by Zen DiPietro
She grabbed a water bottle. “I’m going for a walk.”
She left the room without looking back at him.
TAKING a walk cleared Emiko’s head, but didn’t resolve her irritation with Raptor.
No, it wasn’t irritation, exactly. It was disappointment. Realization. Yes, that was it. Until now, she’d never felt the burden of command that would fall on her, in terms of her relationship with him.
She’d have to make decisions that he might not understand. He might not agree with them, either. That happened in military situations. But would their personal relationship affect his ability to take commands from her and respect her choices?
Even worse, would her relationship with him affect her judgment?
She’d been thrilled to learn that her relationship with him wouldn’t have to end when they entered OTS. That they’d both be working in clandestine ops and could talk about their lives.
Maybe she’d been wrong. Maybe they couldn’t be both teammates and lovers.
She walked along the perimeter of the campus. The night air was clear and pleasant. Bugs in the distance created a soothing chorus of chirping and buzzing.
On she walked until her feet felt sore. Then she found herself in front of Peregrine’s door. Unplanned and entirely uninvited.
She touched the chime anyway.
If Peregrine was surprised to see her, she covered it well.
“How do you do that?” Emiko asked.
“Do what?”
“Not let your feelings show.”
“Natural tendency. Most people find it bothersome.”
“Not me,” Emiko assured her. “I’ve been working on it, but I’m still not good enough yet.”
Peregrine stared at her for a long moment. “Did you want to come in?”
Emiko hadn’t dared to hope for such an invitation, but she didn’t show her excitement. “Sure. Thanks.”
“Do you want some tea or something?” Peregrine asked as Emiko pulled the chair away from the desk and sat on it. The only other option was the bed, and she didn’t know Peregrine well enough to sit on her bed.
“No, but thank you for offering.”
Peregrine sat on her bed. “So why are you here?”
“I’m not sure. I was walking around campus, thinking about the team, and I ended up here. I don’t know anything about you, and I’d like to change that.”
“There’s not a lot to know about me,” Peregrine said. “I haven’t done much. Haven’t seen much. You already know I like electronics and disguises.”
Peregrine shrugged. She seemed forthcoming enough, but apparently found nothing about herself worth talking about.
Did she have a self-confidence issue?
Emiko latched onto the last thing she said. “How did you get into disguises? That doesn’t seem like something that a person’s commonly exposed to.”
Peregrine ran her hand down her ponytail, which hung down her front, and tossed it back over her shoulder. Emiko had noticed her do that before. It seemed to be a habit.
“I needed some elective classes, so I signed up for art my first term. I figured it would be an easy grade, since art is subjective.”
“Was it?”
Peregrine shook her head. “Hardly. We did brief modules on things like painting and sculpting, but they were a basis for doing digital and 3D art. I teamed up with another student to do a project. He created a 3D rendered bust of an ancient Greek god, and my job was to paint it and finish it with hair and whatnot to make it lifelike. That’s when it clicked with me. Creating realistic skin tones and lifelike textures made sense to me. I kept going from there.”
“That’s really interesting. Do you have examples of your work?”
Peregrine blinked in surprise. “You want to see my artwork?”
“Definitely.”
“Okay, I guess.” She went to the voicecom, input some commands, and pulled up a file. “Here, you can flip through.”
The first image showed a Greek god. It was nice, but the hair didn’t look right and the eyes were dead. As Emiko continued through the images, she saw a marked improvement in scope and realism.
The final image showed side-by-sides of a dark-skinned Rescan girl and a pale-skinned Sarkavian man. She leaned in closer. “Wait, are those—”
“The same person, in different makeup” Peregrine confirmed.
“Wow. That’s amazing.” Her eyes went from picture to picture, trying to pick out similarities, but it truly looked like two different people.
“Incredible. Next time I tail Hawk to the bar, I should have you transform me.”
The hard cast of Peregrine’s face softened. “You followed Hawk?”
“Yeah. Ended up drinking with him.”
“How’d that go?”
Emiko smiled. “It didn’t start out great, but I think it was a first step.”
“Is that what this is?”
“I didn’t consciously plan it that way, but maybe. I don’t have many people I can talk to about these things. People like us are kind of isolated.”
At that last word, Peregrine’s eyes cut to her and they shared a long look. Emiko felt like what she said resonated strongly with Peregrine.
Was she from a place that had made her feel isolated?
“I guess we’ll have to figure out how to talk to each other about things that we can’t talk to others about.” Peregrine frowned, but it didn’t seem like a displeased frown. More like a thoughtful one.
Emiko supposed she’d need to become versed in the frown stylings of her teammate. “I guess we will.”
“Why not talk to your hot roomie?” Peregrine asked. “I would have expected you to go to him with your worries.”
Emiko laughed, then quickly sobered when she remembered her dilemma of mixing her work and personal life.
“Uh oh. Did things go wrong? Maybe I have a shot with him now.” Peregrine’s face didn’t convey humor, but Emiko was pretty sure that was a joke.
“Every couple has disagreements,” Emiko said. “I got the feeling Hawk’s single, though. Maybe you could try him.”
Peregrine waved a hand. “Hairy man-beast is not my style. I like someone a little more polished.”
Emiko laughed in surprise. Now she was certain Peregrine was joking. “Hairy man-beast! I like that one. Maybe that can be our code name for him.”
“Works for me.”
A comfortable silence settled over them, and Emiko decided it was a good time for her to go. Better to leave on a high note. “I should get to bed. My first class is early. Thanks for letting me in.”
She said it so her words could be interpreted simply, as just meaning letting her into the room. Really, she meant it more meaningfully.
Peregrine merely nodded. “We’ll see each other again soon, I’m sure.”
“No doubt. I keep waiting for someone at command to decide they want us to go steal something just to prove we can.”
“That would be cool. I hope they do.”
Again, Emiko wasn’t sure if that was a joke or not, so she just gave a proper bow and hurried out.
BACK IN HER OWN DORM, Emiko wasn’t sure how to feel about Raptor not being there. Relief and disappointment battled each other for supremacy, but neither won.
She sighed, grabbed her things, and took them down the hall to shower and brush her teeth.
Afterward, she double-checked the voicecom to make sure he hadn’t left her a message. He hadn’t.
Well, maybe it was best for them to take some time to think about their situation. They’d have to figure this out before going on serious missions.
Knowing that didn’t make falling asleep alone feel any less lonely.
RAPTOR DIDN’T RETURN the next day, either. She sent him a message to make sure he was okay, and he briefly responded that he was.
She didn’t like this feeling between them, or not speaking, but she needed time to think about things.
“Should we break up? End our roman
tic relationship?” she asked Whelkin after their training session.
“What do you think?” he asked.
“I don’t know. That’s why I’m asking you. Can it work for people to train and work together, and have a romantic relationship?”
“For some, it can. For others, it wouldn’t. There’s no rule on this, and your situation is hardly unique. Though most couples get together after being put on a team together, and having time to bond that way.”
She pulled her ponytail loose, then regathered it and secured it again. “Does that make us less likely to work?”
He sighed. “Again, I don’t know. My advice is to not make any decisions yet. See how things develop. Maybe the relationship between you two will help your team. Or maybe it will be a problem. All you can do is figure it out as you go.”
“Yeah. I guess.”
“You have to be careful, though. Your job is to look after the team. Right now, that means getting to know one another and earning each other’s trust. Teammates have to have unfailing faith in one another. It requires a deeper trust than you can imagine. Don’t let anything get in the way of that. Anything.”
“Right.”
She walked slowly back to her dorm. It would be empty, and she wasn’t eager to be there by herself.
Why did everything have to fall on her shoulders? Why didn’t the others bear any responsibility in building their relationship?
Because she was the leader. It always came back to that.
Maybe she wasn’t cut out to be the leader.
EMIKO WOKE to the soft sound of her door closing. She bolted upright.
Whelkin stood there, dressed in black from neck to toe. He thrust something black at her. “Here. Get dressed. Hurry.”
She waited a moment for him to leave, but he didn’t.
“I said hurry.”
She turned her back to him, shucked off her pajamas, and pulled on the snug, stretchy outfit. It was all one piece, so getting into it was a little tricky, but once she had it all tugged into place, it was surprisingly comfortable.
He handed her a comport, indicating that she should secure it in a small pocket designed for that very purpose at her waist. “Let’s go.”
She fought the urge to ask questions. He would tell her what she needed to know when he chose to.
She’d have to get used to that.
He hustled her across campus. She recognized Hawk’s dorm as they approached it. Once inside, Whelkin reached into the bag on his shoulder, rummaged around, then pulled out another black outfit. This one much larger. He handed it to her, along with a comport.
“Go to Hawk’s room and summon him exactly the way I summoned you. Override his door with zeta-three-three-alpha-nine. Go.”
She spun toward Hawk’s room, steeling herself to order him around the way Whelkin had done to her.
Blowing out a breath, she punched in the override code and the door opened. Hawk rolled off his bed and popped up, fists ready.
“Stand down,” she ordered. She thrust the outfit at him. “Put this on. Hurry.”
His lips pressed together and he stared her down. He wouldn’t do it. What could she do?
But then he took the clothing from her hands, raised an eyebrow at her, then shrugged.
He apparently enjoyed sleeping in the nude, and she struggled to avoid showing any reaction. She imagined Peregrine and tried to emulate her.
After yanking on some underwear, Hawk wrestled himself into the garment. With his bulk, he had a harder time of it than she had. In another circumstance, she’d have found his contorting, wriggling, and pulling funny.
“What’s the deal?” he asked as she led him back out to Whelkin.
Since Whelkin had said nothing to her, she remained silent as well. Besides, she didn’t know what the deal was any more than Hawk did.
They repeated the process with Peregrine, and, finally, Raptor.
She felt strangest about entering his room and watching him change. With Hawk and Peregrine, it had been about doing her job. With Raptor, there was a lot of other stuff between them.
Then there they were. Four brand-new operatives and one experienced one. Whelkin remained silent as he led them through the night to a groundcar. They saw no one else along the way. Campus was deserted at that hour.
They rode in silence, not knowing where they were going. Whelkin drove, Emiko sat up front with him, and the other three sat in the back seat.
Emiko tried to keep her shoulders relaxed and maintain a calm, collected attitude, but tension seemed to twist the air around her. She wasn’t sure how much of that was her, and how much of it she was picking up from her new teammates.
Two of whom were barely more than strangers to her. How were they supposed to work together?
Her tension lifted when they got to their destination. Or maybe it didn’t lift so much as got crushed by excitement.
They’d arrived at an airfield.
Not a high-tech airfield, with towers and miles of concrete and a carefully choreographed ballet of arrivals and departures.
A squat little building sat alongside a single runway.
Oh, this looked like fun.
From her companions, she sensed increasing unease. A guilty feeling of glee glowed in her belly. She was going to enjoy this. Maybe that meant she was twisted, but she suddenly could not wait to get started.
Whelkin hadn’t turned off the groundcar, but he turned to them. “This is where you four get out. Go to slip three. This has everything you need.” He handed Fallon a tiny infoboard. She’d never seen one so small.
Cool. Was this spy gear?
Whoops. The device was not the important part. “Yes, sir,” she snapped. “Roll out, team!”
That was awesome. She hoped she’d get the chance to say that again.
She had that exhilarated feeling again. That sensation, bubbling up from her toes to her knees, then electrifying her guts all the way up through her chest. The adrenaline. A sense of being alive that everyday life just did not bring.
She led them to slip three. As soon as she saw the aircraft, she had to contain her glee.
“Prelin’s ass,” Hawk said with a mix of wonder and horror. “What’s that?”
“Single engine fixed-wing prop plane. Four-seater. Model number X5620. Maximum weight, one thousand and ten kilograms. Maximum speed, one hundred and seventy knots.”
He looked mildly consoled. “So, you’ve flown one before, then?”
“Nope. But I know all the specs.” She ran her hand down the plane’s sleek exterior, then reached for the door.
“I feel like that’s unlikely.” He moved no closer to the craft. “Why would you have this particular model memorized when you’ve never flown one? This thing doesn’t look special, except for being ancient.”
“It isn’t. I‘ve memorized all models of airworthy craft currently in service with the PAC. Also, many historical craft no longer in use.”
He stared at her. “Why?”
“Personal interest.” She tapped her temple. “Also, an eidetic memory, more or less. I don’t tend to forget things I’ve studied.”
“Well, that must be pretty damned convenient come test time.”
She grinned at him. “It doesn’t hurt.” She opened the single door to the craft. This was its one real design flaw, in her opinion. The other side had an emergency exit door that could be kicked out, but for normal loading and unloading, it all had to happen via the one door. “Hop in. Hawk and Raptor in the back. Peregrine, you’re up front with me.”
Hawk looked at the plane, then back at her. He heaved a sigh. “Fine, Fallon. But if you crash, I’m going to be super pissed.”
He climbed in after Raptor, settling into the seat with all the calm of a rabid bear.
Fallon settled herself into the pilot’s seat, then looked at the infoboard. It had been simplified, and it was a no-brainer to activate the recorded message.
She held it to the side to allow her teammates t
o see the screen, and turned up the volume.
“Greetings, Avian unit. Congratulations on your first team mission. It won’t be easy. You’re to proceed to the following coordinates. There’s a meeting set up for you with a local crime boss by the name of Lowell. Act like you know what it’s about. Your task is to find out what his most illegal product is, and purchase it. You’ll find an account number on this infoboard with fifty thousand cubics in it. Once the transaction is complete, we’ll have what we need to get him off the streets. This is the culmination of months’ worth of investigation and undercover work, so don’t screw it up. Good luck. Krazinski out.”
Fallon glanced around at her team. Peregrine looked as inscrutable as always. Raptor looked thoughtful. Hawk looked pleased.
“All right,” Hawk said. “Criminal activity. You all can just stand back and let me take care of this one.”
“Pretty sure we’re all supposed to participate,” Peregrine answered drily.
“Whatever.” Hawk shrugged. “How about you get this bucket in the air, Fallon? I’d like to get back to bed for a couple of hours, so let’s get this done.”
She didn’t respond to him. Instead, she got out, checked the plane over physically, then requested permission from the port authority to begin her taxi down the runway.
All things considered, she shouldn’t have been surprised that the response was to give her immediate clearance to taxi. She was just used to going into the queue and waiting her turn.
Everything was changing for her.
“This is where we put our headsets on,” she informed her passengers. She demonstrated putting the mic right above her lips.
“Everyone functional? Things are about to get loud.”
“Check,” Peregrine said.
“Check,” Raptor echoed.
“Check,” Hawk added. “But I really hope you know what you’re doing.”
She opened the craft’s door, shouted, “Clear!” and, after waiting a moment, activated the propeller.
The explosive sputter of the propeller beginning then settling into rhythm felt so right to her, it was like a homecoming.
She guided the tiny plane to the runway, then began the taxi. She gradually picked up speed, got into the optimal range, then left the Earth.
