“I don’t want you to take that chance.”
“I’m going to take that chance because I’m not going to let you give up your scholarship. You’ve been combing your fur backwards these last two years, and I really appreciate that. I’m not going to be any more of a burden on you. We both know what this is really about, but you just won’t let it go. I’m not Rachel; I’m not in the crap situation she was in. You and Liam both took care of that. You are the best big sister a brother could have, but you need to give it a rest. Don’t destroy your future because of me!”
“I’m not going to any more funerals!”
“You won’t! Please, just give this time to calm down.”
“Would the internship at the aquarium help with his housing situation,” interjected Edward.
Zoë turned ready to snarl, but couldn’t. Flustered she just nodded.
“You managed to find a good private school, Zoë. It seems the best thing might be to find one for Ethan.”
Zoë cocked her head, “That would be even more expensive than moving him.”
“Yes, but with all the publicity of the kidnapping, it is not unlikely he could find a sponsor.”
“Outside of just a bleeding heart wanting to help, why would they help? People never do anything that nice for nothing.” Zoë’s tone was more than a little bitter.
“It actually does form a tax write-off,” interjected Gillian. “So if you are going to be cynical, there is your reason.”
Suddenly Zoë teared up, “I’ve done it. I’ve become one of them.”
Ethan rushed to her side and hugged her, embarrassing his sister, “It’s okay. Just calm down and give it a few days. Okay? Everything will be better I promise.”
Zoë fought back the tears as she stroked her brother’s hair, “I just don’t want to lose you.”
“You won’t. Trust your friends. You have awesome friends!”
Zoë chortled a little bit as she looked around at Edward, Gillian, and Tatiana watching from the door of the room. “Yeah, I guess I do.”
“Come on, Ethan. You’ll be late for school,” called Gillian as she offered a hand.
Ethan hugged Zoë again before being led to the front door to a waiting Shukurae. Zoë just sat there fighting back the tears as Tatiana came over and sat down beside her.
“I was wondering when the tears were going to come. You didn’t cry at all last night. Docs always say you never start to get better until you allow yourself to cry,” began Tatiana with moist eyes. “It was almost a month before I actually cried, I mean really cried, after my mother died. I just kept making excuses for keeping it bottled up inside.”
Zoë smiled at Tatiana, “Under all the glamour and perfect hair, you are a real person. Thank you. Thank you for reaching out to me before all of this. Thank you for sitting here with me as I blubber like an idiot.”
“You are worried about your brother. That’s not a bad thing. The question is, are you too worried? It sounds like you and your older brother have already done a lot to improve his station. You should be proud of your efforts. He’s a strong young man. Don’t forget: he loves you every much as you love him. That means he wants to give to you too. What outlet does he have to express his appreciation for his big sister?”
Zoë just laughed, “Well, not much of anything, really.”
“And now you are going to go and lose a scholarship that you’ve already put on hold for half a year because of him? Just shave his fur and bob his tail, why don’t you! If the roles had been reversed last night, Edward would have had to have used a tranquilizer gun on Ethan to keep him from following! Ethan is not a fool, and he loves his big sister, just try to remember that!”
“Yes, ma’am,” laughed Zoë.
Tatiana blew a raspberry and they both had a good laugh.
Gillian beamed as she reentered the room, “If things are down to a dull roar, we need to get ready for rehearsal. We do have an extra fifteen minutes but let’s not squander them.” There was Gillian back to being practical.
“Yes, Mom!” came the reply in unison.
“How did we get an extra fifteen minutes?” asked Tatiana.
“We are traveling by gunship this morning,” replied Edward.
22
Rehearsal went relatively smoothly and, save for the gawking at their choice of transportation, not much was said of the previous day’s events until it came time to leave. Without missing a beat, it was decided the first order of business was to go visit Kadu in the hospital. With no small amount of political wrangling, they landed the gunship on the roof of the hospital and quickly disembarked. When they finally made it to Kadu’s room, they found Ethan and Trevor were already there.
Edward did his best to hug Kadu, and she laughed at his antics.
“I’m glad to see you too, little brother,” smirked Kadu.
“Little brother?” giggled Tatiana.
“Ask Mom. We are an awkward little family,” joked Edward. He nodded and smiled to Ethan, “Good to see you walking better today.”
“Docs say I need to keep the heavy bandage on for about two weeks and, so long as I don’t do any heavy running, I can just stay with a cloth wrap after that for a month.” Ethan seemed even more bright-eyed and bushy-tailed than he had at the aquarium.
“Lord Ethan was recounting your exploits in the rescue last night,” began Kadu. “He seems to have been more than a little impressed at how calm you and Alex were.”
“And when you two stopped being calm, I knew things were really serious,” piped up Ethan. “What the heck were those things?”
“Those were thermobaric breaching charges,” replied Edward flatly, “and we were more than a little surprised that they had weapons like that. That is some pretty serious hardware.”
“Is that why you went for a direct armor slam rather than a soft parachute landing and then sneak in?” asked Kadu.
“Um, actually we didn’t know they had those. We went direct… well… because we were pissed and we knew it would work.”
“I am deeply sorry my condition clouded your judgment,” replied Kadu sincerely.
“Oh, you shut up, girl! You get hurt, I’m going to get mad. That’s just the way it’s going to be,” mock scolded Edward.
“You are a strange little furry creature.”
“I love you too, Kadu. So when are you getting out of here?” replied Edward.
“That is complicated. I had a minor transfusion from Meeka yesterday, but we will do no more of that so as not to limit his strength. I’m on mostly synthetic blood now while more proper supplies should be here in four days. Not counting tissue recovery, the radius and ulna are both badly broken and were splinted with titanium plates and will need a long time to set and heal.”
“Which?” asked Tatiana.
“Forearm bones!” piped up Ethan.
“Additionally,” continued Kadu, “I have several cracked ribs. Due to the bone solidification that happens in adult Shukurae, those will probably never heal completely.”
“What is with the bone solidification thing?” asked Edward; he’d never head of that.
Kadu smiled like a school teacher happy when a student asks a good question. “Much of what makes the Shukurae skeleton so strong as adults is that we form a layer of boron carbide that infuses the outer layer of bones. This greatly strengthens the bones as well as hardens them, but it also makes most bones difficult to knit if they ever do break. This bone hardness also is the reason why it is imperative for female Shukurae to have their first child before their bones hit this secondary solidification.”
“Whoa!” gasped Tatiana as she made the obvious connection, “Does that mean you are a mother?”
Kadu smiled, “That is correct. I have a six-year-old daughter who is being raised by my aunt. When I leave the service and start my new life, I will have the opportunity to return to her and start a proper family.”
Edward stared at Kadu, “I’ve known you for most of a year and I never k
new anything about that!”
“There is something else you need to know, Edward,” said Trevor softly.
Edward blinked. He had forgotten Trevor was there. “Okay, that tone of voice is creeping me out.”
Trevor smiled, “With the damage to Kadu’s ribs, she is being given a medical discharge as soon as she recovers.”
Edward stood there dumbstruck. On one hand, this meant she got to go be with her daughter, a part of her family he’d never heard about. But it was Kadu! His partner! They had been through so much together. He’d finally started to treat her like family, like she deserved. And now she was going to be leaving.
Kadu smiled like only a Shukurae could: needle sharp teeth, but still warm and friendly, “I’ll miss you, too, Edward. I’ll be happy to have you come by and visit, and I’ll be happy to come by and visit you. But after all that has happened, I’d be a liability to the group, so it’s best I go.”
Ethan’s fur stood on end, “It’s all my fault, isn’t it?”
Kadu growled at Ethan and his fur laid flat immediately, “No! It was not your fault. Never blame yourself for the actions of evil people. Remember, I volunteered for this job, this assignment, for everything I did, and I did it because I elected to. My choice. Understand me?”
“Yes, ma’am,” came Ethan’s feeble response.
“I didn’t get shot up so you could feel sorry for yourself. I got shot up to protect someone that had the dream of becoming a great marine biologist.”
Ethan nodded.
Gillian cocked her head, “Zoë, Ethan, this sounds a lot like the conversation this morning doesn’t it? Both of you could learn from it.”
Zoë and Ethan both nodded and smiled weakly.
Edward grinned, “Okay, for the record: how bad did you get shot up?”
“They removed seventeen bullets in unarmored parts, mostly right arm, twenty-one more went into the armor. The armor very much lived up to its billing, I might add.”
“Wow!” murmured Tatiana, “and you still took out ten of the biker gang.”
Kadu nodded, “They got the drop on me, shot up my arm and weapon before I could respond at range, so I was forced to close.”
“She threw a motorcycle! With a guy still on it! It was awesome! With one arm!” crowed Ethan.
“It would have been ‘awesome,’ as you say, if I had gotten all of them,” retorted Kadu.
“Don’t listen to her, she’s being modest. It was awesome!” countered Ethan.
Edward smiled and sighed. Ethan was doing well, but Kadu was going to go away. How was he ever going to break in a new partner? Especially on an assignment like this!
23
“Tazo, Line Trooper, First Class. Reporting for duty!”
Edward blinked and looked at the Shukurae standing in the door to the room. How early in the morning was it? Did people actually get up this early or was this some sick joke? Oh… It was about time to get up…
“Make the bad man go away,” murmured Tatiana.
“I second that,” grunted Zoë.
Edward blinked again. Right… “Um, Tazo, could you give us some privacy please? Maybe wait in the living room?”
“Oh, sorry sir.”
“Tazo, the name is Edward, not sir.”
“Sorry, Edward.”
“Better. Now scoot!”
A quick shower and fresh clothes and Edward found his room empty. What was he getting himself into? Gillian’s words echoed through his brain again—this wasn’t the Highlands; people here didn’t have relationships like this, and they sure as heck didn’t have families like that. Edward froze at the thought of ‘family.’ Ouch! Was this just goofing off, best friends with benefits, or was this actually going to go someplace. Did that mean he was moving here? Was one or both of them moving back to the Highlands of Afon? There were two of them, they were now best of friends, how was he supposed to pick one without hurting the other one? Was one of them supposed to dump him? Edward’s head was swimming. Girls were complicated on the best of days and now he was involved with two. Oh well, at least he wasn’t hiding the fact from the other one. Like that was supposed to make his situation easier… Back on task! The new Shukurae!
Edward entered the living room to find Tazo sitting, or rather squatting, on the couch next to Gillian who was enjoying her morning coffee. Tazo started to stand as Edward approached and Edward glared at him. Apparently the glare translated well enough as Tazo returned to the couch, and Edward sat across from him.
“You are Kadu’s replacement then? That was quick.”
“I was an alternate for the 517th a week ago when the other half of the team was mobilized so I was already in system on standby.”
Edward nodded; that was par for Shukurae efficiency. “Fair enough. Can you give me some background on yourself? Have you run with a Silver before?”
Tazo nodded politely. “I’ve been six months on the line. Four months of that I was teamed with a Silver by the name of Linus Thanesgeld from the Highland regions around Annasfjord.”
“Annasfjord?” interrupted Edward. “Whew! That is way out on the north-west tip.”
“Yes, and apparently it runs quite cold out there, too.”
“And Linus left, got hurt?”
Tazo grimaced, “He quit after a series of raids went very poorly. The Line Centurion, while a nice person and well organized, did not do well in the fog of war. Linus’s complaints fell on deaf ears for several months, so after a particularly…unpleasant raid, he resigned. At his exit interview he was granted an audience with Grand Centurion Toch.”
Edward whistled, “Oh, I bet that went over well.”
Tazo grinned, “Sarcasm. Kadu warned me of it. Needless to say, Toch took Linus’s complaints seriously and not only was the Line Centurion replaced, but two people on the review board as well.”
“Ouch! Well, I’m just glad you’ve had experience around a Silver and know what to expect.”
Tazo nodded. “The technical aspects of your combat style I am aware of. I also spent most of yesterday morning conversing with Kadu as she tried to appraise me of your particular style.”
“Did she tell you much about the job?”
“Not really, just the very basics. She said much of the knowledge was in flux and it would be best to learn that from Trevor.”
“That is Kadu, practical. The morning routine is to get them to rehearsal on time and then there is a bit of dead time to chat up Trevor and the likes.”
“That makes very good sense. I understand the rehearsal hall is very secure nowadays.”
Edward gritted his teeth, “Yeah, and it took more work than we thought to get it there.”
“Do I also understand correctly that we operate independently of the rest of the unit? That is most unusual.”
Edward cocked an eye at Tazo, “I smell a trap. You talked with Kadu all morning and that didn’t come up?”
Tazo grinned broadly, “Very good! Kadu said I could get a good rise out of you by pressing the issue.”
“Okay, I’ll get Kadu for that. And oh, by the way, stay out of the bedrooms, eh? That’s not funny, I don’t care what Kadu says.”
Tazo nodded solemnly, “Understood. I am not in a position of familiarity to properly understand those social bounds, thus I should stand clear of them until all parties are in much better standing.”
Edward nodded, “Fair enough. So any quick questions before we head out?”
Tazo hung his head, “Which one is Tatiana? All of you fuzzies look the same…”
“Long white hair.”
24
Edward stood next to Tazo while Trevor ran down the morning briefing over the comlinks. Rehearsal had been underway for over an hour and all was going as normal, good, bad and otherwise.
“The River of Tears motorcycle gang has all but been destroyed. Between the actions the other night and then subsequent police action, they are all but gone,” began Trevor.
“Are we worried about sympathet
ic actions from other gangs?” came Jake’s voice.
“Not at this time. The other groups appear to be ostracizing the remaining members in an effort to distance themselves from the previous activities,” replied Trevor. “In light of the other night’s activities, the CEO of the Nedej Consortium has sacked the local director of operations. In addition, she has requested that the 1212th CSOG to be on planet in two days to take care of security of that building and associated businesses. That action came as a great relief to the local police and the prefect, but is causing no small amount of strife with the governor’s office.
“It is becoming clear that there is more of an underworld on this planet than was first apparent; the motorcycle gangs apparently have basically been running the poorer areas of several of the cities for years and have increasingly become violent. But their violence has been carefully directed only at the poorer areas. As was apparent from the raid, they are also getting hold of more and more military grade equipment. It should be pointed out that we are not here as a police force, we are here to protect the client. Superficially, one would assume that with the River of Tears tucking their tails and running and the other gangs steering clear of us, we aren’t going to see much of them.”
Edward laughed to himself. He knew Trevor too well, something else was up.
“Here is a name for everyone: Police Constable Johann Talvis. Yes, the officer that masterminded at least two bombings and got three people killed; he is back to haunt us. Two years ago he was the officer in charge at a building demolition site where a series of thermobaric charges were stolen. It turns out that those were the same type charges that Alex and Edward had to face down the other night. We have no idea how deep the connection goes between Mr. Talvis and the River of Tears, but quite frankly, it scares me. These people have had access to equipment and information on the inside, and I seriously doubt Talvis was the only one. To say that they are a wild card is a gross understatement.”
Edward Page 14
