Maybe the dark-haired girl would come back. Even Capella. It was no good lying and sweating, there’d be a chance to talk to someone, surely, they weren’t going to go without a final check.
This, in the ship that didn’t sound but cursory warnings when it moved.
It was an hour before they went inertial. He got up then, risking his neck, God, stiff and sore, every movement he made—maybe the ribs were cracked from the fight, maybe not, but that was minor compared to the chance of being left with no supplies down here. He yelled. He banged the walls, he yelled again at every remote sound he heard, hoping someone would hear.
Eventually he heard someone walking in the corridor, and screamed to anyone out there that he hadn’t any trank, dammit, he needed help, he needed somebody to tell the captain…
Tink came walking up, with a tray—with trank and the nutri-packs on it, along with breakfast, or supper, or something, and one of Tink’s decorated pastries.
Relief flooded through him and left a flutter like electric shock.
“We weren’t going to forget you,” Tink said. “We weren’t going to forget you, no time we ever forgot the brig.”
“I didn’t know you were in charge. God, I’m glad to see you.”
“Yeah, yeah. Galley always sees to stations. Always a snack first—first class stuff, here.”
“It’s wonderful. “ He tried to make light of it, feeling foolish. “Thanks, Tink. “ But he was shaking so when he took the tray through the opening in the bars that the liquid shook in the cup. “Sugar-flowers. That’s real pretty.”
“Made it special. I’m real sorry I left you alone yesterday. I am. Wouldn’t’ve happened if I hadn’t left.”
“Not your fault. It’s all right, Tink.”
Tink looked troubled… beyond ‘it’s all right. ‘ “Scuttlebutt was… there was an order.”
“On what?”
Tink evaded his eyes. Found an interesting spot on the floor to the far side of the bars. “Like, it was just an order.”
An order. And Tink just happened to need to change a filter?
“Tink?”
Tink still didn’t look at him, quite.
He felt a twinge of regret. Of disappointment. Of anger, for Tink’s sake… and his own.
“Yeah,” he said, “I copy. Thanks. Thanks, Tink. Really, thanks.”
“I didn’t know they was going to do that!”
“You didn’t know my brother was going to do that. I should’ve figured it.”
“He ain’t a bad officer,” Tink said. “He’s a layoff, but things get done.—And he’s fair, most times. The captain’s got him bothered.”
“About what? What’s enough, to go to that trouble? Tink, Tink, he’s saying… he’s saying he’ll get me off at Pell. That I can go free. Is he lying?”
Tink looked at him then. A long, troubled look.
“What’s the truth, Tink? I swear… I swear I won’t say where I heard it, just tell me, and I’ll believe you.”
“The junior’s a nice guy,” Tink said. “He really is. Tries to take the crew’s side. Stood between the hire-ons and the senior. Michaels. Michaels is who you don’t cross. But the junior’ll always hear you, if there’s a side you got, you understand me? I don’t figure what he did, it ain’t like him to set somebody up like that, except he’s got some notion you’re a problem—on account of your mama. I hear she’s got a grudge with the captain.”
“You could say.”
“So maybe that’s it. “ Tink cast a nervous glance down the corridor. “Tom, I got other places to get to, I got to hurry. We got jump at Oh Five, just short. Can’t collect the tray, just kind of dump it in the shower when you’re through, all right? And latch the door? I got a lot of stations to get to, before. But I come here first.”
“Yeah,” he said, “yeah, thanks, Tink. Sincerely, thanks.”
He took the tray back to his bunk, sat down, dug in to the synth eggs-’n-ham, which wasn’t bad, but peculiar. It had leafy stuff in it, that wasn’t algae. Strong-flavored stuff. Maybe it was another thing they got off a living world, like a real spice. He’d had a few—just a few.