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“You need me for what, exactly?” Tinaya asked.
“It’s not yet time,” Avelino answered. “You have to stay on your current
path. You have to live in the humiliation. Breathe it, bathe in it.”
“That doesn’t sound like my idea of fun,” she told him.
“It won’t be,” he admitted, “but I promise you, it will be worth it. And it
will all make sense. Can you do that? Can you trust me?”
“I will trust you,” she replied. “Whether I’m right to will not be decided
today.”
Tinaya has been living in the profound humiliation of not getting into even
a single college program for the last several months. Her plan to let
Lataran live with her while she studies at college is precisely what they’ve
ended up doing, except the other way around. It is Lataran who is the
student, and Tinaya the freeloader. The Bridgers have a plan for her, this
much is clear, but Avelino does not make contact often, and she has no way
of reaching out to them. Nor is she meant to try. This is her life. She has
to live it. Things will reportedly change in the future. She doesn’t know
when, but Avelino all but said that it will result in Tinaya ultimately
becoming captain of the Extremus, which was always the plan. It’s hard to
see how that could possibly be true at this point, but apparently all she
has to do is wait...at least for now.
As for the lifestyle, it’s hard to argue with it on principle. This time
without any responsibilities has given her the freedom to think about what
she wants, and what she values. Education, contribution, leadership. These
have been instilled in her since before she can remember. But they’re not
inherent. Not everyone has to care about such things, and not everyone who
does has to care about them to such a high degree. It’s altered her
perspective on the other passengers, particularly the other freeloaders.
Perhaps that’s all that the Bridgers are trying to do. Has every prior
captain’s weakness been a lack of patience and understanding with enough of
the people here? She has been taught that they were all great, but they were
not without their scandals and problems. Halan broke a major law, Olindse
was only interim, and then she disappeared one day. There are rumors that
her Aunt, Kaiora had issues that caused the crew to lose trust in her by the
time her tenure ended, but all of those files are classified, so it’s
unclear what happened there. Then you have someone like Soto Tamm who
couldn’t garner the respect that the other three had—without even trying—to
save his life.
Tinaya is trying to look at her new circumstances positively. The first two
months were the worst. She was holed up in Lataran’s cabin nearly that whole
time, leaving only once in the middle of it. That was the worst day of her
life so far. It was the cacophony of responses that she received from the
passersby that made it unbearable. Some pitied her, others were embarrassed
to be breathing the same air. Some were annoyed at how depressing she was,
wandering the halls, unkempt as she was, and a few were quite vocally angry
with her. She only lasted an hour before she couldn’t take it anymore. It
was five more weeks before she tried again, and by then, another big news
item was spreading through the ship. Some engineering apprentice that she
hadn’t heard of made some huge mistake with the reframe engine, and delayed
the journey by just over one week. The Extremus was never dead in the water,
but they started the trip going 99.9999% the speed of light, and they don’t
like changing that plan. That’s why they arrested Admiral Yenant, and why he
died in hock.
Things are okay now when it comes to Tinaya’s relationship with the other
young adults her age. They’ve gotten used to her situation, and no longer
make her feel like shit every time she walks into the room. Still, it’s
never going to be like it was. She went from hero to zero in a matter of
seconds on that stage at graduation, and the only way she’ll live it down is
if Avelino holds up his end of the bargain, and redeems her in some
fantastic fashion. Today’s not great, though. Probably the biggest impact
Vice Admiral Olindse Belo had on this ship was her introduction of holiday
observances that prior generations of Extremusians and their ancestors never
celebrated. She researched Earthan traditions, and taught the crew and
passengers how they worked, and what they were for. There were tons of them.
The first few years were pretty chaotic with how many events they held,
trying to pack them all in without anyone fully understanding what they
truly meant. Over time, factions and families have chosen their favorites.
Now, just about every holiday is still observed by someone, but none by
everyone. Unfortunately, the Leithes have decided to adopt something called
Labor Day.
Back when this began, honoring the working class people of the ship for one
day seemed like a no-brainer. Now it’s the most uncomfortable one they could
have picked, because of Tinaya’s whole situation. She has never had very
close relationships with her family, and her failure has, of course, only
made things worse. Her parents can barely look her in the eye, which is
generally okay, because she doesn’t have to see them very often. This
started when she was a child, and was done by design. This expectation that
she would one day lead the crew was evidently something that they fought
against before she was born. They’ve since gone so far in the opposite
direction that accepting that maybe it actually won’t happen has just pissed
them off. Now they don’t know how to be her mom and dad. They thought they
were doing right by her by being cold and distant. Does that even matter
anymore? By law, she’s an adult now anyway, so they haven’t bothered trying.
Except for today. They are Labor Day people. That’s what they’ve chosen to
focus their traditions on, just like the Arbor Day people spend their
special day in the arboretums, and the Cinco de Mayo Day people do whatever
it is they do. It’s dinner time, and she has to be there.
“We can skip it,” Lataran offers as they’re walking slowly. She hails from a
family of Picnic Day observers, which originates from some place called
Australia. Tinaya can’t recall whether that’s a country or a continent. They
had their day of relaxation and games a month ago. Tinaya attended it with
them, and found herself easily forgetting about all of her problems. It’s
not going to be so easy today, but they can’t skip it.
“What’s going to be my excuse?” Tinaya posed. “That I’m busy with my
studies?”
“You are studying.”
“Yeah, and you’re my teacher. They know it’s not real.”
“It’s real.”
“I know. I mean, they think they know it’s not...real.” Tinaya sighs. “I
have to go. But you don’t. You’ve not been charged with the crime of being a
waste of carbon scrubbers.” That’s a common phrase on the ship.
“It’ll be fine. I’ve decided to tell them my theory.”
“No, you can’t, Lata. They don’t know what I told you about the Bridgers. I
don’t believe I was supposed to tell you. Avelino didn’t specifically say
not to, but it’s kind of implied that we’re doin’ somethin’ secret here.”
“I won’t tell them everything; just about you and me.” Lataran was really
struggling with her grades in the last year of tertiary school. They did
some math together and realized that there was basically no way that she
should have been allowed to stay on the captain’s track for college. The
hypothesis is that she was given Tinaya’s slot, possibly even as part of the
Bridger’s grand plan. But that’s just between the two of them. Again, no one
else can know about that.
“You can’t separate the two secrets. You’re in college because I’m not
allowed to be there? There’s no reason why that would be a thing unless
there was some conspiracy behind it. Plus, we don’t even know that it’s
true. The University has its academic requirements, but you would not be the
first student they made an exception for. History on both Earth and Ansutah
is littered with stories like yours. Maybe they just know how smart you are,
and that you just needed a second chance. Maybe it had nothing to do with
me. Don’t try to tell my parents anything. I’m gonna suffer through it. I
would love for you to be by my side, but our friendship does not depend upon
it.”
“Okay. But I’m gonna defend you.”
“Hopefully you won’t have to. We’ll talk about innocuous things, like the
weather, and the next professional sports competition.”
“Extremus has neither of those things.”
“Maybe I should change that.”
“Hm. You wanna make a sports team just so you don’t have to talk to your
family about the important stuff?”
“I was thinking about finding a way to use science to create bad weather,
but your idea sounds easier. Anyway, we’re here, so...we ought to go in.”
“Only if you want to. There’s time to back out.”
“I’m sure they can see us on the camera. And hear us.” Tinaya waves. “Hi,
mom.” She then waves again, but this time closer to it, so the sensor can
see. There’s a little chip in her hand that gives her access to this cabin
without knocking and being let in. She’s done it a million times, not just
with this door, but many others. The door has always split down the center,
and pulled away to either side. That’s how interior Extremus doors operate.
This time, it goes up into a pocket in the ceiling. On the other side of it
is not her family’s cabin, but a long dimly lit hallway.
“Are we in the wrong place?” Lataran questions.
“Impossible. That’s where the Mastersons live. They have their Rush Hosannah
decorations up, or whatever it’s called.” Not many people observe holidays
like it. Some of the ones they tried to borrow from Earth seemed a little
more like cultural appropriation than others. Even so, there are those
families who don’t seem to mind.
“I think I know what’s on the other side of this threshold,” Lataran points
out.
“Yeah, it’s probably the Bridger section. You should go back to the cabin.”
“No,” she says with a shake of her head. “The system knows that I’m here.
This door wouldn’t open if they weren’t inviting me too. It’s not your
call.”
“I’m not trying to make a call,” Tinaya insists. “I’m trying to protect
you.”
Lataran steps into the magical hallway, and turns around to face her friend.
“I don’t need your protection. I’m going to be on the executive crew of the
Extremus one day.” She turns around again, and begins to walk towards the
only other door they see.
Tinaya follows, but quickly passes to make sure she’s in front. There’s
probably not a bear on the other side of it, but she still feels more
comfortable being the first one through. On a lark, she waves her hand at
the sensor, and the door opens for them.
Avelino is standing there in the darkness. “Welcome...to Year 217.”
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