote viewer switching, we never would have known who did it, or how. She took---let's see, it was Hohstadt, Helsing, and Janeway----back in with her, and grabbed our captain too. That's why I'm in charge for now."
He paused, but Perry waited so, "She left the 2-A couple lying there; when they came to I signed them on, since we were short one just then, by way of a gallbladder. Though we did get a replacement a bit later. One of those two is still with us; the other, uh, proved unsuitable and I sent him home."
Sisko stopped; the senator shook his head. "I should've paid more attention to young Hand. I'd worked with him on Earth when he did liaison for us with WASA and Bolt Park and Dr. Cochran. And I was aboard Stargazer, you know, when Janeway and her group arrived. Byron had misgivings; I think he'd had some kind of run-in with the woman, but he wouldn't say what."
Ben could guess, but kept his silence.
"Hawh!" Perry gave a rueful snort. "She had no use for me, make no mistake about that; didn't bother to hide it much. But you don't pull the chain on a starship captain for personal satisfaction; maybe I leaned over backwards for just that reason."
He stood, easily enough in the light gravs. "Next time those people pop out, I expect you can nab Armiger. Imagine you'd better just bung the lot off to Earth and let 'em sort it out there." Then, frowning slightly, "How long until they're due, anyway?"
Having figured that answer some seconds earlier, Jacqueline couldn't keep herself from giving it. "Roughly 16 days. About 6 hours, really."
Without turning his head the old man peered sideways down his nose at her. "Pretty quick there, young lady. Say, we haven't been introduced, have we? But I think I've heard of you." Then to Ben he said, "I changed my mind. I'm going to stick around and see what Armiger has to say for herself."365Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRsYIBqUfnI
He grinned wolfishly. "And old Iron Boobs, too."
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