Captain's Away! Chapter Thirty-Three
"Mathieu"
Captain’s Away! is a long form, weekly serial. New chapters come out every week (more or less). Comments and suggestions welcome as we go along.
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Previously in Captain’s Away!
After surviving the destruction of their space station, Yolande and Bertrand Doucette have settled into life on the military starship Beausoleil. Their son, Alain, remains missing and presumed dead, for which Yolande blames Bertrand. Their daughter, Marie-Josée, is comatose for reasons they don’t understand. Unbeknownst to them, Marie-Josée’s mind has been transferred into the body of the captain of the Beausoleil by means of an ancient technology.
To save herself, and maybe everyone else, Marie-Josée is posing as the captain of the Beausoleil. In this she is helped by the ship itself, its corpsman, Javad, and the ship’s XO, Commander Saito, who all know her secret.
Chapter Thirty-Three
“Mathieu”
Marie-Josée’s final duty of the day (according to the Beausoleil, which managed the captain’s schedule) was a tour of the ship’s central equipment room, known to those who toiled there as CER. It was partially an opportunity to see and be seen by the maintenance crew, a bit of morale boasting. At the same time, it familiarized her with that part of the ship, and (had she been the real captain) permitted the captain to assess its condition. In the interest of time the Beausoleil had also scheduled her to meet with a representative of the passengers, at their request. She was in favour of such a meeting, though she had hoped it would be her mother. Alas, it turned out to be a thickset young man with a ponytail and an improbably full beard. Judging from his sweaty palms and furtive gaze he looked like he might be on the verge of a nervous breakdown.
“It’s nice to meet you, Mathieu,” she said, as they strolled into CER, accompanied by the ship’s avatar. “You’re getting a bit of a treat. Normally passengers aren’t allowed in this part of the ship, which is pretty important—it houses the actual brains of the Beausoleil—but I’m pretty busy so this was the only time we could meet.”
“Thank you, Captain,” Mathieu muttered.
Marie-Josée could barely hear him over the ambient sound—the brains of the Beausoleil were surprisingly loud. It really wasn’t the best time or place for them to meet, either. The Beausoleil’s avatar could not intervene physically if Mathieu suddenly went nuts and decided to attack her or sabotage the engine room. Marie-Josée considered that a distinct possibility judging from his manner. Maybe Captain Khiboda could have stopped him, but if the real captain had any fighting skills, they’d fled this body along with her consciousness.
As they followed the ship’s avatar down racks of esoteric equipment, cool air blowing on their faces, Marie-Josée asked, “How are the passengers doing?”
Mathieu produced a holographic list, swiping in the air with his index finger to read it. “Okay. We’re doing okay.”
Fumblingly, his heart obviously not in it, Mathieu told her what the passengers wanted her to know. That they felt cramped in the gym. That there wasn’t enough washroom access and they insisted on more control over the lighting and a bunch of other stuff. Marie-Josée promised that she would investigate it all once they were through the Void.
“What about you, Mathieu?” she asked. “Are you okay?”
Mathieu stopped walking, forcing Marie-Josée to stop alongside him. The Beausoleil’s avatar reversed direction instantly, the way only avatars can.
“Uh,” Mathieu said.
He looked helpless. Marie-Josée watched, transfixed. Would he cry? Crumple in a heap on the deck? Fly into a rage?
“No,” he admitted.
They faced one another awkwardly.
“What’s wrong?” Marie-Josée winced internally. She knew what was wrong. He’d just been through hell. But what did hell look like through his eyes?
“Captain, I—”
“Tell me.” It sounded like an order. Maybe it was.
Mathieu began to talk, there in the central equipment room. Maybe it was a good place to talk after all. No one else could hear them over all the noise, or even see them concealed deep within the racks. She had to lean close, and she didn’t catch everything, but enough. The important bits. He was from the Nouvelle-Écosse. He’d had a family there. As far as he knew, he was the only one of his family to have survived. He’d watched his sister die. He’d been a first responder on board the Nouvelle-Écosse, but his knowledge had not been enough to save her.
“I held her in my arms,” Mathieu told Marie-Josée, his voice trembling. “I felt her take her last breath, Captain. The Realm killed her, and I couldn’t save her.”
He was a forlorn figure, standing hunched over before her. She watched him, unsure what to do or say. He raised his eyes to meet hers for the first time. He looked so sad that she could not help but think of Alain, which made her cry too, a little bit.
Somehow afterward it was less awkward than it had been before as the Beausoleil led them the rest of the way through engineering. The ship explained various functions and introduced them to several maintenance crew, but Marie-Josée remembered little of it in the days that followed.
“Is there anything I can do for you, Mathieu?” she asked when they’d finished the tour. “How about a razor? You look like you could use a shave.” The joke had been a risk, but she had a feeling about him now.
Mathieu did not quite smile but neither did he take offence. He seemed more relaxed now. Some of the edge had gone off him. “Just one thing, Captain. I was wondering, if it wouldn’t be too much trouble. I was thinking that maybe I could help out in the medical bay. It would help me take my mind off… things.”
“I don’t see why not. Ship, please tell Javad to make that happen.”
“Yes, Captain,” the Beausoleil said. “I’m sure Corpsman Javad would appreciate the help.”
Now Mathieu really did smile.
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This has been an installment of the ongoing serial Captain’s Away! A Strange Dimensions book.
Also by Joe Mahoney: A Time and a Place
An unlikely hero travels to other worlds and times to save a boy who does not want to be saved in this unique and imaginative adventure, by turns comic and tragic.
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Still enjoying these chapters. Especially found this one emotional and intriguing.