The Juggernaut (Juggernaut #1)

Eighteen

Tila spent the rest of the day in the workshop at Malachi's computer becoming increasingly irritable as the day dragged on.

The archived news that she uncovered emphasised the spectacle of the adventure of the colony mission and the pioneer spirit of the volunteer colonists.

Most of the stories avoided dry details like the complex web of funding for the mission made between dozens of corporations across multiple star-systems. It was all fluff and no substance.

I thought computers were supposed to make this easier.

Tila didn't doubt that Malachi could have found the information she sought in a fraction of the time, but she was already asking a lot of him.

Getting the ship wasn't going to be easy. Without an airtight reason Theo would have no reason to let his son leave the system, and there was no need to complicate things by telling Theo that Ellie and Tila would also be coming. Some things were best left unsaid to Theo as far as Tila was concerned.

But should Ellie come?

Tila needed Malachi. Although she didn't expect the trip to be dangerous, she was grateful that he was capable enough to look after himself.

Ellie, on the other hand, was neither of those things. Sure, if they needed someone to flash a smile and look pretty Ellie would be her first choice, but otherwise she would just be in the way, wouldn't she?

Do I want to spend the whole trip worrying about Ellie when I have something this important to do?

Tila grunted to herself as she read and made notes, annoyed that Ellie was distracting her already and they hadn't even left yet. How bad would it be when they arrived?

Maybe it was for the best that Ellie stayed behind.

Tila tried to concentrate once more on the task at hand, when Ellie suddenly arrived in person, bounded into the room and shrieked that Malachi was chasing her with dirty hands.

"Tila, help me!" she squealed. Ellie leapt behind Tila to use her as a human shield. Ellie bumped against the chair as she turned and accidentally nudged Tila's elbow. Tila's hand stumbled against the keyboard and erased the work of the last twenty minutes.

Malachi ambled in. He was filthy, with black stains covering his already dark skin and most of his clothing.

"I told you it wasn't going to work!" He pointed a playfully accusing finger at Ellie.

"I didn't make you do it!" Ellie protested.

"It was better to take the chance than listen to you keep badgering me about it."

"Hey!" shouted Tila. "What's going on?"

"Somebody thought it would be a good idea to drain the lubricant from her racer without depressurizing the system," said Malachi.

"Well somebody who is an engineer should know better than to listen to my advice," countered Ellie.

"I was trying to save time so you would stop nagging me."

"I don't nag!"

"You haven't stopped all day!"

"HEY!" Tila slammed her hand down on the table. Couldn't they see that she was trying to work? "Do you have to do that in here?"

Ellie and Malachi exchanged a glance.

"Sorry, Tila," said Malachi, his smile fading. "But I need a detergent from the stores. It's the only thing that gets this dirt out."

He shrugged at Ellie behind Tila's back and began searching through storage boxes for the cloths and sprays he needed. As far as he was concerned that was the end of it.