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Engineer Simon Anguilla-Fisher isn’t sure how to feel about this whole situation. Examining his emotions has never been a particularly enjoyable, or engaging, task for him and he knows himself well enough to dread when people ask him to. (Seriously, whichever therapist invented “And how does that make you feel?” Deserves an eternity of warm pillows, damp sheets, and paralyzing dreams about taking tests on topics they never took a class on.)
Now, though, he kind of wished he could distinguish what feeling was causing the nausea currently building behind his sternum. He hoped it was just nerves, but he was beginning to doubt it the longer he stared uncomprehendingly at his new direct supervisor.
Dr. Dimitri Komorov was the Lead Engineer for The Petrova Task Force, and, by extension, The Hail Mary Project. Inventor of the spin drives, on the Leadership Team, trusted by Project Director (Global Dictator) Eva Stratt, and personal friend of Dr. Ryland Grace.
And now the Russian man was Simon’s direct supervisor.
Over the course of one morning, several hours of stress, a debrief with Director Stratt and the Head of Security (just Carl), Simon found himself staring at the man who had pulled off of Ivan’s fuel lines team.
Oh, he got it now.
Dread.
He was feeling dread.
************
”So you had “Gut Feeling” and stepped in?” Simon could have sworn this had been asked several times already, but he answered anyway.
”Yes.” He forced himself to meet Dr. Komorov’s gaze. “The way Dr. Grace was acting just felt wrong.”
Simon dragged his right hand down his face and straightened.
”Dr. Komorov…”
”Just Dimitri, my friend. You save Grace, you earn it.” Simon tried not to let that settle too deep, but couldn’t help how giddy he felt at his new mentor almost demanding Simon use his first name.
”…Dimitri, then. Dimitri, this is going to sound absurd and strange and probably some kind of creepy, but please bear with me.” At the Russian’s nod, Simon rushed on. “ Dr. Grace is a well known, enthusiastic figure on this ship. He has a …..presence to him. Something that everyone reacts to. Most without conscious thought. I don’t know of anyone on board who has met him and actively dislikes him after talking to him for more than 20 minutes. Except the Biology department, but they’re still hung up on this “Staggering Waste of Carbon” incident and apparently can’t laugh at themselves.”
Simon paused, fidgeting with his fingers and collecting his thoughts to get back on topic.
”Anyway, if you pay attention, you can always tell when Dr. Grace is around. Or is coming down the hallway you’re turning onto. People just light up, conversations switch to English, even between multi-lingual staff, and you can hear him talking through whatever situation has come up most recently.”
Dimitri met Simon’s gaze and nodded, bringing his left hand to his chin in a contemplative movement.
”Yes, is true. Engineering certainly feel lighter when Grace visit. Continue, please.” Simon nodded and took a fortifying breath.
“The only time I’ve seen Dr. Grace being quiet and uneasy was when he was asked why he was kicked out of academia. An intern from the PR department was in front of him in the mess hall and kept trying to talk to him. Kept interrupting Dr. Grace and reaching out to touch his arm. He looked like he was ready to jump overboard and swim to shore, or scream.” Dimitri’s form hardened in front of Simon as he described the incident he’d witnessed weeks ago. He continued before Dimitri could ask. “I’ll write the name down for you, but I’m pretty sure Dr. Grace’s guard handled them already. He saw the whole thing and led Dr. Grace away after the touch.”
“Good. Good. Continue please.”
“The whole hall felt different when Dr. Grace was led out. Darker somehow. Colder, maybe.” Simon shrugged and tried not to come up with the words to explain to his boss how Grace’s discomfort and exit from the mess hall had felt like the sun had been extinguished and would never return. “Anyway, I just saw him act the same way when the fake guard, abductor, whoever, was leading him to the departure area. Ivan had assigned me to the team moving the new cabling and tubing down to Engineering and the shipment was still on the deck. I saw Dr. Grace walk past us while helping Eric shift one of the boxes onto the trolley. He looked uncomfortable and kept looking around for someone.”
Simon shrugged, leaning back and crossing his arms over his chest protectively.
”It didn’t feel right. He didn’t seem right. I took a gamble. I figured the worst that would happen was the guard would demand my ID badge and Director Stratt would give me a lecture about not interrupting Dr. Grace. I may get a lecture, or be suspended briefly, but my intentions being in the interest of his safety would protect me from being fired. So I put myself between them and used the new Greenhouse project as an excuse to lead him back here.”
Simon clenched his fists, looking to the left and glaring at the wall.
”When it became obvious he didn’t know the man and needed help, I escorted him past the security doors, pulled it closed and radioed in. Getting him somewhere that guy couldn’t access seemed like the priority over radio for assistance on the flight deck.”
Dimitri watched him from across the desk for a moment before breaking into an almost rabid smile.
”And that is what team needs. Congratulations, Simon. You have promotion. Now report to me, as Engineering Deputy Lead.”
Simon had been right. Dread.
*********
With Simon’s promotion had come his pick of projects. Well, his pick of any unmanned or unassigned projects.
Thanks to Dr. Grace, this list was extensive and chalk full of extremely interesting possibilities.
In the end, Simon hadn’t needed to go through the list and just outright asked to join the team working on the Greenhouse.
Dimitri shot him a shark-like grin and assigned him to lead the project.
”Is good you ask, Simon. I have potential team members ready to call, but egos can be….as you say, ‘overinflated’, yes? Too many egos on project, bad for productivity. You have level head. I know you do great.” Dimitri patted his shoulder and began reviewing the project and initial team for the mock-up they were attempting to build.
”If need more anything, you ask. Ok, my friend? Here to make project succeed.”
Maybe it hadn’t been dread after all.
*********
Nope, it had been dread.
Part of this role (which had not been explained to him, at all) included reporting directly to Dr. Grace on its progress.
….Simon was only human. Cut him a break.
Dr. Grace seemed to check every standard (and substandard) box or preference Simon had in his romantic partners. (And even checked some he’d never consider as more than a preference before getting to know Ryland Grace.)
Kind, funny, endlessly charming, and seemingly humble to a fault, the blond man pulled people into his orbit with ease and they chose to stay because something in him brightened something in you. It made Simon feel warm all the way to his fingers and toes. (Warm in a way he hadn’t been since his mother died and he’d escaped from the cult they’d been trapped in.)
His good looks and general figure mattered less to Simon than the man’s wit, kindness, and intelligence. (Though he now understood what everyone was talking about when they said a guy in glasses hit different.)
If Simon stumbled over his words, forced himself to calm down every few minutes, and worked diligently to hide the flush that wouldn’t leave his cheeks, he couldn’t help it. (And he would challenge almost anyone with functioning brain cells to do any better. Dimitri, Carl, and Director Stratt were not included in ‘anyone’ and he would die of embarrassment before doing so.)
And now, Simon was expected to present his team's progress and findings to Dr. Grace.
At this point, it was mostly research and supply testing. They wouldn’t get to an actual mock up until they finished choosing materials. And that wouldn’t be until they finished designing the internals and astrophage integration systems.
The team Dimitri had pulled together was working well. They had each dropped off their portions of the research to him well in advance, each more than eager to get back to work. Simon was, too. But he had an executive level meeting to attend first.
Which led him to sitting on one side of conference room b, papers spread out in front of him while he worked on a design adjustment for the hydroponics system Matt (the team botanist) had identified as a potential failure point in his report.
Simon sat there for 20 minutes before calling Dimitri. Dr. Grace was not known for being late. And with the string of abductions and attempts Simon had already stepped in on and heard about, he didn’t really want to take any chances.
When his question on Dr. Grace’s whereabouts and timing was met with silence, Simon realized why dread had been settling in his stomach.
Because caring for Dr. Ryland Grace also meant accepting that he was entrenched in a controversial project and had enemies. Caring for Dr. Ryland Grace came with a side of wondering if the man would make it home.
Simon was kind of glad he wasn’t well versed in examining (or paying attention to) his emotions. He was already on his way to Stratt’s office, ignoring the dread in his gut in favor of finding out if Ryland was ok.
************
”No, Dr. Grace. You will sit here and accept that this meeting is going to be taking place with you present, whether you want to be or not.” Director Stratt’s lilting accent had always sounded pleasant to Simon. Even when she was tearing down someone’s ego. (He wondered if the ease in which she did so was a natural or learned wit, and if she would teach him. He didn’t want to jump straight to anger in every confrontation, if he could help it. And she certainly knew her stuff. She was also so busy, she barely had time for sleep. But hey, a guy could dream.)
None of the other people present, which was most of the leadership team (which begged the question on why Simon was present. Heck if he knew), had ever witnessed Stratt and Grace presenting anything other than a unified front. Their approaches to tackling problems, providing solutions and support, and boosting crew morale reminded many of the sun and moon. Opposite and equally essential.
But now, here they were, sitting on opposite sides of the conference room table, watching each other.
Stratt appeared just as put together and composed as every other time Simon had seen her in person (which was, admittedly only twice. Once when she asked him about the abduction attempt he had stepped in on, and when she had to physically approve his promotion and project assignment. It was apparently a new SOP with anything Grace invented or dreamed up. Something about making sure the project was worth the time, attention, and budget that would be poured into it. Either way, Simon didn’t think that was a bad thing.)
Dr. Grace, on the other hand, was slouched slightly in his seat, pouting, grumbling under his breath and clearly unhappy about being brought to this meeting.
Stratt pinched the bridge of her nose.
“Dr. Grace, you have been on the receiving end of no less than 2 abduction attempts. While we are working to mitigate the risks and prevent further attempts from occurring: disappearing from the carrier without informing anyone, clearing it with me, and using your authority to commandeer a ride away from the ship, does NOT support that goal.”
Grace grumbled something under his breath and continued to stare at the table, refusing to meet the Director's stoney gaze.
“Do you understand that your safety is a top concern of this project, Dr. Grace?”
Simon tuned out what was gearing up to be an impressive lecture on safety, making risky and idiotic decisions, and scaring the team as a whole, in favor of observing Dr. Grace.
Dr.? Grace?
The blond man certainly looked like Dr. Grace, down to the last strand of blond hair sticking up in all directions. But, at the same time, he didn’t.
Simon turned towards Dimitri and caught his attention. (Seriously, why was Simon here?) When the Russian acknowledged him, Simon spoke in the quietest tone he could while making sure his boss could still hear him.
”Dimitri, I’m almost 100% sure that’s not Dr. Grace.”
Somewhere down the table, Stratt’s voice had petered out completely. Chairs squeeked as people turned to stare at Simon and the engineer shifted slightly in his seat, discomfort settling into his shoulders.
He looked back over at the man sitting in Dr. Grace’s seat and immediately felt vindicated.
During the entire meeting, the blond had not looked up, had not met anyone’s gaze and refused to speak. The behavior didn’t match Dr. Grace at all, though Simon had never seen Dr. Grace being lectured or disciplined, so how would he know for certain. Now though, Simon caught the minute difference between this man and the Vat’s beloved Genius Molecular Biologist.
A tiny scar on the bridge of his nose, a more muscular build in the shoulders when he sat up straight, blond hair a shade too light in certain lights, cocky grin that wouldn’t sit right on Ryland’s softer face. A twin, maybe.
Stratt huffed out a frustrated groan and turned a full on glare at the man still observing Simon from across the table.
”How’d you know, dude?” The man’s voice was too deep to be Ryland’s, too. (Though the linguistics nerd in Simon picked up on near identical intonation and tone. Definitely siblings!)
”Mr. Seavers….” Stratt’s voice had taken on a frozen quality. Seavers, like an idiot, ignored her in favor of watching Simon.
”C’mon, tell me! How’d you know?” The man laughed, lips spread in a cheeky ‘Grace-like’ grin as he held Simon’s gaze. “Cause Ry and I have been doing this since we started school and only 2 other people have ever been able to tell. I gotta tell Ry! He’ll want the data, the big nerd!”
The man, Mr. Seavers, gave a gruff laugh and continued to grin at the engineer, waiting for an answer.
Simon looked over at Director Stratt. She waved her hand at him before pinching the bridge of her nose again and starting to mumble in German under her breath.
“You..” Simon paused, crossing his arms over his chest and looking the man over once more before continuing. “You have a scar across your nose that Dr. Grace doesn’t have. While that looks like his shirt, it’s too tight through the shoulders for you. I’m guessing that’s why you’re wearing a jacket. The sleeves are probably too small around your biceps.”
The man’s eyes widened, cocky look replaced with something Simon would describe later as stunned bewilderment. But Simon was on a roll and plowed ahead.
”Dr. Grace would have worn his labcoat instead of that kind of jacket,” he motioned to the windbreaker the man was wearing. “Your hair and face have seen too much sun for it to be the right shade. And Dr. Grace would have either engaged with the Director’s points (to disprove them, or voice his protest) or would have met her gaze while listening to her. You have done neither.”
Seavers let out a loud laugh, throwing his head back and wheezing for breath.
”I like you, Dude. What’s your name?” The cheerfulness in the face of terrifying odds must be a family trait the brothers shared.
”Simon Anguilla-Fiesher, Engineering.” Seavers’ grin gained a mischievous turn, eyes sparkling with mayhem.
”Nice to meet you, Engineer Simon. I’m Colt, Ryland’s Older twin brother. I’ve heard a lot about you…” He was cut off by Stratt letting out a loud exhale out of her nose.
”Mr. Seavers, where is your brother?” She glared at him from her side of the conference table, seeming to take great joy as the man deflated slightly, cheeks paling under her harsh look.
”He and Carl are on set with Jody, providing scientific insight on the script, set design, props and special effects.” He met her gaze, suddenly sheepish. “ Ry said he could probably slip away for a day or so and it shouldn’t be an issue. Neither of us realized he was your First Officer until you basically spelled it out for me 10 minutes ago. For such a smart guy, he really fails at subtlety. You will need to spell that out for him.”
He laughed again before continuing.
”He said I just needed to stay out of the way and act busy on the computer and no one would notice. Kind of hard to do that when meetings are scheduled and he didn’t tell me. And, before you get angry at Carl, Ryland and I may have persuaded him that the best way for Ry to take a break was to hang out with me for a couple days and that Ry had taken care of it. And then I convinced the second guard to bring me back here, while pretending to be Ryland.”
Colt pushed his cell phone towards Stratt.
”You can call to confirm.” Dr. Grace’s twin slouched down in a very ‘Grace-like’ manner and scowled. “And for what it’s worth, neither of us meant any harm. I didn’t read any documents you have, snoop through any files, or touch anything beyond the mouse and keyboard on Ry’s laptop. I know I can’t know what’s going on and what he’s working on and I don’t want to put him in danger by snooping where I shouldn’t. He’s my baby brother.”
Stratt seemed to soften for a moment before scowling again.
”We’ll be looking into that. And expanding our security protocols and training.” Stratt ignored the phone between her and Seavers, pulling her own from an inner pocket and, presumably, calling Carl.
”Get him back here now. And then make sure you Mr. Seavers gets back to his movie.”
She hung up the phone with a sharp click before looking back at Colt again.
”While we wait for your brother, why don’t we have a more tailored conversation, Mr. Seavers. Class 107: Why Your Brother is Irreplaceable, and ‘Taking a Break’ does not mean Switching Places…”
Simon leaned back and watched the train wreck happen.
************
Dr. Ryland Grace walked in almost 2 hours later, looking reasonably chastised. Most of the Leadership team had returned to their normal duties after 10 minutes, but Stratt was still going.
Carl directed Grace to the chair beside his brother and then stepped back, watching while the two were lectured like school children on being reckless, foolish, irresponsible, idiots for thinking of switching places when Dr. Grace had one of the most important, and highly qualified, jobs on the planet, let alone actually doing it. ‘Taking a break’ or not.
*************
”See, Si! July 19th should not count as an abduction, attempt or otherwise! I was just visiting Colt on his movie set!”
Ryland had the chipmunk look again, slouched in his desk chair by his lab bench, arms crossed over his chest. It was taking everything in Simon to not just kiss the pout off his lips.
He refrained while adding another date to the Kidnapping board.
Simon really did not want the oldest (and deadliest) of Ryland’s brothers to shoot him. Or shoot him and then throw his body out to be eaten by the very eels that he, Simon, was named for.
He much preferred the warmth that fluttered in his chest as he watched the genius playfully shove his brother before turning a beaming smile to Simon.
Yeah, he could live with this warmth.
(Court was about to shove the two idiots into a closet and be done with it. If they made one more set of googly eyes at each other, in front of Claire, he would. Even if it meant dealing with his baby brother’s ire for weeks.
Maybe Colt would help him hide if he explained it was for Ryland’s happiness……
….well, he’d thought he would die years ago. And this would be for a great cause.)