“We’re still going to be careful when we drop Bryan off though right? Assuming the plan hasn’t changed?” Eniella inquired.
While she spoke she pried the disabled gizmo off with two metal fingers before setting the crate aside.
“Yeah. We’ll linger on Lewanna just long enough to offload the transport, then those who need to can kiss the kid goodbye.”
Billy pursed her lips, her eyes narrowing slightly.
“You’re still set on that?”
“I am. He’s a sweet guy, but we’ve taken enough risks for him. Besides, it will take the Junkers some time to recover from the ass-whooping we just gave them. And with Outerlight busy cleaning up the mess of the prof’s little hideout, he should be fine. How dangerous is it to book a flight home?”
“That’s assuming he goes home, his mother-”
“Has nothing to do with us.” Donnie interrupted firmly; “That’s for the two of them to work out in family therapy. It’s time to cut him loose Bridget.”
The doctor wasn’t happy about it, tension hanging in the air between them for several seconds, but in the end she agreed with her captain’s logic.
She hadn’t enjoyed seeing Maria on the floor any more than Donnie had.
“Fine, but you get to tell my patient.”
“My first stop once she wakes up.” Donnie grunted.
Eniella shook her head ruefully.
“I don’t envy you that.”
“Speaking of which, I should get back to her.” The doctor said before leaving Donnie and Eniella in the armoury.
Silence fell between them for a few moments as the captain looked over the remains of Maria’s suit.
“I can fix it Skipper.” The Hispanic woman promised firmly; “It’ll take a lot of work. But I’ll make her whole again.”
Donnie absently bounced one balled fist against an undamaged part of the suit several times, then nodded.
“Glad to hear it. I felt us come out of slipspace while I was in the shower, we close to the transport?”
Eniella nodded.
“We’ll be within spitting distance in a few hours. Davie’s already in contact with Kyle. Bunny is… eager to be back onboard.”
At the thought of the K’or-Macka, Donnie lips spread into a genuine smile.
“I can imagine.”
__________
After Billy had finished the last of the major procedures that Maria needed, Bryan was sitting at her bedside in the infirmary, his hand limply holding hers as she slept.
He was feeling like absolute shit at the moment.
Though her face was still a bit pale, the skin around her injuries looked much improved, red from the grafts that Billy had performed.
But Bryan still felt like shit.
Because just as the captain had said on the station, Maria was over a barrel because of his complicated life.
Even if it wasn’t really his fault, he still blamed himself.
While he mulled over his culpability for the blonde’s state, Eva came into the infirmary.
Having finished helping in the airlock while Kyle and Bunny came back onboard from the transport, the redhead was keen to check on her friend.
She sucked air between her teeth sharply at the sight of Bryan though.
“You’re still here? Figured you would have gone for a swim out an airlock by now. All tragic and emotional like.”
His face heated with indignation at the constant string of belittling insults, but with Maria lying spread out before him he couldn’t bring himself to do or say anything about it.
Aside from the minor burns that Billy had treated and some booby-bruises to match the skipper’s, Eva came through the firefight mostly unscathed.
With careless movements she dragged another chair over and put her feet up on the gurney, showing no sign of leaving anytime soon.
She frowned at his non-response though.
“Maria didn’t get shot because of you. Maria got shot because of Maria. You are a distraction, but she is the one who allowed herself to become distracted.”
He blinked and turned to look at her, surprised that she was the one comforting him, if it could really be called that.
In fact, that wasn’t what she was doing at all.
She leaned back in her chair and interlaced her fingers beneath her breasts, her eyes closing as her head tilted down. Like any good soldier, Hooker knew how to grab a nap on the fly.
Though she had one last barb to get in before she allowed herself to sleep.
“I’ve never understood why she gets all calf-eyed and moist for little snots like you. But if it takes your ickle baby pecker to make her cream, who am I to judge?”
She drew in a deep breath as she settled in for the duration.
Bryan was fuming.
It made no sense to him how someone who hardly knew him could be so hostile all the time: even with Maria hurt the redhead didn’t have the decency to shut up.
He was breathing rapidly through his nostrils as his ears burned; the sound he was inadvertently making standing in stark contrast to Eva’s steady breaths.
One of her eyelids lifted as she picked up on the hostility coming from him.
“Go ahead and speak your peace kid.” She said in a low voice; “But if you wake up my best friend when she should be resting, you will go swimming out an airlock.”
His breathing halted as a wash of cold went over him from her stony glare.
It wasn’t an idle threat.
Satisfied that he had heeded her warning, her eyes closed again and her face slackened somewhat as she rested while he mulled over their brief interaction.
Realization struck then as he looked between her and Maria’s faces.
Her best friend.
His blonde lover had a life, long before he came along.
Having endured years of combat together and probably more hardship than Bryan would ever know about, Eva Reeves had far more of a right to sit at Maria’s bedside than he did.
This simple truth quickly soothed his raw feelings and wounded pride, so with deliberate movements he leaned in to kiss Maria’s sleeping forehead, one hand carefully stroking her hair as the other gently squeezed her hand, then he got to his feet and rounded the foot of the gurney.
“I’ll leave you to it then.” He said quietly as he passed Eva.
One eye tracked him as he left the infirmary.
“Huh. Maybe he isn’t a complete dunderhead after all.”
She was dozing a few seconds later.
Chapter 36:
Free Colony
They were well on their way towards Lewanna by the time Maria woke up, her eyes opening blearily to take in the off-white ceiling of the infirmary.
“There she is!” Eva greeted sarcastically; “The girl with all the shiny new skin.”
“Urgh.” Maria grunted; “Don’t make me laugh, my insides feel like I’ve been rotisseried, and not in a good way.”
“There’s a good way to-” Eva paused as she cottoned on to the wounded blonde’s meaning; “Ah, I see what you did there. Here I thought Bunny was the one who was all about getting spit-roasted. Very punny.”
“I have my moments.”
Several moments passed as the forced jovial atmosphere faded and Maria took stock of herself.
She swallowed when she remembered the ugly details of how she came to be where she was.
“Eva, I’m-”
“Don’t. You don’t get to be barbequed then try to make me feel bad about it. Yeah it would have played out different if we were still in the service, but then again there would have been a lot more of us in that shit-show.”
Maria blinked back tears for a couple seconds, then shook her head.
“We’re not soldiers anymore, as much as the skipper treats as like we are sometimes. Fuck, I called her major and almost saluted her the other day!”
“Yeah, I get it. And it was as much my fault as yours that you got hit.” Eva said sourly; “Thought not h
aving a leg would’ve taken the fight out of that prick. Sorry.”
Maria chuckled, then shrugged off the apology, having no interest in playing the blame game.
“Does this mean you’ll start being nicer to- Bryan! Is Bryan okay?!” She tensed up as she looked around the infirmary, expecting him to pop out of a cupboard or something.
“He’s fine! Came out of it without a scratch. I’m fine too by the way.” Eva said with a roll of her eyes.
“Obviously you’re fine, but what about the-”
“Everyone is okay, I got some minor burns, and my tits are a bit sore, though not as bad as the skipper’s from what I’ve heard. Billy stubbed her toe. We’re all fine.”
Maria relaxed again while Eva pursed her lips and gave her a measured look.
“You really care about that little dork don’t you?”
“I do, and he’s not a dork!”
The redhead stared at her flatly until she amended her assessment.
“Okay, maybe he’s a bit of a dork. But he’s really sweet! And when we’re together it’s like-”
Eva jerked her hand up to cut her off.
“I don’t need the messy details. He’s sweet, you like his dick. I get it.” She sighed and leaned against the gurney; “I guess you’re allowed to melt a little if you find a cute boy worth melting over.”
Despite her words, Eva still didn’t sound happy about it.
Maria reached out and poked the redhead’s forearm playfully.
“You could stand to melt some yourself, ginger bitch.”
“No, I can’t. If I do then nobody on this ship will be hard enough to get the job done.”
“Heh, pretty sure both Bryan and Kyle could get hard for you if Bunny and me let ‘em.”
“Asshole. Keep being gross and see what happens.” Eva chuckled as she leaned in and surprised Maria with a kiss on the forehead; “I got no problem kicking you in the box again. Now go back to sleep, you’re better company that way.”
Maria shook her head, squirming in place in a bid to adjust her position.
“I’m done sleeping I think, how long was I out anyways?”
When Maria’s weakened limbs failed to be up to the task of shifting herself, Eva leaned in again and helped her, tucking a pillow down her back to allow her to sit up a bit.
“Ten hours. The doc worked fast, said you won’t even have any scars where you were hit. Couldn’t do anything about the rest though, said there was no cure for ugly.”
“Of course there isn’t, or she would have treated you already.” Maria shot back immediately.
Their affectionate ribbing continued for a few more minutes until they were interrupted when Donnie came into the infirmary.
The captain was quick to tell Eva to piss off so she could give Maria the news about Bryan’s imminent departure.
She took it about as well as expected.
“He told you about his plan for growing veggies for Bunny, we could still-”
“Nothing has changed.” The captain interrupted her bluntly.
The expression of bitter disappointment on Maria’s face was impossible to miss, but Donnie had to stick to her guns.
With a sympathetic look she told her the same thing she had told Billy.
“It’s time to cut him loose Maria. He hangs around with us much longer someone is going to end up dead. Most likely him. You know that.”
The recovering woman swallowed a sudden lump in her throat, hot tears seeping down her cheeks.
But in the end she was unable to refute her captain’s logic.
Her current condition was evidence enough of that.
“Can you send Billy in?” She said hoarsely as she covered her face with her uninjured arm; “I could use some more pain meds and it is past time to get this catheter out.”
Donnie measured her response for several seconds before nodding.
“I’ll go get her. Get some rest Sledge.”
“Don’t fucking call me that right now.” Maria snapped without moving her arm.
Donnie felt a deep sting at the harsh words, but she accepted it with a simple nod before leaving.
__________
The jump to Lewanna’s system left them with a few days in normal space as they flew towards the colony planet. It was enough time for Maria to get back on her feet, though not enough for her to stop being pissed at Donnie.
Lewanna was exactly the type of place that explorers dreamed of finding as they plunged the depths of the Milky Way.
The planet was terran-sized and located in the sweet spot of the habitable zone in orbit around its star, which meant it had near-standard gravity, liquid water, and a thriving ecosystem that made xenobiologists drool.
It also boasted a fairly breathable atmosphere without the need for extensive and costly terraforming, which made the galactic mega-corporations equally hard.
The original colonists of Lewanna were bankrolled by three different companies, each intent on reaping as much profit from the lush place as they could.
But when working conditions became too unfavourable, the colonists rebelled and declared independence.
This of course led to armed conflict, but their insurrection had the backing of The Union of Free Colonies, a loose organisation of systems that had gone down the same path once upon a time and shared in a mutual defense agreement.
They also had some help from a number of corporations whose interest in the planet was outweighed by their interest in seeing their rivals kicked off of it.
In the end the colonists gained their freedom, and were now more or less universally recognized as a free colony that existed on the same level as any other planetary government, thus capable of dictating its own future.
Political aspirations aside, if the atmosphere wasn’t green, Lewanna would be indistinguishable from Old Earth in terms of habitability.
But Donnie and her crew cared little for the planet’s history or its future.
They found a berth dirtside much faster than they had at Mung Station, leaving the transport in orbit while landing the Pixie on an open-air tarmac.
The pale greenish hue of the sky was accented by the vista of the planet’s two moons plainly visible within it, while a crisp wind reminding them that the spaceport was firmly located within the planet’s northern hemisphere.
As good a backdrop for a farewell as any.
To avoid dealing with customs they opted to say their goodbyes to Bryan outside the ship in the secured area of the landing pads, intent on taking off immediately afterwards.
Donnie and Kyle both simply said ‘goodbye’, while Eva’s farewell was almost as succinct.
“Punch your mom in the box for me, eh kid?”
The redhead slapped him on the back hard before heading back to the ship, uncomfortable with the emotional atmosphere, but trying to play nice for Maria’s sake.
Bunny hugged him tight, squeezing him against her breasts and wetly kissing him on the ear a couple times.
“It really is too bad you never got to play with me.” She said with a sniffle; “I’m sorry that I said you were small before, I was just trying to help Maria. I would totally canoodle with your doodle any day!”
The ridiculous statement was made all the more so by the earnestness of her tone when she made it.
“If you opt for passage on a smaller vessel, make sure that you don’t pay for anything upfront.” Billy advised over Bunny’s shoulder; “They’ll charge you less but not every ship is as honest as ours. Send us a message once you’ve found a ride so we know you’re okay.”
The doctor and Maria had offered to split the cost of his flight home, but he had politely refused. He had already decided that they had done enough for him and intended to use his own accounts.
It would be the first withdrawal he’d made in over two months.
“I will. Thank you.” Bryan said with a blush as Bunny finally released him.
He blinked a couple times and winced when Eniella pinched his
cheek with her robotic fingers like he was a toddler.
“Adios kid. It’s been a trip.”
“Bye.” Davie said simply as she pulled her girlfriend away.
She was as comfortable with goodbyes as her sister.
With that, the crew left him and Maria alone on the landing pad.
They stood in awkward silence for a few seconds; he had been practically hiding from her for the last couple days after she had been hurt.
“I’m so sorry.” He finally said in a thick voice.
“Why?” She sniffed; “It wasn’t your fault. None of it was. Just rotten luck.”
Seeing that he didn’t really know what to say next, she smiled at him, if somewhat weakly, then took both of his hands in hers.
“Eniella was right baby, it was a trip. Promise me that you’ll take care of yourself?”
He nodded as tears trailer down his cheeks.
“I promise. I… I’ll never forget you, Mary.”
Cupping his head in her hands, she stooped down and kissed him on the cheek, her lips getting wet from his tears.
“You better not. Now get going before I stuff you in a sack and tell Donnie that you’re my carry-on.”
He laughed and wiped at his face, opening his mouth to say something else, but then simply turning and walked into the security building to greet its waiting customs agents.
A large part of Maria Gustav wanted to chase after him and keep him safe from the universe. But the Pixie Hazard was her home, so instead she watched him go with a wistful expression on her face.
Meanwhile, standing at the top of the ladder leading to the ship’s primary airlock, the captain was staring at her back with a frown on hers.
__________
Both unable and unwilling to pay for accommodations on the surface, Donnie and the others were soon back in orbit alongside the transport, a subdued atmosphere having descended on the lot of them.
Unaccountably frustrated and annoyed with her crew, the skipper sequestered herself in her quarters, her eyes glued to the screen of her console as she scoured the planet’s datanet in search of a buyer for the transport.
Two hours later her frustration had turned to ire at the lack of immediate prospects and she abandoned her search with a posting of the transport’s specs on a classifieds site.
Pixie Hazard Page 30
