Out in the Black Ch. 10

I decided to spend that night getting systematically drunk.

The following morning, I woke up to Alix sitting on the edge of my bed with coffee and, amazingly enough, chocolate. "Sorry, Mac," she said with a sad little smile. I shrugged and accepted the mug. My pounding head made the caffeine welcome, but my stomach was queasy enough that just the sight of food - even high-dollar junk food - made me ill.

"It's not like it was unexpected," I managed after a few sips, the nanites in my mouth rushing to relieve my burned tongue.

"Well, they're all stupid. It's their loss." The corner of my mouth lifted. I appreciated her support and told her so.

"But we need them more than they need us," I continued, tossing reality all over her attempt to cheer me up.

"We'll figure it out."

I gave a bitter laugh that cut off with a wince. Pressing a hand to my forehead, I squinted at my best friend. "That's exactly what he said." Li sighed. I knew she was tired of me bringing him up, but Rusty still occupied enough of my brain space it was more difficult not to talk about him. And I didn't have the energy for that right then. "So much for the 'we' part."

My XO made a face like she had something caught in her throat. "I probably shouldn't say anything - no, I definitely shouldn't say anything - but I hate seeing you so fucking miserable."

"What are you talking about?" My stupid heart was racing. I told it to settle down, there was nothing to get excited about, but it never listened to me anyway. At least I could put the little flips my stomach was performing down to my hangover.

"Well, I've been monitoring Mr. Rust's communications," she said slowly and I gave her a look. "What? You said you weren't going to do it anymore. That doesn't stop me. And it's not like I was reading them. I just wanted to keep an eye on who he was talking to." She pressed her lips shut and glared at me.

"And?" I finally asked, caving in to my curiosity.

"He's messaged back and forth with that girl on Luna and he sent a single message to someone on the Ring along with a rather substantial credit transfer." My gut twisted thinking of those poor kids, invisible to the rest of the system, and my engineer trying to offer what help he could from millions of klicks away. "Anyway, my point is that he's not looking for another job. So maybe he meant 'we,' just not in the way you took it."

It looked like it pained Alix to say something nice about the man who had broken my heart. I knew she and Rusty actually liked and respected each other until all the interpersonal drama and once more felt like a jerk for starting the whole deal. It had been nice seeing some of that come back during their time working on the cameras.

"Wait." Li looked confused. "Hang on - just - " There was something there, tickling at the back of my brain, behind the remaining alcohol haze and the ice pick of my hangover. Ignoring the headache as best I could, I teased and prodded the thought to the surface: "The cameras."

"What about them?"

"We still have them, right? The ones you and Rusty took down?"

"Yeah. There's a crate full of that crap in the cargo hold. Why?" I just shook my head - which was a terrible mistake - as I got up and wobbled over to the wardrobe to start dressing. The idea was still too nebulous to explain and I worried that poking at it might make it disperse. Alix watched me with some alarm, one hand hovering like she expected she might have to catch me. The coffee helped, though, and by the time I was sliding my feet into my magboots, I felt, well, if not human, less like reheated ass.

"Be careful," was all she said as we left my quarters. She knew I'd tell her in my own time and that pressing me before then was counterproductive.

Rusty wasn't in engineering. Nor was he in the galley, the head, or his quarters. Even with the nanites and air recyclers, the air that puffed into my face as I opened the gym door smelled strongly of sweat. My stomach jumped alarmingly and I hesitated in the doorway until I was sure nothing was coming back up. I finally stepped in to find the man I'd been seeking on the treadmill, his sneakers slapping out a steady cadence. He had foregone the joggers, so he ran in just his shorts. Even as I tried to keep my gaze on his face, my attention kept straying to the fascinating bouncing I could see out of the corner of my eye.

"Cap," he said, not winded at all. Of course.

"Hey, Rusty. I, um, had a, well, a project that, uh - " My lack of focus made me incoherent. Without so much as a hint of a smirk, Rusty slowed his pace. "Right. Anyway, I'd like your help with something," I admitted, ignoring the way my ears burned. Rusty's attitude of polite interest gave way to feral glee as I explained my idea. He hopped off the treadmill and said he'd get started as soon as possible. I watched him leave and instructed my mind that it was absolutely not allowed to imagine him taking his post-workout shower.

My next stop was the bridge. "Bailey, how long would it take us to get to the Ring station?"

"Let's see," he mumbled, his fingers flying across one of his screens. "Looks like two days if we sprint, about a tenday if we stroll."

Thinking about the task I'd just set Rusty to, I tried to guess how much time we'd need to be ready. "Split the difference. Burn at 0600 tomorrow."

"Aye-aye, Cap." He gave me a sarcastic salute before turning back to his displays.

I encountered surprisingly little pushback as I enlisted the rest of the crew in my plan. I'm sure boredom and readiness to do anything other than drift aimlessly through the black had something to do with it, but the people on the Marzi were remarkably energized about the idea itself. It was my XO who laid it out.

"Mac, you've been in the fancy hotels, met the shiny people, ate the gourmet food, but your crew? They never made it past the docks. Some of the most talented, creative journalism professionals work on this boat and they are barred from Vegas and similar stations because they weren't born to the right people and don't have enough money to pretend they were."

"I know." How could she think I didn't see it? "That very fact was part of what motivated me to get out of the whole celeb fluffing deal."

"You know, but you don't know. You thought you were above that work because you went to the best schools, right?"

"Harsh," I complained. After all, she had been right there next to me most of the time.

"But true," she insisted. I conceded the point. "Imagine working your ass off for that education and then watching the show you helped create from a cramped galley or a filthy bar because you literally are not allowed to share the same air as the people using your talents to make them look good."

"Fuck. I really am an arrogant ass, aren't I?"

"Yes," Li said, laughing. "But you're also a great guy with a good heart. That's what those of us still on this ship can see that the celebutantes and newsfeed CEOs choose to ignore. And we plan to make them regret it."

As I often did, I reminded myself that my best friend was entirely amazing and I was lucky to have her. When I said this aloud, she responded as she always did: "Damn straight, and don't forget it."