by Zen DiPietro
Raptor and Peregrine seemed to like Arin well enough. Fallon had a harder time interpreting Ross’ sentiments. He was friendly, but gave little away regarding his thoughts. He walked next to Peregrine, appearing to enjoy the stroll.
The path curved gently around a copse of trees. The group halted when they encountered Dr. Brannin Brash coming the other direction.
“Oh, hello.” The Bennite doctor smiled and engaged in pleasantries with everyone, saving Fallon for last. “And how are you feeling?” He had good reason for asking, given the brain surgery he’d recently assisted with, which had returned her memories to her.
“Great. No apparent side effects.”
“Glad to hear it. You’ll be at your appointment tomorrow?” He watched her expectantly.
“Of course. And Brak will also check me out when she returns.”
Brak had been the one to pioneer the surgery. She also knew about Fallon’s struggle with Blackout, while Brannin remained in the dark about it.
“Excellent.” He included the others in his smiling glance. “Well, I won’t keep you. Have a good evening.” He gave them a quick bow, indicating the proper level of respect, but with an air of casualness.
Fallon and her companions also bowed, then continued on their way. Raptor and Peregrine joined the conversation, probably to relieve Arin of Hawk’s unwavering attention. Fallon and Ross were content to listen, responding only when spoken to directly.
Fallon wanted to observe Arin with her team, but she didn’t know Ross’ reason for being quiet. Maybe he was just tired.
Overall, she was pleased with the evening. Arin got along well with her team and they seemed to like him. She’d talk to him in private later to see what he thought of them. If he had the right instincts, she might recruit him into her rebellion. Assuming she could trust him not to go running to Jamestown Station, also known as PAC headquarters.
In the meantime, she had a station to protect and an insurgency to plan.
17
Coalescence Chapter 2
The next morning, Fallon gathered Avian Unit in her security office on Deck Four to discuss their next mission: making contact with Admiral Colb. As soon as Brak gave her the medical green light for business as usual, Fallon wanted to start sticking it to Blackout. That meant finding all the allies they could, and Colb would be a powerful one. They’d located him, and he seemed to be isolated and on the run, just as Avian Unit was.
“What he’s doing is smart,” Raptor said. “He’s made his presence on Zerellus publicly known. With his high profile, people would immediately notice if he disappeared, and they’d start asking the kind of questions that Blackout doesn’t want people asking.”
“The kind that might just lead back to them,” Peregrine mused, chewing on her thumb thoughtfully. “But it means he’ll be difficult to reach. He’ll have a fortress of security to make sure he doesn’t suffer any unfortunate ‘accidents.’”
“Difficult, but not impossible,” Raptor countered. “I’m finding out as much about the situation as I can.”
Hawk shifted to face Raptor. “We don’t have much to prove he’s an ally, other than the fact that he seems to be flying solo. No offense to Fallon, but I’m not taking her parents’ faith in the guy as proof that he’s on our side.”
“Neither am I.” Old family friend or not, Fallon wouldn’t trust him blindly. “Until we’re sure he’s not working with Krazinski, we treat him as a potential threat.”
From the corner of her eye, she saw Ross’ frown deepen. He’d said little all morning and his withdrawal had begun to concern her.
Raptor leaned forward, his elbows on his knees. “I’d like to do a scouting mission. Check out the situation in person. That will give me a lot more to work with.”
It was the right move, and Fallon’s team could use something to do. They weren’t tasked with running Dragonfire as she was. The timing would sync nicely.
Travel between the station and Zerellus would take more than a day each way. By the time the rest of Avian Unit returned, Brak would have arrived and given Fallon the medical all clear. At least, she hoped she’d get the clean bill of health she needed. If not, she might have to defy doctor’s orders, even if it strained her relationship with Brak.
“Who would you take?” she asked Raptor. As their hacker and infiltration specialist, his expertise would be paramount.
“Hawk, I guess.” Raptor looked to Peregrine, as if apologizing for not choosing her. “His tactical assessment would be helpful in making our plan.”
“Take Peregrine too. She’ll make sure no one recognizes you.”
Hawk frowned at her. “That would leave you here alone, and we agreed we’d stay in pairs.”
“Ross will stay here.” She’d have liked him to serve as their pilot. The others would do fine with a basic flight, but Ross was better qualified to deal with anything out of the ordinary.
Ross met her gaze, then nodded. She wasn’t sure how he felt deferring to her, given that technically speaking, he was her superior officer. While the rest of her team did their scouting, she’d have a talk with their former instructor. She needed to know what was going on inside his head lately.
Hawk, Raptor, and Peregrine exchanged glances, then nodded. She sensed their reluctance, and she appreciated it. Those three were her family, and she was theirs. Even though she’d recovered her memories of her parents and brother, her bond with her team was the most significant one she had, and she liked it that way. Her world would make a lot less sense if it were any other way.
“Good. You can work out the details and let me know when you plan to depart.” She leaned back against the couch. “That brings us to the last issue. Nevitt will be in the loop on our planning, and may attend meetings. Especially if anything pertains to Dragonfire. She’ll be an active member of our team.”
Hawk looked like he wanted to argue, so she cut in before he could get started. “That’s one of her terms for letting us use Dragonfire as a base of operations.”
Hawk grimaced, but said nothing. Raptor met her gaze, while Per frowned her usual frown.
“All right. We’re done here. I need to get to Deck Two to check out a faulty sensor.”
Peregrine said, “Nevitt’s terms are steep. Are you really going to be able to balance your job as security chief with what we need to do?”
“I’ve wondered the same thing,” Fallon admitted. “It depends on how difficult each of those jobs gets.”
“So no.” Hawk’s eyes were full of humor.
She smiled at him. “We’re going to find out.”
After her team left, Fallon sat in the chair behind her desk. With one foot, she sent both it and herself spiraling in a slow spin. She’d developed the habit as a child to help her blow off steam and center her thoughts.
She had a lot threatening to pull her off-center. Her loyalty to her team and her duty to Nevitt. Her concern about Ross and most of all, her need to figure out what was happening with Blackout and why her brain had been experimented on.
She knew now that she’d never consented to have illegal, experimental technology installed in her brain. She’d never been asked, either. She wanted to know how long it had been in there, and what had happened in that shuttle before the accident and her memory loss.
She remembered piloting the shuttle outside Dragonfire, then waking up in Dragonfire’s infirmary with Brannin and Wren standing over her. Clearly, some serious shit had gone down in that brief interim.
The way she figured it, there were three possibilities. Someone might have removed a device from her brain, causing brain damage in the process. There could have been some altercation that caused accidental damage to the implant. Or perhaps it was a botched attempt to install the device without her knowing.
The details weren’t important, in the grand scheme of figuring out who was to blame for subverting Blackout and developing illegal tech that violated the treaties at the heart of the PAC. Fallon’s experience was a speck o
f space dust compared to avoiding intergalactic war.
But it mattered to her and she hoped she’d get at least some of the answers.
For now, she had a malfunctioning sensor to see to.
By the time she recalibrated the sensor, she was due for her rounds on the boardwalk. She smoothed her hands over her uniform as she rode the lift down to Deck One. She hadn’t done this in an official capacity for over seven months now. And the last time she’d done it, she’d been operating with only a couple weeks’ worth of memories.
Her amnesia seemed surreal in hindsight, but she was proud of herself for managing as well as she had. With her two realities now meshed, her identity in check, and her team on the station, she felt complete for the first time in over two years.
She watched for her young friends Nix and Robert, but they didn’t seem to be down here today. They must be having lunch at school.
She wasn’t surprised when Cabot Layne stepped out of his shop as she walked by.
“Chief,” he said warmly, bowing. “It’s so good to see you back on the job.”
“It’s good to be back,” she answered as she returned the bow, surprised by how much she meant what she said.
She expected him to refer to the covert work he had at least some inkling of, or to the favor he’d done her in securing a ship for her and her teammates. But he merely smiled and fell into step beside her as he’d done many times before.
“Has everything gone well on the boardwalk in my absence? Is there anything that needs my attention?” she asked.
“We’ve been well taken care of. Young Arin has done an excellent job.”
“That’s good to hear.”
“And you?” he asked. “You’re well?”
She searched his face for some hidden meaning, but saw none. “Yes. Very well, thank you.”
“I’m glad.” He halted and stood in place, causing her to do the same. “I’d love to walk the rest of the way with you, but I’m afraid I have an appointment with a customer. Perhaps tomorrow?”
His geniality made her smile. “That would be nice.”
“If you think of anything you or your friends need, let me know.”
Again, she suspected a double meaning, but his face gave nothing away. Either he was being straightforward or he was damn good. Given what he’d managed to do for her previously, she’d put cubics on him being damn good. “I will.”
“Good.”
He bowed and she returned the courtesy.
The rest of her tour of the boardwalk was unremarkable. She received friendly greetings from people glad to see her back on the job, but she had no questions about their backgrounds or motivations.
Cabot Layne was another matter altogether. The man did a perfect imitation of a simple trader, but she knew him to be more. How much more, she had yet to discover.
Fallon’s team left for Zerellus that evening, which made her uneasy. Not going with them felt wrong. She’d make her lemons into lemonade, though, and use the time to have a talk with Ross.
The doors to his quarters opened just seconds after she touched the chime. “Took you five whole minutes to get here. I’m disappointed.” His expression didn’t match the teasing words, but she gave him points for trying.
She followed him in and they settled in the living area. “You know why I’m here. Tell me what’s going on.”
He propped an ankle across his opposite knee, looking conflicted. “Here’s my problem. I’ve seen the evidence against Krazinski. Raptor verified the data and his guilt is clear. His attempt to extort Brak only adds more evidence of his corruption.” His voice sharpened. “But it doesn’t make sense to me. I’ve known John for two decades, and I’d have staked my life on him being devoted to peace and promoting solidarity among the PAC allies.” His fingers slowly curled into a tense fist.
She didn’t know Ross well enough to understand his inner workings. “So what do you make of it?”
His hand uncurled and he smoothed it over his pant leg. “I don’t know. That’s the problem. I can’t argue with the evidence, but it doesn’t add up against what I know of the man. That bothers me.”
Silence stretched between them. Finally, she said, “I wish I had answers for you, but I don’t understand his motivations either. I can’t imagine what would be worth violating multiple treaties and potentially throwing this sector of the universe into chaos. But we’re going to take care of it, regardless of his reasons.”
“It’s what you do, right?” His voice was flat as he stared into space.
“No,” she answered honestly. “I’ve always been the tip of the arrow, not the bow.” His eyes shifted to her and she decided to be brutally honest. They needed to understand each other the way she and her team did. “Look, I’m an adrenaline junkie with a hero complex and a certain amount of moral flexibility. I’ve always been perfectly happy to throw myself at whatever target I was pointed toward, because I had faith in the people doing the pointing.” She could see she had his full attention, so she continued, “But the person who’s been directing me has become corrupt, and now I’m pointed right at him. My team never wanted to become administrators, but if that’s the job that needs doing, we’ll do it.”
“Yeah.” Ross didn’t look less troubled.
She leaned forward and rested a hand on his propped knee. “We’ll figure out what happened to Krazinski. That is what my team and I do.”
He sighed and patted her hand. “I know. And there’s no one else I’d want on the job. That’s why I came looking for you. I guess I’m just weary. I thought the universe would be a better, more solid place when I was middle-aged. That my colleagues and I would have spent our lives on the betterment of the PAC. Instead, I’m finding that my cohorts are destabilizing everything we, and previous generations, have created.”
He smiled at her, with a touch of sadness. “It’s disheartening to look toward my advancing years and feel less hopeful about the future than I did when I was a fresh young officer.”
“Would it make you feel better if I promised you could smack Krazinski once we have him? A really good one, right across the face.” She demonstrated by smacking one palm against the other.
He laughed. “Maybe.”
“Don’t lose your sense of humor,” she advised. “I found out a long time ago that sometimes it’s all we have.”
“Yeah. I guess you’re right. I’ll try harder at not letting myself get dragged down.”
She nodded. “It’s a requirement of the job. Focus on what’s ahead of you. Don’t get bogged down in dwelling on the rest.”
“I’ll stay on track. Thanks.”
She understood where he was coming from. He’d lost his sense of community, and he needed a new one.
“How about you come down to the boardwalk with me? We can get some dinner and I’ll introduce you around.” Thus far, he’d spent most of his time alone. Brooding. It wasn’t good for him.
“Is it smart to be so open about my presence here?” he asked.
“There’s no hiding the fact that I’m here, and the assumption will be that my team is too. Blackout will have already concluded that you’re on our side.”
“All right,” he agreed. “Show me the boardwalk.”
She’d been mildly hungry, but now that she’d entered the haven of delicious aromas, her stomach started growling. Fallon and Ross had only just sat down at the Bennite restaurant and picked up their menuboards when Captain Nevitt appeared.
Fallon was so surprised that she forgot her stomach and simply stared at her captain. She’d only ever seen Nevitt on the boardwalk when she needed to greet an important guest to the station upon arrival. Fallon couldn’t recall ever having seen Nevitt eat.
“May I join you?” the captain asked.
Fallon found her voice. “Of course.”
“I had a craving for some stew,” Nevitt said, quickly keying her order into a menuboard. She glanced up and noted Fallon’s expression. “Fine. I’ve decided that if thi
ngs around here are changing, then I need to change with them. Assuming things go the way we think they will, a closer relationship with the people on my station will be necessary for everyone’s well-being.”
“That’s very forward-thinking.” Fallon keyed in her order for stew, bread, and cold tea.
“Not at all. Just pragmatic.” She focused her attention on Ross. “So what’s your story? You’ve been on my station for weeks and I know almost nothing about you.”
He smiled amiably. “Oh, you know. Former academy instructor, recently retired. Bumming around the PAC zone while I decide what to do next.”
Nevitt smirked. “Right.” In such a public place, Ross could hardly be more forthcoming, but Nevitt didn’t seem put out. “I hope your stay on my station proves to be productive.”
That earned her a grin from Ross. “So do I, Captain.”
“Call me Hesta. I’m not on duty.”
Fallon somehow managed to keep her jaw from dropping. She’d never heard Nevitt suggest anyone call her by her first name.
The captain eyed Fallon. “You too, when we aren’t discussing official business.”
“Is a captain ever not on duty?” Ross asked.
“I’m going to start. Just did, in fact, a minute ago. It looks like this.” She sat watching them.
Prelin’s ass. The captain could be funny. Fallon didn’t know what to make of this unexpected turn of events. “I might have to work my way up to calling you by your first name.”
Nevitt lifted a challenging eyebrow, which somehow ignited all of Fallon’s competitive tendencies. Damn, that woman had skills.
“Fine. Hesta.”
To her credit, the captain—Hesta—didn’t gloat. She simply nodded in acknowledgement.
“So what’s your story?” Ross asked.
Nevitt folded her hands together on the table. “Oh, you know. A typical space station captain, bumming my way through this assignment until I can move up in the hierarchy.”
