Starfish

Thirty-Seven

"All right, Doctor Manoa, let's go over this again."

Nina sniffed testily, fiddling with the belt that held her in a comfortable chair. "It's Ma'atanoa." Typical haole! She'd been telling these bucket-headed jackboots her name for almost twenty hours and the idiots didn't seem to give a damn if they said it right or not. At least this one had the sense to look chagrined. 

"Sorry ma'am, I don't speak Dreen-"

"It's not a Dreen name, it's Hawaiian."

The Federation agent sighed and adjusted his wire-rimmed glasses impatiently. "Ma'am, we don't have time for this. We're working with the Dreen government to determine why and how the vessel that reached critical mass a while back-"

"And I'm telling you, I was working on that! I was working through Fed channels and my own research to figure out just how it happened, and you dragged me away right as I was about to pin it down!" She huffed, angry and tired and hungry and exasperated with humans in general. She hadn't been able to sleep in zero-G for more than a couple of hours, and she was wearing someone's castoff jumpsuit that was too tight around her hips. And like a nasty cherry on top of a rotten sundae the heater core had indeed gone out. She was uncomfortable and cold and cranky and now this asshole kept saying her name wrong and acting like she was the problem. "You know, I could've been more help if you'd left me alone. It's not like I have any secrets."

The agent – a man of high military rank, of course, even though he introduced himself as a secretary – scrolled through some document on his tablet. He peeked at her from beneath pale eyebrows and gave her a doubtful look. "Your cohort Doctor O'Connell says you haven't been staying at your approved apartment. He told us this morning you've been spending a lot of time with one Dreen in particular and he thinks that-"

"I've told you this already," Nina snarled, "Doctor Ardus is my boss, in a way. He's the head of the university's biology department, he's the one who got me to Dreenai in the first place so I can work with him. You're a secretary, don't you spend a lot of time with your boss?" I'll kill Martin if I see him again.

"Right, and we have you down as his subordinate," the Fed secretary continued, "but your conduct according to Doctor O'Connell has been questionable. He says you've been spending nights at this Dreen's apartment – you even spent three days off-site in an isolated area with no other companions."

"So?"

The Fed set his tablet down, folding his hands together on top of it. "Well, it just looks...weird, Ms. Matona. A single woman several million miles from home, spending all her time with an alien who I understand has some authority in your program, who is male, and considerably larger than you-"

"Okay, first of all," Nina stopped toying with the chair belt. Its purpose was to keep her from floating away from the table but now it held her back – if she could reach this government slimeball she'd claw his eyes out. "It's Doctor, not Miss. I've already told you to start saying my name right, Ma-ah-ta-no-ah. If you can't say it I'd rather you called me Doctor Nina. Second, I'm a biology field researcher – that means I do most of my work outside. You know, where the biology is? There's nothing weird about me going on a field trip, it's literally how I got my doctorate. Finally-" Nina found herself interrupted by the sound of a rush of air, a barely perceptible jerk of the Kalpana Chawla and an ear-shattering blare that preceded an announcement: "Personnel, just want to let you all know that the heater core is back online as of two minutes ago – please disregard the turbulence and check your vents for any adhering materials. Hang in there guys, we'll get it warmed up soon."

"Well, that's better!" the Fed secretary nodded, rubbing his hands together. He gave Nina what she assumed he thought was a friendly grin. "Now, I believe you were saying something?"