Ship's Interface Ch. 006

The remaining Interface kissed June on the cheek again. "Oh honey, the things I have planned for you." June's eyes lit up. If they had even the slightest bit of privacy, Will was certain legs would be flying over someone's shoulders and a whole lot of moaning would ensue.

Ben watched the whole exchange with a watchmaker's gaze and Will could see the wheels turning in his head, planning something. He would check in with him later to see what Ben was thinking about.

"Well now that's settled, let's go pay a visit to an old friend," Will said, as they headed out of the office building.

Unnoticed, down the hall and around a corner, a shadow of an eavesdropper slipped away heading in the other direction.

****

Glancing down at the piece of paper in his hand, Will compared the number above the entrance to the number scribed on the paper. "This is the place." He said to June, Ben, and Interface. He looked over the list of apartment numbers and 302B and pressed the call button. A brief second passed when they heard the buzz of the door, and then they opened it and stepped inside. The foyer was small but clean, painted in an off-white. They found the lift down a short hallway and pressed the button to call it. The door opened and they stepped in. The lift was on the small side and would be uncomfortably close if more than four people wanted to ride it at once.

The lift door opened on the third floor and they found 302B at the far end of the hallway. Will glanced at his party, June carrying the wine, and knocked on the door. It immediately swung open and Jeremy stood on the other side, holding the door open, his wife Sarah standing just behind her with little Tara peeking out from behind Sarah's leg, clutching her pant leg tight.

"Will! Glad you came." Jeremy said, hugging Will. He was a big man, with red hair and a couple of inches on Will, with much broader shoulders, and muscles defined by years of working in the maintenance shop moving heavy parts around.

"Jeremy, let me introduce you to my.." Will struggled only a moment to find the right descriptor that wouldn't sound weird but decided to call it as it was, "family. This is June, Ben, and Interface." Jeremy freely gave hugs to all of them, but after hugging Interface, held her by her shoulders at arm's length to get a good look at her. "My aren't you an unusual one."

"That she is," Will said. "She's the main reason we're all together, but that story is for after dinner with wine. Right now you need to introduce me to these two ladies," he said, cordially.

"This is my wife Sarah, and my daughter Tara." Sarah went up to Will and gave him a big hug. Will hugged her back, the top of her head just below his chin. The petite blonde hugged him with a surprising fierceness for a moment longer than you would expect from a friendly hug. She stepped back and looked up into Will's eyes. "It's so good to finally meet you, Will." She said with an enormous smile, her eyes sparkled and were moist with a held-back tear.

"It's good to meet you too Sarah." Will returned the smile.

"Say hi to my friend Will and his family, Tara," Jeremy said, in a soft reassuring tone.

She smiled at them shyly, gave a little wave, and then scampered from the entryway back into the apartment proper.

"She's a cutie," June said to Sarah, warmly.

"Don't let that fool you, she's a little mischief maker, like her father," Sarah said, beaming up at Jeremy, who returned the smile, putting his arm around her shoulder.

"Come in, come in, let's not hang in the hallway," Jeremy said, leading them into the living room. The apartment was well furnished, but cozy, with an open design. The living room, dining area, and kitchen were all in sight of each other allowing easy conversation from all three rooms, all well-appointed. The living room had a long couch and opposite it across a low coffee table was a love seat with two stuffed, comfortable-looking chairs on either side.

Sarah took the bottle of wine from June, and said, "Let me get this chilled." then carried it to the kitchen area.

Jeremy gestured to the couch, so Will, June, Interface, and Ben squeezed down onto it, comfortably close. Will put an arm around June, and Interface sat in between June and Ben, snaking her arms around their waists.

"Anyone care for some tea?" Sarah called from the kitchen.

"Yes, please." came a chorus from Will, June, and Ben. "Water, if you don't mind." Interface requested.

After a short time, Sarah returned to the living room with a small tray with six tea cups and a cold glass of water. Everyone took a cup and sipped the warm, aromatic liquid, and smiled pleasantly.

"This is a nice apartment, roomier than I would have expected on a station like this," Will said, looking around at the living space.

"Yeah, station management recognized that if you want to keep quality workers, you need to make sure they're comfortable and well taken care of. Penrose is not a major hub, but it is an important link for a lot of the systems on this edge of the galactic trade network. They're very supportive and foster a close community aboard the station." Jeremy explained.

"For instance," Sarah, jumped in, "there are a lot of station-sponsored group activities, club sports teams, pottery and painting groups, and the like. I participate in a book club and a sculpture class on the weekends. It's a lot of fun and a great way to make friends on the station."

"What are you reading in your book club?" Interface asked, intrigued.

"We're currently reading a historical account of the settling of Tertisus Major. A fascinating read. The failure of the colony was tragic and the book handles it well, and also provides a smoothly deliberated discussion of how at almost every step, they could have prevented the disaster if only they had made one different choice."

Sarah smiled to herself and then continued. "Though we don't only read historical books. Everyone takes turns picking out the book to read, the book before that was one of those romance books with a bunch of naughty parts. That was a hoot to read as a group." Sarah said, blushing a little.

"Sounds fascinating and fun." Interface said warmly. "Do you also work here on the station?" She asked.

"Yes, I do part-time data entry for the administration offices," Sarah replied. "I have a terminal here in the apartment so I can work and be with Tara. It is a great setup." She said with a smile, patting Jeremy's knee. "So what do you all do?"

"That's an excellent question," June said with a slightly exasperated smile. "Will and I still technically work for the Peirault Shipping Company, though current circumstances will probably change that. We're heading back to Centrailia then to Durinheim to return the 'Heart of Saturn's' Transponder. After that, it's kind of up in the air."

Sarah looked confused. "Returning just the transponder?" She questioned.

"Yeah, we recently shipwrecked not far from here, about ten lightyears," June answered.

"Oh, my! That must have been harrowing!" Sarah exclaimed.

"Yes, it was. It was simultaneously the worst thing I've been through and the best." Will said, glancing at all of his couch mates. Sarah noticed his gaze and thought to herself to ask about it later.

"Smells like dinner is almost ready. I'll go check on it." Sarah said, giving Jeremy a peck on the cheek.

"Smells great!" Will said, catching the delicious aroma wafting in the living room. "What's on the menu?"

"Nothing fancy, lasagna and a green salad," Sarah said in a slightly self-deprecating tone.

"We've been eating emergency rations for weeks now, a home-cooked meal sounds fantastic," June said, earnestly.

"Well, it's done. Who wants to help me set the table?" Everyone got up and headed to the kitchen to help. In a flurry of movement and helping hands the table was set in no time, even little Tara helped by putting the spoons on the table, although at odd angles to the rest of the silverware.

Jeremy carried the tray of lasagna and Sarah brought the salad and wine, now chilled. Everyone took a seat, and then Sarah dished out portions to everyone, while Jeremy poured the wine. Tara got a cup of milk and smiled like a cherub.

With everyone seated, Jeremy raised his glass of wine, "To good friends, old and new. Salute!" They all echoed his toast and sipped their wine. They chatted while they ate, mostly about the mundane comings and goings of the station, how busy and understaffed the maintenance shop was, and the like. Jeremy and Sarah exchanged glances as Interface sipped her water, but didn't eat anything, but enjoyed the conversation nonetheless. As everyone finished up, little Tara's head nodded as she sat in her booster chair, face covered in pasta sauce, sleepy from a hard day of play.

"It's time for bed, honey," Sarah said, picking Tara up from her seat.

"Not seepy," Tara mumbled into Sarah's shoulder, smearing sauce on her blouse.

"I know," Sarah said, and with a contented maternal look on her face, carried the little one off to get washed up and into bed. June and Interface watched the two leave, smiling warmly.

While Tara was being put to bed, the dishes were cleared from the table, washed, and put away, leaving only the half-full bottle of wine and glasses on the table. They had just finished cleaning up when Sarah returned.

"Out like a light," Sarah said, with a soft smile, then took her seat next to Jeremy.

"She is a sweetheart," Interface said to Sarah and Jeremy.

"Yeah, we're pretty lucky," Jeremy said. June caught an unspoken exchange between Sarah and Jeremy as they briefly looked at each other. For a brief moment, Sarah's expression was of longing and want. Jeremy responded with a sympathetic look to his wife. The brief exchange ended, and then they turned to their guests.

"Now we share stories over wine." Jeremy declared, with a smile.

"Okay then, you start." Will said, then after taking a sip of wine, "How did you two meet?"

"I was working as a waitress at this little greasy spoon at the Peirault dockyards on Candorian Five." Sarah took hold of one of Jeremy's hands, her small hand practically disappearing in his big paws. "One morning, Jeremy comes in with a bunch of his shipmates apparently after a heavy night's drinking, judging by their bleary expressions. They all ordered breakfast, but Jeremy couldn't stop staring at me." Sarah smiled, remembering. "For the next two weeks, he sat at the same table every shift I was working, eating his meals alone, stealing glances my way when he thought I wasn't looking." Jeremy smiled.

"She told me one morning, that if I continued to eat at that greasy spoon, morning, noon, and night, I would die of a coronary, and that if I wanted, she would cook me a proper meal. I immediately agreed, and we had dinner in her small one-room apartment that night." Jeremy reminisced.

"We didn't eat much dinner if I remember correctly," Sarah said with a wide smile, "and for the next few weeks, while his ship was in dry docks, we were inseparable. Then his ship was ready and he shipped out for two months."

Jeremy continued the story, "It was the longest two months of my life. I couldn't get her out of my mind. When I returned, she was waiting for me at the docks. I knew then I had to make her mine, so I stormed down the gangplank, marched up to her, and asked her to marry me."

"It all happened so fast," Sarah said, "but I knew that we were meant for each other. He found a post working as a junior maintenance engineer at the dockyard and moved into my little apartment. One of his shipmates, Bill, found his future wife, Tina, there too, and got a job working at the docks with Jeremy. The four of us became fast friends and spent a lot of time together."

June noticed another odd exchange of glances between Jeremy and Sarah at the mention of their friends but didn't say anything about it.

"So how did you and Will first meet?" Interface asked Jeremy with a smile, deeply curious as to their strong connection.

Jeremy took a sip of his wine. "We were first-year cadets in the Academy together. We ended up assigned to many of the same classes; he has always been sharp as a tack, so we studied and worked together and became fast friends. On weekends, we would sneak off, and get into trouble in one bar or another, which usually ended up with us getting chased out, running and laughing drunkenly back to the Academy dorms." He smiled, took another sip of his wine, then continued.

"There was one time when this drunk couple was yelling at each other, fighting loudly at a bar we frequented. Mister 'White Knight' over here," Jeremy jerked his thumb in Will's direction, "decided he was going to protect her honor and tried to stand up to this guy and break it up. The thing was, at the time, Will weighed a buck-twenty and this guy had four inches and a hundred pounds on him. But that didn't faze him in the least." Jeremy laughed as Will covered his eyes with one hand in embarrassment.

Jeremy continued. "The hilarious thing was that the monster of a man knew it would be a completely one-sided fight, so he didn't even acknowledge Will. But the woman, oh the woman was livid and started to beat the crap out of Will, punching and kicking like a wild thing. When she grabbed an empty bottle intending to smash it over his head, I rushed in, and hustled Will out of that bar, with the crazy woman chasing after us wielding that bottle for three blocks."

June and Interface smiled lovingly at Will, knowing that he was still that white knight at heart.

"I saved his hide on more nights like that than I can count," Jeremy said, then his tone grew serious, and deep emotion entered his voice. "But I'll never be able to repay him for the time he saved mine." Sarah gripped Jeremy's elbow tight, supporting him as he continued his story.

"We were on a short training voyage on one of the older vessels in the Academy's fleet. The purpose was for all the students to get first-hand experience in the roles we would be expected to fill once we left the Academy. Both Will and I were assigned posts in engineering along with, and I'll never forget his name, Joe Franklin." Jeremy was visibly bothered by the mention of the name, Sarah squeezed herself closer to Jeremy.

"Franklin was a bit of a bumbler, a kind kid, but he had no talent for engineering. His father was an admiral somewhere, so when Joe washed out of the naval officer's training, he pulled some strings and got him fast-tracked into the engineering program. So the three of us were in engineering as the ship was performing maneuvers when I noticed the readings on a power coupler were way out of spec. I announced the issue, and Franklin shouted that 'he had it' and ran over to disengage it and reroute the power. But instead of disengaging it, he managed to shunt all the power through it."

Jeremy paused, took a sip of wine, and a deep breath. "As soon as he did, the thing exploded in his face, vaporizing him. That started a chain reaction and soon the entire engineering compartment was on fire and the suppression system was completely unable to keep up. I managed to sound the general alert before I collapsed. The rest of the crew ran for the lifeboats, abandoning the ship as they were trained. A bit of heavy paneling fell and broke my left leg, pinning me there. I lay on the floor of that burning engine room knowing that this was going to be my end. Then this reckless asshole comes jumping through the flames, managed to slide the panel off me, and hoisted me up. He half carried, half dragged me to the nearest one-man pod, and climbed in, dragging me with him. He punched the release button and as we jettisoned away, the ship's power core exploded."

Jeremy had tears streaming from his eyes and everyone else around the dining room table cheeks were wet in sympathy.

"I woke up in the hospital a few days later, with burns all over my body and a leg in a cast, but I was alive. Will was in the bed next to mine, burnt up too. I knew I owed him my life."

The look Jeremy gave Will over the table was difficult to describe. It was at once gratitude, admiration, and platonic love all rolled together. June watched the two and couldn't help but be moved.

"We were close as brothers from then on out, and I did my best to look after Will. After the Academy, we went our separate ways, but I never forgot what I owed him."

Sarah passed him a tissue, as well as anyone else who needed it. They had polished off one bottle of wine, so she fetched another and refilled everyone's glass, then lifted her glass. "To Will, with whom, I would never have met my wonderful husband, and had the chance to meet his friends." They all lifted their glasses and took a sip. June watched Will's expression. His face shone with filial love for Jeremy, like a brother he never had.

Downing that glass of wine and gesturing to Sarah for a refill, Jeremy said, "Enough talk about my past, what about you all?"

"Right," Sarah interjected. "So how did you all get together? I didn't want to presume earlier, but you seem pretty close. That and those beautiful matching tattoos. I assume you're some sort of polycule?" Sarah asked, astutely.

"Yeah, that's as good a description as any," Interface said. She then looked deeply into Jeremy's eyes, then Sarah's, giving them both the feeling of being evaluated. Her gaze relaxed, and she seemed satisfied. "When Will and June crashed on that uncharted planet, they found something they didn't expect, me." She said, waiting a moment to gauge their reaction, then she continued.

"We fell in love, and through a couple of mishaps saved each other's lives, resulting in the three of us Bonded together. Ben came around a short while later and succumbed to my seduction and we Bonded as well."

"Bonded, like married?" Sarah asked, in both curiosity, but also concern for a yet unasked question.

June chimed in. "Yeah, very much like being married, but also not quite. We are committed to each other, and in every sense of the word, are 'married', I guess, but our Bonding is more than that. It connects us physically, emotionally, and psychically as well. In most senses we are individuals, but we are also extensions of Interface."

"That's an unusual name, Interface," Jeremy said. "Sounds mechanical. I've noticed you've only drank water this evening. I didn't want to bring it up, I thought we had blundered and you had a gluten sensitivity or something."

Interface's laughter was musical. "To answer your last question first, I am not 'gluten sensitive', I just don't need to eat. Drinking is mostly a way for me to blend in and participate. The answer to your first question, answers the rest. My name is Interface because I am the interface to our ship, the Nestia, and her crew." She gestured at Will, June, and Ben. "Through me, they are bonded to the ship, and the ship to them. It sounds forced using those terms, but it is a bond of love, an eternal pledge, like marriage."

Jeremy and Sarah bought some time to process this revelation with a couple of sips of wine. Then Sarah asked, "Working with Station Administration, I deal with lots of different species, but I don't think I've ever heard of something like this before. There are lots of species that do things that human culture wouldn't deem normal, but this is a new one for me."

"That's the question we're seeking answers for, where did my race go?" Interface said, a hint of sadness in her tone. "You see, I was trapped on that planet a long time before Will, June and Ben showed up. A very long time, more than several hundred thousand years. I don't know exactly because I was asleep for most of it. They showed up and gave me a new lease on life. Now we're going to try to find out what happened to my people. They were everywhere in the galaxy, and we had colonies on most habitable planets, but now there seems to be no trace." Interface's expression saddened, and June squeezed her shoulders to comfort her.