“What can I do for you, Colonel?”
“I’m going to hop over to the command center.”
“Let me get a pilot for you, sir.”
“Ensign Fenn, I’ve been flying spaceships for over 30 years. I’m pretty sure I can pilot a shuttle a dozen kilometers.” The deck officer blanched and nodded.
“I meant no disrespect, Colonel.”
“Ensign, take a breath, we’re all on the same side.”
“Yes, ma’am.” They looked at each other for a moment, then Alexis looked around.
“Shuttle?”
“Oh, right, sorry!” he pushed over to a console and entered a command. Out in the open flight deck, an elevator door in the floor slid open. Automated handling systems moved a shuttle onto it below decks, and the elevator lifted it up.
“Go ahead and leave the deck pressurized,” she instructed. “I don’t want to put on a spacesuit.”
“No problem,” he said. Some of the personnel out on the deck looked over when the shuttle appeared. They all wore spacesuits, but most had helmets off, clipped to their belts, along with their gloves. Ensign Fenn activated the deck’s warning system, and status lights changed to indicate the bay would be depressurized in five minutes. The deck crew immediately began donning their gear. She approved. The elevator reached the deck and locked into place. “At your disposal, Colonel.”
“Thank you, Ensign, I’ll comm when I know my return ETA.”
“Understood, Colonel.”
Alexis left Flight Control and went to the airlock exit onto the hangar deck. The lock was closed, as was SOP. She cycled through and grabbed one of the ropes that extended from the deck on poles to pull herself over to where her shuttle waited. She passed the maintenance crew that had floated over to check the status of the craft before she got to it. Again, efficient.
A Human and an elSha, they both stopped and came to floating attention as she went by. Had the ship been on alert, they wouldn’t have. She nodded and continued on.
Inside the shuttle, she grabbed a control slate from its receptacle, clipped it to her leg as a thigh board, and began the checklist. She could have done it from memory, of course, but the efficiency and by-the-books attitude of the hangar crew motivated her to do it right.
“Flight Control, this is Shuttle 3, Hussars Actual in command, ready for depressurization.”
“Shuttle 3, Hussars Actual, this is Flight Control. Read you loud and clear. Depressurization will commence in 30 seconds.”
Outside, the thick, transparent separator was coming down, splitting the hangar bay into two half-circles so they would only have to depressurize half the bay. Several of the deck personnel slipped over to the other side, but everyone on the deck kept their helmets and gloves on. As the divider finished coming down, red spinning lights came alive, along with an intermittent buzzer.
“Attention, attention. The hangar deck will depressurize in 10 seconds. Exit the bay or don appropriate gear.” It repeated, but said five seconds, then counted each second down. There were a number of stations around the bay where all you had to do was hit a big illuminated button and the bay would stop depressurizing and would re-pressurize. The countdown was completed and the air was pumped out.
The shuttle’s board notified her the pressure was dropping until it was nearly a full vacuum. The bay doors slid aside, and a swirl of ice crystals announced that space waited.
“Shuttle 3, you are clear to depart. RCS only.”
“Roger that, Shuttle 3 is maneuvering.” Since she had pinplants, Alexis didn’t bother with the hand controls. She took command of the shuttle, rotated it around to face the blackness of space, and bumped the reaction control system’s maneuvering thrusters several times to make the shuttle slide out into the void. “Shuttle 3 is clear.”
“Acknowledged Shuttle 3. Pegasus Sensor Control has been notified of your flight path. Squawk 9229 if you need assistance. Flight Control out.”
The flight to the station took less time than the checklist. The station didn’t have a flight control station, because most of the people manning it had been killed in the assault. As the only flights going in and out were to the warehouses attached behind the gravity decks, it also wasn’t needed. She docked in the zero gravity hub and went through the shuttle’s lock into the station.
The command center was a disaster area. Between Cartwright’s people and the station’s defenders, the station looked like a tin can that had spent a summer getting pumped full of bullets. She’d seen the reports from her engineers but was surprised it was still able to spin and hold atmosphere. By the constant hissing everywhere, it was only just doing the latter.
She made her way into the arm where the command center had been. The last two floors at the highest gravity were in the best shape, so the commanders were spread out around them. Nigel had, of course, snagged the best location.
The elevators were out, of course, so she climbed down to the highest decks and looked around. Someone had used a grease pencil to draw a pair of colonel wings and a huma bird on one of the doors. “Bingo,” she said and knocked. A couple moments later, the door opened.
Nigel was wearing a robe, smoking a cigar, and holding a glass of amber fluid. Her guess was whiskey. His eyes got wide when he saw her. “Alexis! What a surprise.”
“I’ve been wanting to talk. Do you have a minute?”
“Sure,” he said and hopped lightly back. The gravity was about 20%; it was the best the station could manage without its arms flying off. Alexis glided in and looked around at the generic race-neutral accommodation you could find almost anywhere in the Union. Nigel had a Human-style bed set up, and a portable container was open showing a miniature robot chef and cooler. No doubt the cooler held more liquor. “Would you like a drink?”
“Not really,” she said.
“Come on, we’re off duty.” He went over and opened the cooler to reveal a startling array of liquors. “Let me guess, a chardonnay…or maybe champagne?”
“Vodka with a splash of water, with ice,” she said. He lifted an eyebrow and nodded. The autochef produced ice, and he handed her the drink in a short time. She tasted it. A fine quality of vodka; no surprise. “I wanted to say how impressed I’ve been with your work,” she said, taking another drink. It felt good going down. “I admit, I had reservations when this all began. The way you went off after your sister half-cocked like that…”
“The fucking MinSha killed most of my family,” he said with a shrug. Even now, anger accented his tone. “I had to do something. They would have killed all of us if I hadn’t gotten lucky.”
“If you’d planned better…maybe come to one of us,” Alexis said, then shrugged.
“My sister died in my arms,” he said, finishing his drink. She knew it likely wasn’t his first, but he was used to drinking enough that it didn’t show much. “Do you know what that’s like?”
“Not in that way, but the loss, yes. All the Horsemen have lost. Entropy, all of mankind! They’re killing us and enslaving us everywhere. You’ve really grown into your job as a leader. Your grandfather would be proud of you.”
“But not my father,” he said darkly.
“Your father was a complicated person,” she said, “but he was an extremely conventional commander.”
“That conventional commander got himself and a lot of people killed.”
“Exactly,” she said. “You’re the kind of commander Asbaran needs right now—what we all need. I’m glad to be working with you.”
He looked slightly confused, then stood up a little straighter and smiled before nodding to her. “Thank you,” he said. “You don’t know how much that means.”
“I get the idea,” she said and finished her drink. She held out the glass. “Do you mind?”
“Not at all,” he said and refilled it for her. He got himself another while he was at it. “You know, I never thought I’d be the commander of Asbaran Solutions,” he admitted. She grinned slightly as she took a drink. “
I took everything personally and spent all my time drinking and sleeping around.” Her grin turned a little embarrassed, and he shrugged. “Did you know my father wrote me out of the will just before everything went to shit?”
“No,” she admitted.
“Yep, he sure did.” He sipped his drink. “The lawyers worked it out to get me back in charge after the MinSha took my sister. Of course, that’s exactly what the fucking aliens wanted. It’s a miracle anyone survived.”
“But you did, and even with your loss, you came out the other side stronger.”
Nigel grunted. “They made a mistake going after my sister.”
“In more ways than one, they made you into a weapon.”
“I hadn’t thought of it that way,” he said. “You are an amazing woman, did you know that?” She shrugged and grinned again. “Your hair, too. How did you come by that?”
“My grandmother got a little too close to a supernova.” Nigel’s mouth made an ‘O,’ and she laughed.
He smiled. “I’ve never seen you laugh like that.”
“I don’t very often,” she admitted. “More than 70,000 people depend on me. It’s a job that doesn’t stop.”
“It has to once in a while,” he said, holding up his drink. “It has to, or what’s the point?” She lifted her own, and they both drank.
“To the Four Horsemen,” she said.
“To us,” he said, locking eyes with her.
Alexis couldn’t remember later how she ended up in his arms. Their drinks fell in slow motion as their lips pressed together. His arms were strong, and his body taut against her. She conformed to him without thought, her mouth opening slightly. Their tongues touched, and lightning raced up her spine.
“Nigel,” she whispered.
“Shhh,” he hissed. She tore at his robe and ran her fingers through his chest hair, her breath coming in great heaves. He ran the zipper down the back of her coveralls, and everything became a blur.
* * *
Alexis woke and stretched, arching her back and luxuriating under the horribly expensive silk sheets. Who brings silk sheets on a campaign? She giggled.
“You awake?”
She looked over to see Nigel’s bright blue eyes looking at her, a smile on his face. She smiled back. “Yeah,” she said. “Silk sheets?”
“Oh,” he said and gave a little laugh of his own. “I’ve never believed in sparing the creature comforts in life when I didn’t have to. Work hard, play hard. You know?”
“You are an interesting person,” she said.
“As are you. I will admit, I’m not used to a woman taking control.”
“I’m Colonel Alexis Cromwell of the Winged Hussars,” she said. “I don’t just let things happen.”
“This just happened.”
Entropy, she thought, he has me there. “Look,” Alexis said, “about this...”
“Don’t,” he said, putting a finger over her lips. “It is what it is.” He leaned close and kissed her again. She was about to say she needed to get back, but the kiss had the same effect as the one a few hours prior. Luckily for her, he was a young man. Luckily for them both, actually.
Sometime later, she made use of the little shower in his quarters and got back into her uniform. He had a cup of tea waiting for her. Despite getting no more than a couple hours of sleep, she felt incredible. The thought of why made her blush.
“You sure you have to go back?” he asked, sipping his own tea.
“Staff meeting in two hours,” she said. “I haven’t finished going over the assignment list. With all the new ships, I’m having to move thousands of people. The Hussars are a family.”
“You are an incredible commander,” he said, “and a beautiful woman.”
“You’re a very handsome man,” she replied, coming into his arms. It took a lot not to let it go further. “I enjoyed this, but I also broke a rule doing it.”
“What rule is that?”
“Not on mission.”
“Technically, we’re not on mission. This is secure territory.”
“It is,” she agreed, “and I won’t regret something that beautiful.” He smiled that incredible smile, and she returned it. “But we have to remain what we are until this is over.”
“I agree,” he said. Alexis struggled to avoid showing disappointment that he hadn’t tried to argue the fact. “But know this; I’ll count the minutes until it’s over.”
“Let’s not get carried away,” she said. “One step at a time.”
“One step at a time,” he agreed. They shared a quick kiss, and he opened his quarters’ door, checking outside quickly to make sure none of his staff was there. She got the feeling he’d done that before but didn’t say anything about it. “All clear.”
“Thanks,” she said and slipped by. Poof, she was Colonel Cromwell again. Two hours later, she was meeting her senior commanders from her wardroom, and trying hard not to think about Nigel Shirazi’s body pressed against hers under silk sheets, thousands of light years from home.
* * *
Golara Command Center, Golara System
Nigel lay back down on the bed. In the past, it had always been about the chase; once he’d finally caught the girl—and he always had—the excitement had immediately faded, and he’d become bored with them. This time, though, was different. The more time he spent with Alexis, the more time he wanted to spend with Alexis. He looked up at the ceiling, wondering whether having someone to care about was a good thing in their line of work—did it make you stronger to have someone to care for, or weaker?—and where Alexis fit into his plans for revenge. As much as he loved her, the aliens…and especially the MinSha…would still pay.
* * *
Golara Command Center, Golara System
Sansar quietly closed the door to her office with a sigh. She had started to walk out when she heard Alexis’ voice, but when she saw what room Alexis was coming from, and the silly, girlish grin on Alexis’ face, she had decided her news could wait.
What was Alexis thinking?!
It’s not like they didn’t have enough problems. Earth invaded. Peepo wiping out the Human colonies. And NOW was a good time to get it on? Oh. Fuck. Which was probably the wrong curse word to use at the moment.
Sansar shook her head. There was no way this could end well.
* * *
Golara Command Center, Golara System
Jim looked up from his slate as Splunk came in through the door of his temporary quarters in the command center. She had gotten better as soon as they’d left Pegasus. Seeing her the way she was aboard that ship was disconcerting.
Her normal behavior onboard a new ship or station was to explore very square inch. His quarters normally would have been full of every piece of interesting tech she could lay her hands on. But on Pegasus, she never left his side or their quarters the whole time they were aboard. He knew it was the AI, and that didn’t help him reconcile her hatred of it.
He’d half expected the little Fae to sneak off and attempt computer murder or something. When she did exactly the opposite, it scared him.
“Hi Jim,
“Hi, Trouble.” On the command center space station, she’d returned to form. The little pack she carried was full of odds and ends. He smiled, glad things were back to normal. “What did you find?”
She floated over and opened her bag. Inside were a number of unusual tech items, most of which he recognized as variations of things he’d seen before. There were also a pair of data chips. “Where’d you find these?” he asked.
“Hidden,
“Oh ho!” he said and slipped them into his slate. Of course they were encrypted. He grinned and accessed the sizeable collection of hacking tools stored in his pinplants. “Come to Papa,” he said and attacked it. The encryption was impressive, but not impressive enough. Splunk took apart a few of the items she’d found, cooing to herself, while Jim worked.
“Got it,” he said finally as the fi
les appeared in his head. Lists of ships and planet names appeared. “Oh, hell yes.” He grabbed a pinlink, snapped it to the lead on his pinplants, and activated the communicator. “Colonel Cromwell?” he asked.
“She’s off duty,” Paka answered. “Is this an emergency?”
“No,” Jim said. “Let her know I have info for the meeting tomorrow. I found Peepo’s orders for what colonies to assault, and the ships they’re bringing.” Jim smiled. Things had just gotten a little bit more interesting.
He dug into his field bag for one of his last clean uniforms and came across a little blue stuffed pony with a rainbow mane and tail. He took it out and gave a little laugh. The last time he’d seen it was when Adayn had packed it in his bag. It seemed so long ago. The toy and what they meant all seemed so long ago. He almost he tossed it into the trash, but then put it back in his bag and found the uniform. He had changed, but he was still who he was. And there was a lot of work to do.
* * * * *
Epilogue
CIC, EMS Arion, El Dorado System
“We almost made it out of the blast radius in time,” Lieutenant Colonel Walker recounted. “If we’d had another minute or two, we’d have been fine—but that was one hell of an explosion. As it was, we got fragged by the blast and lost the other Avenger and Private Enkh, who got hit by a piece of metal.” He smiled wryly. “Thanks for sending the shuttle out to get us.”
“I’m much happier sending a shuttle to get you than having to take on the Keesius; thanks for doing your part to stop it,” Captain Teenge said. “I don’t get it, though—why exactly did Klarb stay behind when it wasn’t required?”
“Because we don’t let friends go into the light by themselves,” Thorb replied.
“Klarb probably saved us, too,” Walker said with a sigh. “The ship was under 12 Gs when it blew; it’s unlikely Commander Earl was still conscious to set off the bomb.”
Captain Teenge nodded slowly. “It is a good thing he stayed behind, then,” she said. “We will see that both their sacrifices are honored.”
Dark Moon Arisen Page 31
