C-Section was not significantly affected by the new disruptions elsewhere in the ship. Nevertheless, it made travel through the ship more difficult, or at least more dangerous, for those who needed to travel.
The Honorable Reverend Lon Robace Mettra Kalopello, the Neutron Star of the Children of the Expanding Light, sat at a table in the multipurpose room facing one of the windows, gazing off into the star field. In front of him were an assortment of gourmet delights, including soups, salads, baked goods, breads, fruit, two kinds of meat dishes, an assortment of drinks, and some Tarim berries to cleanse the palette between courses.
Normally, he had a bountiful meal set before him and would invite a number of his followers, sequentially, to sit, spend a few minutes with him, to talk to him or hear him talk, and to share in the meal. Since the evacuation, there was, for all practical purposes, an unlimited supply of food on the ship. And his cooks had wanted to make the ultimate meal. Or perhaps the penultimate meal. No one knew how long things would remain in the current state. So they had toiled, trying to outdo themselves for each meal. Reverend Lon had invited some to share his meal, but he also had been busy, and there was now ten times the food normally present. He had taken to simply delegating it to someone else, to give them the responsibility to ensure the food was enjoyed and that many could share in that simple pleasure.
Brother X'til would be arriving shortly with a report. He had put word out that he wished to speak to Sister Kendau afterward. In the meantime, he was talking to Brother Teshbin while Brother Y't'nli stood closer to the door, eating some nondescript Y'valatic baked good.
"To be honest, Neutron Star, the impending meeting of the ship and the white hole is more disturbing. The X'tonu'u and Y'valatic prisoners are more interested in killing each other than anyone else. As long as others don't get in the way, they're more intent on trying to even the score, or whatever they'd call it. The main thing is not to look like either an X or Y."
"And how does one do that, Brother Teshbin, since all of them look like humans, like...us, to the untrained observer?" asked the Neutron Star.
"Truth be told, we can't tell anyone apart either, your grace," Y't'nli admitted from across the room. "That's why both sides wear clan garments. Anything colorful and you're asking for trouble, unless you really know your local fashion." He nodded and went back to eating.
"Fine," said Lon, "and what about parts. Spare parts or equipment that we might need?"
"We've got more than enough of everything we need. And probably none of what we want," Teshbin said plainly. "The only ships and pods left are in pretty poor condition, with the exception of ours, of course. The ship'll probably hold together for another few days, maybe even a few weeks without repairs, significant structural ones I mean. It won't matter. The ship won't be around that long."
"The pod holds 5. That leaves room for one more, if you include us," Lon nodded at the two Brothers, "and X'til."
"I wouldn't be against rewarding Sister Kendau's, er, devotion to the cause, Neutron Star," smirked Teshbin.
"All in good time, Brother. All in good time."
*****
Brother X'til arrived about 20 minutes later. He was as unperturbed as ever, yet appeared to find something amusing. They spoke along in the multipurpose room.
"Why do you smirk, Brother X'til?" asked the Reverend.
"Because I had believed that being trapped on a disabled ship spiraling into a so-called white hole was the nadir of our problems. I was wrong."
"Oh?" the Neutron Star inquired. "You mean all that ruckus going on in Section B? I've heard it was both bays."
"Indeed, it would appear so."
"That cannot be accidental."
"Agreed. Parties within this ship are moving to try to hasten its demise. That will be challenging. If there were any competent scientists left on board, we could consult them. But it appears there are none. So going by our last, best estimates, we have perhaps a day left," X'til stated calmly.
"And our escape pod is currently in an operative state," added the Leader. "For the moment..." he said with a smile, before X'til could say anything. "So, that brings us to your mission. Was it a success?" the Neutron Star asked eagerly.
"As is usual, nothing is absolute or certain," the brother began, then quickly added, "except for your wisdom, of course."
The star cult leader nodded and X'til continued. "I was given the log by my...connection. As you might imagine, it was a rather chaotic environment. Since my brown robe holds no meaning to either faction, the risk I faced was relatively low. Still, I did not want to dwell there any longer than was necessary. I was not able to look at the information until I returned to C-Section." He paused.
"Yes?"
"There are some details I will omit. It had a security mechanism that was locked with an encryption key and had to be defeated. It was. The information it yielded was...of questionable use."
The leader narrowed his eyes and leaned in slightly, but said nothing, allowing X'til to go at his own slow pace.
"These logs were the galley logs. Not shopping manifests. They listed the menus, the dishes served, their recipes, how many were served, and data of that order."
"But the recipes must contain some clues. A Special of the Day, perhaps?" suggested the leader.
"That was the general direction I pursued. I found 4 dishes in the last week has some dust theme to their name. I checked and two of them matched dishes in which we detected traces. My hypothesis would be that this would be a way of disseminating it. Using a star-based theme would probably be too risky, as too many of the Brothers and Sisters would order that as a way to commune based only on the name. Not the same with dust."
Reverend Lon nodded. Then he asked, "Do we know the cook responsible?"
"No, Neutron Star."
"Or who ordered it.?"
"No. uh...but we do know..." he paused a moment, as his eyes scanned the ceiling for a moment, lost in thought, then continued, "...we do know someone who was connected to it. Are you familiar how the encryption process works and who holds the different keys?" he asked.
"No. I know the basics, but I don't know the details," admitted the leader.
"Well, no matter. The name of the responsible person is..." again X'til broke off for a moment, thought, then smiled to himself as he said, "Technical Sergent Jenkins."
"The one who was here earlier today?" asked the leader in disbelief.
"By your corona, you are correct. The very same."
The leader was quiet for a moment. Then asked, "These menus...do they indicate which galleys, and therefore which kitchens, prepared these dishes?"
"Yes, Neutron Star."
"Good, then perhaps Sister Kendau will be of use again. Thank you, for your help, old friend."
"I am certain I will need my own assistance soon enough."
"The stars pull and the stars push," said the Reverend wistfully as he dismissed X'til.
"And the white hole appears to do both simultaneously," replied X'til walking out the door.
*****
"Foolish, very foolish," Sister Kendau said. "You reject the Word of the Stars, a life of meaning and destiny. But then you stay here for...what? Hope for some impossible little miracle that benefits just you, while you ignore a Miracle of the entire universe."
Kendau, still wearing her hood, turned away from Jenkins, as he stood next to his workbench, and faced the door. Her rob was loose and nondescript, but that did not stop him from imagining her lithe, petite form that resided beneath it.
"I stayed here for you. You know that," Jenkins said quietly.
Kendau, her back to him, winced.
"And will you just plunge into the white hole, smiling peacefully? Laughing merrily? I think not. And will you escape? I think not as well," she said.
Jenkins reached out to put a hand on her shoulder, but then stopped and withdrew. He knew any physical contact would be rejected. This was the first time they had been alone in a room together since she had began to hear 'the word of the Stars' and he didn't want to ruin the moment, what little there was of it.
"I will leave. Your own leader has asked me to help with his escape pod. He knows I can fix it."
"Then you must do as he says. For both of your sakes," she said brightly, turning to face him. "He is truly wise and generous. You know he never intended to use that pod for himself, only to help other."
"I didn't know it existed until just a little while ago," Jenkins admitted. He didn't want to get into a fight over their differing opinions of the Leader. So he stuck to simple, objective statements.
"Well, maybe that is your fate. To repair the pod and leave with the word of the Children of the Expanding Light. For a layman, that is a reasonable destiny," she said. "If only, you'd allow yourself to see..."
"Do you want to get into that again? I don't, at least not right now. I do think there's a middle ground. I think there's hope. For the both of us," Jenkins said softly.
She took his hand and held it for a moment. And then said, "I'm so sorry you don't understand. Maybe our orbits, our paths, will align, but right now, I've got my tasks to do, and you have yours." Her tone grew a few degrees colder, more formal as she released his hand and said, "Till we meet again, Technical Sergeant." And with that, she left the lab, leaving Jenkins with only a hint of her lingering perfume and a dull ache of longing.