Brightly Burning(74)
“Stella Ainsley and her tiny hands are back!”
I groaned, and Sergei quirked a brow. “You know him?” He pointed to Jatinder, who was making his way over with an obnoxious grin on his face.
“Unfortunately,” I said. “Bye, Sergei.” I gave him a real hug, then waved him off before turning to face Jatinder. “They sent you to collect me?”
“I volunteered. Kind of. It was either me or Karlson, and from the level of excitement he displayed at your being back, I thought I should step up before he could.”
Good old Jatinder, I thought, fighting a smile. Being back wouldn’t be all bad. “So, you didn’t replace me, then?”
“Oh, we did.” Jatinder continued his chivalrous streak, hauling up my trunk. “But there’s sickness going around, and you’re already qualified, so the captain gave us clearance to bring you back on the team.”
My stomach turned. The virus was already here, and the Stalwart was hedging its bets. We turned right outside the transport bay, so I guessed he was taking me to my quarters first.
“Listen, Jatinder, about that—” I started, clutching the vaccine bag tight. But we were interrupted before I could explain any further.
“Stella!”
My reaction was visceral, the sound of George’s voice eroding my world-weary armor in a flash second—?my heart pounded, my body went warm, and hastily I handed off the vaccine bag to Jatinder so George could crush me in a hug. He was enthusiastic, lifting me straight off the ground. I was flooded with happiness, but of a different character than before. Any romantic feelings I’d had for George were gone, leaving only pure, platonic love. I grasped him tighter.
“I can’t believe you’re back,” he said, then set me down and gave me a proper once-over, starting and ending back up at my hair. “What happened?”
“I cut it,” I said, purposely a bit obtuse. While my hair certainly garnered notice, George was most likely inquiring as to the reason for my return. He would have to wait for it. “Did Jon tell you about the message thing? I didn’t want you to think I just stopped writing.”
He swept me into another hug. “I was worried. But now you’re here!”
Jatinder took me down to Ward Z, orange lights flickering intermittently as ever before, but he turned right where I expected left. We weren’t heading to my old quarters. “They gave your room to the newbie. Sorry about that.” Jatinder stopped in front of a door labeled Z053. He waved a code card in front of the lock, opening the door to reveal my new home. “It’s still a single, but it’s basically a closet,” Jatinder said, handing me the card. “Welcome back!”
I stepped inside, commanding “Lights on” out of reflex, but nothing happened. Right; I wasn’t on the Rochester anymore. Jatinder scoffed, turning on the light manually.
Indeed, it was a closet, only wide enough for a bed and one foot of maneuvering space, the bed lofted above a set of drawers, and there was no window. I sighed, surveying my space as Jatinder rolled my trunk up next to the dresser; if I moved an inch, I’d bump into him.
“See you later, kid.”
He left before I could think to ask him the time, which, without Rori in my ear, I was hard-pressed to find unless I went up to the main decks. I settled into my new space, folding most of my dresses into the bottom dresser drawer, where they’d surely collect dust. I balanced the triptych on top so that I might see it every morning and night as I crawled in and out of bed, Hugo and Jessa reminding me of all I left behind. And I placed the bag of vaccines next to it, to remember why I left.
Chapter Twenty-Five
To: Ocampo, Karmina (Lady Liberty) From: Clarke, Joy (Stalwart)
Subject: URGENT news tip
Dear Ms. Ocampo,
Despite the moniker of this account, I am not Joy Clarke. I am a resident of the Stalwart, but I am unable to communicate with you via my own account because it is being monitored by the government. They don’t want me to disclose what I am about to tell you.
There is a new virus that has been manufactured and released into the fleet. Several people on board my ship are already sick. Like the Kebbler virus seven years ago, this one has been purposely released by our government in order to cull the population and conserve resources.
In short: our government is murdering us. In particular, poor and less “useful” ships will be the target. The rich will receive vaccinations to ensure they are spared.
Please get this story out so people can protect themselves. An immediate quarantine is needed, especially on the poorest ships, in order to save lives. People should stop traveling and accepting shipments immediately.
Thank you,
Hermione Granger
To: Clarke, Joy (Stalwart)
From: Ocampo, Karmina (Lady Liberty) Subject: URGENT news tip
Dear Ms. “Granger,”
Love the name, from one of my favorite classics. I’ll give you the benefit of the doubt and assume this isn’t a prank, though I’ll admit that was my first thought. Nonetheless, I am a journalist, not a stenographer, and thus am unable to print your tale without being able to corroborate these “facts” myself.
I’m going to need more information: a name, somewhere I can look. A cursory search of fleet medical reports shows no such outbreak at present. Crying Kebbler is very serious business. I’ll give you one more chance to give me something I can go off. After that, I’m blocking you.