ALEX

“You know, the laws of linguistics are only gonna get you so far,” Jack said. He tossed an emptied can of black coffee into the bin at the edge of their shared desk. It was cold in their research lab – if it could even be called that – like everything else on the ship. Evidently, heat was too much of an inconvenience to pump through the air ducts. “Just wait, you gotta feel it. You gotta immerse yourself, like a good cup of joe.”

“Language is immersion,” Alex muttered. She shot a quick breath of warm air into her chilly palms. "Speaking of coffee, will you stop running through those? They're not infinite."

“I miss Earth,” Jack shrugged. "And coffee tastes a lot like dirt. If they made the cans bigger we wouldn't have a problem."

Alex rolled her eyes. “Then change the window."

Jack sighed and scrolled through his tablet before selecting a new scene for their lab. The fake window at the back wall,  a moment ago displaying Jupiter’s moon Europa, lagged out to black before it reloaded with a scene of a Yellowstone geyser.

“Ah, yes. Now you’ll forget you’re in space,” Alex chuckled.

Jack dropped his chin down on his desk, closed his eyes, and sighed.

Alex straightened her back as she put her focus back on the book in her hands. She didn't want to give Jack more attention than he needed. For weeks she’d been trying to strike a balance between a friend from graduate school and boss, but in the end, he simply needed to get his work done. She just wished she didn’t have to nag him to do it. That said, there wasn't exactly a lot of work to be done aside from reading. They were heart-racingly close to Bhuam now, and to laze around drinking up all the coffee on the ship was a waste of time. In her mind, there were two days left to prepare. The only worthwhile priorities were sustenance, sleep, and secondary research. Granted, Jack included coffee for his sustenance.

Alex’s eyes strained. She had devoured every book, document, and piece of footage about Bhuam’s people, but the book she was currently pushing through – Problems in Intergalactic Linguistics – was brutal. She had read the same paragraph twice now. It was technically her third time through, but the writing was so dense and technical that every bite of information felt brand new. If she registered it at all.

She made a mental note to write a better textbook when she returned to Toronto.

“You know what I miss?” Jack leaned back in his swivel chair and stared up at the low ceiling with a dizzy smile. He pushed off his slippers and planted his feet on his desk with a thud. He had been wearing pajamas for a week. “Little Mikey.”

“Yeah, you’ve mentioned,” Alex gave up on the paragraph and turned the page.

“Such a good boy.”

“The best.”

“He could do tricks, you know.”

“Mhm.” Alex squinted at notes she had scribbled in the margins months ago. She couldn’t decipher them either. They were probably written at 3am with the aide of sleep deprived anxiety. "You never could seem to get him to perform in front of a crowd, though."

"He gets nervous at parties," Jack shrugged. “Honestly, I should’ve applied for a permit. What could a sugar glider do on a space ship that would be so dangerous?”

This story has been stolen from Royal Road. If you read it on Amazon, please report it

Alex slammed the textbook closed. “Are you going to do your job, or whine about a rodent all day?”

“Why not both?”

The door to their lab opened behind them. Alex spun around in her chair. It was Captain White.

“Sir,” as Alex stood she fumbled with the book in her hands. It landed on the floor with a depressing plop. Jack stood at attention behind her.

Captain White hadn't spoken to them even once on the journey to Bhuam. They were introduced at the reception dinner the night before departure, but Alex doubted he remembered either of them. The ship was loaded with personnel, from military to engineers, so what were two amateur field anthropologists? Behind him in the hall, she could see two men in perfectly-pressed Peacekeeper uniforms.

“Evening,” White said. “I’ve come to inform you of a schedule change.” His voice was low, curt, and authoritative. He observed Jack’s pajamas with a brief look of annoyance.

“Change?” Jack asked.

“We will be entering orbit around Kepler-62e -”

“Bhuam,” Alex corrected. She promptly bit her tongue. Instinct.

“- earlier than expected,” White continued. “By about twenty-one hours.”

“That’s great!” Jack clapped his hands.

“Unfortunately, due to limitations on the ground, your research has been put on hold.”

Alex’s face fell. “On hold? What do you mean?”

“Non-essential personnel are to remain aboard the UNIA Gaia.”

“For how long?”

“Indefinitely.”

Alex turned to look at Jack. He tugged at the collar of his shirt, looking just as confused as she felt.

“Sir, I’m not sure I understand,” Alex said. She tried to sound polite, official. In control. Like a professional. “We are part of a crucial research initiative by the Interstellar Authority, Sir. The United Nations expects monthly reports and, on top of that -"

“The situation has changed, Dr. Kimura,” White turned away and headed for the door. "This is not a conversation. I came to notify you personally as a courtesy."

Alex’s lip curled. She still wasn’t used to be referred to as Dr. Kimura. That was, in her mind, her father's name. "I respect that, but our work here will determine the future of relations with the Timeni peopl -”

Captain White held up a hand and silenced her. His tired eyes were cold. “I’ll alert Commander Sinclair to your concerns, Dr.”

“Wait,” Alex followed him to the hall. Captain White was joined at his sides by the two men in uniform. Neither of them looked at Alex or Jack. They only stared straight ahead.

“What about Camp Apollo?”

White raised a brow. “What about it?”

“Sir, if we were able to wait within base and begin our research on the ground, we could provide the council with the updates they expect. We wouldn’t interfere, and prevent a delay that could look bad on all of us.”

He eyed her for a moment as a flare of offense whipped through his gaze. “I’ll alert Commander Sinclair of your concerns. In the meantime, you’re welcome to conduct your research from here, Dr. Kimura," he said. "Bhuam will be visible from the main deck within the hour. It has quite a view.”

As the door closed, Alex spun around and faced Jack. He looked pale and shocked, in a little boyish sort of way, in his snack-stained pajamas.

“Pack your equipment,” she said. “We’re going.”