Five
913 Words
Five
Ryann eased herself from her chair, joining Brice on the wall.
She could tell he was scared. He wouldn’t admit that, even to himself, but the signs were there—dilated pupils, the flickering movements of his face, the way his fingers twitched when he talked. And, of course, there was his anger. She felt it rolling off him, but it was undirected. He was searching for a reason, for something to be angry at. And that was unhealthy.
Cathal sussed.
She met Brice’s eyes and tilted her head to the open door. He nodded and climbed smoothly. Of course he did. Physicality was his speciality. If she could keep him moving, he’d stay calm.
In the cabin, she reached up to seal the door, but Brice put his own hand in the way, cupping the sensor without triggering it.
“Can we leave the door open?” he said. “I think it was stopping communication before. Interference or something.”
“Of course.” She pulled her own hand back. The door might muffle sound, but it was not a barrier to communication. Brice looked away, and Ryann sensed there was more he wanted to say.
She wouldn’t push him. She’d give him time to collect his thoughts. She’d give him a nudge later.
“Let’s get started,” she said, moving to the storage units. “Overnight kit.”
He raised his eyebrows at that.
“Just a precaution. But seal everything tight.”
“Watertight.”
“Exactly. You ready for this?” Keeping things vague let his mind go where it needed.
“Course. Just like training, right?”
Brice opened a unit and pulled out a pack without looking. Exactly like training, Ryann thought. Brice emptied the contents, checking. She imagined that, like her, he ran through a list in his mind—micro-rope, emergency aid kit, sleepsac, water bottle, and so on.
It was honest work, and it diverted his mind. Now might be a good time to delve into the things that were troubling her.
“You mentioned interference?” She pulled out a second pack, mirroring Brice’s actions.
He shrugged. “I sussed about the breach, but got no response. I could hear you—all of you—but it was like you couldn’t hear me.”
He was tightening straps on the pack, from bottom to top. Ryann did the same, without consciously glancing at either her pack or his.
“Can you hear them now?” she asked.
Brice nodded.
“Anything interesting?” She needed to know he wasn’t bluffing.
He shrugged. “Wouldn’t call it interesting. Keelin and Tris are talking through the procedure for flooding the Proteus, and Cathal is interrupting.”
Interrupting. That was an interesting choice of word. Listening in herself, Ryann knew he was guiding them, using questions to force them to consider other factors. Interrupting suggested interference, not assistance.
She’d have to monitor Brice’s attitude towards Cathal.
she sussed, sending wide. “You catch that?” she asked Brice.
“Loud and clear.” He put one pack aside and moved on to the next. Ryann did the same.
Then she thought of his pause earlier, and focused on Cathal alone.
Cathal kept his response tight.
“Hear anything else?” she asked Brice, keeping her voice nonchalant.
His brow furrowed, and his throat bobbed. “Just Keelin going on about pressure. Think that’s what it is.” He shrugged. “Never was good at that stuff. But she doesn’t sound bothered, so that’s a good sign, right?”
Ryann smiled. “Must be.”
And he’d given too much away. The levity in his voice was forced. He’d hesitated a fraction too long, and she’d noticed his body twitch. And that meant…
She wasn’t sure what it meant. She needed more data.
“Ask Cathal something, Brice. Anything at all.”
He shrugged again, still tugging at webbing on the pack, feigning apathy. His brow furrowed. He glanced at her, and when she didn’t respond—when she forced her expression to remain passive—he looked away, moving on to the last pack. Ryann grabbed the other four, placing them by the open door.
“Suspected as much,” she said, quietly, as if talking to herself. When he turned, she paused, with one eyebrow raised, as if to say ‘what?’ He didn’t speak, and before his slightly confused expression dissolved into resentment—as it surely must if he believed her to be holding out on him—she spoke, louder. “Tell me, what were you doing when the lightning struck?”
His hands stopped moving over the pack, and his eyes looked up. He pulled his lower lip between his teeth, biting gently. Ryann wondered if he was conscious that he always did that when he was deep in thought.
“I was riding the hull.”
And that meant his lattice was joined to the external of the Proteus when the lightning struck.
“That makes sense,” she said, giving him something to hold on to. “A big enough charge could disrupt a lattice, although there’s normally protection.”
“You saying the lightning fried my lattice?”
That was putting it crudely, but it would suffice. She nodded. “It’ll need checking out, of course. I could run a quick diagnostic?” She extended her hand. Brice looked at it, hesitating. That was understandable. If she were in his position, she’d be uncomfortable about what might be uncovered, too.
And then water splashed onto her hand, the droplet exploding in a green glow. She looked up, to the hatchway, and to the dark patch around the seal. Another drop of water peeled off and fell.
Cathal’s voice cut through her thoughts, pushing aside the background chatter from Keelin and Tris.
She looked down at the five bundles. she sussed.
- Writer
