The Space Spoon novel Chapter 88

Shayla slacked off in Tejeda’s chair inside the captain’s office. Everybody arrived safely aboard the Space Spoon, but she didn’t feel safe anymore. Her index finger tapped on the desk at a maddening pace as she stared at the Nubilae’s silica core.

“How long are you going to gawk at him instead of giving him a body?”

She flinched. Her fingers stopped beating the rhythm. E00’s unexpected intrusion came at a moment when she was in deep thought.

“He can wait a bit more. After all the shit he put us through, I think I owe him something.” Shayla clicked her tongue. “I can’t stop thinking about what he’ll do once he has a body again. Will he pick the most dangerous task on the mission board? Will he drag us again into a so-called vacation where we’ll almost die?”

“Are you afraid?” E00 always knew what questions not to ask and still voiced them aloud.

"No." Shayla rose from her chair and began pacing around the room. "I used the Beridium dagger again today, a weapon I promised I would not use again. Danger follows Tejeda; it sticks to him like a thistle."

“He is who he is. We can’t change that.”

"I understand." Shayla shook her head. "It frustrates me at times because I don't even want him to change. The problem is not his, but mine. I'm not sure how long I can keep using Beridium weapons without succumbing to its demands."

After a long pause, E00 asked, “Beridium… It’s a living metal, right?”

Shayla’s eyes widened. “Yes. How did you know?”

"I could sense its energy. It's dormant now, but I felt the tendrils of its power when you wielded the dagger. I didn't want to become involved. But if you like, I can attempt to tone it down and lessen its impact on your thoughts the next time."

A flicker of hope sparkled in Shayla’s eyes. “Can you do that?”

“I can try. But you should be aware that my meddling might also worsen things.”

“How?” Shayla raised an eyebrow and crossed her arms over her chest.

"The metal's living element may fight back. It may attempt to overpower you if it is strong enough to overcome my buffering. As a consequence, your desire for blood will grow, and you may even kill our crewmates."

"That sounds wonderful." Shayla sighed and flung herself back into the chair. "Normally, I'm the pessimist. I guess I've rubbed off a bit too much on you."

“I’m just being realistic. What do you want, Shayla? We can’t keep Tejeda in check. Do you have any other suggestions? Would you have him go see a psychiatrist?”

She exhaled. "No. In order to pay for a psychiatrist's visit, he would have to sell the ship. You know, they charge per personality, and he has hundreds."

Believe it or not, her joke amused and bewildered her. It seemed more like something Tejeda would have said, not Shayla Bale.

She waved her hand at the screen displaying the ship's status. "What about the others?"

The face of King Astin was dead serious. Shayla couldn’t tell if it was a side effect of Tejeda’s recent shift, the fact that he stayed too long without a body, or something really happened that had him like this.

“Do you know its destination?” Tejeda asked, gritting his teeth.

“According to the ship's trajectory vector when it entered the quantum string, I can assume it was going for RK10. But it could have changed its route along the way.”

“Set a course to RK10,” Tejeda ordered. “Where are the others?”

“They are in their quarters,” Shayla answered. “They are sleeping off after the so-called vacation."

“I need to speak with everybody."

Boosted by his sudden change in behavior, Shayla grabbed his arm. “Don’t let the crew down. They all believe in you.”

Tejeda frowned. “That kinda scares me. I always knew I was real.”

She shook her head and shrugged. He was joking again, and she didn’t want any of that. Her fingers released his jacket and let him go. His old self was back at making fun of everything around him.

Near the exit, Tejeda looked back at Shayla and winked. “You should stop overthinking your overthinking.”