ALL NOVEL 54. After All is Said and Done
I never did end up taking the nap I’d wanted to. The sonic shower absolutely got used, but I was too distracted by the grumblings of my stomach to get any sleep. So instead, I hoofed it to the mess hall. More than a dozen others were in the area as well, taking in their post-shift victuals. They were all pleasant enough and my hunger was sated by a plate full of potato dumplings provided by the ship’s cook. Mingling with the crew still felt a bit awkward since we all knew I wasn’t going to be staying long, but not a single member of the crew made me feel at all unwelcome.
It was interesting to talk to them in a lot of ways, because many of them had had similar experiences to my own during the hiring process. That wasn’t to say that any of them had gone through near-death experiences to get onto the Ratatosk, but most everyone I talked to had come from less fortunate backgrounds and had been awed by the seemingly backwards attitude of the Ericksons. Most were referred for the job by friends that were already employees, but several others had encountered them much like I had, almost purely by circumstance.
I’d already known that I was happy to stay with the company, but to see that so many others were so positive about their experiences gave me a sense of reassurance that what the Ericksons had done for me wasn’t wholly unexpected. I’d gotten a more personal treatment than many, but the kindness and respect I had received were nothing unexpected according to the crew members. The Ericksons just honestly gave a damn about them, more than I could have ever said about working for Torgal. I supposed that the difference in size of the two companies had a lot to do with it, but even still, there were sparingly few truly decent people I’d met in management back on D’reth. Nobody within Erickson Enterprises had ever shown themselves to be anything other than good people.
After spending far more time than I’d intended in the mess hall, I finished off my dumplings and dropped my plate in the collection bin. I shot a quick message to Echo to figure out where she was, but received a response stating that she was spending time with her father and grandfather. Not about to begrudge my girlfriend quality time with her family, I wandered around the ship, content to explore the vessel, until I ran into a familiar face in the rec room.
Casey had become, in the relatively short time I’d known them, an almost friend to me. The relationship was much like I imagined a sibling-in-law bond would look like, with plenty of well-natured ribbing but also a certain degree of protective familiarity that transcended simple definition. The enby was, much like the rest of the crew, a touch protective of their captain’s heiress. Unlike most of them though, Casey kept a pretty close relationship with the woman I now called my girlfriend and was also of similar age (a bit older than myself as I later found out).
Since meeting them, I’d hung out, flown with, and studied under the still young starship pilot. Every interaction had revealed to me new depths to the person and while I had exactly zero attraction to them, I respected Casey in a way that I couldn’t say about the other crew. They were a friend, and a valuable source of levity that never failed to elicit some sort of emotion from me or anyone else they worked with. No matter the situation, the ever-mischievous Casey could find a way to make even the sternest of people laugh.
“Well, look who it is, the new blood steps into my parlour unaccompanied?”
At first I wasn’t even sure they were talking to me, but I was the only other occupant of the room at the moment and when I didn’t immediately respond, Casey used a finger to lift their headset just enough to give me a bombastic side-eye. I wasn’t quite sure how, but my fellow pilot had noticed my approach even through the entirely opaque virtual reality rig.
“Echo was busy with family stuff,” I responded a bit weakly. “I’m just killing time.” As nice as it was to suddenly have friends, I was still as awkward as ever when it came to more casual interactions.
“Oh good!” they said back. “You can help me try out this new combat simulation I picked up. The devs used actual ship designs from the expansion wars! There should be a spare headset in the cabinet.” A slim finger pointed at the large cabinet against the wall next to them where various items intended for the crew’s entertainment were stored.
Other than the VR equipment, there were several old board games, puzzles and a fairly nice set of real clay poker chips Morik claimed he’d bought from a collector of Italian Mafia memorabilia. Not being familiar with that aspect of Terran history, I couldn’t really understand the appeal, but there was definitely something to be said about the almost heady feeling of confidently tossing the heavy discs into the pot.
Without anything better to do, I shrugged and agreed to join Casey in daring maneuvers around the digital galaxies. After slipping the headset on and connecting them to my augments I soon found myself being dropped into a surprisingly familiar cockpit. It took a few moments for it to hit me, but I’d actually been in an almost identical vessel just a few months back. For whatever reason, the starting ship given to players during the game’s calibration and tutorial was a Galacorp type three light starfighter, a variant of which was what I had discovered in the abandoned asteroid base back in the Telemachus system. Obviously the one in the game was in pristine condition rather than the derelict state I’d found the real one in, but it was still a funny coincidence that I had to explain to my companion.
Casey and I spent the next few hours playing through some procedurally generated cooperative missions. Even with my previous knowledge of the craft we were flying, I couldn’t really say I had any advantage over my wingmate. Whether darting through asteroid fields or performing daring ground attack runs, the enby and I matched each other step for step. It was a lot of fun, even if I didn’t have any desire to actually engage in this kind of fighting.
After tiring of virtual reality, the two of us shared a drink while lounging around. By this time, we were no longer alone in the recreation lounge and several of the first shift crew had filtered in. Many simply sat in the lounge chairs or on couches, conversing and sharing drinks much like I and Casey. A couple others had taken our spots with the VR sets while the rest were putting together a poker game at the larger round table in the corner. Though I’d not done as much of it lately, people-watching was a long time hobby of mine, especially during my years on McNair station. People-watching was just about the only thing I was allowed to do outside of my school work.
As with all good things, though, my relaxation didn’t last for very long. Vox’s voice called out in my head that I was being hailed through the interstellar comms array. Excusing myself from the lounge, I retreated back to my shared quarters before taking it.
“This is Adresta, may I help you?”
I’d not met him many times, but it only took me a moment to place the face that appeared on the screen when I answered. His suit as immaculate as ever, Beverly Yates gave me a pleased smile before responding.
“Miss Matson, good day to you. Do you have a moment to speak?” I answered in the affirmative and the older man continued. “Good, I just wanted to inform you that a tentative agreement is on the table for your settlement payment from the estate of one Harvey Kruger. Some of the details still need to be confirmed, but I believe that it is a fair offer.”
My eyes widened. I’d rather purposefully avoided thinking about the possibilities of this settlement, unwilling to get my hopes up for getting much out of my former boss. After some of the fines and penalties that the courts had levied against him and whatever amount the Ericksons were extracting, I doubted there would be much left of Kruger’s assets.
“How much?” I finally asked after wetting my lips.
Mister Yates politely nodded, though the look on his face told me that I might not like the answer. “Yes,” he said. “I thought you might ask that. I’m afraid I can’t give an exact number at this moment, but you should not have to wait long for it. If things go according to your plan, I will be meeting you at your destination with a finalized document to sign. Rest assured though, Miss Matson, I fulfilled my oath to the best of my ability. It may not be enough to set you up for life, but I find it unlikely that you will be disappointed.”
Yates was the man Marcus had picked for the job and I had yet to find any reason to doubt the captain, so I found myself nodding back to the solicitor. “Can’t say I like being left in the dark, but if Captain Erickson trusts you, I will too. Give me another call when you get to Centaurus, we can figure out where to meet up from there. Maybe the captain will let us use one of the company meeting rooms.
“Centaurus?” Mister Yates’s tone shifted subtly, but he smiled all the same, in a disarming sort of way. “Yes, of course. Have no fears, I will have everything prepared before our meeting. There should only be a few signatures needed.”
Bewildered by the oddness in his response, I paused and looked at the man closely. “That simple? No unexpected hurdles?”
His smile broadened. “As simple as that, Ma’am. We will meet, you will sign the documents, and you will receive the amount awarded by the courts as soon as everything clears through the legal system. It is my legal responsibility as your representative to ensure the best possible outcome for you. I assure you that I have performed these duties to the very best of my ability.”
Something still registered as odd on sensors, but not a single person the Ericksons had put me in front of had steered me wrong yet. And besides, I would have my chance to read over the documents myself within the week. If there was anything untoward going on, I still had time to figure it out.
“If you say so, Mister Yates.” My gut told me that I could trust the man, but the slight hesitation in his voice had sparked some doubts in my mind that I would have to bring up with Marcus and possibly Jay as well. Not that I didn’t trust the Erickson CEO, but my former captain could likely provide some unbiased insight.
The legal expert wasn’t waiting around for me to finish parsing those thoughts. With a few polite words, he ended the call, leaving me alone in the room once more. Except… I wasn’t alone, I realized.
“Hey, Vox, you hear all of that?” The Assistive Intelligence was quick to reply as ever.
“Would you like me to have heard it?” I knew very well that the digital being had the ability to do so, but her asking permission like this was a kindness that I appreciated.
“Yeah. Is it just me or was there something weird about all of that?”
My friend actually took a brief moment, seemingly to process through the interaction and develop a response. “Keep in mind that interpersonal analysis is not a feature of my base programming, please,” Vox prefaced. She did that a lot, I’d noted; a quirk of the nature of her existence, I supposed.
“However, it is my conclusion that while Beverly Yates did not disclose all information he is in possession of, all information pertaining to you and the legal case that is being managed on your behalf by the Sisko and Yates Law Firm was communicated as was appropriate. Any additional information is therefore likely to be either extraneous or related to the larger legal case involving Erickson Enterprises.”
It was an analytical look, for sure. “You don’t think this guy is out to screw me over, do you?”
Vox’s responding tone was warmer this time. “I do not, Miss Adresta. After looking through reviews made by clients for this law firm, I was unable to find any that were negative for legitimate reasons.”
I shrugged. “Alright, then. Well, I’ll have you take a look at the paperwork when the time comes, if that’s okay? I don’t want to miss something that could bite me in the ass.”
“As always, Adresta,” Vox said. “I am at your service.