“Smith once told me that he never really felt like he had a home until he came aboard the Aurora. So, I guess I’m going to take him back on board again, and when the time is right … I’ll let him go.”
The team remained silent for a moment, before Carrie broke it.
“I never knew Carter had a fiancée.”
McKinley smiled sadly. “No, he liked to play that card close to his chest.”
“Protecting her from you, huh?” Hunter grinned.
“No, he knew Leilani’s my favorite!”
Hunter found another bottle top to ditch at McKinley, who tried to duck but it caught him on the shoulder.
“Hey, you nearly got me then, fool!” Brown warned Hunter, who laughed back at him.
“Gentlemen, gentlemen!” Colt gingerly raised her arms at them. “Calm down before you re-injure some of us!”
“Oh, he’s only got a broken leg!” Hunter responded, waving McKinley off.
“Hey, my leg was practically snapped in half, buddy,” McKinley shot back.
“So? One broken arm, and two bullet wounds; three, if you include the one that went right through my arm, entry and exit! That’s four injuries, McKinley,” Hunter said holding up four fingers. “I win!”
“Hello!” Colt joined in. “Bullet wound to the neck. Narrowly missing major arteries.”
“What does a fractured skull count for,” Carrie offered, “or near strangulation?”
“Hell, Doc, you’re best placed to judge this competition,” Brown joined in.
“You forgot the captain’s broken ribs!” Packham added.
Doc looked around the group and shook his head. “You’re all as bad as each other!”
“Oh, c’mon, Doc!” Hunter called on another referee: “Captain, as Doc abstains from the voting, judging is passed to you.”
Harris eyed Hunter with an arched eyebrow, then ran his eyes over the group. “Alright,” he said, “you all sustained some pretty good injuries and you all made it through, but only one of you survived more than one serious attack … and that’s Welles.”
“Oh, man!” Hunter exclaimed.
“What?” McKinley joined in.
“AND, I might add,” Harris raised his voice over their protests, “she survived it without her gun, which you, Lieutenant McKinley, believed that she would not be able to do.”
Carrie looked over at McKinley and gave him a big beaming smile. He looked back at her smile, and scoffed.
“Yeah, but the difference is they weren’t trying to kill her, they wanted her alive. They were trying to kill us!” he argued.
“Yes, they were,” Harris nodded, “and if I recall correctly, it was Welles who saved both your ass and Hunter’s ass, and that is why you are now both sitting here today.”
“Touché, captain!” Doc laughed, clapping his hands.
“Jesus!” McKinley rolled his blue eyes. “I’m never going to hear the end of this, am I?”
“I tell you what, McKinley,” Carrie said, leaning forward. “The time you beat me on the shooting range, is the time I’ll stop rubbing your face in it.”
This drew a lot of “oohs” from the group.
“Oh, game on, sister,” McKinley smiled. “Find me a shooting range, right now!”
“Now, lieutenant, you know the UNF does not approve of drinking and shooting,” Harris said, amused.
McKinley grinned, pointing at her. “We are so getting this game on. Mark my words!”
The group had a laugh at their competitive streaks, but soon fractured into several different conversations again. Carrie smiled to herself as she looked down at her beer. It was half gone already. She took another mouthful and looked over at Doc, who was listening to an animated Colt. His brown eyes smiled at Carrie with a sexy edge to them. She looked back down at her beer. She was starting to feel relaxed, and figured she’d better be careful or she’d risk losing her poker face completely.
Regardless, before long she was ready for another round.
“Who’s up?” she asked, standing up.
After taking several orders, Doc stood up also. “I’ll give you a hand.”
They headed over to the bar and stood facing it, their backs to the Aurora tables. The barman came straight over to them and they placed their order.
“So …” Doc said, staring straight ahead at the row of spirit bottles on display.
“So …?” Carrie said, doing the same.
“So, as your medic, I would advise you not to drink too much alcohol with that head injury, corporal,” he told her.
“But it’s making my head feel better, Doc,” she teased.
He glanced over at her and saw her smile, then faced front again. “Yes, it will do that, but tomorrow …”
“Mm,” Carrie nodded in agreement.
“Still, I could call on you later to check that you’re alright, if you like?”
Carrie flashed him a glance, then returned her eyes to the bottles. “That’s probably a good idea,” she said softly.
“Yes, it is,” he said nodding. “The only thing is, I’m not sure when I’m going to get out of here. Saul … the captain, is a very good drinker, and I can’t see him letting me go easily. So we may have a problem.”
“I see.”
“However, I will certainly do my very best,” he said throwing her another glance.
“That’s all you can do.”
“I’ll call you.”
Just then the barman came over with the drinks. Between them they took them back to the table and sat on opposite ends. Shortly after, the nurses from the UNF hospital walked back in the door.
“Are you kidding me?” McKinley said, looking at his watch.
“You’re lucky we let you stay this long,” his attractive brunette nurse said.
“C’mon,” he smiled at her. “It’s just my leg. There’s nothing wrong with my mouth.”
“You wanna bet?” she smiled back.
Brown cracked up laughing, while McKinley and Hunter looked glumly at each other.
Colt happily stood, and Carrie moved over to her to say goodbye.
“I don’t know when I’ll see you again?”
Colt smiled. “Well, if you’re ever in Orlando, look me up.”
“Well, my father just happens to live in Florida for six months of the year, so you never know.”
“Yeah? Great! Come here.” Colt leaned over and gave her a hug, patting her on the back. “You did good, girl. You should be proud.”
“Thanks, Sabrina. You kept me sane!”
“Look me up.” She nodded, then turned and walked over to Harris, as Carrie returned to her seat.
“Lieutenant, I won’t tell you again!” McKinley’s nurse smiled as she brought his crutches to him and walked off to get Hunter’s wheelchair.
“I would be following that if I were you,” Brown said, watching her walk away with a sly smile on his face.
McKinley stood, watching her too. “Mm-hmm,” he said, then he turned back around to the guys. “Now, she makes me want to break my other leg!”
The guys burst out laughing and Brown held out his hand to McKinley for a high-five, which he did.
McKinley looked over at Packham.
“Sergeant,” he nodded.
Packham nodded back and smiled, then McKinley turned to Carrie.
“I look forward to seeing you on the range, corporal,” he said with a straight face.
“As do I you, lieutenant,” she smiled.
He shook his head, fighting the smile threatening to break out on his face, then crutched his way over to Harris.
They watched McKinley, Hunter and Colt leave with their nurses, then Harris glanced around at those left: Doc, Brown, Packham and Carrie.
“I believe the night has just begun, people,” he said.
Doc looked at his watch. “Make that afternoon! It’s only 1600.”
Harris scoffed.
“Now, I must say, captain, you need to take it easy,” Doc warned. “One false drunken move and those ribs are gone again. I advise you not to drink much more.”
Harris looked at Doc, then glanced over at Brown, then back to Doc. “You can TRY, doctor!”
They all chuckled.
“Now, Packham,” Brown began, “I was telling Welles earlier about initiation. We’ve already lost Colt, so I think we’d better get started before anyone else leaves.”
“Initiation?” she asked, looking between Carrie and Brown.
“Brown, don’t be using the ‘I’ word in front of me,” Harris said, shaking his head.
“Or me,” Doc joined in, smiling.
“Oh, man!” Brown said slumping in his chair. “Where’s McKinley when you need him?”
“About to get a bed bath from a hot nurse, I suspect,” Packham offered.
“I know where I’d rather be,” Harris smiled.
“Well, the night is young, ladies,” Brown winked. “You’re not safe yet!”
Carrie looked over at Packham and they exchanged an amused look before Carrie turned back to him. “You know, Brown, with Captain Harris and Doc sitting on the sidelines, you’re the one outnumbered here. Perhaps we should initiate you?”
Packham grinned cheekily, as Brown gave Carrie an incredulous look.
“What the hell are two little white girls going to do to me?”
Carrie smirked and gave an evil laugh. “You have no idea!”
“Hell, I’d be afraid of that Brown,” Harris said, drinking his beer. Doc starting laughing and Harris shook his head. “Another night at The Vicar!”
33
Forward Motion
Harris watched as Welles left the bar. It was just after 1800. She’d said her goodbyes to them all, although he noted she seemed a little more formal with Doc. Almost too formal considering they’d been pretty close on the ship. Hopefully, that’s a good thing. He was keen on having her return to the ship, even more so than the other women. He didn’t know why exactly, but there was just something about her that intrigued him. He wanted her back aboard the Aurora to see if she was as good as he thought she was. So, if things were formal between her and Doc, that could only be a good thing.
“I hereby dub these ‘The Aurorans’!” Brown said clunking a tray of shots on the table, interrupting Harris’s thoughts.
“What the hell?” Harris said, looking down at the murky green liquid that filled the test tube glasses.
“Oh, Jesus!” Doc said, running his hand through his hair.
The four of them grabbed a shot and downed it. Harris looked over at Packham, who winced, but then shook it off. She noticed him looking at her.
“Boarding school,” she said. “We did a lot of training!”
The three men laughed at her.
“Looks like you’re initiating yourself, Packham!” Brown said, with a sly smile.
She looked over his shoulder at the pool table in the corner. “Pool table, now!” she ordered. “That will determine who gets to initiate who, sergeant!”
Brown looked over at the table and back to her. “Hell, you’re on, sister!” The two of them got up and walked off toward the table.
“My money’s on the boarding school, Brown,” Doc called after them.
Harris gave a throaty laugh.
Doc picked up his glass and moved closer to Harris. “It is good to be back at The Vicar, isn’t it?”
Harris nodded, “Yes, it is. Although it’s not the same …”
Doc sighed, looking down at his beer. “No.”
They sat in silence for a moment, then Harris glanced at his lieutenant. “So how’re things with Welles?” he asked.
Doc looked up at him a little surprised. “What do you mean?”
“I don’t know. Things were a bit weird on the ship for a bit, weren’t they? If you ask me things still seem weird.”
Doc shrugged and ran his hand over his mouth, looking back at his beer. “I don’t know. I’ve been avoiding the situation.”
“I know you have.”
Doc looked at him, but didn’t say anything. Harris watched him for a moment.
“I asked her back onto the Aurora. I’ve offered her a permanent position. That going to be a problem?” he asked carefully.
Doc shook his head, but averted his eyes. “No.”
“Good. I’d like to have her on the team.”
“So, she said yes?” he asked, looking at his beer and twisting it back and forth slightly in his hand.
Harris watched him again for a moment. Doc looked up at him and took another swig of his beer, waiting for his answer.
“No. She’s going to think about it.”
Doc nodded, looking back at the beer, considering what he said. After a moment, he looked back at Harris, noticing that he was still watching him.
“So, is that what your conversation was about with Packham earlier? You ask her, too?”
Harris nodded. “And Colt.”
“Yeah? What’d they say?”
“Packham’s in. She’s our new co-pilot. Colt, like Welles, is going to think about it. Welles, with some encouragement, will come back a yes, I think. But I’m not too sure about Colt. I think it’s in their best interest if they come back aboard. Given what’s happened, we should stick together for a while until we’re sure things are okay.”
Doc nodded again, seemingly thinking something over.
Harris took another sip of his beer. “Regardless, I’d like to have Welles back aboard either way. She did good on the Darwin, and despite the rough start, I think she’ll work well with McKinley. And I like the fact that she has that element of surprise. No-one will expect much from her on first look, but we know now that she can deliver.” He sighed. “I’m still going to have to find more soldiers, though.”
“You will, Saul. And you’ve always found the right ones before.”
“Finding them’s easy. Letting them go is another …”
Doc nodded sympathetically. “What do you think will happen with the Jumbo program?”
Harris looked him in the eye. “They’ll have spent too much money on it to let it go.”
“My thoughts exactly,” Doc nodded.
“I was hoping to have heard something about Sharley and Logan. They should’ve made it back to Earth by now. Probably going through the debrief as we speak. I’ll give it a couple of days, then I’ll follow it up. I’m keen to know what they’re going to do with them both. Especially Logan.”
Doc nodded again in thought, then finished his beer. “Have you spoken with Colonel Isaack since you’ve been back?”
“I tried to get a hold of him, but he’s been reassigned to a classified posting.”
“Is that right?” Doc stared at him, intrigued.
“Mm-hmm.”
“Should we be worried about something here?”
Harris noted the seriousness of his lieutenant’s voice and face as he locked eyes with him again. “They didn’t charge us, Doc. Whether Colonel Welles had something to do with that, I don’t know. But don’t think for a second that means we’re off the hook. We just need to keep our heads down and our nose clean, and hopefully we'll be fine.”
Doc’s face showed real concern.
“Anyway,” Harris said loudly, “I do not want to spend my first night of leave talking about the Darwin, or Sharley or the UNF for that matter. I am going to get shit-faced drunk, pass out and then sleep until my back gets sore!”
Doc laughed. “Or your ribs as the case may be!”
“I can handle the ribs, Doc.”
“Well, in that case, captain, allow me to fetch you a scotch,” he said getting up.
“Thought you’d never ask,” Harris saluted him.
*
Professor Martin stared nervously at Quint, who moved to stand right in front of him.
“You made sure to find my body in one of the Be
lgo’s barrels, didn’t you?” Quint asked with threatening eyes, his gray hair doing nothing to fool the professor into thinking he was weak.
Martin nodded nervously. Quint had this affect on him, and he knew it. As much as the other Jumbo’s made Martin uncomfortable, there was just something about Quint that he feared. He knew the only thing stopping the man from killing him on the spot was Sharley. Thankfully, Sharley had Quint on a respected leash. Although, that said, Martin was a little unsure exactly, as to where he stood with Professor Sharley right now, after all that had gone down.
“If someone goes digging, it’s certainly implied,” Martin assured Quint, “and as I told Sharley, the remains were slush. There was no way anyone could tell who or what is in there without running forensics. And unfortunately, the so-called barrels of waste were given to your fisherman friend as discussed. I have no doubt they are now sitting comfortably in the belly of a shark somewhere.”
“Good,” Quint eyed him with his pale green eyes, “’cause I do my best work as a ghost.”
Martin nodded. “I have no doubt.”
Quint continued to stare at him, and Martin tried hard not to be impressed by his Jumbo physique; tall and broad. Fearless. Deadly.
“Well, as I have done this favor for Sharley and ensured your safety, Quint, perhaps now you could ensure mine?” Martin asked firmly, but calmly. “The UNF was starting to ask a lot of questions when I left. The shit has well and truly hit the fan, and heads are going to roll.”
Quint didn’t answer, he simply gave a casual, uncaring shrug.
Martin exhaled impatiently. “I should have your allegiance too, goddamnit! You should obey my instruction! You forget, I'm in charge of this program,” he hissed.
“No, you’re not,” Quint said, placing his face in Martin’s, staring at him with those pale, threatening, green eyes. “Sharley’s in charge, Martin. Always has been. And I think it’s about time you learned that.”
Martin stepped backwards, unable to contain his fear. “W— what are you going to do?”
Quint gave a small terrifying smile, “Finish what we started.”
*
Carrie lay on her bed and yawned. She looked at her watch. 20:17. She flicked the TV over, even though she wasn’t really in the mood for watching anything. She contemplated turning everything off and going to sleep. There was no guarantee that Doc was going to call, and she could just imagine how much Harris could drink, not to mention Brown, who were both still in the bar when she’d left.
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