That was odd—he was clearly acting, but he wasn’t accepting her input. Perhaps Ian and Em had given him a private assignment. AJ glanced at the nearest camera questioningly.
Next, she advanced to the cargo bay: vacant. AJ’s heart plummeted. The quietness was starting to get to her. All she could hear was the mechanical whirring of the set. Where was everyone?
Breathless, she sped toward the captain’s quarters on the second floor. His comfortable red room was a good location for group scenes.
When AJ arrived, she felt another thud of confusion: Captain Quentin, First Mate Zora, and the brute, Bill Pyrus, were all collapsed on the floor, dead asleep.
“Zora,” said AJ, kneeling. She gave Toni a shake, but she didn’t respond. “Captain. Bill.” Likewise, Xiaobo and Andy remained inert.
What the hell was going on?
AJ’s pulse was in her ears as she sped toward sickbay. Dr. Iris would be able to revive everyone else, and then as a group they’d awaken the crale.
The mint-hued infirmary was silent, the racks of obscure medical instruments on the walls sparkling like strange tinsel. AJ felt the hair on the back of her neck rise. She knew before she turned around what she would find: the doctor asleep at her desk.
AJ raked her fingers through her hair.
Navi,she thought. Navi was a cyborg, so maybe whatever was affecting everyone else wasn’t affecting her. Relief flooded AJ.Yes.They were setting up Anjalee as the episode’s lead.
The Tech Lair was at the far end of the galley. AJ’s panic surged as she walked into the gadget-filled workshop to find Dave slumped beside an inert Anjalee; he’d fallen asleep while repairing her.
That left…her. AJ.Ana.
Suddenly, AJ became viscerally aware of every camera in the room.
She gulped. They’d lost their minds. A whole episode of Ana Taron her own?
AJ closed her eyes.
She wasn’t alone. Noah Drew was awake in his cell. She would bet anything on it.
They were teeing her up asfuckingAlara.
AJ’s gaze snapped to the nearest camera. She could easily picture Ian and Em in their editing bay, coldly staring back.
So much for Ian turning the other cheek. He had literally knocked out the entire cast to herd her and Noah together—like this was any old reality show. Like AJ was any old contestant.
Dismay churned through AJ, cold as slush. She hadn’t signed up for this—she hadtoldIan she didn’t act. And Toni—they’d talked for hours last night. What must she think now?
AJ was within arm’s reach of an exit. She could walk out.
But if she walked off this set, she needed to be prepared to walk away from this show. And how could she do that without fucking up her whole life? Ian wasn’t just her boss here, he was her boss in New York, part of her community at UCB.
And she could kiss off any chance of Em Tyner helping her out of reality TV.
There was no good option. AJ was fully and royally fucked. She took a deep breath and then another. Toni would be pissed at first, but she was already poised to be Anjalee’s love interest. She wouldn’t want AJ to lose her world over this. She would get it eventually. Shewould.
AJ drew her shoulders back and stalked out of the Tech Lair.
The blue light of the crale’s sleep state lent the brig an eerie glow. As AJ strode in, her suspicions were confirmed: Noah was pacing in front of his green screen window, wide awake.
They locked in the instant their eyes met, and the worst part was, it felt fucking great.
“You’re awake,” said AJ, sensing his readiness. This wasn’t just Ian and Em. Noah had known it was coming. Had been pushing for her from the start.
His eyes shone as he took in her anger. “So are you.”
AJ could barely keep her hands from shaking. “Everyone else is asleep.”
