Nick felt awkward with Maggie as he led her and Brian on a tour of the ship. That higher intelligence can feel free to kick in any ti now, okay? He suspected that intelligence would not solve this problem, though.
Dating Maggie? Honestly, there's nobody I'd rather have at my back, but dating? I haven't thought about her that way since that really awkward month when we were twelve...and at the ti, she acted like I'd horribly disappointed her. I'll be happy to have her around for as long as she wants to stick with , but...can I even think of her that way?
They ran into a few other humans as they road the ship. Throckmorton brushed past them in a passageway, with a nod for Nick and nothing more than a cursory glance for the others. A few minutes later, Father Mangiano greeted them in the ss with a smile.
"Hello, Nick! Friends of yours?"
"Ah, yes. Father, may I present Brian Liebowitz and Margaret Palr? Guys, this is Father Mangiano."
"Hello, Father. We saw you on TV getting on the shuttle. How have you been?" Maggie asked.
"Awestruck," the priest said cheerfully, shaking his head. "Amazed. And more curious about more things than I've been in ages. I feel twenty years younger, and only so of that is due to the good Doctor's ministrations."
Father Mangiano almost always referred to Sana as "the good Doctor." Abruptly, Nick realized that that was deliberate on his part. Oh, how did I miss that before? He's really smart.
"Are you going to be a missionary, Father? Spread the Good News to other worlds?" Maggie asked.
"Perhaps. It depends on what my superiors think is the best use of my talents. Oh, please excuse , but I have a eting in a few 'zegs' and I always budget ti for getting lost."
"Or talking to people you run into?" Nick guessed.
"Just so." The priest bead at him, then straightened. "Besides, I shouldn't keep you from your al. Try the honach tova. I'm not sure what it is, but it is very savory." With a smile and a nod, the priest headed off to do whatever it was he was doing while on board. It seed to consist of talking to as many aliens as possible, judging by appearances.
He's probably trying to gauge the personalities and societies and cultures, looking for allies and threats.
Unauthorized duplication: this tale has been taken without consent. Report sightings.
Nick blinked. That thought felt...odd, but it makes sense. Am I getting smarter? Is being smart just...noticing things more? Things make more sense?
After he had left, Brian leaned closer. "So, Nick, when do we find out about the things you couldn't say over video?"
"If you can be patient about the tour, we can grab a bite or just head back to my quarters, and I'll fill you both in there."
"It's been a while since I ate. Let's grab so food," Maggie suggested.
"Since we're here..." Brian agreed.
Nick helped them pick out their als. Before they could leave, however, Jillian and Alyssa ca in, saw them, and headed right over. It was odd and refreshing to see a blond and a redhead on board.
Nick, Brian and Maggie all had brown hair, as did several of the other humans aboard. Nick found his gaze wandering over the won and caught it quickly. He saw that Maggie noticed, but instead of the good-natured teasing he expected from her, she looked irritated.
Ah. Right. Nick thought about deliberately giving Maggie's figure a once-over, but decided that he would be awkward and clinical about it and that was not what was called for here. Nice save, brain boost. Thanks.
"Nick, Maggie, Brian, hello!" Jillian called.
"Have you already t?" Nick asked in surprise.
"Oh, yeah! I stopped by to say hi while they were in quarantine. Excited to be out the glass box, Brian?"
"Absolutely."
"I've got an interview set up with Mallik to talk about the ship scanners, if you wanted to sit in."
Brian blinked. "Uh, sure! Now that my portal dissertation has been blown out of the water, I need a new topic. I should probably look at everything I can."
"Don't get your hopes up on the Engine Room, though," Jillian warned. "It's just a bunch of black boxes. Not even photogenic ones."
"Hello again, Maggie," Alyssa said.
"Hi." Maggie was decidedly cool to the redhead. Alyssa's gaze flicked to Nick and back to Maggie.
Okay, I don't care how much of a brain boost I got, I'm not going to follow everything that's going on there. Instead, Nick watched Jillian chatting with Brian, a pair of physics graduate students commiserating on the ordeals they had gone through.
"Did you co in for lunch?" Nick asked Jillian.
"Yup. Even got our Galact-Aid booster. What do you recomnd?"
"Have you tried the green goop? I an, the deshel'koi?" He corrected himself, suddenly rembering the na in Goldaskian. "It's pretty decent. Father Mangiano recomnds the honach tovai if you want sothing savory."
"Oh, I had that one last night! Savory is the right word for it. So glad I brought my toothbrush. I tried the Goldaskian one and it sort of freaked out. I never could get used to electric toothbrushes, let alone those." Jillian smiled, incidentally flashing those pearly whites of hers. She really does look like a model. Grad school must have been hell for her to be taken seriously.
Nick glanced at Brian, and realized that his friend was a little flustered. Focus on the physics, dude, she'll like you better,he thought at his friend. It wasn't until Brian's eyes flicked up and he stared for a mont that Nick realized that he'd actually sent the thought by ssage to his HUD. He ntally reviewed the last few seconds and realized that he could do a lot more things by a sort of muscle mory now. Automate the boring stuff. Cool.
They chatted for a bit longer, and then retreated with their foodstuffs to Nick's cabin. It was ti for a serious talk with his friends.
Reviews
All reviews (0)