Free Becalmed by Kristine Kathryn Rusch

say.
     
    “Then do your best,” he says. “You
need to become the expert in Quurzid. Then you need to figure out how to
teach our people the language.”
     
    “Not just those on the Ivoire,” I say.
     
    “I want a plan of instruction,
something recorded, so that all of the ships in the Fleet can learn it,” he
says. “I want us to be ready as soon as someone hears our distress call. I want
to be able to end the fighting around Ukhanda immediately.”
     
    His hands are still around mine.
He shakes, just a little, as he says that.
     
    “You think we’ll get out of this,
then?” I ask.
     
    “Are you asking if we’ll be
becalmed forever?”
     
    I nod.
     
    “No,” he says.
     
    “But you put us on rations,” I
say.
     
    “It might be a week,” he says. “It
might be a year. I want to be prepared.”
     
    “The Quurzod damaged the anacapa drive, didn’t they?”
     
    “While we were engaging it,” he
says. “It’ll take some time to figure out what exactly went wrong. That’s why I
need you.”
     
    “Me?”
     
    He nods, and his hands tighten
around mine. “I need you to figure out what’s wrong with the communications
array. I’m convinced our distress signals aren’t getting through.
     
    I flush, then let out a small
breath. “You trust me to get back to work?”
     
    His gaze meets mine. “Mae.” he
says, “I’ve trusted you all along.”
     
    He has. He’s been the only one. I
didn’t even trust myself.
     
    I bow my head, stunned at his
faith in me. Stunned that I still have a future.
     
    He stands, puts his hands on my
shoulder, and kisses the top of my head.
     
    “Welcome back,” he whispers.
     
    I lean into him for just a moment.
     
    “It’s good to be back,” I say,
with more relief than I expected, and resist the urge to add, You have no
idea how good it is.
     
    Because I have a hunch he does
know, and that’s why he didn’t leave me behind.
     
    Because I am still part of the
ship. A necessary part of the ship.
     
    And you never abandon the
necessities. No matter how difficult it is to retrieve them.