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“Captain,” Doctor Y said stiffly. “Has Apollonia gone?”
“Yes,” he said.
He was still in the hangar where he’d seen her off. There was another forty minutes until the hearing resumed, and this was as good a place as any to get some silence and time alone.
The doctor seemed disinclined to let him have more solitude, however.
“Why?” he asked. His voice was more clipped, less friendly, than Brooks was used to.
He regarded the AI machine with an arched eyebrow. “Because it was better this way.”
“I see,” Y replied. A pregnant silence went by, and he spoke again. “I believe that she was very upset, Captain.”
“I think so,” he agreed.
“Are you sure sending her off was the best idea?”
“Yes,” he replied shortly. “Optimal? No. But trust me when I say it was right.”
He was not sure how much he should reveal to Dr. Y – not simply because of the subterfuge needed in getting her away from Freeman. But Y was a wild card, his mind operating in ways that Brooks knew he’d never understand. And yet, despite that, he cared mostly for his own purview, not the overall picture.
“I believe you have made a mistake, Captain.”
Brooks felt a little annoyance. “So noted, Doctor. Now, if you would, I’d like-“
The doors opened, and Director Freeman came in, followed by two orderlies and two MPs.
“Is she still here?” he demanded of Brooks, stomping up to him.
“Who, Director?” he asked.
“You know! Apollonia Nor!” the man spat.
“I’m afraid you missed her,” Brooks said.
The man turned to the MPs. “Recall that shuttle immediately.”
The man went to do so, but then looked up. “I can’t, sir. It’s going under Admiral Vandoss’s authority and I can’t override that.”
The director glared at Brooks. “I had a meeting with her on my itinerary.”
“I was unaware,” Brooks said. “However, something more pressing called her away.”
“This is true,” Dr. Y chimed in. “I recommended she return to the Craton for medical reasons. She is most comfortable there, and these recent events have taxed her system greatly. She has been exposed to many novel pathogens, and I will need to give her a full antibiotic course treatment for her own safety.”
“Oh, Dr. Y,” Freeman said, as if just noticing the AI. “I did not realize you were there.”
“How curious,” Y replied. “I saw your eyes settle upon me for some milliseconds, and surely your synapses registered my presence in those moments.”
Freeman ignored that. “That antibiotic treatment could be done sooner at one of my labs,” he said acidly.
“Ah, how unfortunate,” Y replied. “But unnecessary, she will arrive soon enough back at the Craton. I will have to beam back soon, myself.”
Freeman glared at Y, then turned to give Brooks the same treatment. Without another word, he left.
“I believe I have made an enemy,” Dr. Y said, sounding oddly pleased.
“I believe so,” Brooks agreed. “I think he’s making a lot of enemies today.”
Other Terrestrial 
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