Xenos

i. Outcome: July 22, 2126

Day Fifty-two

Cin took a shuddering breath and wiped her hand across the small mirror in the shower, leaving a clear swatch in the fogged up glass. Her eyes were bloodshot from lack of sleep, her face wan from stress. She and Drake had spent the last couple of days working around the clock to try establishing a connection with Siero Base, to no avail. Galen had ordered the two of them off of the bridge for some much needed showers and rest, but Cin found herself unable to sleep. Her mind was whirring far too quickly, nerves from being unable to contact the base and Gray's declaration creating thoughts of destruction that paraded through her mind endlessly. She would only feel relief when they had successfully established a connection, and as the days went by, Cin feared that moment would never come.

Wrapping the towel securely around herself, Cin padded softly down the corridor of showers to the small closets where the unisex clothing hung for the crew to use. She selected undergarments first, pulling the sports bra down over her head and shorts up over her hips. She felt marginally better at being clean, but the itch to work still lingered in her. It felt like she was wasting time, and with a supposed infection on board, they couldn't afford the extra time.

Now clothed, Cin went out into the rec-room, where she found Drake pacing. He gave her a faint smile. "I don't think I can sleep," he told her. Cin joined him on the couch, folding her hands together and bouncing her leg nervously.

"I know I can't, " she told him, making a conscious effort to stop her leg from bouncing and failing.

"I know Galen ordered us out, but this is more important than rest." Drake turned to face her on the couch. "I think we should tell the crew," he told her quietly, his voice low so it wouldn't carry down the open hallway to the crew's quarters.

Galen had ordered them not to tell the rest of the crew, despite the gossip that was running rampant throughout the ship. By keeping it on a need to know basis, Galen hoped to keep any panic from occurring. She wasn't sure if it was right to keep it from the rest of the crew, but she also couldn't go against Galen.

When she didn't speak, Drake continued, his voice taking on a little desperation and his eyes boring into hers. "It's not right to keep it from them. If you stand with me, we can probably convince Galen to—"

"To what?" she interrupted, her voice a low hiss. "And what if telling them incites a mutiny? We can't afford for things to get worse than they already are."

"What do you think will happen if they find out we've kept it from them?"

"They won't."

"Cin, there's five of us who know now. Something is bound to slip out. They're already suspicious why they're not allowed down into the storage bay."

"They only want to go down there now because it's off-limits. They had no interest before," she said derisively.

Drake was quiet for a moment. Cin watched as a muscle jumped in his jaw as he fought to get his temper under control. It had been flaring up more and more lately. Cin put it down to stress. "Even if that's the case, the crew isn't stupid. It's far better to tell them than to wait until something worse happens."

"I don't know what you want me to say, Drake," Cin told him, leaning down over her knees. "I can't worry about how the crew feels when we don't have the connection to Siero."

"I don't know how much longer I can keep this information to myself."

Cin whirled on him, furious. "Stop acting like this is just about you. We all have a lot to deal with right now, and telling the crew is only going to stir up trouble. You'll be court martialed."