Interning on the Aronnax

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A/N: Hm, nothing to say here except it's time for a couple boring chapters to establish a few things.

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"The Aronnax is officially haunted."

Finn startled at Fontaine's voice. He looked quickly up to where she was leaning out of the vent, but she just looked amused.

"So..." Fontaine rolled to the floor in a crouch. "How'd you open the hatch?"

"It's really not that hard," Finn said, waving a hand. "You should have better security measures."

"The locks are really more of a discouragement than anything," Fontaine admitted. "But, how did you do it?"

"I pried a panel off the wall and did a little rewiring. I put everything back into place when I was done, but the dripping was annoying."

Fontaine gave him an impressed look. "You really know your stuff."

Finn ducked his head. "It's not that hard." Why was Fontaine so easy to impress?

"Sure it's not," Fontaine said. Finn could practically hear her eye roll. "Anyway, here."

Finn lifted his head. Fontaine was holding out her tablet, which she'd taken with her when the Aronnax stopped at their base.

Now, the girly case had been replaced with a sturdy blue one with the Nekton crest. It activated automatically when Finn took it, revealing an empty screen.

"I updated my old tablet, so it's connected with the newer cameras and all the Knights. Audio now, too."

"Cool."

"I connected it to the Aronnax already." Fontaine swiped the screen to show a trio of folders. "Mum's put as many books as she can on all of our tablets, too, so you won't get bored and there's a notebook. I'll show you how to download games, too."

"I'm not sure that's really necessary... won't that make it hard to find your stuff?"

"That's why I have my newer tablet" Fontaine tapped the tablet. "I already wiped the memory. This one's yours now, Finn."

Finn blinked at her. "What?"

"Can't have our ghost getting bored." Fontaine grinned. "Now you can keep track of what everyone's doing. I'll get you a communicator, too, once I figure out an excuse for a second comm..."

Finn couldn't help staring. He knew by now that Fontaine was serious about him staying, but she was sure going through a lot of trouble for him.

"Oh, and I should probably tell you that Ant's named you."

Confused by the topic change, Finn only managed, "Huh?"

"Ant said that the Aronnax 'ghost' needed a name. He's calling you 'Cooper' now."

"Cooper," Finn repeated flatly.

"Don't ask me. I don't pretend to understand Ant."

"But... Cooper?"

Fontaine shook her head. "I don't get it, either."

"Out of all the names he could have picked, why Cooper?"

"What's wrong with Cooper?"

"Aren't ghosts typically given terrifying names? Something to scare people off?"

Fontaine snickered. "Finn, you've done nothing but help us. Everyone's pretty convinced that you're a good ghost. Even Mum thinks we've picked up a ghost, and I didn't think she'd ever believe in ghosts."

And that was... good, right? If there wasn't anyone searching for an intruder, then Finn would be safe to stay. Right?

Finn looked at Fontaine's pleased, amused face. She'd been nothing but helpful and kind, even knowing from where he'd come. He could trust her.

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A/N: In case you're wondering, "Cooper" came from the ghost dog in the Arlos Finch book series. XD