Chapter 23: Kyle

Kyle stalks through the corridors, murmured depreciations of his father's moral character spouting quietly from his mouth as spots and enters his old man's office. The Austere decor and lack of ornamentation offends Kyle's aesthetic tastes and he turns his back on the room. Aiming for the comm unit he pipes in Elise's quarters.

"Hello?" Her sweetly lilting voice pipes throughout the office.

"Hi Elise, It's Kyle. I'm sorry I had to back out of my time with you three today. But no one ignores a call to go see the Captain. Especially not us lowly passengers."

"Oh not to worry Kyle. I understand." Her voice cuts off suddenly as he hears a high pitched squeak as if from a distance.

"Kyle! Kyle! Kyle!" Kyle laughs as he recognises Jeremiah's childish voice. He can almost see Elise's eye's rolling in his mind.

"Hello tyke." He responds. "Are you behaving for Elise?"

"Yeaaaaaah. Are you gonna come play wif me more?" He asks innocently, neatly avoiding Kyle's question.

"I can't kid, I've got to work now. But if you behave I'll ask Elise if she'll let me come play with you another day. You'll have to be good though Jeremiah." He grins as Elise speaks.

"He can't see you silly boy. You have to answer him, not just bob your head excitedly." The note of laughing exasperation in her voice makes Kyle's grin wider.

"I'll be good! Pwomise!" He hears Jeremiah yell.

"Okay scamp, go play while the grownups talk please." Elise responds.

"Kaaaaaaay."

"So, we're grownups now are we?" Kyle asks, his face starting to hurt as he continues grinning.

"Well in comparison to that scamp we sure are!" She responds, trying for haughty, but coming out as a little disappointed.

"Still wanna be a little kid huh? Yeah, me too. Those were some sweet ass fun times."

"No, I think it's more like I'd not mind going back to the sweet, unknowing, innocent me of a couple weeks ago. I miss them so much Kyle."

"Me too. Well, maybe not my father so much. He was a serious pain in my backside among other things, but I still loved the old codger. Damn we're getting maudlin girl."

A slight tinkling laughing sounds out of the speaker. "You're right, we are. So, what did our vaunted Captain want with you? And did I hear you say work?"

"Ah yes, about that. With my father gone, the only other person available with any kind of in depth knowledge of his work is.."

"You?"

"Smart girl." He grins in response. "So yeah, fraid I'm gonna be holed up reading boring ass documents for the near future. I'll try and schedule some off time when I can. but, for now I'm afraid little Jeremiah is going to have to do without his human monkey swing."

"I'm sure he'll survive. I'll just have to distract him... Somehow." She laughs. A wailing cry starts up and she sighs. "Lilla's awake, I've got to go. Chat soon."

The comm system dies just as his door chimes. "Enter." He says as he works his way towards the desk chair. "Oh hey Melissa. oh crap, should I be calling you Lieutenant or something?"

Laughing as she enters, Melissa shakes her head. "God no, please don't. I don't think I could handle having someone I used to babysit calling me Lieutenant. Melissa's fine Kyle."

"Alright then, sit, let's find out what the fucks going on." Waving to the carafe  in her hands he grins. "Glad someone in here has their head on straight!"

Melissa grins and grabs a couple mugs. "I figured you'd forget to bring something, we're gonna be here hours you realize?" She passes him a mug of hot coffee and sits. A slight groan escaping her. "God, that feels good. I've been up and down checking every system known to man and God and I can't figure where the glitch is coming from. Everything's working perfect."

"What exactly is going wrong then? How's the system malfunctioning?" Sipping the coffee, he leans back. "What would father do if he were here?"

She laughs. "Tell me to do exactly what I've been doing!" Shrugging, she reaches down and sets a heavy bag on the desk. "Every note and file on the comm system I have."

Groaning, Kyle reaches for the bag, dumping the files on the desk. "This is going to take days!"

"Welcome to my world!"

Chapter 22: Martinez

The enticing aroma of caffeine drifts through the ready room as his door chimes. Taking a sip, he calls out. "Enter."

Whooshing open, the door show's Bill standing, looking unsure. "You uh, wanted to see me Captain?" He asks uncertainly.

"Come in and help yourself to a cup of coffee Bill."

Taking a seat Bill shakes his head. "If it's alright with you Captain I'll decline. I've already had way too much coffee today."

"Of course." Setting his cup aside he looks Bill over. "Have you slept at all in the last day?"

Shaking his head, tired, red rimmed eyes looking the Captain straight on. "No Sir. I couldn't. I kept thinking I'd wake up and be told that Nigel was..." Clearing his throat he quietens and looks down at his clasped hands.

"I understand Bill. How is he doing?"

"So far, so good Sir. The Doc's keeping him in a medicated coma to help his body heal. And I've been told his body's not showing any signs of infection right now. So that's good."

"Once you leave here Bill, you're to go get some sleep. You'll head straight for your bed and sleep yourself out. That's an order Mister." He accepts Bill's silent nod and continues. "Now, as to why you're here, I'm really sorry to have to do this to you right now Bill. But I need you. While Nigel is out of action I need someone to take over a task for me. Originally we were going to leave the second ship behind, but new information leads me to believe we can outfit it with enough passengers to make it worthwhile taking it with us. Nigel was in the middle of transferring the consumables to this ship. I need you to take charge and return everything back. My XO is going to run the ship and I'll be organising a full crew within the next few days. Task whoever you need to ensure It's fully stocked for the journey."

"Of course Sir. Nigel's going to shit a kitten when he wakes up. He hates me messing with his supplies." He grimaces wryly. "But I'll get the job done." He yawns, his hand swiftly rising in a vain attempt to cover his mouth. "Ooh Sorry about that Sir."

 "Not a problem Bill. Go get some rest. And I mean rest! You can go see Nigel once you've had a solid 7 hours sleep. And THEN you can get on with your work. understood?"

Standing, Bill's hand starts to automatically rise in a salute before he remembers himself. "Yes Sir!"

Laughing, Martinez rises and holds out his hand. "Nigel's having a bad effect on you Bill. Try to remember you're a civvy contractor. Only your husband HAS to salute me."

Grinning in an awe shucks manner, Bill shakes his hand. "Sure thing Boss." Another yawn cracks his jaw and he grimaces.

"Now, off to bed with you. I'll let the Doc know where you are."

"Good night Sir."

"Good night Bill."

Chapter 21: Kyle

Wednesday, July 27th. 2050.

The call had come unexpectedly and Kyle pondered the reasons as he knocked on the Captain's door.

"Enter."

The door slides open and Kyle wipes suddenly sweaty palms across his slacks. "You wanted to see me Sir?" He asks.

"Yes, come sit down Kyle." The Captain motions to a chair and Kyle perches on the edge. "Oh, for God's sake kid, I'm not going to bite you. Sit down properly." He chuckles, as Kyle gingerly settles further into the chair.

Hands steepled, the Captain continues to stare at Kyle until he can feel himself starting to squirm. The silence seeming never ending as his eyes dart around the room, anywhere so long as he wasn't looking at the silent Captain.

The sudden sound of the Captain's voice startles Kyle and his head whips back around to once again look at him. "You'd sit there and let me stare at you for hours without saying the first word wouldn't you?" He asks, shaking his head. "You need a stronger spine boy."

Kyle blinks in confusion. "Excuse me Sir, I'm a little confused right now."

Laughing the Captain relaxes back into his chair. "All right Kyle, I'll come to the point. I need you to take over your fathers work."

"Sir?" The confused look on Kyle's face deepens. "I don't understand."

"I understand he'd started training you to take over for him in emergencies correct?"

"Yes Sir, but I'd not completed the training. Not for what I'd need in order to keep the equipment maintained and functioning perfectly for such a long journey."

"I understand kid." He stops, visibly pausing and changing his mind. "No, you're not a kid anymore are you?" He asks, almost rhetorically. "More to the point, you're training was, by my understanding quite comprehensive."

"Well, yes Sir. But, so was the training he made his subordinates do. I'm quite sure Lieutenant Cooper knows as much, or more than I do." Kyle shrugs nonchalantly.

"Nonsense. He once told me he'd been training you since he created the communications and holographic array. He called you his 'Oh Shit Insurance'." The Captain grins, catching Kyle's gaze.

The keen look stabbed in his direction made Kyle squirm. He didn't like the way the Captain was looking at him, the look in his eyes promised things Kyle wasn't sure he wanted. Memories of the times he'd spent with his father working on the array flashes across his mind. His first memory had been of that damned machine, with his father's legs struck out at odd angles, disembodied curses coming from the guts of the machinery.

"I'm not sure I understand what you mean by his Oh Shit Insurance Sir. I know about as much as, or less than his students in Houston. I know he taught a comprehensive class to several hundred communication students that were going to be on various different ships." A thought enters his mind, capturing his attention as he trails off. Only days ago he'd noticed the unusual activity, and felt that their time on earth was growing shorter. Making a snap decision Kyle squares his shoulders. "You know my Father sent all his documentation to Houston as well. They have a comprehensive breakdown of exactly how the array works. I'm sure they'd be happy to send us a trained replacement, along with a copy of the necessary array documents."

His keen eyes see the slight slumping in the Captain's shoulders and his heart starts unaccountably beating harder. "Sir?"

"I wish that was the case Kyle. I wouldn't put something like this on such young shoulders if I had any other choice." He sighs. "But you ARE capable, even if you don't realize it yourself. The array is malfunctioning bad enough we can't get a hold of any of your father's students still shipboard." Captain Martinez leans forward, hands outstretched on the desk. "Kyle, you may not realize it, but your father made sure you understood the workings of his invention almost as well as he did. For just such a moment as now." Another pause now as the Captain looks hard at Kyle. It looks as though the Captain is almost begging him to read the unspoken words in his eyes.

"I can't order you to do anything Kyle, you are, after all, only a passenger and not one of my men. But..."

"I really don't understand why you're pushing so hard Sir. Just contact Houston. That's a dedicated line and shouldn't have been effected by any array issues."

The Captain unconsciously lets out a short bark of laughter. "Good God boy, you're as stubborn as your father! I can see I'm not getting anywhere unless I fill you in completely." He turns, gathering up a stack of papers and places them in front of Kyle. "I need you to read these, then sign them. Once that's done I can tell you everything."

A quick scan of the documents showed them to be a non-disclosure form for some top secret documentation. Flicking through the pages Kyle realizes it will take days to review them and makes a snap decision, signing his name on the bottom of every page.

Taking back the now signed pages, the Captain grimaces. "I'm pretty sure you didn't read all this." He say's shaking the pages in his hand. "That quickly. So I'm going to assume you realize the kind of penalties you'll acquire if you speak of any of this with anyone."

"I do Sir. Father explained a lot of service stuff to me over the years. He wanted me to join him in service once I grew up. Guess I disappointed the old man, because he never quit. I think he's about laughing his ass off right now." Kyle grumbles, slightly sinking in his chair.

"Yes, I guess he would at that." Filing the paperwork takes but a moment, and Captain Martinez once again turns back to Kyle. "Now young man. You want to know why you're knowledge is so invaluable to me?" Kyle nods, attention focused like a laser on the Captains face. "You are the only person in contact with this ship with  an almost complete knowledge of your father's work. Houston is gone, destroyed. There will be no help from that quarter. No more experienced people coming to help." The Captain's hands gesture in the air as he speaks, but Kyle's attention refuses to wander from his face. Each nuance and grimace bringing more to his attention.

"No one?" he asks. "I take it they got hit with a meteor storm as well. How bad was the destruction?"

"Houston is a crater lad. And with the array malfunctioning I can't get hold of more than a handful of the other ships, none of which have an array experienced crewmember on board."

"Wow, shit." Kyle sits back heavily, the reality of his new situation weighing him down. "We're leaving aren't we." He says.

"Yes Kyle, we are. And we need that array working at full power. Melissa's doing what she can, but without your father's in depth knowledge she's only able to do so much. I need you to work with her closely on this, in a consultant capacity so to speak. Teach her, I'm sure that'll be a novel experience for you both." He grins.

Kyle blushes and mumbles something incoherent.

"Oh that's right, didn't she used to babysit you while your father was working? I bet she changed more than a few of your stinky baby diapers." Kyle groans as the Captain chuckles.

"I hate you right now!" Kyle grumbles, his blush deepening to a dark red. "Okay Captain, I guess you have yourself a consultant. I'd like access to my father's office please. He has secure files on his computer that I know the passwords to." A thoughtful look passes across his face, as he forgets his embarrassment. "I  always wondered why he made sure I knew his passwords. Guess I know now. But Captain, I'm really not sure how much of it I remember." He shrugs. "I'll do my best though. Maybe I'll remember enough that'll help Melissa find the issue and fix it."

"Oh I'm sure you will Kyle. You may not realize it, but your father and I spoke about you and your training quite a bit. I wasn't happy with him choosing a child to train as his replacement, but he was adamant. I did insist he make sure the other comms personnel could manage without him. but I'm quite sure the sly old dog left out a few key things in his training."

"Just say it Captain. My father could be a bit of a controlling bastard." Kyle spits out. "One way or another he was determined I'd take over from him. Down to, and even including his own damn death. He was selfish to the damned end." A shudder passes through him as he remembers the fight to get back to the ship. "If he'd bothered to listen to me, my entire family wouldn't be dead now." A lone tear trickles down his face and he angrily swipes it away.

Captain Martinez rises and crosses to Kyle's side of the desk. Crouching down to eye level, he places a hand on Kyle's arm. "I'm so sorry lad."

"It's okay Captain, what's done is done. I'll never forgive him for it, but I won't let the rest of us suffer if I can do anything about it. You can count on me Captain."

Smiling gently, the Captain tightens his grip on Kyle's arm. "I know you will lad. I'm just sorry I have to heap so much responsibility on you. Just know that my door is always open for you if you need it. All the old crew watched you grow up at the same time as this ship, we aren't just your fellow ship mates. Many of the crew, myself included think of you as part of the family." He says softly.

Smiling slightly, Kyle nods. "I feel the same way Captain. I do have one question though."

"Anything lad."

"How long do we have till we leave? And when do you need the array functioning at peak efficiency. I can't promise anything till we figure out what the issue is, but at least a time frame will allow us to prioritize."

Standing, the Captain turns and starts pacing the small ready room, Hands clasped behind his back. "I won't lie to you Kyle, the sooner the better. I need to co-ordinate a mass migration of every ship able to reach the Mars orbit. Personally, we need to be space born within the week to get the ISS crew on board, as for the rest they need to be able to lift within the next two weeks."

"Damn, that's not a lot of time Sir."

"I know, just do your best Kyle."

"Yes Sir. Guess I enlisted after all. I'd better get together with Melissa and see what needs doing." He rises and starts for the door. Pausing suddenly, he turns back to the Captain's pacing form. "Uh, that is, If you don't mind Sir."

Laughing the Captain nods. "Go ahead Kyle. Melissa will be waiting for you, and Kyle." He stops pacing and turns to face Kyle.

"Good luck."