Ryen felt a shift in the world around her as the journal she’d been working on slid out from under her pen creating a black streak across the page. The specialized ink would have continued on the floor as well if it weren’t for its impervious polyvinyl coating. What was going on? Ryen scrambled to her feet. It was more difficult than she’d expected. Something seemed to be going wrong with the ship’s gravity controls. The fluctuations were small enough but hard to anticipate. Usually the ship’s gravity worked to counteract directional movement with finite precision.  Had the autopilot somehow been damaged during takeoff? If so, why was it now just having issues?

Ryen was just about to slide open her room’s door when Lazlo’s voice broken the silence. [b]”Forget Maria’s announcement, we’re going to be there in ten minutes…”[/b]

Ryen groaned and angrily shook her fist angrily at the intercom. [b]”Maria!”[/b] Ryen demanded, still glaring, [b]”Why did we just experience minor fluctuations to the ship’s gravity?”[/b] Along with Lazlo’s announcement she had a growing suspicion.

The reply was short in coming. [b]”These occurred shortly after the ship was taken off auto-pilot by our captain.”[/b]

[b]”You forgot to insert the word [i]bakadus[/i], [i]opillas[/i], or even pretentious. Just hope he doesn’t kill us before we land.”[/b] It was a shame that Lazlo didn’t trust the ship’s AI to do its job. But what was her father always saying? You can’t plan for stupid.

[b]”I was not given the ability to hope, Mechanic.”[/b]

[b]”I suppose note. It might go against the ‘I’ part of AI. But you could probably calculate the odds- no don’t tell me. I don’t want to know.”[/b]

[center]----[/center]

Ryen adjusted the Arubiat scarf on her head once again while studying herself in the bathroom mirror. She’d picked it up on her last voyage from Syrae and had left it at the bottom of her bag ever since. It was designed to be worn so that only the left eye and eyebrow were exposed to view. They were traditionally worn on some Federation planets that had arid climates. She just hoped it wouldn’t seem out of place on a Federation Stronghold. Maybe if she was lucky the proper authorities had already caught her father’s murders back on Syrae. Maybe once she’d fled the planet the people who had been after her in her apartment had given up. But she couldn’t shake the fear. Couldn’t stop thinking about her father’s face when he’d warn her something like this might happen all those years ago. It was best not to take any chances. 

Ryen turned back to her room and fought hard not to relax her right eye as her brain struggled with the overlapping scenes, one in full color, the other in haze a muted greys. Despite her first urge to carry everything she owned on her back like she had first done when boarding the ship, Ryen had opted to only take essentials- her father’s journal and her translations, her ID card, some dehydrated fruits she’d made in the replicator earlier in the week but hadn’t finished yet, and something sharp she’d borrowed off Quincy in the first few days of the flight. At least he hadn’t asked too many questions about that one. Ryen wasn’t sure if she should be glad or not that the doctor had assumed she’d wanted it as possible defense against their captain. As for her other possessions, well if she couldn’t make it back on the ship to get her extra clothes and self-sanitizing toothbrush she had bigger problems. 

Outside her room the hallways were eerily quiet and since they’d been docked for a bit already, she guessed everyone else had already disembarked. At least until she almost ran headfirst into Quincy. Ryen eyed his bulging bag critically while his eyes in turn flicked over her outfit.

[b]”You look guilty,”[/b] Ryen said trying not to think too hard about just what the doctor had managed to fit in the bag and the reason why.

[b]”So do you,”[/b] he replied, picking up the edge of her scarf briefly before moving around her to press the elevator’s call button. [b]”Afraid someone will recognize you? If you’re not to blame for your father’s death, and I don’t think you are, then why are you hiding?”[/b]

[b]”That’s what I want to know.”[/b] Ryen said under her breath. She didn’t know if the doctor had heard her or not. When she turned around the elevator doors were already shut.

The mechanic tried not to groan as she turned around a hallway and saw Lazlo standing there, guarding the exit. Did he know she’d also swiped something from the medical bay? Probably not. Besides it was relatively inexpensive and easy to replace. 

[b]”Good morning,”[/b] Ryen said trying to sound casual. Ryen looked down to see a small device in Lazlo’s hand and guessed at its purpose. She slipped a hand in her side pocket and gave him her card trying not to feel too guilty. As far as she was concerned, she hadn’t done anything yet that had warranted pay and if she did decide not to continue on with him she didn’t want to feel like she owed him. As soon as the card left her hand, sudden thought had flashed across her mind. What if her card no longer worked? What if someone had shut her bank account down? What if the people who were after her used the transaction information to locate her? What if… what if…