imminent conversation with Hawk.
“And there’s something else,” Greene said. He forked himself another load of cake. “We need to figure out where he’s gonna fit in.”
Jessica absorbed this. “Yes I see what you’re getting at. Well, I’m sure we can cross that bridge when we come to it. In the meantime, I’ll go and have a talk with Nowlan tomorrow morning. See what he has to say.”
“I can do it if you want,” Greene offered.
King got up, patted him on the shoulder. “Nope you’re doing enough. I’ll deal with this. Besides, I think the Chief has some sewage pipes need a good cleaning, and I’ve just promoted you to Top Scrubber.”
She got up and left before he could say anything in retaliation, and as she left the mess hall she could hear Meryl Gunn’s deep laughter.
6.
The next morning King went to the Ambassador’s quarters. She waited for Nowlan to come to the door and greeted him with a smile. He didn’t look half as awake and lively as she did.
“Morning,” he said, rubbing his eyes with the heel of his palm. “Sorry.”
“Rough night?” King asked him.
Nowlan stepped aside to allow her into the quarters. The door slid shut behind her.
“Got a bit drunk,” he said. “Celebratin’ my celebrity status with some of the crew.”
Jessica grinned. “Well if I’m being truthful, I can’t say I blame you. It seems the whole ship is talking about you right now.”
She wondered how Selena Walker had got on with him. Perhaps she’d been part of the ‘celebrations’ the night before …
“Thank yuh kindly,” Nowlan said. “So, uh, what do I owe the pleasure of such an early visit?”
King sat down. “We need to have a chat. I think it’s safe to say, given our present status, that you’re not going to get an official de-brief from anyone else,” she said.
“Gotta agree with you there,” Nowlan said. “I heard about what came up in the meetin’. To tell yuh the truth, that’s when I grabbed the nearest bottle and started drinkin’.”
King didn’t tell him that she, too, felt like she had sorrows to drown.
“We’re far from home, Captain Nowlan. And I want us to get any preliminary information out of the way,” she said.
“Well, yeah, ‘cause I gotta few questions of my own,” he said.
King nodded. “All in good time. So … why don’t we fix up some coffee, and get this out of the way?”
She got up, walked to a unit in the far wall and conjured up two hot coffees with cream and sugar. Nowlan accepted his gratefully and took a sip off the top straight away. “Ah, thanks.”
“I know it’s early but I have a pretty full day, and I wanted to be able to give you my undivided attention. That and I’m burning to find out how you got here.”
“All the juicy details of the Hawk’s famous last mission, eh?” Nowlan asked her with a cheeky grin.
“Yes, something like that,” Jessica said. “I think you’ll find most of the crew on board want to know too.”
Nowlan sat back, took a deep breath. “I was heading a mission to destroy a Draxx repo facility. You know, they commandeered several of our own facilities following the civil war.”
King knew it. The Metal Marquis , a band of revolutionaries made up of disillusioned military personnel and liberated replicants, had used guerrilla warfare and acts of terrorism to force the Union’s hand into outlawing the production of replicants about eighty years before. Public opinion had a little something to do with their change of heart also. The simple fact was that not many people knew the Union army was mostly made up of replicants; human slaves made and raised in the lab. Cannon fodder for the Union’s never ending campaign against the Draxx Dominion and its allies. When they found out, the Union was surprised to find opinion on the side of The Metal Marquis.
But not every facility had been dismantled in time. A dozen or so had fallen into Draxx hands, and with them the technology
“And there’s something else,” Greene said. He forked himself another load of cake. “We need to figure out where he’s gonna fit in.”
Jessica absorbed this. “Yes I see what you’re getting at. Well, I’m sure we can cross that bridge when we come to it. In the meantime, I’ll go and have a talk with Nowlan tomorrow morning. See what he has to say.”
“I can do it if you want,” Greene offered.
King got up, patted him on the shoulder. “Nope you’re doing enough. I’ll deal with this. Besides, I think the Chief has some sewage pipes need a good cleaning, and I’ve just promoted you to Top Scrubber.”
She got up and left before he could say anything in retaliation, and as she left the mess hall she could hear Meryl Gunn’s deep laughter.
6.
The next morning King went to the Ambassador’s quarters. She waited for Nowlan to come to the door and greeted him with a smile. He didn’t look half as awake and lively as she did.
“Morning,” he said, rubbing his eyes with the heel of his palm. “Sorry.”
“Rough night?” King asked him.
Nowlan stepped aside to allow her into the quarters. The door slid shut behind her.
“Got a bit drunk,” he said. “Celebratin’ my celebrity status with some of the crew.”
Jessica grinned. “Well if I’m being truthful, I can’t say I blame you. It seems the whole ship is talking about you right now.”
She wondered how Selena Walker had got on with him. Perhaps she’d been part of the ‘celebrations’ the night before …
“Thank yuh kindly,” Nowlan said. “So, uh, what do I owe the pleasure of such an early visit?”
King sat down. “We need to have a chat. I think it’s safe to say, given our present status, that you’re not going to get an official de-brief from anyone else,” she said.
“Gotta agree with you there,” Nowlan said. “I heard about what came up in the meetin’. To tell yuh the truth, that’s when I grabbed the nearest bottle and started drinkin’.”
King didn’t tell him that she, too, felt like she had sorrows to drown.
“We’re far from home, Captain Nowlan. And I want us to get any preliminary information out of the way,” she said.
“Well, yeah, ‘cause I gotta few questions of my own,” he said.
King nodded. “All in good time. So … why don’t we fix up some coffee, and get this out of the way?”
She got up, walked to a unit in the far wall and conjured up two hot coffees with cream and sugar. Nowlan accepted his gratefully and took a sip off the top straight away. “Ah, thanks.”
“I know it’s early but I have a pretty full day, and I wanted to be able to give you my undivided attention. That and I’m burning to find out how you got here.”
“All the juicy details of the Hawk’s famous last mission, eh?” Nowlan asked her with a cheeky grin.
“Yes, something like that,” Jessica said. “I think you’ll find most of the crew on board want to know too.”
Nowlan sat back, took a deep breath. “I was heading a mission to destroy a Draxx repo facility. You know, they commandeered several of our own facilities following the civil war.”
King knew it. The Metal Marquis , a band of revolutionaries made up of disillusioned military personnel and liberated replicants, had used guerrilla warfare and acts of terrorism to force the Union’s hand into outlawing the production of replicants about eighty years before. Public opinion had a little something to do with their change of heart also. The simple fact was that not many people knew the Union army was mostly made up of replicants; human slaves made and raised in the lab. Cannon fodder for the Union’s never ending campaign against the Draxx Dominion and its allies. When they found out, the Union was surprised to find opinion on the side of The Metal Marquis.
But not every facility had been dismantled in time. A dozen or so had fallen into Draxx hands, and with them the technology
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