Dylan wasn't there when Levi woke, and he had to peer around the bedroom to see where she had put his braces before worming out of bed. He pulled on new socks and then snapped the braces around his feet and ankles, glad for their assistance in his mobility. He dressed quickly and hobbled to the living room. Dylan had set out a covered plate and some tea next to his holo-rib. A message stated that she was sorry, she had to talk to Tyson about the congress meeting. Levi didn't quite understand, but he slowly finished his morning routine; shaving, eating and preparing for another day at the archives.
There was a knock at the door and Levi opened it so Laurier and Matisse could come in.
"Merci for coming," Levi said. "I knew I couldn't get this alone."
Matisse looked around at the artwork and the rows of books with a bit of astonishment. Laurier pulled a cart into the berth, setting it up next to the bookshelves.
"You have so many," Matisse managed.
"Dylan bought most of them from others around the base," Levi replied, feeling oddly detached from his collection. "About a third are my father's."
"Levi, you don't have to move these if you don't want to," Matisse told him. "They are yours, after all."
"It's fine."
Levi wanted everything that was being used against him out of his home. Who knew, maybe he would be able to do some good on congress. He knew that many of the Canary crew still held him in high regard and perhaps he could use that to create sensible laws for this place. But for now, the bookshelves had to leave.
"I don't know if it would be easier to take the books off the shelves; sorry, I had a bit of a late start this morning."
"We should be able to manage," Laurier mused. "Here."
Matisse and he were able to lift the bookshelf high enough that Levi could get the cart underneath. They did the same with the second one and then maneuvered around the furniture.
"How did yesterday go?" Levi inquired.
"Good. I don't know why Libba didn't send you an update as well as Dashiell; I'll make sure she does that today," Matisse replied. "Laurier thinks he knows why we were causing interference and he's going to work on it today."
"Oh?"
"I wouldn't ask," Matisse added. "I made that mistake yesterday and I still don't understand. Just accept that Laurier will fix it."
"I can speak for myself," Laurier grumbled.
They navigated the hallways, passing people giving some sidelong glances to arrive at the new archives office. Levi sighed as they entered the room. Libba was already there, moving the couch away from corner so they had space for the bookshelves.
"We're going to need probably another couple of shelves," Libba said. "I have books, as does Dashiell. They should be down here too. We can catalogue them and start a library."
"A what?" Matisse grunted as he moved the bookshelf off the cart.
A couple books fell as they shuffled it back into the corner and Levi picked these up, placing them back where they had fallen. Matisse and Laurier moved on to the next bookshelf, setting it carefully against the wall.
"It was a place you could borrow books on Earth," she explained.
"Only these books are really the last of their kind," Matisse pointed out. "Levi took care of his, but I don't know if we should trust three hundred people to do the same. I think they should stay here. We have a couch, and we could get some device to scan the pages if people want to take them home. But until we can print our own books, I wouldn't want Levi's collection damaged."
"Let's at least catalogue them," Levi cut in. "Matisse probably right that we should keep them here for now. I'll talk to Lully about printing copies for people to take home if that becomes something that anyone wants. No one ever asked about my books before this week."
His holo-rib chimed. Levi checked it, seeing that it was a message from Alcott, making sure that he was eating. He smiled, glad that she was still worrying about him even with Dylan home. He missed seeing her every day. She had been busy dealing with Tyson and he had this rotated archive situation come up and they hadn't had lunch together in ages.
"Did you find anything in the video logs?" Libba inquired.
"No," Levi sighed. "I made it to the Canary's launch and haven't watched past that. Earth wasn't a happy place when you left, was it?"
Libba grimaced. She always seemed so carefree here, but perhaps after the stress and turmoil on Earth, even the base politics seemed minor. Levi could understand that.
"It was...overwhelming," she admitted. "I was a mother of two flying around the country trying to assure people we did care that they were starving. But of course, the fact that I'm flying about wearing expensive dresses did nothing to actually reassure anyone."
"Do you feel bad about leaving?" Levi pressed.
It was a little personal, but he wanted to understand Dashiell better in order to reason with him. Levi didn't want to live his life out among tekcom and bookshelves, so he needed to find a way to talk to the captain who had put him here.
"I don't, and I know that's selfish of me," she shrugged. "At the end of the day, it was Dashiell's call. He didn't ask me, because he knew I didn't want my children growing up in a war-torn America if we could help it. Dashiell Turner being there wouldn't have saved any lives as far as I know."
"How can you tell?" Matisse asked.
"He was just one man. And countries were starting to threaten us; Dashiell isn't a military man, what was he going to do? Grab a gun and defend our borders? He could calm people down, he could make people feel hope, but..."
She sighed and didn't speak for a moment. Levi remembered how much Dylan and many others didn't like Libba when she had first arrived. Levi was now going to have the chance to know this woman better than most.
"He was just one man," Libba repeated after a moment. "And people kept thinking that this one man was going to save everyone in the United States? That's rotated. I would have fled the country too."
She managed one of her usual smiles. "I never thought I would be using your swearwords. They come in handy though."
Levi's holo-rib chimed once more and he glanced down at an odd message from Dashiell. He frowned, realizing that this would be his first congress meeting. Dylan always dressed up, but he wasn't sure that he could force himself to.
"What's wrong?" Matisse asked, when Levi didn't say anything.
"Congress meeting," Levi replied.
"You'll be fine," Libba assured him. "Go on, we can get busy here."
"Let us know how it goes," Laurier called. "If Dashiell's going to send us to space so we can ask Earth questions ourselves, I want to have time to pack."
"Now you're being ridiculous," Libba scoffed.
"With the way this week has gone? Not really," Matisse pointed out.
___
Dearest Levi. He would be good in this role, even if he is unhappy about it
YOU ARE READING
If Jove Stray
Science Fiction{✨Book 5✨} Earth. Light years away, and yet now that some on the base were born there, it seems so...close. As communication with the mother planet seems more and more likely, Dylan and Alcott have to wonder if Earth really has anything to offer to...
