by Kal Spriggs
“I’ve got one,” Johnny rumbled next to her. Mel looked over at him and he went on, “What about him?” He pointed at her brother Rawn, who looked around warily.
“He’s coming back with us,” Mel said. “The prisoners we took, too. They know a little too much for me to feel comfortable letting them loose or turning over to Guard Fleet.”
“That’s an answer for now,” Johnny shrugged, his big shoulders giving that motion extra weight, “But that’s not a long-term solution. We can’t keep them locked up forever. And your brother or not, there’s going to be people looking for him.”
Mel had forged a cover identity for her brother and she started to say that, but she hesitated. She wasn’t sure that would be enough. She looked at Rawn, really looked at him. He was gaunt. He’d lost weight, and she could see that he was on edge. He’d done things, had to do things, that ate at him. Could he give that all up? For that matter, would the Guard give up looking for him?
The cover identities for the crew of Fenris had held because the Guard thought they were dead. Agent Scadden knew Rawn wasn’t dead. His fingerprints and DNA had showed up on bombs at Harmony and elsewhere. He was a wanted man. All the same, Mel couldn’t abandon him. He was family. She opened her mouth to say that, and Fenris interrupted her. “We have an incoming transmission, it’s from a corvette on the far side of the planet. You need to see this.”
“Admiral Rao and… mercenaries,” Mel’s heart stopped as she recognized Colonel Frost’s face. “At this point, I’m sure you’re all congratulating yourself on jobs well-done. For that matter, I salute your skill. You’ve bested me in this hand.” He said that without emotion.
“But I hold the winning cards,” he went on. “Admiral Rao, I told you that I had modified several freighters for my Operation Tsunami. I threatened to send them at near-light-speed collision courses against your homeworld unless you gave me Jormungandr’s Venom. I’m a man of my word, Admiral. I’m aboard a ship with boosted drive coils, I can cut a full day off my trip to Harmony, which means I can be there well before you can send any warning. Once there I will ready those freighters and their volunteer crews. And then I’ll wait.”
“Can he see us?” Mel asked.
“No, Mel, this is a one-way, tightbeam transmission being sent by a dropped bouy,” Fenris growled. “It’s a recording, as the Canopus jumped to FTL just as it started transmitting.”
“I’ll give you twenty-four hours from my arrival to report to the coordinates attached in this transmission. Your ship should manage the passage in around that time, if you leave right now. If you don’t show up with Jormungandr’s Venom, I will order those freighters to make their attack runs on Harmony. The mercenaries in the system might stop a handful of them, if you manage to get them warning, but I guarantee they won’t stop them all. It will only take one to destroy your world, Admiral. I trust you to act appropriately, as a man of honor. Colonel Frost, out.”
***
Mel had ordered Fenris into strategic warp immediately. She wondered if he’d made any explanation to Commodore Webb. She’d taken the news to Admiral Rao herself and he’d thanked her in a quiet voice. There’d been a change to the officer since they’d left Harmony and that change seemed even more profound now.
As she stepped back onto the bridge, she found Rawn where she’d left him, staring at nothing. “Can he do it?”
Rawn didn’t meet her gaze. “He can. We… I modified the freighters for him. It was supposed to be a bluff, but…”
“But he could follow through,” Mel finished. “God, Rawn, what were you thinking?!”
“I…” her brother didn’t look up. “It was a cycle, a process. I thought they’d killed you. I knew they were responsible for mom and dad—”
“Marcus did that,” Mel’s voice was flat with anger. Marcus had killed their parents… but he’d done it for the Guard, to scare a Guard Intelligence scientist who’d been planning to defect, to escape out to Century or somewhere else. She let out a tense breath, “What else?”
“I’ve made bombs, the one at the Guard Headquarters on Harmony—”
“I was there,” Mel said dryly. His eyes went wide as he realized what that meant. “So was our grandmother, by the way.”
Rawn looked down at the floor, “It was supposed to go off at night, to take out only Guard military personnel, but…”
“But Frost used it for maximum casualties, yeah, I realize that,” Mel went over and sat in the command chair. “You realize he used you, right?”
“I know,” Rawn sounded miserable. “But it was all I could do, okay? I hate the Guard for what they’ve done. They killed our parents, Mel! They’re seizing worlds along the Periphery. Guard Fleet is just an extension of their corporations back in the Parisian Sector! How long is it before they go after Century?!”
This time it was Mel who looked away. “Look, I’m not a big fan of the Guard, right now. But what you’ve done, you’re indirectly, maybe directly, responsible for the deaths of hundreds of civilians. Rawn, you’ve got blood on your hands.”
“I didn’t want it,” Rawn looked up his eyes angry. “I didn’t want any of this. But don’t think you’re innocent. You’re with the Mercenary Guild. They’re enforcers every bit as much as the Guard. How many uprisings have you crushed, how may freedom fighters have you—”
“None, Rawn,” Mel snapped. “We’ve killed pirates. We’ve escorted VIPs. We hacked Odin Interstellar’s security network and caused their company to collapse. We’ve been helping people while you’ve been trying to do your one-man crusade against the Guard. And you know why we’ve been successful?” She waved a hand around at the ship, the crew, back in their quarters. “Because we trust one another. Because we tell each other what’s going on. Because we’re a family.”
Rawn put his head down and she saw tears form in his eyes. “Am I a part of that family?”
Mel stepped forward and hugged him, “Of course, Rawn, you’re my brother.”
She held her little brother as he began to sob and for just a moment, she knew things were going to work out.
***
“Ukraine?” Brian asked, staring at Samantha Yewell.
She tilted her head back in a laugh, not needing to ask what he meant, “Close, very close. Belarus, but it was a Russian lab.” She rolled over and looked at him, relaxing her head and laying on her arm. Brian enjoyed the view, the curve of her shoulder as it rolled down to her hips, a long, clean curve. “What gave it away?”
Brian rolled over, propping his head up on one arm. They both lay naked and sweating on his bed, twisted in the sheets. Mel and the others had worried about the planet, about Colonel Frost, about the future. Brian and Samantha had been somewhat more pragmatic about how to spend their time.
Then again, we both have a few centuries of experience on them.
“I ran into the products of some of the Eastern European labs,” Brian admitted. “Ukrainians, mostly. Their whole supersoldier program.” They’d had German backers, so there’d been a whole lot of the ‘superior’ race crap. Brian’s creators had focused mostly on durability. They’d wanted soldiers who could fight over and over again, who’d keep going and survive whatever was thrown at them. “There’s a Slavic look to your features, so I guessed.”
Samantha laughed. It was a genuine, throaty laugh, one that didn’t have any fear, any concern about what someone might think. Brian could get used to that laugh. “No, not a supersoldier. The Russians wanted assassins, infiltrators. Perfect bodies with sharp minds and lethal capabilities,” she ran a hand down her side, “Viola.”
“Parles Francais?” Brian asked.
“Deutche, Afrikaans, Russki, Beilarus, Nihon, Mandarin,” She reeled off languages and paused. “That’s fluent, non-accented, of course.”
“Hmmm,” Brian smiled. “How’d you get involved in this Chandral business?”
“It was a new challenge,” she answered, her expression becoming distant. “When you’ve done everythi
ng, you start just drifting away, you know? Fading.”
Brian reached out and touched her shoulder, meeting her eyes as she looked at him. “I know.”
She flashed him a smile, “I suppose you do. The… well, Bob’s group recruited me. I had contacts with them, they knew who I was and they knew I’d be interested. They set me up with some backing, I play the role of a media investigator, a pretty face and a heart of gold…” She ran a finger down her chest, between her two breasts. “Most of the Chandral, they think of women as sub-human.” She made a face, “Well, less human than the rest of humanity, anyway. Inferior. Dumb. That makes them vulnerable. They let things slip around me. I’ve used that to get a few of them. The best part is showing how inferior they are just before I kill them.”
Brian’s smile went broad. “I like the sound of that.” He’d loved watching her fight. There was no hesitation, no awkward movements, it was like watching a waterfall, just pure, smooth motion. It was the sexiest thing he’d ever seen. “Say, is your organization hiring?”
“You know,” she grinned at him, “I think I can find a position that fits.”
Brian burst into laughter and leaned over to kiss her. They didn’t do much talking after that.
***
Chapter 20
Time: 0600 28 February 292 G.D.
Location: En Route to Harmony
Mel looked up at a chime from her door. She and Fenris had just gone over some basic planning, going over potential courses of action for their arrival at Harmony. Neither of them had any real solutions, Colonel Frost had left too many unknowns.
Somehow Mel knew who it would be without even checking the monitor. Toggling open the door, she spoke, “Hey Johnny, come on in.”
“Hey Mel,” Johnny Woodard gave her a hesitant smile. “Rough day, huh?”
Mel thought about the firefight in the ship's corridors, the fight on the ground, the space battle that she hadn't even been a part of... and then about pulling the trigger on Marcus. She gestured at her bed and moved to sit back down at her desk, “Yeah, long day.” She thought about finally getting her brother back and quirked a slight smile, “Could have gone worse, though.”
“For some more than others,” Johnny answered. He hadn't taken a seat on the edge of her bed. Instead, he stood awkwardly, looking down at his big hands. “Look, Mel, I just wanted to say that I appreciate you taking me on, but I think that it's time I move on.”
Mel flinched almost as if she'd been struck. “What, why?” Three quarters of her crew was leaving. Bob and Aldera were as good as gone. Brian seemed enamored of Samantha Yewell, and Mel assumed that Jeremiah Swaim would be following his mother when she left, off to fight these Chandral people.
That really didn't leave anyone... just Mel and her brother. Well, and Fenris. But it wasn't as if Fenris could leave her... right?
Johnny looked down at the floor. “I just...” His expression firmed up in determination. He raised his head and met her gaze, his brown eyes hard, “You shot Marcus.”
“This is about that?” Mel asked in shock. “He was about to kill my brother. He contacted Agent Scadden behind our backs. He smuggled a freaking bomb down to the planet...” They'd found that out only after she'd talked with Admiral Rao.
Woodard raised a hand to stop her flow of words. “Jean Paul Leone, Marcus, Nigel, whatever you want to call him... this isn't about him, not exactly.” He clenched his jaw, dark memories flashing in his eyes, “Believe me, Mel, he deserved death and worse f”or the things he's done. But it's not about him, not exactly. It's about you.” His expression softened. “This life, living on the edge, it has a cost, Mel. The woman you were when I first signed on, you would never have shot him, not without hesitation, anyway, not without pleading with him or trying to find some way to stop him without killing him.”
Mel frowned at that. “This is about me?”
Johnny gave a snort of sardonic laughter, “Yeah, Mel, just about everything here is about you.” He shook his head, “Brian, supersoldier or not, he's sticking around for your sake. Swaim follows you around like a lost duckling. The others, they're finding their own things, but I'm sure the second you snapped an order, they'd fall into line.” Mel didn't know how to take that, but before she could even think of a response, he went on. “And me, I've been sticking around because... well, because I think I fell for you. You're smart, you're confident, you're beautiful. More important than all that, though, is that you always do the right thing, you always know what the right thing is... and when you see something is wrong, you go after it like some kind of rabid beast.”
“Uh, thanks?” Mel stared at him in shock.
Johnny laughed, “Oh, it's meant as a complement, believe me.” His laughter and smile faded. “When I saw you kill Marcus, though, you didn't do it because it was the right thing. You did it because it was expedient. Yeah, we'd had a long day. We'd been through the ringer... but at that point we didn't know Marcus had done anything...”
“I had a fair idea he was behind calling Agent Scadden,” Mel interrupted.
“But we didn't know for certain,” Johnny went on doggedly. “We had no idea about the bomb. He was going to shoot your brother, I mean, I saw him going for his pistol same as you.” He looked down at his hands again. “Truth to tell, you probably didn't even see it, but I had my pistol half out of my holster when you fired. I was going to kill him for you.”
“Johnny, I--”
He looked up, his eyes intent, “I would have done that, without hesitation, because believe me, I knew he was bad. But you did it. You put him down, and yeah, it probably needed doing. But the way you did it...” His lips went in a hard line, “I've seen people change, living this life, living on the edge. You made a split second decision, I get that... but it wasn't the decision you would have made even a month ago. I'm afraid you're changing and...” Johnny looked back down at the deck, “I don't know if I can watch that.”
“So you're done?” Mel asked, feeling hollow as she asked the question.
He gave a shrug, “I'll finish the mission. I just can't...” to her surprise, his voice broke a bit. “I don't want to see you end up like me. Burned out, willing to do just about anything.”
Mel reached out on impulse, catching one of his big hands in hers. He looked up in surprise, their eyes meeting. “I am not changing, I'm not becoming this jaded, hardened mercenary,” Mel told him firmly. “Marcus was... well, he was a special case.” Sensing his uncertainty, she went on, “As for you, you're not some broken monster, either, not by a long shot.”
“Mel, you don't know the things I've done--”
“Doesn't matter,” Mel told him. “We've all done things, hard things, to survive. We've all hit points where we might wish we didn't care anymore, where we might wish we were soulless monsters like Colonel Frost and his ilk. But I've been side by side with you through a hell of a lot over the past few months. You might be big, and tough, and willing to do dirty things to win. But you pick your fights. You're always thinking about the consequences... for that matter, you're always thinking about what happens to others before yourself. You're a good man, Tank.”
She stood up from her chair, looking him in the eyes, daring him to refute what she said. “This isn't about me, this is about you. You're afraid, because you care about me. You're afraid that you might lose me, right?”
Johnny didn't look answer, but he didn't need to. Mel realized just how close she stood to him in her narrow quarters and that she still held his hand. On impulse, she leaned forward.
His lips met hers and it was as if a jolt of electricity joined them together, an arc of stored energy, of raw emotion that both of them had held pent up. Johnny was nothing like the men she'd been attracted to before. He was big, muscular, where other men had been tall but lean. He was calm and confident where Marcus had been cocky and brash. He was dangerous, with a dark past, and a willingness to do what had to be done, despite the costs to himself. He was brave and selfless and he liste
ned to her, supported her, he made her feel more confident because he trusted and respected her.
In short, she realized he was everything she needed. She'd needed some time to realize it, but faced with the alternative of losing him, she realized just how much she needed him.
Their kiss went on and Mel didn't stop there. After the stress and risks and all the uncertainty, she needed more than a kiss, she needed far more than that. She pushed him back onto her bed, the big man giving a yelp of surprise as he fell. Mel gave him a wicked grin, “No, Johnny Woodard, I'm not going anywhere... and neither are you.”
Then she leaned forward to kiss him again.
***
Fenris silently activated the privacy settings on Mel's quarters. He didn't know if she even remembered that they'd been going over plans when Woodard had arrived. He quashed a bit of jealousy, not for her, but for the big former Marine.
Woodard had a body. He had physical form, a warm, organic body that let him be there, to be someone that Mel could love. Fenris might be her partner in many ways, but he was, at the end of the day, still a mechanical construct.
His attention went to Aldera Kynes' workshop. She and Bob had spent the past few hours together as well, Fenris had mostly given them their privacy, though Aldera had allowed him to observe, purely for educational purposes of course.
Bob Walker was in a semi-exhausted state and had passed out a few hours earlier. Aldera, though, seemed energized and had gone to her lab. He spoke to her as she worked, “Have you made progress with the robots, Aldera?”
“You can tell I have,” she answered with a slight smile. “I'm not a normal person that needs to make small-talk.”
“I'm glad you finished them,” Fenris growled. “It would have been nice to have them for the boarding operation, though.”
“I was... distracted,” she acknowledged. “For that I apologize. But I finished them off and I'll upload the schematics to your core, so you should be able to manufacture replacement parts in the future. I'll warn you, some of this stuff is very advanced, you'll need to buy replacement parts for those, we just don't have the equipment to make it. That's mostly the transmitters, processor, and some of the auxiliaries.”
