Lost Alliance (Dragonfire Station Books 1-3): A Galactic Empire series

by Zen DiPietro

  19

  Coalescence Chapter 4

  She did her job, and her team did theirs. By the time her duty shift ended, Avian Unit had a plan to acquire Admiral Colb. It was about damn time.

  “Will we need any additional gear?” she asked after they’d outlined their plan in her quarters.

  “No. We’re set,” Hawk said.

  “Okay. I’ll update the captain on our plans and let Arin know that he’s in charge of security while I’m gone. Anything else?” When no one spoke up, she said, “Good. I’ll see you all at the docking bay in the morning.”

  Peregrine said goodnight and made her escape. She probably had a date.

  Ross and Raptor left together, but invited her along for some dinner.

  “No, but thanks.” She appreciated the offer.

  Hawk was last to leave. “Meet me at the pub in an hour,” he said as he stood.

  “What? Why waste an evening on me when there’s a whole station full of people you haven’t seen naked?”

  He gave her knee a light slap as he went by on his way to the door. “Hardly wasted on my favorite drinking buddy. It’s been too long since we had a drink together.”

  He was right. It had been a couple months, at least. “Okay, but you’re buying.”

  “Sure.”

  “And I haven’t had dinner, so you can buy me that too.”

  He rubbed his beard. “So long as you eat it at the bar, fine by me.”

  “See you in an hour, then.”

  Fallon was halfway through her ale when Hawk finally said, “Sooo…”

  “Nope. Uh-uh.”

  “What?” He feigned innocence so well that she could almost believe it.

  She fixed him with a frosty look. “I know what you’re after. I already had to have a ‘feelings’ conversation with Wren, and then another with Raptor. I am not doing it again with you.”

  “Didn’t say you had to.”

  “Good. Because I won’t.” She tipped the rim of her glass at him to make her point.

  “Good. I hate that stuff.” Hawk finished his drink and punched in an order for another, since they were at a table rather than sitting at the bar. He’d made only a token complaint about that because the bar had been full. “Feelings. Bleh.” He wore a look of disgust, which made her smile.

  He waited a full minute until he said, “Although…”

  She pointed at him in warning.

  He chuckled. “You told each of them about the other, right?”

  “Of course. They’re both fine with it.”

  “Sounds like you aren’t fine with them being fine. Are you mad they aren’t jealous, or something? That each of them knows what they want, and it doesn’t involve the need to be your one and only?”

  “No!” She bristled. He made her sound childish when she was only trying to be ethical.

  His drink arrived and he began pouring it down his throat. He banged the glass down and wiped his mouth with the back of his hand. “I don’t see your problem. You can relax and have a good time.”

  “It’s not about a good time.”

  “Maybe it should be. You’ve been way too serious the whole time I’ve known you. Probably before I knew you, too. Why shouldn’t you just enjoy yourself, for once in your life? Especially when we’re talking about two people who love you, and aren’t making demands on you? You’re one lucky asshole, and you don’t know it.”

  She frowned at him. “I’m ordering food now.” She requested a variety of finger foods, then on second thought, doubled the order. Otherwise, Hawk would end up eating all her food.

  “Give it some thought, will you?”

  “Fine. I’ll think.” She added a dessert to her order. A big chocolate cake-pudding-pie thing that sounded both awful and awesome.

  “That’s all I’m saying.”

  She studied him. “Okay. You’re right about me being driven, at least. I was always that way, even as a kid. Fortunately I had a good family—still have a good family. They helped me channel my energy into something positive.” He had met her parents when they raided the Tokyo PAC base.

  “But what about you? You grew up hard, didn’t you?” she asked, shifting the attention to him. She was sick of talking about herself.

  He heaved a huge sigh, followed by a long pause that made her think he wouldn’t answer. Finally he said, “Yeah. Very hard. Tell you what. If we live through this thing we’re doing now, I’ll fill you in. But not tonight. Deal?”

  “Deal. But if you want dessert, you need to order your own.”

  “I don’t need any sweets.”

  “Fine, but I’m serious. You’re not eating mine.” She gave him a threatening look.

  He smiled.

  Their food arrived as they finished their drinks, chatting about pleasantly impersonal things. As much as she preferred that, she felt she needed to be sure that Avian Unit wouldn’t change, in light of recent events.

  “So,” she ventured, “you don’t have a problem with Raptor and me?”

  “No. Never did. It was you two who were up your own asses about it.”

  She laughed in surprise. “What about the whole complicating-the-team thing?”

  “That’s the company line, but how’s it any different, really? We all look out for each other. Blood and bone. Whether you and Raptor bury your feelings for each other or not.”

  She had no answer for that. “What does Peregrine think about it?”

  He squinted at her. “If Per thought she had a shot at Raptor, she’d damn near throw you out an airlock. Since she knows she doesn’t, then yeah. Pretty much the same as what I think.”

  Fallon laughed again, relieved.

  The food arrived and they dug in while enjoying their drinks. When her dessert finally was set in front of her, Fallon gazed at it in amazement. The thing was a good thirty centimeters high.

  “Guess you won’t mind if I have a bite after all.” Hawk’s fork began a trajectory toward her plate.

  “Back off, lumberjack. Get your own.”

  “You’re kidding. You can’t eat that whole thing on top of what you’ve already had.” He looked from her to the dessert and back again, as if calculating which one would win in a fight.

  “Bet me.”

  “You’re on. Loser has to moon the Briveen restaurant.”

  “No. Those poor people are eating mandren. They don’t need to be forced to look at your hairy ass, too. Besides, I work here. Try again,” she ordered.

  “They’d be lucky to see my ass,” he grumbled. “Not that I’m going to lose. But fine. Loser has to go to that trader’s shop and buy the worst thing the winner can find, then present it to Captain Nevitt as a gift.”

  She laughed long and loud. “It’s a bet.”

  In the end, she ate the dessert, no one had to see Hawk’s ass, and she’d get a good laugh at some future date.

  It was a good night.

  When Fallon woke, there was a face centimeters from hers. Since she had gone to bed alone, she immediately tried to punch it.

  Raptor caught her fist. “Easy, Chief.”

  “You seriously have to stop sneaking into my room.”

  “But it’s fun.” He flopped back onto the bed and tried to snuggle up to her, but she was already sitting up and hitting the light panel.

  “For you.”

  “That’s why I do it. Besides, the Ghost has to keep his skills shiny, right?” When she glared at him, he added, “Fine. I just wanted to see you for a few minutes, privately, before we left. Once we have Colb, shit is going to come at us fast and hard. I wanted a chance to exist in the same space together before all that happens.”

  That was actually kind of sweet, but she wasn’t sure how she felt about sweetness from Raptor. It was…different.

  They stared at each other.

  “So this is weird.” His eyes crinkled at the corners, but she saw uncharacteristic uncertainty in him.

  “Very.” She smoothed nonexistent wrinkles out of the b
lanket.

  He bumped her shoulder gently with his fist. “We’ll figure it out.”

  “Yeah?”

  “Sure.” His humor was back full force. “Assuming we don’t die in the coming days. But then, if we do die, we don’t have to figure it out. So, you know. Silver linings.”

  She snorted and got up, headed for the necessary. “Thanks for the pep talk.”

  “Anytime, Chief.”

  She paused. “You seem to have switched to calling me that rather than Tempest. I noticed the others have too.”

  “Have I?”

  “Yes,” she affirmed.

  “I guess I like it better. It fits you.”

  “I think so too.”

  She stepped toward the necessary, but paused again. “Do you need to shower?” She lifted a provocative eyebrow.

  He was on his feet immediately. “Yes.”

  The awkwardness between them disappeared. This was the part they did well.

  It was go time. Fallon sat in the pilot’s chair of the Nefarious, pointed toward Zerellus and glad to be alive. The thrill of flight and the mission ahead made her feel like a supernova. She’d been waiting so long for this. The first real step in taking over Blackout.

  “She’s got that look again.” Next to her, Hawk wore a long-suffering expression.

  “What look?” Fallon demanded.

  “Like you’re going to eat planets and shoot laserbeams out of your eyeballs.” He added, “Freaks me out.”

  She grinned at him. The idea of freaking out that mountain of a man was laughable.

  “What freaks you out?” Ross stepped onto the bridge.

  “Spiders. Soap. Very small rocks.” She pinched her index finger and thumb together.

  “Well, who isn’t afraid of spiders?” Ross stood between her and Hawk.

  She smiled. Ross fit in well with her team. He seemed much more relaxed now. Maybe he appreciated the chance to get the job done as much as she did.

  “What can we do for you?” she asked. She’d expected him to be in the ship’s mess hall, playing card games with Raptor and Peregrine.

  “Thought I’d take a shift up here. No need for you to be glued to the bridge. It’ll take us almost two days to get there.”

  “That’s thoughtful. I’ll pull up a shift schedule. You can start the next shift in two hours, but I’m fine for now. Glad for the chance to fly, actually.”

  “Gotcha. I guess I’ll go take a nap so I can be fresh for my shift.”

  “You’re not too keyed up to sleep?” Fallon was, at the moment.

  Ross grinned, reminding her of the roguish instructor she’d once known. “It’s the benefit of age. I’ve had a lot of experience taking things one step at a time.”

  “I’ll see you in two hours, then.”

  After he left, Hawk stood, stretching his arms. “I’m going to give his wisdom thing a try and see if I can sleep for a while.”

  “I’ve always said you could use some wisdom.”

  He lightly bopped her on the head on his way out. That left her staring out into space, flying them toward their goal.

  Which was how she liked it.

  A day and a half later, they made it to Zerellus.

  As soon as the airlock to the docking station opened, Avian Unit pushed through it. They rode the orbital elevator down to the planet’s surface, primed and eager.

  All five wore a backpack, carefully filled with the items they’d need. Raptor had planned this maneuver in intricate detail. Since Ross had no transmitter tattoo, he’d stick with another team member at all times.

  Wearing casual clothes, they followed Peregrine’s lead. Since she was a native Zerellian, it made perfect sense for her to bring a group of friends to her home planet. They chatted casually through the transport station and during their taxi ride, with Peregrine telling them about the planet as if none of them had ever been there.

  As they neared their destination, Peregrine promised, “You’re going to love this restaurant. Best rastor dumplings in the quadrant.”

  “Ugh,” Fallon said. “Maybe I should wait outside.” The stench of them seemed to fill the air already.

  “In the dark?” Peregrine teased. “No way. Seriously though, don’t worry. They make plenty of other things.”

  “If you say so.”

  Peregrine paid their driver, and they stepped out in front of the Blue Elephant restaurant. “Ready?” she asked. When the rest of them nodded, she said, “You’re on, Raptor.”

  Their jovial façade faded as he led them into the restaurant. They nodded to the hostess and walked past the main dining area, toward the wing where VIPs entertained private parties. They followed the hallway, turned left, followed another long hallway, and entered the last room.

  Fallon’s attention went to a long table, already laden with food. Mashed root vegetables covered in heavy sauce, glistening cuts of juicy meat, and thick slabs of bread beckoned. The mix of aromas almost made her hungry, even filled as she was with anticipation for the job they were here to do.

  She had to give the Zerellians credit. They knew how to cater a private party with a lot of money to spend. Raptor had indicated their impending arrival, and the meal had been laid out in style. Most importantly, no staff would return to the room until summoned.

  “Sure we can’t take a few minutes to eat first?” Hawk joked.

  “Later,” Raptor snapped, all business. “Any questions?” When there were none, he touched a microcomputer on his wrist. “I’ve deactivated the door sensor. Let’s go.”

  They stripped off their outer clothes, revealing the sleek black jumpsuits beneath. Raptor then led them out the back of the room, where they dashed across the barren courtyard behind the building. There, they scaled a three-meter-high wall and dropped behind an outbuilding at the rear of a personal estate.

  Raptor glanced at his wrist, then nodded at Fallon.

  Under the cover of the outbuilding, Fallon lowered her backpack to the ground and sat next to it. In seconds, she’d extracted a hand-sized dark-gray drone, its controls, and two VR headsets. She handed one to Raptor and put the other on her own head.

  With the tiniest movement of her fingers, she launched the drone and it immediately became invisible. Even in daylight it would have been hard to spot.

  Via the headset, the drone’s perspective filled her vision as she flew it around the estate. She saw the outbuilding and her team, as well as the top of her own head, then zoomed off to canvas the entire area. She noted two guards and a security camera at every entrance. Every window also had a camera. Seated next to her, Raptor saw everything she did through the second pair of goggles.

  She took him on a tour of every feature of the place. She kept her altitude low, to avoid tripping any passive detection. Most planets had such systems, but an able pilot with the latest technology would always be ahead of them.

  She felt a hand press her thigh. Raptor had what he needed. She brought the drone back, landed it, and removed her VR gear.

  Raptor had already taken his off. He made a series of gestures, instructing Hawk to follow him and Peregrine to lead Ross and Fallon two minutes behind.

  By the time the second group arrived, Raptor and Hawk had taken out the two guards, opened the door, and dragged the pair inside. Ross and Peregrine stripped the guards of their uniforms and put them on over their jumpsuits. They took special care of the guards’ comports, which would no doubt send an alarm if they were out of position for much longer. Then they took the guards’ places at the door.

  Fallon trailed Raptor while Hawk followed on her heels as they rushed down the hallway, careful not to make noise on the black-and-white tiled floor.

  From here, Raptor would be working from blueprints of the building that had been filed with the housing commission when it was built. If any unreported restructuring had happened since, Avian Unit could be in trouble. But Raptor led them decisively down one hall, took a left, then stopped at a security breakstop—a solid metal
wall that was vacuum sealed and locked. To get to Colb, Raptor had to find a way past it. He gestured for Fallon and Hawk to cover him while he worked at the electronic mechanism.

  The moment Fallon started to worry, she heard a soft beep and a woomph as the seal broke. The wall retracted to the side.

  “Here we go.” Raptor opened the door behind the breakstop.

  They rushed in, ready to take on however many dozens of guards Colb had, only to stop short when they saw the man himself, standing in the middle of the room. Smiling.

  “Greetings, my young friends,” Colb said, bowing to them as a teacher would to a student. Or a parent to a child. “I’m glad you’ve finally made it.”

  They searched the place to be sure it wasn’t a trap. But there was no one there pulling Colb’s strings. A message to Peregrine and Hawk had them arriving a few minutes later, looking wary. Fallon felt the same.

  “Ah.” Colb bowed to them, and they returned the bow. “Now we can begin. Shall we sit?” He indicated a traditional tea table.

  The members of Avian Unit exchanged uneasy looks.

  “You’re wondering why I didn’t simply summon you, right?” He looked from one face to another. “Well, I’ll be honest. I didn’t know exactly who I was waiting for. I’d hoped that someone would figure out what Krazinski was up to. But until someone came looking for me, I couldn’t know who was in his pocket and who wasn’t.” He looked directly at Fallon. “I’m glad it was you.”

  “How do you know we’re not here to capture you for him?” Peregrine asked.

  “Because he wouldn’t want you to, if you were working for him. He’d want to keep me right here, frozen in a prison of my own making, unsure of who I can trust.”

  Fallon searched his elderly, familiar face as he talked. He was only a little older than her father, but time and the loss of Colb’s wife had taken a great toll on him. She saw nothing that indicated insincerity though. He looked just as he had when he’d read her stories when she was a little girl.