Chapter 37 - Heavier Than Any Barbell

Ryan and Danny had their heads together at the science station, and from the way Danny kept jabbing at his display and Ryan kept leaning closer, something had them both running hot. Luca could hear Danny's voice pitching up from halfway across the bridge. That was either very good news or very bad news, and with Danny, there was no in-between.

He headed over to them. "What's got you two so focused? Please tell me it's good news."

Ryan straightened up. "Captain, we're going over probe data. And uh, getting some pretty interesting readings."

"Interesting how?"

Danny was practically shaking, no exaggeration about it. The guy looked like a kid who'd just been told Christmas was happening twice. "Luca, we're picking up widespread biological signatures. Animal life, complex and diverse. It's everywhere."

Luca let out a low whistle. "Shit. Really?"

"Really." Danny's grin could have powered the ship. "Ecosystem looks vibrant. We're still analyzing the specifics, but the initial scans are incredible."

Not microbes or spores, but actual animal life, complex and widespread, all over a planet nobody from Earth had ever touched. Luca let that land for about two seconds before the captain part of his brain kicked in.

"Alright, alright, I get it, you two are having a science boner," he said, hovering over them. "But we need more than 'incredible,' Danny. Can we get a better look at this fauna? Weather patterns? Geology? Before we land on the planet?"

"That's where things get interesting," Ryan cut in. "I want to deploy one of our geostationary survey satellites. Position it above our target landing zone for real-time, high-resolution monitoring."

Ryan already had a plan. The guy probably had the satellite half-built in his head before Luca walked over.

"Alright then," Luca said. "Ryan, get that satellite prepped for deployment. Danny, you coordinate with Zoe to optimize scan parameters once it's in position. Let's not waste any more time flying blind here." He paused. "Try installing a battery before you deploy this one."

Ryan's expression said he was never going to live that down.

---

The infirmary smelled like antiseptic and recycled air, and the lighting was low enough that Luca had to blink a few times coming in from the bridge. Joey was adjusting settings on a monitoring console near the door, and the medical pod's glass canopy stood open, which meant Emily was awake. Which meant she was already working.

She sat upright in the pod, tablet in hand, studying what looked like atmospheric data. She looked up when he walked in, and a tired smile surfaced. She was wearing his hoodie. Zoe must have brought it down from her quarters, and the sight of Emily swimming in it while still hooked up to an IV did something to his chest that he elected to ignore.

"Nice hoodie," Luca said.

Emily shrugged, pulling the fabric tighter around herself. "It's cold in here."

She tugged the collar higher, and her cheeks went pink. "I hear you've been taking over without me." Her voice was thin, but the personality was intact.

Luca moved closer. Joey had propped her up with extra pillows, which was the kind of detail Joey always got right. "How are you feeling?"

"Like I got hit by a bus and then some." She managed a weak laugh that cost her more than she let on. "The pod works miracles, but apparently those miracles come with a price tag."

Joey looked up from his console. "The cellular repair process is intensive. Her body's been working overtime to heal the radiation damage. I've got her on pain meds to keep her comfortable, but nothing too strong. We need her alert."

Luca pulled a chair closer and dropped into it. "Do you need anything? Water, food? I could have Ryan hook up a screen so you can watch those terrible movies you like."

Emily's smile widened despite the obvious discomfort. "My movie taste is impeccable, thank you very much." She paused, studying his face with the focus she usually reserved for mission briefs. "You look tired. And excited. What did I miss?"

"Animal life," Luca said. "Danny and Ryan found biological signatures all over the planet. We deployed a geostationary satellite to get better readings."

Her eyes lit up, and the effort that took was visible. "I want to review the satellite data myself tomorrow. I have some ideas about optimal landing zone selection based on the biological distribution patterns." She shifted on the pillows. "Any signs of intelligence?"

"Nothing sapient from what we can tell, but complex ecosystems. Danny's practically vibrating out of his skin."

"I bet he is." Emily closed her eyes for a second, then forced them open again. "Complex ecosystems indicate stable climate patterns. If the biodiversity is that extensive, we're probably looking at reliable water cycles and established food webs. That's actually better for landing safety than finding intelligent life would be."

Even drugged and propped up in a medical pod, she was three steps ahead of the rest of them. Luca watched the way she fought to keep her eyes open and wanted to tell her to stop, to sleep, to let him handle it. But Emily didn't stop. That was the whole problem and the whole point of her.

"Hey," he said, and reached out to brush a strand of hair from her forehead before he could think about it. "You're not missing anything. The planet will still be there when you're ready."

Joey approached with a fresh dose of medication. "I want to keep you here overnight for observation, but your recovery is progressing exactly as expected. You should be good to go tomorrow." He looked between them. "Take it easy, Emily. Light duty. Your body's been through a lot."

Emily made a face. "Light duty. I'm the XO of a ship about to make first contact with an exoplanet."

"You're the XO of a ship whose captain needs you healthy," Luca said. "We're not landing until you're cleared for duty. That's not negotiable."

"Luca."

"Not negotiable, Em." He leaned back in the chair like the conversation was over, because it was. "Besides, Zoe's still calculating atmospheric entry parameters, and Ryan's busy coordinating satellite deployment. We've got time."

She studied him for a long moment. Then she reached up and caught his hand, and her fingers were warm and steady, and his pulse did something stupid. "Luca. I'm okay. But I need you to be okay, too." She squeezed. "Go get some sleep. That's an order from your XO."

"I promise." He pushed to his feet, squeezing her hand back. He hesitated, then leaned down and pressed a kiss to her forehead. Her skin was warm. She was here, breathing, giving him orders. He pulled back before he could make it weird. "Get some rest."

"Yes, sir," Emily said, her eyelids already heavy. Her expression had gone soft in a way that made his throat tight.

He stayed long enough to watch her face relax as sleep pulled her under. The machines beeped at steady intervals and the IV line dripped, and he sat there cataloging all of it because six days ago those machines had been doing most of the work and the beeping hadn't been steady at all.

He moved the chair closer to the pod. "I'll stay for a while. Keep an eye on things."

"No, you won't," Joey said from across the room. "You need sleep, Luca."

"As captain, I can make that call."

Joey tapped the display showing Emily's vital signs. "See this? Her heart rate spiked while you were here. She's trying to be strong for you instead of resting." He fixed Luca with a flat look. "Medical officer's orders. You go get some sleep and let your XO recover. That's my call to make."

The readout backed him up. Luca wanted to argue, but Joey was right, and the part of Luca that actually cared about Emily more than he cared about sitting next to her knew it. He pushed to his feet. "Fine. But if anything changes..."

"You'll be the first to know," Joey said. "Now go. Both of you need rest for what's coming."

Luca turned to leave, but Joey spoke again.

"You know," Joey said, adjusting another monitor, "there are plenty of blankets available if she gets cold."

Heat crept up the back of Luca's neck. "I'm sure there are."

The infirmary doors closed behind him, and he lingered in the corridor for a second, letting the quiet settle. Emily was safe, and she'd be back. Maybe when she wasn't half-dead on pain meds and he wasn't running a first-contact operation, he'd figure out how to say the thing he kept almost saying. It wasn't happening tonight.

---

The gym was the only place on the Triumph where Luca's brain shut up long enough to let his body do the talking. The System had bumped his STR, but stats on a screen didn't mean shit if the muscle underneath couldn't back them up. Let the conditioning slide and the gap between what the numbers said and what the body could do would show up at the worst possible time. So he lifted. It was either that or stand in the corridor outside the infirmary until Joey made good on his threat to sedate him too.

He was midway through his third set of deadlifts when Ryan strolled in, towel over one shoulder, running on the same restless energy that had been buzzing through the bridge all day.

"Alien animals," Ryan said, grabbing a bar from the rack without warming up, because warming up was apparently optional when you were Ryan Torres. "Not microbes. Not spores. Animals. Complex ones. Things that grew up on that planet without any help from us, living their lives, completely unaware that humans exist." He loaded weight onto the bar. "I've been an engineer my whole life and I almost cried at the biodiversity readouts. I'm not even embarrassed about it."

Luca set the bar down and wiped his face. "It's a lot."

"Danny's already named three things. He hasn't even seen them yet. Just the signatures."

"Sounds right." Danny naming species based on sensor data alone was exactly the sort of move Danny would pull.

Ryan racked the bar and reached for his towel. He looked over without making it obvious. Ryan was good at that, the casual check-in that pretended to be nothing.

"Eight hours at the med pod, huh?"

Luca adjusted his grip on the deadlift bar. "She's my XO."

"Sure she is."

They went back to lifting. The gym hummed around them, the quiet kind of noise that filled a room without asking permission. Ryan didn't push. He never did. He just showed up, and that was enough, and Luca didn't have the words for why that mattered so he didn't try.

He didn't feel lighter when they left. Something had shifted during those sets, but not the weight on the bar. He'd been carrying the last six days in his shoulders and his jaw and in the tight space behind his sternum, and none of it had gone anywhere. It just sat there, heavier than anything in the gym.