Redshirts

asked.
    “About two hours,” Duvall said. “Why?”
    Finn fished in his pocket and pulled out a small blue oblong pill. “Here, take this.”
    Duvall peered at it. “What is it?”
    “It’s a mood leveler made from the orynx plant,” Finn said. “It’s very mild.”
    “I don’t need a mood leveler,” Duvall said. “I just need to smack Andy again.”
    “You can do both,” Finn said. “Trust me, Maia. You’re a wreck right now, and you know it. And like you said, that’s going to put your away team at risk.”
    “And taking a drug won’t?” Duvall said.
    “Not this one,” Finn said. “Like I said, it’s very mild. You’ll hardly notice the effect. All you’ll notice is that you’ll unclench a little. Just enough to focus on your job and not on your state of mind. It won’t affect anything else. You’ll still be sharp and aware.” He held the pill closer to Duvall.
    She peered at it again. “There’s lint on it,” she said.
    Finn dusted the lint off. “There,” he said.
    “All right,” Duvall said, taking the pill. “But if I start seeing talking lizards, I’m going to punch you.”
    “Fair enough,” Finn said. “Should I get you some water?”
    “I’m fine,” Duvall said, and dry swallowed. Then she leaned over and smacked Dahl across the face with an open palm slap.
    “What was that one for?” Dahl asked.
    “Finn said I could take the pill and slap you,” Duvall said, and then frowned. She looked up at Finn. “What was this pill made of?”
    “The orynx plant,” Finn said.
    “And its effects are mild,” Duvall said.
    “Usually,” Finn said.
    “Because I’ll tell you what, I’m getting some pretty strong effects all of a sudden,” Duvall said, and then slumped off her bunk. Dahl caught her before she collapsed onto the deck.
    “What did you do?” Dahl asked Finn, struggling with Duvall’s unconscious body.
    “Quite obviously, I knocked her out,” Finn said, walking over to assist Dahl.
    “I thought you said that pill was very mild, ” Dahl said.
    “I lied,” Finn said, and took Duvall’s legs. The two of them maneuvered her back onto her bunk.
    “How long is she going to be out?” Dahl asked
    “A dose like that will knock out a good-sized man for about eight hours,” Finn said, “so she’ll probably be down for at least ten.”
    “She’ll miss her away team,” Dahl said.
    “Yes, she will. That’s the point, ” Finn said, and then nodded down at Duvall. “Andy, you’ve got Duvall and our other friends so fucked up about this television thing that it’s messing with their heads. If you want to go down that road, that’s fine. I’m not going to stop you. But I want to make sure the rest of them see a counterargument in action.”
    “By drugging Maia?” Dahl said.
    “That’s the means to an end,” Finn said. “The end is making the point that even without Maia, the away team is going to go over to the Nantes and do their job. Life goes on even when Jenkins’ ‘Narrative’ is supposed to apply. Once Maia, Jimmy and Hester see that, maybe they’ll stop freaking out. And who knows? Maybe you’ll come to your senses, too.”
    Dahl nodded to Duvall. “She’s still going to get in trouble for missing her mission,” he said. “That’s a court-martial offense. I’m not sure she’ll appreciate that.”
    Finn smiled. “I like how you think I didn’t plan for that,” he said.
    “And just how did you plan for that?” Dahl said.
    “You’re about to find out,” Finn said. “Because you’re part of it.”
    *   *   *
    “Where’s Maia?” Kerensky asked.
    “Who?” Finn said, innocently.
    “Duvall,” Kerensky said somewhat impatiently. “She’s supposed to be on this away team.”
    “Oh, her,” Finn said. “She’s been waylaid with Orynxian Dropsy. She’s out for a couple of days. Dahl here and I are replacing her on the team. Check your orders, sir.”
    Kerensky looked at Finn appraisingly, then pulled out his phone and checked the away team order. After a moment he grunted and motioned them toward the shuttle. Finn and Dahl got on. Dahl didn’t know how Finn had forged the away team order and didn’t feel the need to ask too deeply about it.
    Inside the shuttle were Captain Abernathy, Commander Q’eeng and an extraordinarily nervous-looking ensign whom Dahl had never seen before. The ensign had undoubtedly noted the presence of the three senior officers on the away team, had calculated his own odds of