Second Contact [Alien Nation #2] (#Wattys2019)

25

The flight back to the Hub was one of the longest of his life.

Erri had lost count of the number of times he'd taken the Phoenix from Earth to Jupiter, from the Starbridge behind the gas giant to the one orbiting Irimoy, and finally to the Hub. It was second nature to him. But this time, something felt different, and it wasn't the alien 'diplomat' currently locked in the dry storage cupboard, for lack of a proper brig.

The two ambassadors kept to themselves, going over how they would explain Rinir's presence first to the border officers at the Starbridge, and later to their higher-ups. Jules was sitting against the door holding Rinir, though the latter hadn't made any attempt to escape. Most of Cass's processing power was therefore focussed on the galley, which Erri was fine with. He didn't need Cass for this journey.

That said, though he would never claim to possess a tenth of Cass's mental capabilities, he got it. He hadn't stopped thinking about Avery since they'd left Earth for the last time, so much so that it was a wonder he'd got them through the asteroid belt in one piece.

He hoped Anderson hadn't been pushing her too hard. He hoped she was eating enough and getting enough sleep and that her work on her mysterious gift for Cass was going well.

And he wanted to know why she hadn't answered any of his messages in the last twelve hours.

XxX

Three hours later, Erri brought them out of hyperspace in the Irimoy system. It was three hours too long; there had been more checks at the Starbridge than usual, and there had been a queue to make the jump in the first place, which he hadn't seen since he'd had to make a supply run during the Hub's Unification Day celebrations a few years ago.

Avery still hadn't even read his messages.

"Erri, are you okay?" Cass's voice chimed over the speaker.

"Finally decided to join me, huh?" he said, voice gruffer than he had intended.

"Sorry," Cass said. "I thought Jules deserved my full attention."

Erri sighed, resting his forehead on the heel of his hand. "Yeah, sorry. I didn't mean to snap at you."

"You are stressed."

"You think?"

"You have not been able to sit still since we left Terran space. Normally, you would lock in our course and use this time to sleep."

He sighed again, leaning back in his chair so the viewscreen filled his whole vision. Matlara was a tiny speck in the distance, indistinguishable from the stars except for a greenish tint to its light.

"Cass, does anything feel...off to you? We've never had to queue at a Starbridge before, not on a regular day."

"I do not know," said Cass. "I cannot access the Hubnet from this distance without a direct link. I have received no transmissions from the Department of Earth Affairs. Does Avery know anything?"

"That's the thing," Erri said. "I can't get hold of her."

Cass paused. "You can't contact Avery?"

"No."

"But the transmitter is a part of her. She never ignores messages."

"I know, Cass. That's why I'm worried."

"Perhaps there has been an issue with outgoing comms. It would explain the delays at the Starbridge."

"Yeah," Erri said as he turned the engines to full power, heading for Matlara and Irimoy's central zone. "Let's hope it's just that."