Gunship (51 page)

“So tell me something about yourself. Where you’re from, what you like to do for fun when you’re not working, about your family…” Ty trailed off as his last remark triggered a reaction.

For the briefest second, a look of sorrow, of longing, flashed across Tiny’s face before she could hide it.

“I don’t think that’s a good idea.” Tiny looked over at the computer. “It’s getting pretty late and you really need to get some rest, especially if you are going to walk tomorrow and take a shower on your own.”

Ty looked thoughtful and a bit disappointed. He nodded somberly and began staring at the door again. After about twenty minutes, Tiny relented.

“I like to shoot. It relaxes me. I prefer distance shooting, because you can’t think about anything else except getting the bullet to the target. It makes the whole world disappear, and everything gets very peaceful.”

Ty grinned. “That’s why I became a scout sniper. I love distance shooting. Have you ever shot the F-X-thirty-seven-hundred?”

Before long, the two of them were swapping stories and talking over the merits of various long-range rifles and scopes, which worked best at night or in the desert or against armored targets. The hours passed by, and finally Ty began to fall asleep. Tiny yawned as she struggled to get comfortable in the chair, propping herself between the headboard and the wall. Her shoulder was still aching from Duv’s attack, so she took a painkiller to knock off the edge. Soon she was asleep, her head on her good arm to cushion it against the cold metal of the bed frame.

A few hours later, Ty woke to a thump. Startled, he found Tiny still asleep, slumped over, her head just barely landing on the edge of the bed, balanced delicately on the chair in a small, uncomfortable ball. She was the only crew member who hadn’t taken a break since the mission. The pace was finally taking its toll. She looked like she would fall to the floor any minute. Ty reached over and used his arms to pull her up onto the bed. She barely weighed anything. In her exhaustion, she merely curled up again into a ball, leaning back into his chest. Her face looked peaceful in the dim light with her hair scattered softly around her cheeks and forehead, framing it just right. He pulled the extra blanket from the foot of the bed and tossed it over her, then scooted back to leave some space between them. As he started to drift off again, he felt her small form push back, seeking his warmth. Hesitantly, he slung one arm over her, and then softly pulled her in against him. She sighed in her sleep as he buried his face in her hair. For once, his fear of the dark, of sleep, didn’t seem to crush him, and he felt surprised to know this had something to do with her. He fell asleep wondering about it but finding no answers.

—————

“Focus!”

Reilly ducked as Chang launched his next attack, aiming a foot at her head. It had been a rough night and she had barely slept, troubled by waking nightmares that featured the faces of her crew and Jeremy. Finally, she got up and found Chang rumbling around in the kitchen and convinced him to join her for a sparring match in the cargo bay. One corner had weights and a couple mats for working out. Reilly blocked a flurry of punches aimed at her throat and slid along the mat, attempting to catch Chang with a leg sweep.

She was still slow and her balance was a bit off, but she kept up as the gunny put her through her paces. He was an expert fighter and demanded all of her attention, which was what she craved to keep her mind off of her other worries. He aimed a low kick that she blocked with her shin, then another. Reilly countered with a spin and a kick that pushed him back, allowing her to advance. She landed a couple blows, and Chang grunted appreciatively before coming back and knocking her legs out from under her. She rolled and lay on her back as he circled, moving with him, arms protecting her face, one leg up, ready to kick.

As she followed him around the mat, her mind switched back to the fight with Duv. He had been so angry. Reilly had never seen him like that before, out of control. She was glad when Chang had volunteered to take him for the night. She didn’t want to have to stop him again if he decided to go after Tiny. Once was bad enough.

Suddenly Chang grabbed her leg and flipped her, twisting the limb elegantly and forcing her to tap out. He let go and stood over her, both of them catching their breath.

“That was not focusing,” he noted as he helped her to her feet.

“I know, I was thinking about Duv.” She wiped her face on a towel then leaned against the wall. The metal felt cold on her skin, giving her a slight chill.

“He will need some time. We talked last night, and he was ashamed of what he had done. I don’t think it will happen again, especially since I filled him in on Tiny’s role. No, if anything, our concern should be over him trying to kill the Commander when we return.” Chang leaned on the wall next to Reilly, looking up at the steel beams above them as he stretched.

“He might not be alone on that one, Gunny,” Reilly commented dryly. “I’m beginning to think Zain deserves a visit from us. That way, he can explain himself fully in person when we get back and be held accountable for his actions.”

Chang smiled. “You already know he won’t be there. He will seek to avoid that situation by distancing himself and keeping us engaged with missions. Zain will have anticipated Duv’s reaction and by extension your reaction. He will be observing remotely until it is safe or necessary for him to do otherwise.”

“Well, he can’t hide forever, especially since we have at least one Gaiden with us.” Reilly picked up her gear. “Thanks for the match. Don’t tell Tiny I was fighting, okay? She’d be less than happy to hear it.”

“Fighting who? I’ve got breakfast to cook—spam and eggs!” Chang headed up the catwalk with a wave as Reilly grinned and turned to stow her gear.

She finished up and slammed her locker shut to find Duv standing at the foot of the catwalk. She eyed him up, crossing her arms, and waited.

“Captain,” he began cautiously, “I wanted to talk to you. Is this a good time?”

“As good a time as any.” Reilly walked over and sat down on the weight bench.

Duv looked uncomfortable and began to pace. “I kind of lost my mind a bit yesterday. It probably didn’t help that I’ve been drinking…a lot…lately. It’s just been crazy with everything going on with Seth. I never should’ve said what I said to you—”

Reilly looked incredulous. “You’re worried about what you said to me? What about what you did to Tiny? I told everyone up front that this was going to be a tough brief and I asked everyone to listen. I get where you’re at, I even accepted the fact that you came in drunk to my meeting, but I can’t accept that you attacked one of our own. On top of that, I told you to stay down and you still kept coming. What happens when you disobey a direct order in a wartime situation, Jackson?”

Duv’s shoulders slumped. “Punishment could be confinement, hard labor, or death.”

Reilly sighed and rubbed her face. “I have other people here who are my responsibility. They are counting on me to keep them alive, which means they are counting on you to have their backs and to do your job. I can’t afford to have someone on board who is unpredictable, not now. This is all we’ve got, just us, no one else. If we can’t depend on that, then we’re all dead. This situation is no joke. Welch and Alton are not going to just disappear. This is our current reality and I need fighters, dependable, stable troops who aren’t going to crack under pressure, family or otherwise.”

Duv turned red as Reilly spoke, crossing his arms, his face obstinate. He began to speak again, but the Captain cut him off.

“No more excuses! What about Seth? You think this is doing him any good right now? While you were busy getting drunk and wallowing in self-pity, Tiny and I were trying to figure out how to locate him and Chang was working with Marek to get the ship ready. That time you wasted could’ve been spent looking for your son. Or how about looking after your buddy? Ty’s trying to learn how to walk again. Yet you haven’t even been down to see him once! If Callum and Nado weren’t around, would you have been able to do your duties? Or would we be stuck covering for you while you got your White Lightening fix?”

Duv snarled now, angry at her attack. “I didn’t ask for this! To have my family slaughtered, my son turned into a Gaiden, you think this is easy?”

Reilly got in his face as he clenched his fists. “I know it isn’t easy, Duv! We all do. We’ve all lost people and had to make hard calls. But damn! When are you going to realize you have to stop this? You keep piling all of these things up and hauling them around like they are your own personal failures when they’re not! You couldn’t have stopped what happened to your family or to Seth any more than I could’ve stopped Reise from killing Jeremy and Ryan back on Roen.” She stared him down. “It’s not worth keeping score like this. If you do, you’ll spend your whole damn life tearing yourself apart. Stop kicking yourself in the teeth. Do it for me, do it for Seth, I don’t care. But I’m not going to watch you self-destruct again, and I’m sure as hell not going to let you put the rest of us in jeopardy because you can’t handle the stress!”

Duv stood there, his anger fading into grief as he realized she was right. Right now, he hated her for it, for making him see the truth. He wanted to just let his troubles wash over him, give in to them, stop fighting. He was so tired of fighting. They stood toe to toe, Reilly waiting to see if he was going to give her another go, Duv wondering if he had it in him. Finally, he backed off, looking away, not wanting to meet her eyes.

Reilly watched him for a moment more, just to be certain. “I will drop you on any planet you want between here and the beacon. You’ve more than done your time, and no one would blame you if you chose to go. You still want your job, you find me and let me know. But you make good and sure first, because there’s no going back this time. You pull another stunt like you did yesterday and so help me I’ll airlock you myself.”

She walked past him and started up the catwalk, then paused and looked back. “I’m not giving up on Seth regardless—he’s my family too, and we’re going to find him. We’re going to bring him back home.” Her voice softened briefly. “I’m sorry for your troubles, Duv, truly I am. And whatever you decide to do, we will always be there for you, as much as we can. But right now I need people I can depend on, not another distraction.”

Reilly left him alone in the bay with his thoughts.

—————

Tiny woke slowly. The blanket was warm and comfortable. She felt like she had when she was younger, before they had taken her away for the program. It felt like home. She blinked and stretched a little, then glanced around sleepily. Her eyes opened a bit more as she realized she was still in the medical bay. The empty chair spoke volumes. Sometime during the night, she must have found her way over to the bed. She sighed. The painkillers, it had to be. She had gotten used to holding Ty while he was fighting through the seizures and panic attacks. And it seemed to help calm him, help him to sleep. She must have just instinctively done it. She moved slowly, trying not to disturb him. His arm gently wrapped around her as she prepared to slide off the bed. Tiny lay still for a moment, feeling his heartbeat.

“Don’t, not yet,” Ty said quietly.

“There will be people coming soon—the Captain—to relieve me.”

“I don’t care. I need this.” He paused. “It’s helping me…you being here.”

Tiny sighed again and lay still, listening to the sounds of the ship. Inside, a battle raged. The Gaiden argued that this needed to stop before things became complicated. How could someone like her even have a relationship? Besides, once Ty found out what she was, he would hate her; possibly he would even try to kill her. He only needed her now because of his fear and his injuries. But the woman in her argued that maybe she should try, just this once, before her whole life was gone. Yes, she was helping him, but he was helping her too. When they were together, she felt something: she felt hope. For the first time in her life, there was hope that there could be something beyond battles and missions and death. Tiny clung to it desperately, the hope that someone could actually look past what she had become and see her for who she was, instead of just seeing some fierce, programmed government assassin. Her mind raced, arguing the pros and cons of what she was doing. When the dust finally cleared, it was hope that won. In the distance, she could still hear the warning bells echoing that this was a dangerous mistake. She decided to ignore them.

“I’ll stay, but just for a little bit.”

Ty smiled, relieved and happy. She allowed him to pull her close again, leaning into his chest. In another few moments, he had fallen back to sleep. Tiny turned slightly to watch him, one ear trained towards the hall in case anyone was coming. She smiled briefly, and then tucked her head under his chin, pressing her face against his chest. Just a few more minutes, she promised herself, then she’d get up and get back to work. A distant voice told her she was already too late and in too deep.

—————

“Hey, I was looking for you.”

Reilly looked up from her coffee and the map table where she had been plotting their journeys to see Trace standing in the doorway.

“Well, you found me,” she said as he pulled up a seat and looked over what she had laid out. “What can I do for you, Captain Callum?”

“It’s Trace, I don’t stand on formalities. I wanted to know if you were going down to see Ty soon. I’d like to stop in and see him again before I take off for my ship.”

“Actually, I was. Tiny was going to get him walking today, so I’d like to be there to help her out. I’m almost done with my plots.” Reilly turned back to the star charts and plugged a few more coordinates into the HAILE system, then hit calculate.

The machine came to light and spoke in a manly screechy voice, “Complying.”

Trace winced along with Reilly. “You really need to get that looked at. Nado tried to fix the old girl and turn her back to the man she was, but no luck.”

“Shame. He was sounding pretty good when we got on board. I’ll see if Marek can do anything to get our boy straightened out. Ready?”