Page 169 of Every Almost

They laughed together. Then Tavi looked up at her, and she saw in his eyes he knew it wasn't the reason.

“It's easier,” she said finally. “It's just easier if I don't get too attached to a place I'm... leaving.” It was the truth, but it also wasn't what Tavi asked.

He just nodded, letting the gap sit there as he stood beside her.

Tavi was already talking about the next Earth Night while Maren was suggesting a formal schedule. Charlie watched as Borran produced a second round of food that nobody had asked for but everyone was reaching to grab, and the library was alive. The night had gone well. The crew was happy, engaged, and fully invested in learning all the quirks about Earth. Perhaps this could become something. Something Charlie could bring to the crew, the Emberkind, the Coalition even.

It was working.

But she couldn't stop the feeling that she just wished Reyna had seen it.

EIGHTEEN

ELSEWHERE

The report couldn't have arrivedat a worse possible time.

To say Reyna had been looking forward to Earth Night felt like an understatement. She'd rearranged her entire schedule for it. She moved her evening rounds to be handled earlier than usual, she made sure to delegate two low-priority tasks to the department leads and get them off her desk, and knowing Torvax would be attending as well, she had him block her calendar and mark it 'unavailable' between seventh and ninth bell. She hadn't been just looking forward to it, she did everything she could think to do in order to ensure she was there.

But a half hour before Earth Night was set to start, Vondra's transmission came through. A top priority request for a full Aetherfin status report including an updated medical analysis, a full overview of the habitat and how it was functioning for the Aetherfins' wellbeing, and a breakdown on their behavioral and dietary changes, formatted to Coalition standard and cross-referenced with the original mission brief Reyna had submitted just after the Aetherfins had arrived on board. Vondra requestedit to be delivered within twelve hours in anticipation of an unscheduled visit by the Commissioner of the Coalition Animal Strategy Board. Vondra noted that he was making the trip and asking for the report to further discuss the funding for the habitat expansion the Emberkind had been requesting for two years.

Reyna couldn't say no to that. If the CASB was finally taking time to listen to Vondra's reasons for this expansion, this report wasn't just a requirement, it was a lifeline.

But twelve hours meant it had to be completed tonight. No way to avoid it. And if she didn't do it? Then she'd hear from Vondra directly, and absolutely throw the Emberkind's chance out the window for additional funding.

Reyna stared at the transmission for a full thirty seconds before closing her eyes. She sighed deeply, feeling the weight of missing Earth Night against her chest in a way she hadn't been expecting.

"Is everything alright, Captain?" Torvax asked from his station. Reyna opened her eyes and looked up at him, walking to his station and placing the transmission in front of him.

"The Admiral requires a full and detailed status report on the Aetherfin with additional customization data reports. It's Coalition standard formatting but we have a twelve-hour deadline."

Torvax's pale blue eyes assessed her. "That is... a considerable amount of documentation."

"Yes, it is."

"The deadline seems aggressive."

"The Admiral's deadlines often seem aggressive. They are also, without exception, non-negotiable. In this case, the Commissioner of CASB is reviewing the update to move forward the request for funding the habitat expansion."

"That has been on the request docket for two years."

"It has."

Torvax was quiet. "I will pull as much of the comprehensive habitat and behavioral data from our records. Selowen will have the medical records, including behavior and dietary updates. The data should be quick to retrieve."

Reyna nodded. "Thank you, Torvax."

They worked together for a time before Torvax left for Earth Night. Reyna insisted he attend so one of them would honor their acceptance of the invitation. He argued. Then she ordered him, and he left without another word.

Reyna sat at her desk in her office, pulling records, formatting tables, cross-referencing metrics she knew would help their case. It required her to think through what she could add to boost the data to the Commissioner. It was tedious work that required the kind of focus that left no room for anything else.

But Reyna's focus was waning, despite her efforts. To a gathering in the library three decks below her, while she sat formatting dietary intake charts of an animal floating around in the center of her ship for an official that would probably just skim these documents anyway, if he looked over them at all. But her mind couldn't stop wandering.

I told her I wouldn't miss it.

Reyna straightened in her chair and refocused her attention on the report. She placed the habitat's monitoring data into a new chart, showcasing how it was keeping the Aetherfin well taken care of and strong.

I wonder what Charlie was saying about Earth. What stories, or history. Maybe some of her own life...