Tejeda fell back, limbs flailing into the air, desperate to hold onto the desk. Writhing, he fell flat. He didn’t even feel pain when his ass hit the floor. That was how numb he had become. The coolness inside the room felt quite refreshing after Nubilonia’s scorching heat.

A glance around the chamber showed him that no one was around. A relieved "ouch" escaped his lips. He carefully removed the suckers from his leg and stroked his kneecaps. They were sore as hell. His muscles needed some rubbing before they were able to hold his weight. Even his neck ached, as if he had been sleeping in an awkward position.

Fixed around his waist, a stasis band covered his belly. Why did they put something like that on him? No need for stasis for an hour or so, geez. He yanked it open and threw it on the floor.

“Rise and shine, sleepyhead!”

Of course, there was always someone watching everything, including his butt rubbing pain. “E00, how long have I been in the construct?”

“It suffices to say longer than we all expected.” E00 paused for a while as Tejeda massaged his temples. “I’ve just informed the acting captain about your magical return into the land of the living. She’s expecting you in the captain’s office.”

“When you go all official like this, I know something is up. Spill it out, E00.”

“Shayla is more qualified than me to put you up to speed.”

“Yeah?” Tejeda groaned as he managed to get on his feet and stretched his legs. “If so, what is it that makes her so uniquely qualified?”

“Whatever happens, you are never angry or raging at her or around her. That’s her superpower. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I’m needed somewhere else.”

“Somewhere else? What is happening around here?”

No answer came through the speakers, and Tejeda sighed. He couldn’t have been out cold for more than an hour or so, and his crew went all crazy on him. He was supposed to be the unstable one. Shaking his head, he approached the bed and found his pants neatly folded there.

His thoughts jumped back and forth between what had happened in that awful reenactment and what was happening now. How long had it been since he stepped into that virtual reality?

Tejeda climbed the three steps toward the upper deck and waited for his office door to open. As he walked inside, he blinked furiously, trying to get his eyes to adjust to the dimmer light. It was his setting, though. A pungent smell assailed him, and he twitched his nose, holding back a sneeze.

“Good morning, sleeping beauty! Long have you slept,” Shayla said, rising from his chair. “E00 informed me that you’re up and brought you breakfast.” She looked at the dish on his desk. “I might have added too much pepper.”

Tejeda cursed his body's abundance of smell receptors as he sneezed. "How long have I been out cold?"

"We worked on repairs for twenty days, then another ten. So, give or take thirty days." Shayla crossed her arms and stared incandescently green. "When we departed Yacleemb, I took over as acting captain. We weren't sure when you'd return, and Jackeye claimed unplugging you from the construct wouldn't be safe. I was afraid you'd be stuck there forever."

“So… Were you worried about me?”

“It’s just the way you do things. Nothing around here is in proper order. Being captain in your wake is like being named in charge after the previous ruler destroyed everything and a quake disorganized even the ruins.” Shayla shrugged. “So, yeah, I was worried, but not for you, per se. Don’t get your hopes up.”

"Until you tell me otherwise, I will remain hopeless." His grin was something out of a dream. As if he could convince even the brightest of stars to dim until he had finished with them.

But unfortunately for him, Shayla seemed to be immune to his charms. “Oh, I think you’re hopeless regardless of what I say or do.”

She sat still, like a wild jungle beast waiting to unleash its rage. Instead of yelling or raving, she gave a slight smile and presented her report with a calm voice. "I assigned Jackeye a different room to sleep in. It was strange for him to stay with you. You should also count yourself lucky for maintaining the air feeding system in the cabin operating. It was the only thing that kept you alive."

Tejeda bent his shoulders and approached his seat at the table. His ears were heated and felt twice the size they should have been. It was as if Shayla should have been scolding him, and by not doing it, he felt even worse. Perhaps even ashamed. Not possible! Tejeda Hajar was never ashamed of anything.

Avoiding her stare, he sat on his chair without spinning around this time. He swiped down to bring up the screen, wanting something between him and her green gaze. His mind was already all over the place after reliving the events on Nubilonia. He couldn’t handle this right now.

Tejeda focused every last ounce of attention on understanding the meaning of what he saw. The stardate confirmed what Shayla said about him being in that virtual reality for thirty days. He wanted to kill that Nubilae named R… Argh, he had already forgotten his name.

As he kept scrolling, the map showed their destination and trajectory. Tejeda’s eyes widened. He rolled his chair to glance on a side to Shayla. Now she was the one with the smirk.

“I may still be dreaming.” He rubbed his eyes and returned to the screen. “It looks like we’re headed straight into a red giant.”

Shayla responded unfazed, her smirk intact. "You’re not dreaming, and yes, that’s where we’re going. We’re on a rescue mission."

“And who sanctioned and authorized this mission?” he asked with all the authority he could muster in his tone.

“I authorized it at E00’s request. You’ll not find anything about it there. It’s off the books. Now, eat, supreme deity.” She chuckled, a delicate fluttering sound, melodic and mocking at the same time. “We’ll be over with it before you finish your breakfast.”