They were gathered back in the captain’s office. The real food appeared to be gone but a generous pile of ration bars sat on the table along with a steaming pot of tea. Once everyone was seated, the captain poured the tea, in a gesture that struck Alanna as oddly formal. Thinking back, James had done something similar when he poured her tea in his quarters, and she wondered suddenly if there was some meaning attached to the gesture. She might never know. She turned to Tony, letting him provide the initial update to the captain.

  “We have the list.” Tony said, getting to the point. “And Alanna thinks there’s someone on there she can work with.” He hesitated. “Assuming he’s still alive.”

  “Why wouldn’t he be alive?” Captain Arden inquired, echoing Tony’s thoughts as she turned to Alanna. “They haven’t seen any combat.”

  “These things happen.” Alanna said shortly, biting into her ration bar.

  “What would you like to say?” The captain asked.

  Alanna paused. “Danil, you saw the video. The Tundrans are coming and I’m going to help. I have a plan to get the Sarayans off the station alive. Need your help.”

  “That’s all?” Gregory asked, frowning.

  “That’s all.” Alanna said.

  “You know this Danil well?” The captain asked.

  Alanna hesitated. “Yes.” She said shortly.

  “Aren’t you just a fount of information.” Gregory said, eyes narrowed at her from across the table.

  “Alanna, how do you know Danil?” Tony asked, making it clear that avoiding the question was not an option.

  “He was one of the forty three.” Alanna said, with some reluctance. She had known Danil a long time. And she didn’t envy him the time he spent orbiting Titan, under the command of Captain Bernard Bernhard. D12 was starting to look like a prize post by comparison.

  Captain Arden nodded thoughtfully. “Send the message.” She said. “And let’s see what happens.” Even assuming Alanna’s Sarayan contact hadn’t betrayed them, the minute this message was sent, there would be another person who could betray their position. And once again, the risk was unavoidable.

  Tony turned to Alanna, giving her one more chance to change her message. Her only response was a brief nod.

  “How long until we get a response?” Sean asked, reaching for another ration bar.

  “It might be a while.” Tony said, trying to mask his concern. Alanna seemed confident, but he wasn’t so sure. Everything hinged on this Danil being alive and cooperating based on a few brief lines of text. Betraying his planet, based on a few lines of text. He frowned. The more he thought about it, the less he liked it. They continued their meal in relative silence, each lost in their own thoughts. When his wrist comm buzzed to signal a response had been received, Tony barely managed not to start in surprise. He looked down at the message. “How do I know it’s you?” He read out loud, looking over at Alanna.

  “Type fast.” Alanna said. “Any delay in response will look suspicious.”

  Tony nodded in acknowledgement.

  “Turner deserved to live.” Alanna said.

  “That’s it?”

  “That’s it.”

  Tony looked over at the captain, pausing for the briefest moment to see her nod before pressing send. “Who’s Turner?” He asked.

  Alanna hesitated, causing Tony to sigh. Getting her to answer questions was like pulling teeth.

  “Lieutenant Turner.” Alanna said reluctantly, in response to the distinct look of annoyance on Tony’s face. “He served with us on Titan.”

  “How’d he die?” Sean asked.

  “He didn’t put his helmet on in time. Death by vacuum.” Alanna said shortly.

  “What caused the delay?” Captain Arden asked.

  “He was yelling at all of us to put our helmets on.” Alanna said, trying to keep her voice neutral.

  “You shouldn’t have been there.” Gregory said with a frown.

  “Yeah well, speaking for myself, I’d have loved not to have been there. Turns out, no one asked.”

  They waited in silence, staring at each other from across the table. Tony realized he was tapping his foot and forced himself to stop. He looked over at Alanna. She seemed surprisingly confident. And indeed, the response didn’t take long. “What do you want me to do?” Tony read out loud.

  “Just like that.” Captain Arden said, looking at Alanna, her face as blank as ever.

  Alanna shrugged. “It’s me or Bernard. Danil won’t make a move on his own, but he trusts me. So yes, just like that. And you promised a million credits and asylum. So that’s what we’re offering.”

  “He hasn’t asked for any money.” The captain pointed out mildly.

  “Yes well, it’ll come to him.” Alanna said with a sigh. The truth was, she knew Danil was desperate and money was the last thing on his mind. But the Tundrans had made a deal with her. And she expected them to hold up their end.

  “Will it come to him?” Gregory said bluntly. “Why don’t we wait and see?”

  “Will you hold Danil’s loyalty to me against him?” Alanna said sharply. “Someone who didn’t know me as well would ask for the money. He’s trusting me to protect his interests. I won’t betray him.”

  “And if I give a direct order that says you will do otherwise?” Captain Arden asked, her tone still mild.

  There was a pause, as all eyes turned to Alanna. “Don’t do that.” Alanna said softly, her eyes meeting the Captain’s. “Do this my way and I will hand you the station. It’s worth the credits. You’ll pay out more in benefits to the families of the dead.”

  “Very well.” The captain said finally. “Asylum and a million credits.”

  “I have your word?” Alanna doubled down.

  “You do.” The captain nodded.

  “And my Sarayan friend? When will you be paying him?”

  “When the mission is complete.” The captain said firmly.

  Alanna opened her mouth to argue, closed it. The Tundrans had no way to know if any of her information was real. Not until they had boots on the ground and saw for themselves. In fact, the speed of Danil’s response surprised even her. There was little doubt it would look suspicious to the Tundrans. The captain would not send the money based on Alanna’s word and some texts. There was no point in arguing. She nodded, accepting it.

  “What’s the plan?” Tony asked, doing his best to break the tension.

  “We need to take out as many as we can before we come on board. Danil won’t kill his own for us. Do you have knock out gas?”

  “We do.” Captain Arden confirmed.

  “He’ll need a bomb and a remote detonator. Somewhere crowded, maybe the break room during lunch. If we time it right, it will take out a good number of the crew and serve as a distraction while we board the station.” Alanna said.

  “How do we get it to this Danil guy?” Gregory asked.

  Alanna turned to Tony. “Ask Danil if he works on the turret guns.” She said.

  Tony waited briefly for Captain Arden’s nod of approval before sending out the message. The responses were coming back swiftly, with less than a minute of lag time. A sharp reminder of just how close they were to their destination. “He says he can pick up a shift.” Tony said after a brief pause.

  Alanna nodded, her eyes on the captain. “Can we send in the bomb? Small enough package that it won’t get noticed? Has to move slowly enough that the sensors won’t…”

  The captain held up her hand, forestalling further unnecessary chatter. “I understand what you are asking. The answer is yes, we can. I would also like to know the condition of the guns.”

  Alanna smiled slightly, nodding in appreciation to the captain. This was her first test. The Captain would know whether Alanna’s information was real before she ever sent her people in. If Danil’s information about the guns turned out to be wrong, she was probably dead.

  Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon.

  “How do you want me to ask?” Tony spoke up, giving Alanna the chance to control the conversation.

  Alanna winced. This was harder than asking Danil for help. Saying yes was easy. This was the moment of no return. Once Danil gave them the answer they needed, he was a traitor. There would be no going back. “Ask him which turret guns work.” She said with a shrug. “He won’t like it, but I understand the captain. We have to ask.”

  They waited. It took Danil noticeably longer than before to respond. Finally, Tony looked down at the buzz on his wrist comm. “He says ‘Alanna, what the hell do I do?’ ” He looked up at Alanna, eyebrows raised.

  Alanna shrugged. “This is how we get them out alive.” She said. “And we’re lucky to have the chance.”

  “That’s what you want me to write?”

  “Yeah. That’s what I want you to write.”

  Captain Arden spread her hands. “It’s Alanna’s call.” She said.

  “All of them.” Tony read out loud. The delay had been negligible.

  “That tells us nothing.” Gregory said, eyes narrowed.

  “If you go in and anything less than all the guns are working, you’ll know he lied.” Alanna pointed out. “You’ll know before your people go in. As the captain intended.”

  Captain Arden nodded, acknowledging the point. “Ask him if he can plant the bomb.” She said.

  Tony nodded, sending the text. “ ‘He says, how do I know it won’t kill?’ ”

  “Because he trusts me.” Alanna said without hesitation.

  Tony smiled slightly to himself before he read the next response out loud. “He says, ‘Alanna, how do YOU know?’ ”

  Alanna smiled back. “Because I trust the captain.” She said without hesitation, her eyes on captain Arden. She could only pray she was right.

  They all sat, waiting for the next buzz that signaled a response. Sean reached out and unwrapped another ration bar, ignoring the dark looks others around the table shot him, and chewed with some satisfaction.

  “He’s now asking what else he’s gonna get.” Tony said, turning to Alanna.

  “Asylum, a million credits, and Bernard’s head on a pike.” Alanna said without hesitation.

  “We all wanted this Bernard guy’s head on a pike anyway.” Sean said cheerfully. “Her most of all.” He nodded towards Alanna.

  “We did promise the crew.” Alanna said with a grin.

  “We wouldn’t want to disappoint the crew.” The captain said, her eyes as inscrutable as ever.

  “No, we would not.” Alanna agreed.

  “He’s in.” Tony said, looking up. He sent a slight nod in Alanna’s direction. “He says he’s headed in for an eighteen-hour shift. He’ll be in touch when he’s back.”

  Alanna nodded approvingly. “Danil is right. He can’t take the risk of talking to us when he’s on shift. Bernard will notice. In fact, he’s probably not supposed to have a comm at all.” She looked down, trying to ignore the feeling of queasiness in her stomach. If Danil was caught and Bernard found out what they were planning, her and Danil were both dead. And Bernard was no fool. They didn’t have much time.

  “Seems too easy.” Gregory said, not bothering to hide his suspicion.

  “Danil trusts me.” Alanna said.

  Gregory frowned. “You send a few texts and this guy agrees to be a traitor? Makes no sense.”

  “They’re starving to death.” Alanna said, her eyes turning cold. “They’re starving to death and he knows you’re coming. And he trusts me.” She swallowed. Danil trusted her. If she screwed up, Danil would die. And if he was lucky, he would die quickly.

  “He appears to trust you a great deal.” The captain observed.

  “Standards are low.” Alanna said, the bitterness clear in her voice.

  “We won’t be there for another day.” The captain said, standing up. “I want everyone to get some rest.”

  Alanna nodded, turning to Tony.

  “I’ll tell Danil.” Tony said, before she asked.

  Alanna nodded again. She wanted to say more but in the end, she had to trust Danil to handle this on his own, in his own way. “In that case,” she said, changing the subject entirely, “how much do you all bet? Ten credits, twenty?”

  Sean perked up. “Ten.” He admitted. “Why do you ask?”

  Alanna turned to Tony. “Spot me a ten.” She said.

  Tony leaned back somewhat precariously in his chair, allowing the front two legs to lift slightly off the ground. “For what?” He asked.

  “Doesn’t matter for what. Just spot me a ten. What is that, enough for lunch? Come on, it can’t be that much money.”

  “You’re spending Tundran credits and you don’t even know the exchange rate?” Gregory shook his head in disgust.

  “You have no source of income.” Tony pointed out. “How are you going to pay me back?”

  Alanna frowned. “Don’t I get a salary? I have a uniform. I’m supposed to get a salary.”

  The captain hesitated. “Technically, I believe that is true.”

  “A lot of technicalities here.” Alanna said, eyes narrowed slightly. “Tony, stop being difficult and spot me a ten.”

  “Tell me why and I will.”

  “I’m going to bet on myself. To win.”

  “Against who?” Sean asked. “You already beat Gregory.”

  Gregory shot Sean a not entirely friendly look but otherwise remained silent.

  “Not Gregory.” Alanna shook her head. “Tony. I bet on myself to win against Tony.”

  “And you want me to loan you the money.” Tony said unenthusiastically.

  “Only because no one else will.” Alanna explained.

  “Alanna, you can’t get over ninety nine.” Tony said patiently. “The game is built that way. It’s impossible.”

  “When the Sarayan mo” Gregory paused, shrugged and kept going “when the Sarayan mofo goes over the post and the rest of them swarm, it’s seven coming at you at once and it’s not possible to take them all out. Can’t be done.”

  Tony raised an eyebrow at her.

  Alanna shrugged, meeting his eyes as her grin widened. “I’m going to use my initiative. Now spot me a ten.”

  Tony got up. “Yeah, all right.” He agreed reluctantly.

  “You both in?” Alanna turned towards Sean and Gregory.

  “Oh, I’m in.” Sean nodded.

  “In.” Gregory agreed.

  “Captain?” Alanna turned towards Captain Arden.

  “I think I’ll just watch.” Captain Arden said, smiling slightly.

  “Tony?” Alanna offered.

  Tony shook his head.

  “Good.” Alanna got up. “And I’m taking the chair.” True to her word, she picked up her chair and walked out of the Captain’s office, heading back towards the training rooms.

  “And she’s taking the chair.” Gregory echoed, bemused in spite of himself. What the hell was she going to do with the damn chair? They followed, catching some attention along the way.

  “Why is she carrying a chair?” Someone asked, in passing.

  “I think it’s supposed to get her past ninety nine in the training sim.” Sean said with a grin.

  “The chair?”

  “That’s the going theory.” Gregory confirmed.

  “This I gotta see.”

  They had picked up a good crowd of people by the time Alanna reached the training rooms. She took a glance at the doors, noting the numbers on all five doors were going up at a steady rate. All the rooms were occupied. Putting down her chair, Alanna sat down to wait, ignoring the chatter of the crowd around her.

  Tony leaned against the wall next to her. “If you get anywhere in the nineties” he said softly, “you’ll get some respect from the crew.”

  “Good to know.” Alanna said. “But I’m not getting in the nineties. I’m going to win.”

  Tony refrained from saying anything more. The room to her far right opened up, a respectable eighty nine glowing against the gray metal door. The player, a heavily built man walking with a surprisingly light tread, stood aside, taken aback as the crowd surged forward. “The Sarayan’s gonna beat a ninety nine.” Someone called out.

  “Is she now?” The man said with a slight grin. “Well by all means, go right ahead.” He spread one arm out generously, stepping aside.

  Picking up her chair, Alanna walked past them all into the training room, shutting the door firmly behind her. Placing the chair in front of the foremost post, she scrambled up, balancing precariously on the very top. Even seated, her head didn’t have quite enough space to straighten out. She tried leaning forward but her balance was too precarious and falling off would be disastrous. After some shifting about, she found that sitting hunched over with her head tucked into her shoulders left her in the most stable position, with the best view of the battleground. Not the most heroic of poses, and fortunate that no one could see. Reality rarely looked as good as it sounded in a story.

  Taking a deep breath, Alanna forced herself to calm down and focus. Too late now, to worry about whether she had overpromised and was well on her way to underdelivering. Just then, a small part of her appreciated Tony’s reassuring words. If she scored in the nineties, it would be all right. She didn’t need to be perfect. She just really wanted to be. Blocking out all other thoughts, Alanna focused. In one smooth motion, almost an afterthought, she pulled her new knife out of its holster and leaned back slightly, tossing it towards the button that would begin the simulation. Nothing else mattered. Only her gun and the ghostly figures rising up out of the floor, coming at her from all directions.

  The problem, she realized immediately, was that she had no cover. She was hard to hit, but she had no actual cover and the flashes that signified shots fired in her vicinity were going off all around, dangerously near. Alanna ignored them, focusing on the one thing within her control. Taking out each ghostly green figure the instant they rose up off the floor, before they had the chance to shoot at her. She learned the game didn’t recognize a hit until the figure had fully emerged, timing her hits more carefully to come at the exact time the figure fully materialized. She thought she saw the Sarayan that would have climbed the post, taking a running start and heading straight for her. She took him out before he ever got near, remembering Gregory’s warning and tensing in preparation for the swarm of backup figures that were coming. There were six, no seven, and then an eighth rising up on her left, closer than the others, but still well within her range of vision. She had them. Alanna permitted herself a slight smile, clearing out the rest of the enemy as they came.

  And then it was over. Her back and shoulders ached as she tried to twist back around awkwardly and use the chair to catch her on her way back down. Instead, she knocked over the chair entirely, landing awkwardly on the floor and banging her hip against the post as she went down. Alanna sighed. She really hoped there were no cameras in the damn room. Rather than rushing back out, she took a few breaths, wiping her face and stretching some of the tension out of her shoulders. It had been a very long day, and exhaustion was setting in hard. Suddenly, all she wanted to do was curl up on the floor of this room, with its closed door and privacy, and get some rest. Had she managed to avoid getting hit by the stray shots? She thought so, but she wasn’t quite sure. It was hard to tell from her awkward angle at the top of the post. She may yet walk away with an uninspiring score of ninety. Surely not eighty? After another long pause, Alanna reluctantly headed for the door.

  ---

  “Fuck.” Tony said with feeling, watching as the numbers finally hit one hundred.

  “Upset you lost?” Sean asked, bemused.

  “That” Tony said with a sigh “is the least of my worries.”

  “Then what?” Gregory asked.

  “He’s worried” Captain Arden spoke up quietly “that we may have just witnessed the future first lady of Tundra, in action.”

  Tony Sicaro nodded, watching the door. “You worried too, Captain?” He asked, his voice equally low.

  “I’m worried.” The captain said shortly.

  “At least she’s competent.” Sean said with a slight shrug

  “It’s not her competence I question.” Captain Arden said. “It’s her loyalty.”

  “Loyalty is given and earned over time.” Sean spoke up, unexpectedly. “Maybe we need to buy her more time.”

  Captain Arden shot a somewhat sharp look in his direction. “Perhaps.” She said.

  They looked up as Alanna finally exited the room, looking stiff and exhausted.

  She was about to turn back to see the numbers on the door when she heard the cheers and applause. Alanna paused, looking out towards a far larger crowd than she had left when she entered the practice room. Word had, apparently, spread.

  “Uh. Hi.” She said eloquently.

  “What the hell did you do with the chair?” Gregory asked impatiently, pushing past her and staring into the room. The chair lay on its side, approximately in the middle of the three posts. Gregory turned back to her, his face puzzled.

  Sean, Tony, and the captain followed, looking around the room curiously.

  Thoughtfully, Tony picked up the chair, placing it under the foremost post.

  “You climbed to the top of the post.” The captain said into the silence.

  Tony nodded. “I couldn’t do it. Neither could Gregory. We wouldn’t fit.”

  “I fit.” Alanna said with a yawn.

  “All right.” Tony nodded. “Well done. Time to get some sleep.”

  “Well done.” Captain Arden agreed, her voice as neutral as ever.

  “Thank you, Captain.” Alanna responded. Embracing the moment, she made a full on, formal salute before turning around and stumbling towards the communal showers and her bunk.