On her way back to her cabin, Mari noticed that the deck was nearly empty that night. Usually full of life, music, and laughter, it felt cold. Everyone was in their cabins or bunks below deck, likely making plans for tomorrow''s launch.
It was always an exciting but dangerous time, even when it didn''t work. But everyone aboard knew the rules of traveling dimensions and respected them. It was the other people who belong to where they travel to that could be unpredictable.
Reaching the warmth of her cabin, Mari undressed and crawled back under the layers of thick blankets.
The conversation with Andrew affected her in a way she hadn’t expected. She knew it would be a recurring conversation with him, but this time, it shook her in a way it hadn’t before. Her own son would be turning 16 this year.
Mari grabbed the fourth notebook and flipped to the last page she wrote on: "Think happy thoughts." It was fiction and possibly too ridiculous to work, but it was all she had, and she needed to try something. This somehow felt right.
Mari picked up her copy of Peter Pan. She had lost count of how many times she’d read this book, but she remembered that it saved her life already once before.
When Mari was four, the same age her son Bennie was when he was taken from her, she was taken from her own parents. Back then, traveling through dimensions wasn’t widely accepted, and it was even less understood than it is now. She remembered how worried her parents were that day and how strange they were acting, but she couldn’t remember the moment she was taken. She remembers only that one moment they were about to launch, and the next, she was waking up in a room of 12 other beds filled with other children who would never see their parents again either.
Three very violent bangs on Mari’s door rattle her awake. It was 7 AM, and after tossing and turning all night, she had just fallen asleep around 5:30. It was the sort of sleep so deep that only three very violent bangs on your door could wake you. That’s Michael.
Sweating and unable to see straight, Mari rolled herself out of bed and stumbled to the desk on the other side of the room. She threw on her maroon knit sweater, her favorite, and smoothed her hair back. She slapped her cheeks a few times to wake up, or at least appear awake, and opened the door.
“Good morning, Michael. I expected you much earlier,” Mari says
“Liar. You just woke up; I can smell it on you.”
Michael knew her better than anyone, but she wouldn’t admit that to him. Pursing her lips together, she invited him in with a gesture of her hand, grabbing a glass of water from the desk as he walked past her and snuck a gulp to swish.
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“Did Andrew come to see you last night?” Michael asks
Mari opens the window to spit the swished water out and wipes her chin on her sleeve before he can see.
“Andrew comes to see me every night.”
“Sure, of course. But did you speak to him this time or just let him rock your socks off?”
Mari cringed at the thought.
“Don’t be an idiot; we walked on the deck. Why are you asking, Michael?” Urging him to get to the point.
“Last night, someone tried gaining access to the navigation system, and some of the crew say it was Andrew.”
“I seriously doubt that.”
“Why?” he asked, more accusing than curious.
“Because, Michael, he wants to get home just like the rest of us. He wouldn’t do anything to jeopardize that. I know him.”
“He’s a good guy, I know that, but the good members of my crew say they saw him. And there’s one more thing- the scope is missing.”
This detail bothered Mari. A launch could be done without it, but once you get to wherever you’re going, you will want that Omniscope with you.
An Omniscope can help you see 6 times farther than any modern scope and shows you things you couldn''t see otherwise.
“Way to bury the lede,” Mari sighed. “Ok, keep an eye out for him, but today is moving forward as planned, with or without the scope, so don’t let it distract you. We have a lot to do to make sure this ship makes it through in one piece.”
?While the rest As the crew readied the ship, Mari went to her private bathing quarters toward the stern. She undressed and tossed a bucket of cold water over her head. Ignoring the feeling that someone’s watching because it’s just a feeling she’s gotten used to these last 12 years. She lathered with soap and dumped a second, and then third bucket to rinse away soap, and hopefully any lingering feelings of doubt.
She won’t be able to wash the salt completely off her skin or out of her hair, but the cold sea water will wake her up at least- then a cup of coffee to warm her bones.
Wherever they end up on this launch, should it work, she hopes there’s a room she can rent with a bathtub deep enough to submerge up to her neck.
After dressing Mari took her usual spot in the rocking chair just outside her cabin door. She held her cup of coffee close enough to breathe it in and closed her eyes for her first sip.
Ouch! Fuck that’s hot! She thought to herself, spitting the boiling coffee onto the deck between her legs.
“We’re ready to go,” Michael called to her. “Should we head to the East End for supplies now or do you need to see the Healer about that burn,” he chuckled.
She could tell when Michael was nervous because his favorite way to cope was to harass her. She knew exactly how to fix this annoyance but she swore the last time they slept together would be the last and she always kept her word. Even if she regretted it.
“Go on without me,” she said. “I have some things to do around here.”
“Aye, aye, Captain.” Micheal quipped, before turning and leaving her behind.
They would be gone for a few hours, but Mari still didn’t want to waste any time. She was going to see Maggie, and considering she’s this territory''s Seer she could have a lot to say about this launch. And most of all she didn’t want to risk Michael catching her there. She would never hear the end of it.