Futanari Freighter Pt 05

Futanari Freighter 5

Carla had healed pretty well in the three days since the accident, no longer needing to wear any masks during waking hours or sleeping. It was still a little raw and sensitive, but it was much better.

But she did not

feel

better. No one did. Things had only gotten more tense since then.

There'd been more accidents. More incidents of faulty equipment. Wires shorting out, pressure sensors reading badly, valves not opening properly.

The crew was on edge, and Carla couldn't blame them; the class of ship the

Tangerine

was had a reputation for falling apart like this without good and consistent maintenance. When it did, it was damned reliable.

The

Tangerine

had meticulous maintenance, and it was anything but reliable at the present time. Fortunately, the engines and the FTL systems seemed entirely fine, but people were losing faith in everything else.

Many of the Zamaar had been arguing with each other. Not quite at each other's throats, but close enough. Calling out who 'hadn't been pulling their weight', though without sufficient evidence, no one could really be blamed. And the tight-knit 'clan' of the

Tangerine

couldn't really stay angry at each other for long, they knew everyone better than that.

Which ultimately led to one word being repeated frequently among the crew, so much, Carla knew it in their own language, though she could not easily pronounce it.

Sabotage.

Captain J'mai had been quick to put to bed the claims, but hadn't been successful.

More and more crew echoed the sentiment, and it was quickly becoming a firm belief among many. After all, what else could it be?

For Carla's part, she had been rather terrified, initially, that she'd be blamed; an outsider, a human, boards the ship, and then everything goes wrong.

Sure, she was ousted from her cabin by the first accident, and injured in another. But what if they thought she deliberately got herself hurt? To throw suspicion off of her?

Or maybe she got hoisted by her own petard?

Such was her worrying, Heyto caught her pacing outside her current quarters, as her original room still hadn't been fixed, with all the other issues going on... its priority had been lowered.

"You okay, Carla?" they asked.

Carla paused, and looked at the Zamaar, trying to feign ignorance.

"What? Oh, yeah, I'm good," she assured, unconvincingly.

Heyto crossed her arms, but put on a concerned look.

"Carla, I have learned a thing or two about humans in my time. I don't always know when one is lying to me, but I know when the ones that are bad at it are."

Carla wanted to protest. Hell, she could've told Heyto to buzz off, the alien would've done so. Perhaps with some debate, but they would've.

Carla, however, was too fond of Heyto for that; they had come to her aid when she was feeling conflicted about her own feelings towards the crew and its proclivities, and her own desires, helped her take it easy.

She couldn't do that to Heyto.

Carla sighed.

"I'm worried," Carla admitted, leaning against the wall next to the door. She didn't know where Tana was, but it was probably for the best that they weren't around.

"About the malfunctions? We all are," Heyto answered reassuringly.

Carla shook her head.

"No, not the malfunctions... no, about who's gonna be blamed for them."

"Carla, there's no one to blame--"

"Oh come on," Carla interrupted, pushing off the wall to face Heyto. "Everyone's thinking it, everyone's saying it. It's sabotage. They don't know who would or why. But there's someone who's new to the ship, an outsider, and things didn't start going wrong until she showed up."

"I'm going to stop you, right there," Heyto said firmly. More firmly than Carla had ever heard them, enough that it made her pause.

Heyto sighed, and held up a hand, asking for understanding.

"I know where you're coming from. I can see the logic. But I want you to understand,

no one

is blaming you. No one has even suggested it. Or, well, I haven't heard such, and I make sure to be on top of ship gossip. No one thinks it's you because they don't see a reason for it. If things go catastrophically wrong, you're stuck with us too."

"But they don't know me, Heyto," Carla interjected. "Who was I before I got on board? I know how these rumours work, I know how things start."

"Carla, they don't think that. I mean, it'd be too obvious, wouldn't it? The only human boards the ship, then things go wrong? Isn't that a little

too

coincidental? That is, on the nose? The crew doesn't think any saboteur would make themselves that well known."

"Wait... are you saying, because I'm an outsider... I'm

not

suspected?"

"In a way, yes. You are the only human on board, that would make it really

easy

to pin the blame on you. If it is sabotage, you'd be way too obvious, it just wouldn't make sense."

Carla looked to the side, and then breathed out a sigh of relief.

"That's different logic... but I can see it," she admitted.

"Besides, you had an extensive background check, everyone has. Everything was above board. You've nothing to be worried about. Besides... I have your back."

Heyto was giving her such an assuring look, Carla couldn't help smiling.

"Thanks," she answered, and Heyto smiled in returrn. "Though I still worry."

"To be honest, I'm more worried about Tana..." Heyto admitted, turning their head away in concern.

"Tana?"

Heyto nodded.

"I haven't heard anything about you, but some people are suspecting her. She's been unhappy ever since the incident that kicked you out of your first quarters. Now, that in itself didn't make people suspect her, that was just unfortunate. But she's always been a little bit of an outsider. Still close with us, but... she always did like to keep to herself."

Heyto sighed, moving over to the door to Tana and Carla's shared cabin, pressing their hand against it.

"I think it's nonsense. Tana's just a little private, they wouldn't dream of sabotaging this ship. All the same, they've had arguments with some of the crew in the past. And I think maybe some people are holding it against them."

"But if I was too obvious, why isn't Tana?" Carla asked.

"Because they're an 'outsider' in a different way. And I don't like using that term for them, they're one of us. But that's why it's different. They're close with us, but... perhaps there's a part of them loyal to something else. At least, that's what I believe the line of reasoning is. 'The enemy within' as you humans might put it. But Tana would never, I'm sure of it. Which is why I'm worried for them. They've already been stressed since they lost the privacy of their cabin. This new suspicion won't do them any good."

Carla felt a pang of sympathy for Tana; sure, they had been pretty cold towards her, and difficult, but to be quietly shunned by a group of people you know so well... fuck, they've probably had sex with most of them.

It must hurt.

"I wish I could help, but I think I'd make it worse," Carla admitted.

Heyto nodded.

"Unfortunately, yes. Just... give them space. I'll make sure the crew knows their place, even if I have to get the captain to put their foot down. We can't tolerate this kind of suspicion, not now."

"But... do

you

think it's sabotage?" Carla ventured.

Heyto paused, and looked away.

"I'd rather not assume... but I won't lie, something doesn't seem right. I shouldn't be saying this, given my job, but I do feel like something unusual is going on. I just hope we can get to the bottom of it before..."

Heyto trailed off, their attention drawn to approaching footsteps.

It was Tana, their face dark and sullen.

They barely acknowledged Heyto or Carla, swiftly entering their cabin and closing the door behind them, without a word. It felt like they would've slammed it shut if they could.

There was a brief moment of awkward silence, finally cut by Heyto sighing.

"I think I need to go and address the crew," Heyto said. "I'll be in touch."

"Sure," Carla agreed, waving goodbye to Heyto as the Crew Relations officer walked away, their gait much stiffer than usual.

Everyone was tense, and it didn't seem like things were going to be getting any easier.

---

Carla sipped from a bottle of water, watching as a trio of Zamaar crowded around a vending machine, checking it over after it had a short circuit.

Normally, only one person would be needed for something so trivial. But with the current state of the ship, and level of tension, they feared it might've become a far worse issue.

It didn't seem like it was going to, but even in the rec room, Carla could feel the anxiety, it was practically palpable.

There was another trio in the room, at a different table. They were talking in lowered voices, and in their own tongue. Carla only picked up a few words, not enough to even remotely know what they were talking about.

But she was certain she heard the name 'Tana'... and given the tones of voice, she didn't think good things were being said.

She felt like she should've intervened, but was that wise? Polite even? If not polite, it certainly wasn't the best time to go ticking off other members of the crew, not with everyone as wound up as they were.

She hoped that none of them did anything drastic.

Just then, a familiar face sat down next to Carla, almost startling her.

It was G'yuun, ever upbeat, judging from their face.

"How you doing, Carla?" they greeted, and Carla smiled.

"I'm doing fine, much better now," Carla assured.

"I can see it. You've gone from looking like a tomato to ham," they teased, Carla giggling.

"Thank you for the kind words," she responded sardonically.

G'yuun giggled and then looked around, sighing, some of that energy fading a little.

"Things have been a little tense around here, haven't they?"

"That's an understatement," Carla quipped, sipping her water again.

"Just trying to undersell things a little so I don't go mad. It's lunacy in my warehouse," G'yuun remarked. "Everyone's coming to requisition parts. I tell them, we've got parts, but they're worried we're gonna run out at this rate. We've got plenty, but that doesn't stop them worrying."

"Given how many things keep breaking, can't say I blame them," Carla said.

They both looked up as the lights in the rec room flickered briefly.

"Well, on the bright side, our trip's nearly coming to an end. We'll have a dry dock to give the ship a proper check, even an overhaul if we have to, deadlines be damned."

G'yuun then looked around nervously, before leaning in closer and lowering her voice a little.

"Though I've heard tell we might divert to Gonzalez Station before we reach our destination. That'll add quite a bit of time to the trip."

"Gonzalez Station?" Carla asked.

"It's an outpost station. It doesn't have a full dry-dock, but it's some place we can drop out of FTL, and give our ship a good look over with some more adequate facilities. As well as additional support, and someplace we can live for a while if the ship isn't safe. And at the very least, relax on something stable."

Carla knew about these stations; they were strategically placed around certain star systems on the main transit routes between planetary systems. They didn't always have much in the way of valuable resources in these systems, but the stations served as vital emergency stopping points, as well as way stations for longer expeditions. They maintained their own FTL rings, and a decent suite of facilities to help ships in need.

An unscheduled stop at once of these stations wasn't the ideal scenario for a freighter, even one like the

Tangerine

, with its relative freedom of travel and trade.

Freighters needed to be timely, and a stop at Gonzalez Station would be problematic at the best.

But given how problematic the ship was being... it'd become a matter of safety.

"I see... do you think we'll be able to find the issue there?" Carla asked.

"I hope so. If nothing else than to put this nonsense about sabotage to bed," G'yuun muttered.

"Do you think there's anything to that?"

G'yuun shrugged.

"To be honest... I don't know. Something isn't right, that much I can be sure of. I've not worked this hard in a long while. Haven't even had a chance for a quickie, it's been that constant."

Carla subtly rolled her eyes at G'yuun's complaint, though for a species where sexual intimacy was deeply cultural, it probably was a source of frustration.

It did little to stem Carla's own concerns regarding the state of the ship; no one quite wanted to suddenly explode into a million pieces in the middle of FTL.

"And what if it

is

sabotage?" Carla queried warily, trying to sound like she was only asking a theoretical and not suggesting anything concrete.

"Then Gonzalez Station is our best bet," G'yuun answered. "We can find out what the hell is going on with

some

safety."

Voices raised at the nearby table with the other aliens, and paired fingers were pointed at another. Carla didn't know what was being said, the Zamaar still conversing in their language... but G'yuun buried their face in their hands, shaking their head. So it was obviously sordid business.

"What are they saying?" Carla asked quietly.

"They're accusing Tana," G'yuun muttered glumly. "One of them is a little less quick to pin the blame on them, so... yeah."

"Should we intervene?"

G'yuun shook their head.

"I came here to take a break from all the nonsense, I don't really want to get involved with different nonsense... though, I personally think anyone blaming Tana needs to... well, I can't really say it in English, there isn't really a decent translation."

Carla nodded all the same, getting the hint.

"Poor Tana... I feel sorry for them, despite the shit they fling at me," she admitted. G'yuun nodded.

"Tana's a good person, just... our equivalent of an introvert. I'm confident that, for all their ties to their old culture, they'd never do anything to harm us."

Carla had to agree, the Zamaar on this ship were otherwise so tightly knit, and Tana was no exception until now.

And then, as if summoned by the conversation, its very topic walked in. Tana's features were tight and grim, and they were clearly stressed.

The room went silent, and all eyes turned to Tana.

They did not acknowledge the looks, going to a working vending machine, ordering a drink, and finding a lonely table to sit down on. They looked like they were covered in sweat, clearly working hard on one of the many,

many

technical faults that had plagued the

Tangerine

.

Seemed like a lot of wasted effort to try and reverse one's sabotage. Then again, maybe it was to keep themselves out of any further suspicion.

Carla jerked her head, trying to dislodge that thought.

No, she could not start believing the stories herself. 'Innocent until proven guilty'. Apparently the crew extended that courtesy to her, the least she could do was do the same for Tana, even if they were a pain in the ass.

The other Zamaar returned to what they were doing, the group at the table conversing in hushed tones now.

G'yuun sighed.

"I feel like I don't know some of my own crew," they grumbled. "This attitude... its toxic. Like its poisoning us, making us pin our frustrations on the wrong person. I hope we figure this out soon... I don't like this."

The normally upbeat G'yuun seemed so sullen, it was unsettling. They had entered cheerily enough, but now, all that built up stress they'd been keeping a lid on was bubbling to the surface.

This was not the Zamaar who taught Carla that thing with the fingers.

She reached forward, and placed a hand on G'yuun's shoulder reassuringly.

"Hey. We'll figure this out. God knows I want some peace and quiet on this job, I wanted the excitement for the research vessel," she said. "Well, a different kind of excitement."

G'yuun chuckled, holding onto Carla's hand.

"Thank you, Carla. You're a good person, you know that, right?"

"I had always thought so, but it's good to hear it from someone else," Carla agreed.

The two shared a comforting laugh, and then continued on with lighter topics of conversation... though the spectre of the other group side-eyeing Tana was never far from their minds...

---

Carla had been requested to help with a repair job down in one of the engineering bays near the engine rooms. She still wasn't cleared for working in some sections of the ship, but the demand on the crew had her being assigned to help with a faulty trash compactor.

The thought of being crushed had sent a shiver down her spine, but fortunately that risk meant hard safeties part of its design, manual mechanical overrides meant to lock the system open and disengage it from hydraulic mechanisms.

And she wasn't expected to actually go into it. Just assist the Zamaar working on it from the sidelines.

The engineering bay was simultaneously spacious and cramped; it had a vaulted ceiling, at least ten metres over her head. There were open spaces and walkways connecting to other parts of the expansive compartment.

But it was choked with support framework, catwalks, pipes, conduits, and other machines dedicated to the operation of a fairly large ship. At the end of the long room, partly obscured by the chaotic industrial shapes that filled the space, she saw doors leading to the expansive engine rooms, along with enormous pipes partly embedded into the ceiling, running the entire length of the far wall and disappearing into another at the room's end.

Fuel lines and coolant pipes. It really was a marvel to see just how

huge

this ship really was.

"Carla, quit daydreaming, standby on the controls," came a voice from below.

Carla was snapped out of her gazing, and looked down into the open trash compactor; normally it was an enclosed design, lidded by a panel connected to a chute, which delivered various trash and non-recyclable inorganic waste into the crusher chamber. But currently, that lid was raised, leaving the compactor open to air.

Two Zamaar were walking around inside the compactor, a panel on the wall removed to expose some of the inner workings.

Carla was up top on an overlooking catwalk, working on a control panel. Normally, it could manually operate the thing, but with much of the system decoupled, it could only operate in diagnostic mode.

"I'm ready when you are, K'tuu," Carla announced.

The two Zamaar nodded, and started rooting around in the open panel. Instructions were called out, and Carla followed them as they came. Lights lit up on the control panel, indicating no faults in whatever the two aliens were fiddling with.

Eventually, they were done with that, and scratched their heads, a behaviour they'd learned entirely from humans; a more native gesture of confusion was when they pressed a hand's two fingers to one side of their jaw.

"This seems fine. You really think it could be the hydraulics?" K'tuu said.

"Seems like it'd have to be," the other Zamaar said. They sounded... exasperated about it.

Both sighed, and then called out to another.

"Okay, Tana, come over here," K'tuu commanded.

Carla perked up, and saw the figure of Tana wandering over, looking as sullen as ever. They had a bag slung over their shoulder, full of tools.

"Looks like it is the hydraulics," the other Zamaar in the compactor admitted. They sounded professional, but even Carla could detect the hint of begrudging concession.

"I told you it was," Tana said simply, sounding a little tired. They looked up at Carla. For a brief moment, there was a glimpse of disdain, but the expression oddly softened.

"Alright, open up the back hatch," Tana commanded.