Nemesis Games

“No,” Alex said. “He hit the brothels hard enough to burn through his petty cash the first few days in port. Since then, we’ve just been passing the time.”

“We’ll need to find something to keep him busy while we’re on Tycho,” Holden said. “Hell, we’ll need to find something to keep all of us busy.”

“We could look for work on the station,” Naomi said. “I don’t know what they’re hiring for.”

“We’ve got offers from a half-dozen places for paid debriefings on New Terra,” Holden said.

“So does every other person that came back through the Ring,” Naomi said, laughter in her voice. “And the feed there and back still works.”

“You’re saying we shouldn’t do it?” Holden said, his tone vaguely hurt.

“I’m saying I can find a lot of things I’d rather get paid for than talking about myself.”

Holden deflated, just a little. “Fair point. But we’re stuck here for a long time. We’re going to have to do something.”

Alex took a deep breath. Here it was. The moment. His resolve wavered. He poured the cream into the cup, the blackness of the coffee resolving into a gentle tan. The lump in his throat felt as big as an egg.

“So,” he said. “I’ve… ah… I’ve been thinking about things —”

The suite door opened and Amos stepped in. “Hey, Cap’n. I’m gonna need some time off.”

Naomi tilted her head, her brows coming together, but it was Holden who spoke.

“Time off?”

“Yeah, I got to go back to Earth for a little bit.”

Naomi sat at the stool by the breakfast bar. “What’s the matter?”

“Don’t know,” Amos said. “Maybe nothing, but I kinda need to go look to find out. Be sure. You know.”

“Is anything wrong?” Holden asked. “Because if it’s a thing, we can wait for the Roci to be fixed up, and we can all go together. I’ve been looking for an excuse to get Naomi back down to Earth so the family can meet her.”

The annoyance that crossed the engineer’s face was almost faster than Alex’s refresh rate. Moments like that made him nervous. The way Holden could push Naomi past her comfort zone and not even know he was doing it. But she recovered even before Amos could speak.

“May have to keep looking for your excuse, Cap. There’s a little time pressure on my thing. Lady I used to spend time with died. I just need to go make sure everything there’s on the up-and-up.”

“Oh, I’m so sorry,” Naomi said at the same moment Holden said, “Taking care of her estate?”

“Sure, something like that,” Amos said. “Anyway, I booked transport to Ceres and then down the well, but I need to cash out some of my shares for spending money while I’m there.”

The room went still for a moment. “You’re coming back, though,” Naomi said.

“Plan to,” Amos said. It struck Alex that the answer was more honest than a yes. Amos planned to, but things happened. In all the time they’d spent in all their runs on the Cant or the Roci, Alex had never heard Amos talk about his life back on Earth except in the most general terms. He wondered if it was because the past wasn’t worth mentioning or was too painful to talk about. With Amos, it could have been both at the same time.

“Of course,” Holden said. “Just tell me how much you need.”

The negotiation was brief, the transfer made on their hand terminals. Amos grinned and slapped Alex on the shoulder.

“All right. You got the place to yourself.”

“When are you shipping out?” Alex asked.

“’Bout an hour. I should go get in line.”

“All right,” Alex said. “Take care of yourself, partner.”

“You bet,” Amos said and was gone.

The three remaining crewmen of the Roci stood silently in the kitchen, Holden looking shocked, Naomi amused. Alex felt like he was about halfway between them.

“Well that was weird,” Holden said. “You think he’s going to be okay?”

“It’s Amos,” Naomi said. “I’m more worried about whoever he’s going to check on.”

“Fair point,” Holden said, then hitched himself up to sit on the counter and faced Alex. “Anyway. You were saying you’d been thinking about something?”

Alex nodded. I was thinking about how hard it is to break up family and about the family I broke up before, and that I need to see my ex-wife again and try to find some sort of resolution to who we were to each other and all the things we did. Seemed kind of anticlimactic now.

“Well, seeing how we’re going to be in dock for a good long time, I was thinking I might take a trip to Mars. Check in on the old digs.”

“Okay,” Holden said. “But you’ll come back before the repairs are done, right?”

Alex smiled. “Plan to.”

Chapter Three: Naomi