His hands stopped moving. A long moment of silence followed. “We're a lot better off than we were when we first landed. I don't think I could have done any better.”
“So you're pleased with how it turned out?” She pressed.
“It was the best decision for everyone, so yes, I'm glad you got us here.” His hands went back to work.
It was the small victory she was looking for, even though she would never admit she was seeking validation, even from him. A more difficult question remained, and instead of sitting on it, letting it fester, she just asked; “How do you know Patrizia?”
His hands didn’t stop kneading, a good sign, or a sign that he knew the question was coming and already had his escape plan ready. “We did a few jobs for her three years ago. Maybe four.”
“She guessed I was the one who gave you the white scarf you used to wear.” It was a daring move, offering more detail in hopes of getting extra information without directly asking. “Seems like she had been wondering who gave that to you for a while.”
“I remember her asking. I couldn’t tell her because I didn’t know who gave it to me at the time. To be honest, I assumed it was from a wife I couldn’t remember. Instead of making something up, I just ignored the question.”
“Oh,” Ayan said quietly, too distracted to enjoy the shoulder rub Jake was giving her.
The silence grew thick, and Jacob’s hands stopped. “Did something happen while you were dealing with her?”
“No, well, it’s only Stephanie seemed so opposed to dealing with her.”
“That’s because the last time we dealt with Patrizia she told us we were liberating a political prisoner from the low security wing of a prison, when it turned out we were rescuing her girlfriend from a prison term she earned. She still has a warrant out for her in that system.”
“Girlfriend?” Ayan boggled.
“I couldn’t make it up if I tried. They put her away for code breaking and we managed to get her out, then she tells us the whole story about why she was there and that Patrizia was pretty much her sugar momma.”
Ayan burst out laughing, more from relief than at the story itself.
Jake’s hands went back to her shoulders and continued their work, laughing along with her. “Guess it is pretty funny now. Still, we’ll have to double check every bit of information we get from her.”
“And everything. She gave me a very expensive ring as a keepsake. I scanned it, there’s nothing inside, and it registers as about seventy years old. Not something you buy in a backstreet bazaar.” She said, holding up the gold and platinum lion’s head ring. “Think she fancies me?”
“If she does, she’ll have a fight on her hands,” Jake replied with a playful growl.
With a few gestures on her comm unit she selected a different shape for her vacsuit that left her shoulders bare and lowered the neckline significantly. He stopped a moment as he clothing complied with her order then continued, his bare hands on her bare skin. They felt harder than she expected, but they were warm, strong.
The thought that her outfit modification could be seen as some kind of a reward flicked through her mind and made her blush furiously. It didn't seem to occur to him, or if it did he didn't seem to mind. He was a deft shoulder and neck masseuse, and she couldn't help but put her head down and relax. “How is everyone settling in?” She asked quietly.
“We had to evacuate the Samson. About a third are leaving, setting out for Port Rush City proper. The rest are settling into the other ships. Things seemed to calm down once they saw the food and cots. Stephanie and Alaka are keeping things pretty orderly.”
“A third, that's a lot of people moving on.”
“I expected it. We'll probably see half gone by morning, especially if there's an uplink to the Core World Banks available in Port Rush.”
“From what I saw today, there must be. The transit centre we passed through was busy, the busiest I've ever seen. How are their spirits?”
“The ones who are moving on? A lot of the people from Enreega took a moment to thank Stephanie and I on their way out, even Alaka, who wasn't there. Except for Edward. He had to make a grand stand about informing whoever he could find about where we are so they could take us in for the bounty. Listening to him you'd think he was kidnapped and forced into hard labour.”
Ayan found the astrophysicist half frustrating and half amusing. Most of the people she'd met in his field were patient, reasonable and high thinking problem solvers. He was anything but, and even though she never wanted to deal with him herself, watching the drama at a distance was sometimes entertaining when she could get past the frustration he inspired in most onlookers, herself included. “Well, he won't be missed. It won't be long before everyone knows you're here though, with or without him flapping about it.”
“You're right. I'm glad we chose to land here. At the very least, I have Patrizia’s respect and she’ll help protect us if we can stay on her good side.”
“Oh boy. Well, I never did experiment in College,” Ayan commented with an exaggerated show of piqued interest. “This might be my opportunity.”
“I’m not sharing,” Jake said in a low, serious tone that sent a shiver up her spine.
She closed her eyes and simply enjoyed the massage for a few moments. His hands moved down her back, kneading as they travelled. A thought occurred to her then; “There won't be much point in hiding here any longer by tomorrow morning. You'll be moving about the moon making deals and forming ties without my help.”
“Disappointing?”
“Hmm?”
“Are you disappointed?”
“No, I was right out of my comfort zone today. Seeing the cities was amazing, but I couldn't enjoy it. Had too many things to do, and most of our problems don't have easy solutions.”
“Well, I hate to tell you, but you’re still going to be in the hot seat when you wake up tomorrow. I have to go into hiding. Multi-million credit bounties have reach, especially in ports like this. I don’t know how long I’ll have to hide either, so you’re going to be the representative of the crew for as long as we’re here, maybe longer. Even when the Triton gets back. We're going to need a home port, especially while we try to perform repairs.”
She let that sink in for a moment. Home port. “Here?”
“If we can get set up. We saw worse places even before the Eden virus broke out. Looks like they're over that here, on to rebuilding.”
There it was again, the years she knew little to nothing about. Those years in command of the Samson that helped shape Jake into the person he was as much as the memories he inherited from Jonas. She’d spent an entire night talking about those times with him and felt there was still so much she didn’t know. “I’m going to need your help, often. You have so much more experience out here, sometimes it feels like I’m a hapless tourist.”
“Your instincts are good. Don’t worry, you can make sure there’s always someone around. I won’t be able to be on comms with you all the time though, or be seen staying on the same ship. I’m going to have to blend in with some of the crew so people can’t pick me out, Stephanie and most of the Samson crew will be doing the same.”
“You know what would help, I think?”
“What’s that?”
“Tell me more about your time on the Samson. What was it like?”
His hands stopped half way on their way back to her shoulders. “That's a big question,” he replied quietly.
Ayan wouldn't let him escape it. She pulled her arms around her tightly and slid backwards, resting against his chest. “That's why I'm asking,” she whispered.
He stretched his legs out and got comfortable around her. The arms she'd drawn around her waist weren't just resting in place any longer, they were holding her. “Nothing stayed the same for long,” he whispered. “The ship always needed work, there was never enough time, or there was too much time. You know the routine of ‘hurry up and wait.’ We’d always be really busy in port then left with days in hyperspace. Crew came and went all the time. The longer the trip, the more the crew would get at each other, so I had to keep finding small jobs and bounties between the bigger ones so they'd have something to do other than stare at each other and get into each other's business.”