Unity

Chapter 38

I stepped out of the shower feeling much better. I dressed in my uniform that had now become normal attire and ventured into my office. I was stunned when I found that it wasn't empty. Standing there were my eight battleship commanders. "What's going on?" I asked hesitantly.

"Some much needed commander bonding time," said Miyako with a wink.

"I thought we were calling it an intervention," said Andrew.

"It all amounts to the same thing," Mariana interjected. "We feel like we're being left in the dark. We rarely see you anymore, and when we do see you, you are too busy brooding to even notice us."

"Not to mention the sudden need to throw yourself in every dangerous situation you can come up with," Sofya chimed in.

I looked around the room at the others. I looked at Tamal and he put his hands up and said, "Don't look at me. I was dragged into this."

I shook my head, smiled, and said, "I have a feeling I'm not going to get out of this." Before they could answer, I received 'a message received notification' on my tablet. It was probably the data we pulled from the Zrynt facility. I was hoping it would come in soon. I started to move to the desk to grab it, but Edgar quickly snatched it and hid it behind his back.

Miyako and Lan looped their arms through mine and pulled me towards the door. "I have pressing matters that need my attention," I said as I halfheartedly struggled to get away.

"You mean this?" Edgar asked, waving my tablet in front of my face. "It will be here when you return."

"Make you a deal, Captain Ryan," Lan said. "You do as we ask, and we'll help you with your 'pressing matters'."

I was paraded around the ship by my commanders. They took me on a long loop. Many of the men looked at me with a tinge of jealousy as they watched me get dragged around by the attractive female commanders. Most, however, just smiled and laughed. "See how well you are boosting morale?" asked Daniel. "It does the crew good to see you, especially in high spirits."

"Does this parade have a final destination?" I asked. It had been a long day and I was starting to get tired from all the walking.

"We're nearly there," said Miyako.

Our destination was one of the many conference rooms that were scattered throughout the ship. The moment the door opened, I was hit by the smell of food. With so many emergencies and critical things to take care of, eating was often put off. I looked at the table and noticed it was full of food, and there were many dishes I didn't recognize. My stomach started to rumble at seeing and smelling the tantalizing food. "We could have eaten in an office adjacent to mine," I said after a moment.

"By justifying that, you could also justify doing just a little work while you ate," replied Andrew. "Before you know it, you have been working for hours and your food has gone cold. Besides, there is another reason to have it here."

"And that is...?" I asked.

"You'll soon find out," Andrew answered.

I was pushed into a chair and pushed up to the table. My place at the table was already set. It looked like they had been preparing this for hours. Everyone else sat down and started digging in without hesitation. One thing these last few weeks had taught us was to not squander any opportunity for food and rest. A few moments later, the lights went out and one of the wall screens activated. I laughed as I realized what was going on. They were treating me to dinner and a movie. The movie was a new flick that was released while we were at the Academy. Apparently, the Unity had almost every movie and song downloaded into its massive databases for the crew to enjoy.