A Pale Light in the Black

by K. B. Wagers

  “Carmichael’s going to go up against the winner of the fight between Captain Ramos of the Army team and Lance Corporal Patterson of the Marines. Which should be an interesting matchup no matter which way it goes—”

  “Watch out! Carmichael narrowly avoided that punch. It would have shaken her brain a bit. But she did dodge, and that seems to be her calling card. Still, while Montauk is going to lose this, she’s not going to make it easy for the NeoG lieutenant. The crowd is on their feet chanting Carmichael’s name as the clock is ticking down.”

  “Three, two, one . . . and Pace, that’s the end of it! Jenks is taunting the SEALs across the cage as the buzzer goes.”

  “Of course she is. Yet the winner, Carmichael, is just taking it in stride.”

  “Can’t wait to see what she does next match.”

  “Me neither! But if you’re just tuning in, the replay for this match will be this afternoon on The Sports Network, check your local schedule. Spoiler alert: the fight went the full three rounds but Carmichael won easily on points.”

  “Here’s hoping Montauk does better in her pilot competition—though she’ll have to go up against Ma and Carmichael in that at some point. I’m not sure she’s going to fare any better there, either!” Barnes’s laughter was wrapped around his words. “Carmichael was much more hesitant in the cage during the prelims, Pace. It looks like the past few months of training have seen Jenks’s notorious attitude rubbing off on her teammate.”

  “Attitude or not, the skill has certainly jumped up a notch, and these Games—particularly the hand-to-hand fights—are going to be ones for the books, that’s for sure!”

  The living room of the apartment was filled with laughter, the remains of dinner evident on the scattered plates, and satisfied Neos sprawled on the floor and the various bits of furniture. Jenks sat on a bar stool half listening to Sapphi and Garcia talk about their strategy against the Air Force hacking team for their bout tomorrow and half watching the rest of the room.

  The officers were glued to the screen on the far wall, watching the coverage of the Big Game. Army, thanks in part to their last-place finish in last year’s Games, had drawn the first-day slot.

  “How’re you doing?” Luis murmured in her ear, and Jenks leaned back against him with a sigh and a smile.

  “Looking forward to tomorrow. It was weird not to have any fights today. I had to sit around and watch everyone else kick ass.”

  Luis’s laugh rumbled against her back. “You looked good doing it.”

  “Everyone who had a match today dominated.” She leaned up briefly to grab her beer before settling back against him.

  “Makes you nervous, doesn’t it?”

  “A bit.” She grumbled at the amusement in his voice. “You know me too well.”

  “You weren’t complaining last night,” he murmured, and she didn’t bother to keep the smile from spreading across her face. “You have a chance to look at that info on Parsikov I sent you?”

  “I did, you’re the best.” She turned her head to kiss his cheek.

  “You’re thinking of climbing that one like a tree, aren’t you?”

  Jenks laughed and then took a drink of her beer, the reply spilling out without much thought. “Maybe after I whomp him.” She paused and turned to look at him. “Not until we have a chance to talk about it, though.”

  “We can do it later,” he agreed. “I don’t think you want to have that conversation right here.”

  “True,” she agreed. “Bad enough with Nika in the room. That one is pretending like she’s not listening, but she is.” She pointed at Sapphi, who grinned. “And we might set Garcia’s ears on fire having a poly conversation where her sheltered self can hear.”

  Sapphi snickered. Garcia proved Jenks right by flushing a deep red.

  The chat window popped up in the corner of her vision.

  Luis: for the record, nothing’s changed with my admission of love to you. You’re free to do who (or what) you want. You don’t need my permission.

  Jenks: is that so?

  Luis: hey, I love you. That includes whatever makes you happy.

  Jenks: you make me happy.

  Luis: you trying to make me cry in front of your friends?

  Jenks chuckled.

  “Besides,” he whispered in her ear too low for anyone else to catch, “from what I dug up, Parsikov might be interested in both of us.”

  “Now that is something we haven’t done in a while, isn’t it?”

  And Jenks hummed a contented sigh as she drank the last of her beer.

  “That wasn’t a bad finish,” Rosa said as the official for the Big Game announced the Army team’s completion of their mission.

  “They were sloppy clearing the bottom level,” Max said, waving a hand at the screen. She was on the floor, leaning shoulder to shoulder with Nika against the bottom of the couch, a half-eaten bowl of spaghetti between her knees. “It cost them eighteen points.”

  “How would you have done it?” D’Arcy’s question was more curious than combative, and Rosa watched Max stare at the screen for a moment before she answered him.

  “I would have split us and cleared both sides of the lower level before going upstairs.”

  “Cost you in time,” Locke said with a shake of his head.

  “True,” Max replied. “However, the time spent would cost far less points than leaving three targets behind and getting one of your people shot in the back. In the real world the time isn’t the issue. Keeping your people alive and uninjured is.”

  “She’s not wrong.”

  Rosa smiled at D’Arcy’s agreement.

  “Army came at it like a game. I mean, it is,” Max said, waving a hand at the screen again. “But their concern was the time and getting to the objective. Sloppy.”

  “Fair point,” Locke conceded, rubbing his chin. “So you think we’re better off moving slow than risking leaving enemies behind us?”

  Rosa shared a look with D’Arcy as Max leaned forward. Her eyes were full of excitement and she’d started doing that talking-with-her-hands thing that only came out when she was really comfortable with people.

  “Not slow. We just move like we would if we were clearing a ship, yeah? Or anything else. Look, the Boarding Games were practically designed with NeoG in mind. The other branches, they’ve got their infiltration teams, but the Interceptors do this for a living. All day, every day.”

  Jenks cheered from across the room and Rosa lifted her own beer in response. “Max is right. Let’s huddle up, folks, and then it’s time for bed.” She grinned at the groans. “You all know the drill. It’s another early start tomorrow and a long day for everyone. But right now, we’ll take a moment to toast the fact that every single person who competed today won. Well done!”

  “To the NeoG!”

  Boarding Games—Day Two

  The preliminaries were one thing, but as Max headed through the streets toward the docking bay for the piloting competition, she got a better sense of just how massive the Boarding Games were.

  It was late morning, and a scrolling tally of results was already in the corner of her vision. The Marine and Army teams had just wrapped their Boarding Action, with a last-ditch effort by Army to take the win, surprising a lot of people. Tamago and D’Arcy had both won their sword fights, but Huang had taken the Neos’ first loss of the Games—falling to Commander Chau’s steady assault in the sword arena. Chau was good; even Nika admitted he was going to be a challenge, but he seemed firm in his opinion that Rosa could beat him.

  Sapphi and Garcia were set to take on the Air Force team in half an hour for their first round of the hacking competition, and there’d been more cage matches than Max could keep up with.

  “Lieutenant.” The guard at the door gave her a smile and a nod as he scanned her badge. “Good fight yesterday. You ready for Captain Ramos?”

  “Of course.” It was still so strange to have people she didn’t know asking her about the fight, but it was getting e
asier to fake the confidence with every question that was tossed her way.

  “Head straight back. Master Chief Ma is already at the ship. I’ll call ahead and tell them you’re on your way.”

  “Thank you.”

  “Anytime. Good luck this afternoon.”

  Max said her goodbyes and headed down the corridor into the hangar.

  “Carmichael.”

  Max turned at the voice and found herself eye to eye with Chau. “Commander. Congrats on your win today. I hope you keep winning.”

  He hadn’t expected the civility and it threw him. Max smiled. “At least until you run into Rosa.”

  Chau’s startled laugh was genuine, as was the grin that crinkled the corners of his dark eyes, and Max found herself grinning back. Though she sobered quickly as the memory of his teammate knocking Tamago across the dance floor popped back into her head.

  “You need something?” she asked.

  Chau cleared his throat, smile fading. “Your brother’s a good friend of mine, Max, and I—”

  “Probably need to think about minding your own business,” she said before he could finish.

  “Normally I would, but I’ve watched him wrestle with his little sister not wanting anything to do with him from day one of our friendship. Whether he’s admitted it to you or not, it hurts.”

  “You want to talk about how much he hurts?” Max shoved her hands into her pockets before she could curl them into fists. “Really? That’s the route you’re going, huh?”

  “Max, he—”

  “You okay, Max?”

  She had never been so happy to hear Nika’s voice, and the solid warmth of his hand on her back pulled some of the tension from her shoulders. “Fine.”

  “Chau,” Nika said, leaning on his crutches with a nod to the SEAL.

  “Vagin.” His eyes flicked to Nika’s prosthetic arm. “Tough break there.”

  “I could still beat you with my left hand, Chau,” Nika said with a smile that didn’t waver. “We should get going, Max, Ma’s waiting for you.”

  Max nodded and let Nika lead her across the hangar toward the ship.

  “You sure you’re all right?”

  “Yeah.”

  “What did he want?”

  “I don’t know.” Max took another look over her shoulder. Chau was still standing there, shoulders hunched and a frustrated expression on his face. They wove through the crowd and Max was surprised by the number of people who called her name or waved a greeting at her.

  “Look who’s popular,” Ma teased, folding her into a hug.

  “We’ll see if it lasts.”

  “Nerves kicking in?”

  “They’ve been kicking for quite some time.” She shrugged. “But it’s not worth being concerned about, though I’m glad for all the other things to do. That keeps me from having too much time to worry.”

  Ma smiled and patted her face. “You don’t need to worry anyway, though I know that’s like telling you not to breathe, kiddo. I’m super proud of you.”

  The sob was unexpected and Max threw herself into his arms again, hugging him tight as the loudspeaker cut in with an announcement for the pilots to go to their ships.

  “Go rock the course,” Nika said with a quick hug.

  Max followed Ma to the ship, trying to get her rolling emotions under control. More than anyone, Ma had been a father to her, and the note of pride in his voice had struck her right in the heart.

  She spotted Willington boarding his ship and gave the man a slow smile before she grabbed the railing and bounced up the stairs.

  She could hear Nika laughing from behind her as the door closed.

  Jenks rubbed absently at the bruise on her jaw as Max unlocked the door and the pair entered the quiet apartment. “I forgot how fucking hard Vi hits,” she said. “If he could only get a little control he’d be a way better fighter.”

  “Do you even realize you do that?” Max asked with a laugh.

  “Do what?”

  “Coach every single person who comes into your orbit.”

  Jenks pursed her lips and shrugged. “Not really. It’s just habit.”

  “It’d be a good career for you after all this.” Max smiled when Jenks blinked at her. “Sorry, that’s my thing, remember?”

  “Planning ten thousand steps in advance, yeah.” Jenks laughed. “How’s that working for you, LT?” To her surprise a shadow crossed Max’s face. “What’s up?”

  Max looked away. “Nothing. It’s nothing.”

  “Don’t bullshit me, Max.” Jenks leaned on the doorframe of her room. “We’ve got time for this. Rosa won’t start screaming over the com for another ten minutes at least.”

  “I didn’t think it would hurt this much.” She forced the words out. “To see Scott.”

  Jenks raised an eyebrow but didn’t say anything and Max took a deep breath before continuing.

  “We used to be close. Well, it was a long time ago, so I don’t know if it even counts. He’s ten years older than me, I’m sure that sounds silly. How could a child have any meaningful connection with anyone?”

  Jenks was pretty sure those were Max’s parents’ words coming out of her mouth. “Hey, you’re babbling a bit, LT.” The rebuke wasn’t mean-spirited, just a simple statement meant to yank Max out of her spiral, and she marveled at how well it worked.

  “When Scott was nearing graduation, he started talking about NeoG.” Both Jenks’s eyebrows went up at that and Max laughed. “I know, right? I barely remember it beyond being really excited and promising him I’d grow up and join, too. It was our thing.” Max shoved both hands into her hair and looked at the ceiling. “Ma had just retired from the Navy and gone straight to NeoG. I remember Dad being less than pleased but Scott and I thought it was the coolest thing.

  “Except one day out of the blue, Scott told me he was going to the Naval Academy. Said he’d changed his mind, that there was no future with a bunch of washed-out vets and baby cops. I was sad, but I still loved him.” She dropped her hands, surprised by the ball of heat in her stomach the memories had set fire to. “He went away to the academy. Had promised to write me every day, but nothing. Mom said he was too busy and then when he came home after school, he was so different.”

  Max looked at Jenks and managed a rueful smile. “To be fair, I was different, too, and I’m not sure I’d have talked to him even if he’d tried. I was so mad about being abandoned.”

  “You had every right to be.” Jenks looked down at her own hands and then up again with a smile. “I’d probably punch my own mother for ditching me if I ever saw her again.”

  “Yeah, you’re not known for your self-restraint.”

  Jenks laughed. “True enough. But still, Max. I’m not gonna tell you what to do about your family, but I think they’re a bunch of jerks.”

  “I’m inclined to agree with you.” Max crossed her arms over her chest and leaned against the wall next to Jenks. “I know I probably shouldn’t let it bother me. Chau was going on about how much Scott was hurting and I—I don’t know what to even make of that, Jenks.”

  “Hey, whatever happens,” Jenks said, tapping her fist over her heart, “I got your back.”

  Max smiled, completing the handshake and touching her forehead to Jenks’s. “I got yours, too.”

  “And for what it’s worth?” Jenks kept her eyes locked on Max’s as she said the words that scared her. “I wouldn’t mind having you for a sister.”

  “Me either, Jenks.”

  “Remember to watch his feet,” Rosa said to Tamago, not taking her eyes away from Captain Carmichael’s fight. He’d just swept Captain Mpho Bailey to the ground, and the Air Force officer rolled away, barely getting to his feet in time to block Scott’s swing.

  “He’s really good, isn’t he?” Tamago replied, chin in their hand, braced on the low wall they were standing behind. “I’m kicking myself a bit for all the times I didn’t pay good enough attention, Commander.”

  “Don’t worry about
it.” Rosa put her arm around their shoulders. “We all depended on Nika just a little too much.”

  “Here’s hoping it doesn’t bite us in the ass. Hey, there’s your mom and Gloria.” Tamago crouched and held their arms out, spinning Gloria in a circle before setting her down again. “Inez,” they said with a smile. “I’m going to take Gloria down into the pit.”

  “Mama.” Rosa leaned down and kissed her mother on the cheek.

  “You’re always busy at these Games,” her mother said. “Seems worse this year.”

  No, I’ve just been avoiding you. Rosa chose a noncommittal noise instead of the truth and looked back at the fight.

  “I know you’re under a lot of pressure to win this thing, so I don’t want to bother you, but I would like to speak to you about Gloria afterward.”

  Rosa swallowed back the sigh. God love her mother, but the woman didn’t know when to let things go. “There’s nothing to speak about, Mama.”

  “I see Angela already got to you.”

  “Of course we talked about it, Mama—she’s my wife. We do speak.” Rosa was not grateful for the ref’s whistle signaling the end of the match. Bailey had given him a fight, but Carmichael had won on points. She took a deep breath and looked at her mother. “I love you, but we’ve had this conversation once already. The raising of our daughters is up to Angela and myself. Not to you.”

  “I see.”

  Oh, the disapproval her mother could pack into those two words. Rosa glanced around, relief flooding her that no one in the area was paying them the least bit of attention.

  “Mama—”

  “No, it’s fine.” Inez held up a hand. “It’s not like I’ve spent the last several years helping raise your daughters while you’ve been off God’s green earth.”

  The words and the feelings behind them shocked Rosa into silence for a long moment before she could find the words and make them come out of her mouth. “Now is not the time or the place to rehash that argument, Mama. We are thankful, have always been thankful, for your help, but it was not demanded. It was given freely, I assumed, because you loved your granddaughters.