Samuelson nodded, got up, and left. Narang sat back and stared into space. Things just kept getting more complicated.

48.Finally

48.Finally

Seth looked up as Willoughby Todd walked back into the common room, head down, fists balled at his sides. Without making eye contact, Will grabbed a coffee and sat down, away from anyone else.

“Whats’a matter, Todd? Scared you’ll catch cooties?” Tenn was using his most mocking tone, a sure sign that he wasn’t just making an offhand comment.

“Get bent, Davies.”

“Or maybe you have cooties?”

“No, I don’t. And neither does anyone else.” He turned to look at Seth and the other crew members at Tenn’s table. “I managed to get one of the technicians talking. I did a sketch of her, and then made a comment that she could have it when we got out.”

“That’s our Will,” Seth commented. “Real ladies’ man.”

“Hey, as pick-up routines go, it’s pretty effective,” Will retorted, perhaps more sharply than intended. He looked embarrassed for a moment, and waved it off. “Anyway, if you’d let me finish, she told me that everyone had come up consistently clean. In fact they can’t pay the nanites to infect anyone or anything else.”

Will smiled for a moment, said, “We might be going home, soon,” then frowned.

“What?”

Will looked around the table. “Well, Ivan, not so much. He’s nothing but nanites. So he’ll be staying.”

“You’re surprised?” Tenn looked askance at Will.

“Chrissake, Davies, can’t you ever give it a rest?”

Tenn held up his hands, fending him off. “Look, seriously, no bull for a second. Think about it. How do you cure Pritchard? There’s no Ivan left. Kill all the nanites and he’s gone.”

“I bet that’s exactly what the military will want to do,” Seth said.

“Right, because the military is always both evil and dumb,” Aspasia retorted.

“Yeah, I know, Spazzie, but they also are required to think in those terms. A scientist will always want to study, a doctor will always want to diagnose, and a soldier will always want to—”

“To what, Robinson?” Aspasia challenged him with her glare.

“To defend. To protect. To fight. To survive. They have to take the pessimistic view. The worst-case scenario. It’s their job, not some cliché.”

“But this is our crewmate, and our friend,” Will said. “Spazzie, can you contact your aunt or something? Maybe get something done?”

“I already sent her an email, Will. I got a response from her office that she’s on assignment and won’t be available for some time. Not that she could probably do anything, anyway. She’s a Commodore, not the UEN President.”

“Well, if they give the word, I’m gone,” Tenn said, slapping his hands on the table. “I’ll feel bad for Pritchard, but I’ve got a—”

There was silence for a moment, then Seth said, “A family, too?”