pretty, with a heart-shaped face and eyebrows that met in the middle. Will knew her immediately even though it was the first time they’d ever met. It was Rachel. She looked just as Doug had remembered her. Lovely Rachel, who sang in her bunk and had the loudest laugh on the ship. She was smiling at him, though her eyes held something of a nervous appeal.
Will already knew about Rachel’s work on starships and admired it. He’d been looking forward to talking to her. Now he couldn’t think of a single thing to say.
‘Uh, hello,’ he managed. ‘Ma’am,’ he added quickly, as Rachel outranked him by several grades. He stood and found himself towering over her. She couldn’t have been taller than five foot. She was ‘born to fly’, as they said in the Fleet, though she managed to make the Fleet-family body style look curvaceous rather than stocky. Will flattened down his hair and gave her an awkward Fleet salute. He did his best to stand straight and be smaller at the same time.
Then he caught sight of the man standing behind her. It was Captain Baron. The captain was about the same height as Rachel but looked as broad as he did tall, with a skull shaped like a bullet and a hugely muscled torso too big for his green one-piece uniform.
For a moment, Will was thrilled. Then he noticed how the captain was eyeing him with a dark, unhappy expression. Will shifted uneasily. In most of the inherited memories Will had of the captain, he’d been smiling. Will’s spirits faltered. He’d managed to make himself look like a handler freak already, in his very first meeting with his new commanding officer. He cursed himself. He shouldn’t have arrived so early, and he ought to have resisted the urge to play Doug’s last sequence one more time.
He’d spent all his spare time since the reassignment going through Doug’s memories. It was never easy to feel strong emotions through memory logs, but Will had played the battle sequence nine times. More than any other clip, he thought it gave him an insight into what his new shipmates must be feeling. Anything that might help him know them had to be worth trying, he reasoned, even if it meant experiencing the death of his predecessor. But it was starting to look like he’d taken that theory too far.
‘Are you okay?’ Rachel asked.
‘Uh, yes,’ said Will. ‘Yes, I’m fine.’
He winced. Rachel was looking at him like a stranger, which of course he was to her. Yet Will could remember working with her for years, or parts of those years, at any rate. He’d listened to her rant about her father, the admiral. He’d watched her cry. He’d lost to her at poker dozens of times, and won occasionally by sneaking a look at her cards through the cabin cameras behind her.
But he knew from hard experience that if he started treating her like the old friend he felt she was, it would only distress her. That was part of the burden of being a roboteer. He had to pretend not to know too much, at least for a while, anyway.
‘I was just accessing a log,’ he babbled. ‘That’s why I might have looked a little strange.’
She smiled wryly. ‘I guessed. I’m Rachel Allesandro-Bock, engineering officer.’ She held out a broad, well-muscled hand for him to shake. He shook it as firmly as he dared.
‘Of course,’ he said.
‘And may I introduce Captain Baron-Lecke?’
Will turned his gaze back to the captain. Baron looked him up and down, and then pushed his face into an unconvincing expression of warmth.
‘Hi, Will,’ he said. ‘Please, call me Ira.’ He took Will’s hand and folded his gigantic digits around it in an embrace of almost pointed delicacy.
‘It’s a pleasure to meet you, sir,’ said Will. ‘An honour. I’ve read all your reports. Well, not actually read them as such. Just memorised them. But I’m sure you could have guessed that.’ He realised he was running off at the mouth and stopped abruptly. He tried for a winning smile.
‘That’s good,’
Will already knew about Rachel’s work on starships and admired it. He’d been looking forward to talking to her. Now he couldn’t think of a single thing to say.
‘Uh, hello,’ he managed. ‘Ma’am,’ he added quickly, as Rachel outranked him by several grades. He stood and found himself towering over her. She couldn’t have been taller than five foot. She was ‘born to fly’, as they said in the Fleet, though she managed to make the Fleet-family body style look curvaceous rather than stocky. Will flattened down his hair and gave her an awkward Fleet salute. He did his best to stand straight and be smaller at the same time.
Then he caught sight of the man standing behind her. It was Captain Baron. The captain was about the same height as Rachel but looked as broad as he did tall, with a skull shaped like a bullet and a hugely muscled torso too big for his green one-piece uniform.
For a moment, Will was thrilled. Then he noticed how the captain was eyeing him with a dark, unhappy expression. Will shifted uneasily. In most of the inherited memories Will had of the captain, he’d been smiling. Will’s spirits faltered. He’d managed to make himself look like a handler freak already, in his very first meeting with his new commanding officer. He cursed himself. He shouldn’t have arrived so early, and he ought to have resisted the urge to play Doug’s last sequence one more time.
He’d spent all his spare time since the reassignment going through Doug’s memories. It was never easy to feel strong emotions through memory logs, but Will had played the battle sequence nine times. More than any other clip, he thought it gave him an insight into what his new shipmates must be feeling. Anything that might help him know them had to be worth trying, he reasoned, even if it meant experiencing the death of his predecessor. But it was starting to look like he’d taken that theory too far.
‘Are you okay?’ Rachel asked.
‘Uh, yes,’ said Will. ‘Yes, I’m fine.’
He winced. Rachel was looking at him like a stranger, which of course he was to her. Yet Will could remember working with her for years, or parts of those years, at any rate. He’d listened to her rant about her father, the admiral. He’d watched her cry. He’d lost to her at poker dozens of times, and won occasionally by sneaking a look at her cards through the cabin cameras behind her.
But he knew from hard experience that if he started treating her like the old friend he felt she was, it would only distress her. That was part of the burden of being a roboteer. He had to pretend not to know too much, at least for a while, anyway.
‘I was just accessing a log,’ he babbled. ‘That’s why I might have looked a little strange.’
She smiled wryly. ‘I guessed. I’m Rachel Allesandro-Bock, engineering officer.’ She held out a broad, well-muscled hand for him to shake. He shook it as firmly as he dared.
‘Of course,’ he said.
‘And may I introduce Captain Baron-Lecke?’
Will turned his gaze back to the captain. Baron looked him up and down, and then pushed his face into an unconvincing expression of warmth.
‘Hi, Will,’ he said. ‘Please, call me Ira.’ He took Will’s hand and folded his gigantic digits around it in an embrace of almost pointed delicacy.
‘It’s a pleasure to meet you, sir,’ said Will. ‘An honour. I’ve read all your reports. Well, not actually read them as such. Just memorised them. But I’m sure you could have guessed that.’ He realised he was running off at the mouth and stopped abruptly. He tried for a winning smile.
‘That’s good,’
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