Right now Lou Corlin was counting himself lucky to actually have some study time before he needed to turn in for the night. He really didn’t like to have to decide between sleep and essential studying, unless he was dealing with a genuine emergency, given how sleep deprivation messed with good judgement in ways that caffeine couldn’t completely undo.
Thus he was a little annoyed when he heard someone tiptoeing up beside him, not quite sitting down in the sofa beside him, but standing right at the edge of it. Then he looked over to see Rand Littleton, looking very nervous, and squelched that annoyance.
“Hi, Rand, sit down.” Lou patted the cushion beside him. “What’s wrong?”
“How bad is it going to get? I mean, Eli’s saying that Schirrasburg is under a complete lockdown because someone there came down with the diablovirus.”
“Eli’s a Shep.” Lou quick scanned the module lounge, just in case any Sheps were hanging around to take offense. “You’ve got to keep that in mind when you listen to him bullshooting around.”
“Oh.” Rand lowered his gaze, looking very awkward. “So he’s just making stuff up?”
Put me on the spot. Given some things he’d heard at the station and down in IT, Lou didn’t want to dismiss the story as a complete fabrication. However, he was pretty sure it was not yet cleared for general consumption. “You know what they’ve been telling us about the dangers of spreading rumors. Even if I did know something, it wouldn’t be wise for me to go telling everyone about it.”
Even as he said that, he realized the specific rumor might not be the real issue. Rand was one of the kids who’d survived the ordeal in the lander. Although he would’ve been under deep sedation during most of the time he and the other kids had been trapped under the wreckage of old Luna Station, it had still left its scars. A heightened awareness of the slender margins of survival, an inability to relax and trust that tomorrow would actually come.
“And right now there’s not a lot we can do about whatever may be going on over at Schirrasburg. Let’s take a look at whatever you need to be studying right now. At least that’s something we have at least a little control over.