A swell of annoyance, or maybe regret, climbed up the back of her throat. She needed help. As much as she preferred to stay discreet, she’d have to risk it to keep the bridge in working order with Jackin gone.
“Kam, call Circitor Puck to the bridge for me,” she said. “I’ll be there in a minute.”
She pushed away from her desk and marched into the corridor. She rounded the corner and found Puck heading down the hall.
“Puck,” she called after him.
He turned and stopped, putting his fist to his chest in salute. “Sir.”
“Good timing, I just asked Kamara to call you.”
“She did, less than five minutes ago. Sorry, came as fast as I could.”
Adequin creased her brow. “Five minutes?”
“Yes, sir.”
She rubbed her temples.
Puck ran his hand over the top of his shaved head. “Uh, what’s wrong?”
“I don’t think you’re the Puck I’m looking for.”
He raised a skeptical eyebrow. “Sorry, sir?”
“Just wait here a minute, Circitor.” She continued toward the bridge, leaving a confused Puck behind.
“Uh, okay,” he called after her, but his edges were already wavering. Seconds later, he flashed out of existence.
At least it acted as pretty solid confirmation Puck was on his way … which relieved her, because as she entered the bridge and approached Jackin’s terminal, she didn’t have the first clue what she was looking at.
A series of warnings and notifications had stacked up. She assumed from her encounter with future Puck that they indicated the Argus had again drifted too close to the Divide. Or vice versa, as the case may be.
She chewed her lip and tried not to let the reality of “vice versa” weigh too heavily on her.
She slid the holographic display into the air above the terminal, then flipped through the menu options, looking for a way to defer the warnings. She really wished she’d made Jackin stay, and gone to Kharon Gate herself. He would know what to do, how to handle it. She didn’t know enough about their positioning with the Divide to make informed decisions, and though she had confidence in Puck’s experience as it read on paper, she’d had very little chance to work side by side with him in the past.
“Can I help you out there, sir?”
Adequin turned to find Puck standing over her shoulder. Hopefully the real Puck.
“Yes. Thanks for coming.”
“Oh, uh, sorry about the new kid the other day, sir.” Puck looked down at his hands. “You hadn’t assigned a work detail, so I figured he could help out in the mess. I didn’t know it’d … well, that it’d explode.”
“That’s okay. You’re not the only one that’s had … difficulties with him.”
“So, is he really royalty?”
“That’s not your concern, Circitor.”
Puck’s shoulders drew back. “Of course. Sorry, sir.”
She looked up to find his expression flat, but knowing. She lowered her voice. “Just, don’t say anything. We’ve got plenty of other issues around here at the moment.”
“Understood, sir.”
Jackin’s terminal beeped another alert.
“What’s going on?” Puck asked, his voice low. “Where’s Jackin?”
“He’s indisposed. I know you have experience with all…” She swept her hand over the terminal screen. “… this.”