The Black Hawk, Contested Space, Standard Year 404 after founding

  The buzz on her wrist comm woke Clara from an uncomfortable half doze. She had collapsed on the bed next to James as they waited for news from Tony and Alanna.

  James looked back at her, still fully awake. “They’re back.” He said.

  Clara’s eyes lit up. “Thank god!” She said, hugging him in relief.

  James pushed her away, his face grim. “She’s been shot.” He said quietly.

  Clara pulled away and read through her text messages. “Tony says it’s a flesh wound.” She pointed out. “She’s not exactly dying. She’s back, she’s fine, and James, so god help me, if you don’t get some sleep, I’m bringing the doc in here with a syringe. Am I making myself clear?”

  “Crystal clear.” James said with a shadow of a smile coming out through his exhaustion. “There’s one more thing I need to do, and then I’ll sleep.”

  Clara tried to ignore the twinge of concern as he pulled out his computer. James was an adult, it wasn’t her job to babysit him. “I’m going to take a shower.” She said, standing up abruptly.

  James paused briefly to look up at her. “Here?”

  “Yes, here. It’s one of two private showers on the ship. I’m not going to Henry’s and I am going to take the world’s longest shower. Any comments?”

  His only response was a vague wave of his hand before returning to whatever he was doing.

  Clara shot one more look of suspicion his way before shrugging and heading towards the shower. The call of clean, running water was too strong to ignore. She planned for a good hour or longer in the shower. When her wrist comm went off again, her first instinct was to ignore it. Alanna was allegedly back on the Gray Serpent, with Tony to watch over her. What could go wrong? Besides, Clara was in no shape to handle another emergency. She waited a few more minutes, letting the hot water stream over her face, before her curiosity and impatience got the best of her and she read the source of the notification. A moment later she was running out of the shower, wrapped in nothing but a towel. “Are you insane?” She shouted.

  James glanced up, looking back at her in what appeared to be genuine confusion. “What are you talking about?” He asked.

  “You’ve lost your mind! Can’t you just… just…” She looked up at the sound of someone knocking.

  “James?” Henry’s voice called out from the other side of the door. “We need to talk.”

  “Can you talk some sense into him?” Clara asked in exasperation, opening the door.

  Henry walked in, pausing briefly to stare at Clara. “What are you doing?” He asked blankly.

  “Private shower.” Clara said shortly.

  Henry shrugged, turning back to James. “Did you actually just do that? Or did that system get hacked by someone with a truly awful sense of humor?”

  “What are you both talking about?” James asked.

  “Oh, thank god.” Clara leaned against a wall. “It’s just been hacked.”

  “What’s been hacked?” James asked patiently.

  “The registry. The registry for a license. James, I don’t know if you know this but someone...”

  “Are you both on some sort of notification list?” James asked, taken aback.

  “Of course I am!” Clara shouted in exasperation.

  “Lily was.” Henry said, with a somewhat apologetic shrug.

  Clara’s eyes narrowed. “James.”

  “Yes, Clara?”

  “Was the marriage registry hacked, or wasn’t it?”

  “Not as far as I’m aware, Clara.”

  “Oh shit.” Henry muttered under his breath. “James, you haven’t slept in three days. Maybe you just need to… well… I don’t know if there’s a way to take it down but…”

  Jamse shrugged, pulling the pillow from behind his back and placing it under his head, he finally allowed himself to lie down, knowing he couldn’t hold off sleep for much longer. “I don’t know anything about taking it down, or why you both thought it necessary to register for a notification” He murmured.

  “Lily…” Henry began.

  James turned on his side, facing towards both of them as he got more comfortable. “But what I do know” he continued “is that at least one more person has registered to receive this particular notification.”

  “Tony?” Clara asked doubtfully.

  “No Clara, not Tony.” James said drily. “I still have no idea why any of you…”

  “Because you’re James Hawk!” Clara said in exasperation. “People take an interest. Every news org on the planet…”

  “Your mother.” Henry interjected. “Your mother is registered.”

  “That’s the one. Let’s see him go after Alanna now.” James smiled happily. “Let’s just see him try. Now, if you both don’t mind, I’m going to get some sleep.”

  ---

  Carda’an ship, Titan orbit, Standard Year 404 after founding

  “Operation Titan.” Starel said, sitting somewhat awkwardly in the oversized chair on the ship’s bridge. “That’s all I saw before the Tundrans rushed in and shot everyone, including the Sarayan captain.”

  “And what did you do?” Robert asked. Although the time lag between Titan and Tundra was about a minute, Robert had chosen to communicate over quantum comms, the sound of his dour, dry voice coming through over the ship’s speakers.

  Pharel exchanged a glance with his brother. “We thought it might have something to do with the missing nukes.” He said hesitantly.

  “You prevented him from activating the program?” Robert asked.

  “Maybe just for a second.” Starel said. “The Tundrans were nearly there.”

  “Was the Sarayan captain shot, or stunned?” Robert asked.

  “I think he was stunned.” Pharel said.

  “And did he notice that you prevented him from activating the program?”

  The boys froze, exchanging another somewhat panicked look. “He wouldn’t know what happened.” Starel said. “He couldn’t see us. But yes, he may have noticed something prevented him from activating the program. He won’t live long, will he, Robert?”

  “You’ve done well.” Robert said. “Let us handle the rest.”

  ---

  Office of the President, Megalodon City, Standard Year 404 after founding

  Jim Hawk stiffened his jaw, forcing himself to suppress a yawn before it escaped. He hadn’t been sleeping well, and while the new infrastructure project was of vital importance to Megalodon City, his focus was elsewhere. When his wrist comm buzzed, signaling a message from a handful of people who were important enough not to be ignored, he gave a polite nod and made his excuses, hoping he had effectively masked his relief at the interruption. He raised an eyebrow in surprise, noting he had not one but two messages waiting for him. One was from Robert Nagar, the head of Tundran Secret Service. The other, was from his wife. It was an unusual event, as neither would message him during his workday without an excellent reason.

  He took Robert’s call first, answering with a curt “Talk fast, Sam is waiting.”

  “Ah, in that case, I will leave it to her to deliver the news. I’m here if you need more.” Robert hung up.

  Jim Hawk frowned, puzzled by the unusual response. Then he called his wife.

  “Our son is engaged.” Samantha Hawk said, picking up the phone on the first ring. “I’m in the car, on my way to your office now. We’ll talk when I get there.” She hung up.

  “Engaged in what?” Jim Hawk said blankly, to the empty room. Then he called back Robert.

  “Engaged to be married.” Robert responded. “To Alanna Summers. Where’s Sam?”

  “She’s on her way to my…” Jim Hawk paused for a fraction of a second, refocused. “Send a security…”

  “Security detail on its way.” Robert confirmed. “The press will be waiting.”

  The press will be waiting. The words echoed in Jim’s head as he stared out towards the gleaming wooden door of his empty office. “Well.” He shrugged philosophically. “If there is a path to victory, I can trust my son to find it.” And against his better judgement, the slightest ghost of a smile crossed his lips. It faded quickly, in anticipation of what his wife would have to say on the matter. Time was short. He turned to his computer, recording a message for Captain Tanya Arden.

  ---

  Grey Serpent, Tundran Space, Standard Year 404 after founding

  Alanna woke up screaming. The image of Bernard Bernhard’s face hovered in front of her eyes, the last memory she had before the world went black.

  “What the…” Tony sat up from his doze, staring at Alanna blearily. “What the hell’s your problem?” He asked.

  “Wh… where… I…” Alanna blinked, sitting up in bed. Automatically, she pulled the blanket further up to cover her bare legs, frantically trying to make out her surroundings in the gloomy room. “Where am I?” She finally got out.

  “You’re on the ship.” Tony said.

  “Wh what, whose… whose ship?”

  “Our ship.” Tony said. “The Tundran ship.” He added with some annoyance, seeing the blank look on her face.

  “Oh, thank god.” Alanna said with relief, letting her head fall back onto the pillow.

  “Aren’t you glad the Tundran liberation party came to town?” Gregory’s dry and somewhat weak voice came from her other side.

  Alanna closed her eyes briefly before turning to Tony. “That joke really took off, didn’t it?”

  “I’m a natural born leader, Alanna. I speak, people follow.”

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  “Now say thank you, Summers.” Gregory said from her other side. “Otherwise, next time we just might leave you and Sicaro with all your Sarayan friends.”

  Alanna turned, just barely making out Gregory’s features in the darkened medbay, laying on a bed a few feet apart from hers.

  “Stomach wound.” He said, shifting slightly. “Hurts like you wouldn’t believe, even with the meds. We didn’t all walk away with minor flesh wounds like some people.” He snorted. “Turns out, some people did indeed want to fight for the glory of Bernard Bernhard.”

  “Did anyone die?” Alanna asked.

  “No one died.” Gregory said, sounding somewhat more cheerful.

  Alanna frowned. “Some people definitely died.” She turned to Tony. “I saw you kill some.”

  “Sure, some Sarayans died.” Gregory nodded.

  “How many Sarayans?” Alanna asked, ignoring the slight lurch in her stomach.

  “’bout twenty.” A third man from deeper within the med bay responded.

  “We did not liberate them.” Gregory clarified. “Just the, you know, the live ones.”

  “He’s getting the good pain meds.” Tony explained. “Speak for yourself, Gregory. I’d say some got killed and liberated.”

  “Oh yeah, we saw the brig.” Someone else called out.

  Alanna’s face paled and she sat forward, her hand on her stomach. “I’m going to be sick.” She said thickly. “No Tony literally I think I…”

  The doctor got there just in time, bucket in hand.

  “Impressive moves, doc.” Tony said. “Can’t say I saw that one coming.”

  “I saw it coming.” The doctor said calmly.

  “I…” Alanna closed her eyes and swallowed. “I don’t feel so good. Could I be poisoned? Or” She struggled to be as polite as she could, without directly accusing anyone “a bad reaction to the local food?”

  “You’re not poisoned.” The doctor said flatly. “You have a flesh wound. You’re fine. And you should eat.” He returned with a ration bar and a cup of hot tea. She blinked in surprise at the sharp, unexpectedly familiar taste. It was ginger tea. Taking a deep, grateful breath of the hot liquid, she drank more. “Thank you.” She said to the doctor before turning to Tony. “What about Aster and Danil?” She asked.

  Tony hesitated. “Aster is dead. Danil is here.” He shifted slightly, letting her see Danil’s pale form on his other side. “He took two shots but the doc says his chances are good.”

  “Are we…” Alanna hesitated, still trying to gather her thoughts in the unfamiliar surroundings of the Tundran ship’s med bay, as whatever pain meds she had been given worked through her system. And they weren’t very good pain meds. The pain along her hip was a sharp, constant reminder of what happened. And Aster was dead. “Are we getting court martialed?” She asked, trying to focus.

  “No.” Tony shook his head, looking bemused.

  “Now why would you ask that, I wonder?” Gregory said from her other side.

  “Oh, we always ask that.” Alanna took another sip of her tea. “It’s a Sarayan tradition.”

  And then, to her surprise and relief, she heard a quiet snort from Danil. “Shut up, Danil.” She added.

  “Whatever you say, lieutenant.”

  “Lieutenant commander.”

  Alanna looked over at the unexpected source of those words. Gregory raised an eyebrow back at her.

  “You did good.” Tony said. “Winners don’t get court martialed.”

  “Victory is all.” Gregory nodded in agreement, sounding weak but surprisingly cheerful.

  Alanna sipped more of her tea, sitting in companionable silence as the activities of the med bay went on all around her. She did good. She blinked as the unfamiliar words echoed inside her head. “And Bernard?” She asked finally, somewhat reluctantly.

  “We’re asking him some questions.” Tony grinned with satisfaction. “In fact, now that you’re up, I may just meander on over and ask him some questions myself. Want to come?”

  “No.” Alanna said with a shudder.

  “You sure? You’re not likely to get another chance.”

  “I don’t want to ask him any questions. I want him dead.”

  “Hey.” Gregory’s voice came from her other side. “When he says ask some questions, what he means is…”

  “I know what he means, Gregory.”

  “Pathetic.” Gregory shook his head in disgust. “Listen Sicaro. You just wheel me in there. I would like to ask the man some questions.”

  “Doc?” Tony asked. “Any objections?”

  The doctor gave what seemed to be a long suffering sigh. “Take one of the antigrav wheelchairs and go. Try not to bump him around too much.”

  “I’d like to ask him some questions.” Danil’s weaker voice spoke up from the other side of the room.

  Tony elbowed Alanna in the shoulder, from her good side. “We only have two antigrav wheelchairs. You up for walking?”

  Alanna sat up straighter. “Am I walking to kill Bernard Bernhard?” She asked.

  “That’s the plan.”

  “I can walk.” Alanna said.

  A low whistle came from one of the other injured soldiers. “Be sure to bring a pike, Summers!” Someone else called out.

  The doctor placed her uniform at the foot of her bed. “You have a flesh wound, but a fairly serious one. Most of the skin on your hip was burned off by the killing round. It’s been replaced with artificial skin but it will take at least a day to fully integrate. Be careful putting on the uniform, and make no sudden movements. Keep that in mind if you change your mind about the questioning.” He added pointedly.

  ---

  As far as processions went, theirs was a sad one. Tony pushed Gregory’s antigrav wheelchair and Alanna attempted to do the same with Danil’s, although she was mostly using it to lean on as she walked. “Did you shoot me?” She asked, turning to Tony.

  “I did. You’re welcome.”

  “All part of the liberation services brought to you by the Tundran military.” Gregory said, clearly still enjoying the pain meds.

  “You shot her?” Danil asked with a frown.

  “She had third degree burns across most of her hip.” Tony said with a shrug. “And a part of her space suit melted into her skin. Alanna, did you want to be conscious for that? Besides, the screaming was getting on my nerves.” They stopped at the sound of hoarse screams, heard faintly from the cells ahead.

  “Captain’s not done.” Gregory noted. “We can wait.”

  “Says the man with the chair.” Tony grumbled.

  Alanna swayed slightly before tightening her grip on Danil’s chair.

  “Sit on the floor and take a breath.” Tony suggested.

  A few minutes later, Tony had brought more ration bars and coffee, with the group sprawled out in front of the prison cells. He glanced over at Alanna, but she remained resolutely silent, diligently chewing her way through a ration bar.

  “So congratulations on the…” Gregory paused, raising an eyebrow as Tony shook his head slightly. “On your safe return.” Gregory finished, bemused. “Don’t you want to know how your sweetheart’s doing?” He continued without pause.

  “He’s fine.” Tony said, casting a questioning look in Alanna’s direction.

  Alanna shrugged. They both knew Tony would have told her if he wasn’t. Just as they both knew she hadn’t asked.

  “Oh.” Gregory grinned. “Trouble in paradise? And here I thought you two…”

  “Ignore him.” Tony said.

  “Come on Alanna, tell Gregory all about it. I’ve got a sister that’s dying to hear all about the…”

  “Ignore him.” Tony repeated. “Please.”

  “Oh.” Gregory’s grin got bigger. “Look at that. She is pissed. Well, well, well. Still time to back out, girlie. Haven’t signed in blood yet.”

  Alanna frowned. “What is he talking about?”

  “Nothing. If you want me to say something to James…”

  “I don’t.” Alanna said shortly, going back to her ration bar. “It’s fine.”

  Gregory snorted. “She didn’t even ask if he was alive.”

  “Who’s James?” Danil asked. “And what did he do?”

  “Nothing.” Alanna repeated. “It’s fine.”

  Gregory and Tony exchanged a glance over her head, just before Captain Arden walked out of the prison cell and headed down the hallway towards them. She was wiping her hands with a wet towel as she walked, leaving red stains across its surface.

  “Hey captain.” Gregory called out. “You think when a woman says it’s fine, that means something different on Saraya?”

  The captain eyed the sorry group. “We’ve only been separated for two hundred years, gentlemen.” She said mildly. “It hasn’t been that long.”

  Gregory leaned his head against the back of the antigrav chair, laughing.

  “I see the doctor gave him the good drugs.” Captain Arden said with a slight smile. “Alanna, how are you feeling?”

  Alanna swallowed the last of her ration bar. “We’re here for the head.” She said.

  “Speak for yourself.” Gregory responded. “I’m here to ask the man a few questions. So’s my friend Sicaro here. Then you can have the head.”

  “I came to ask questions.” Danil offered.

  Captain Arden paused, momentarily distracted. “You may need some help.” She said. Half starved and shot twice, the Sarayan looked barely capable of lifting his own hands, let alone harming another.

  “I may need some help.” Danil admitted reluctantly.

  “Sicaro will help.” Gregory offered generously.

  “Alanna can help, can’t you?” Danil turned to Alanna, the only familiar face in a room full of alien strangers. It was their battle, after all. It was their monster. “It’s only a flesh wound.” He reminded her.

  Once again, Alanna turned to Tony. He was sitting by her side, sprawled out against the wall of the hallway outside the prison cells. Within easy reach. Sometime, somehow, the instinctive fear response she felt in his presence had faded. He was just there.

  “Your call.” He shrugged.

  “Not quite.” Captain Arden corrected him as everyone looked up. “I would like Alanna to ask him some questions.” The captain turned to face Alanna, her gaze surprisingly serious. “We found no explosives on the ship.” She said.

  Alanna flinched. “I’m sorry.” She said immediately. “I was wrong. I honestly thought…”

  “The president” The captain paused, giving full weight to her words “is not convinced you were wrong. We need more information. We need to understand why the Sarayan station was here, orbiting Titan. What were they waiting for?” She turned to Danil.

  “I don’t know.” Danil said, his eyes meeting the captain’s. “I don’t think any of us ever did. No one but Bernard.”

  “Which is, in and of itself, telling.” Tanya Arden turned back to Alanna. “What was so classified, that only one of the sixty plus man crew could know the purpose of their presence here? The president would like to know. And then, you can have the head.”

  Alanna sighed as her stomach lurched. She wanted more ginger tea.

  “You don’t have to go.” Tony spoke up. “Does she, captain? She’s served. She did what was promised. The mission is complete. She doesn’t owe you this.”

  Uncharacteristically, Captain Arden hesitated. “It is up to you.” She acknowledged finally, nodding to Alanna. “But we may not get what we need through torture alone. We’ve softened him up, left him desperate and alone. But now, to get to the truth, we need something else. You can give him a taste of home. For a desperate man, sometimes that’s enough.”

  “He’ll try to get inside your head.” Tony said, ignoring the captain. “You don’t need it. Let us ask the questions and get what we can get. We owe you his head.”

  “I won’t force you, Alanna.” Captain Arden said. “But we could use your help.”

  Alanna frowned, momentarily taken aback by the captain’s uncharacteristically soft tone. It was odd.

  “Let me ask James.” Tony offered.

  Alanna gritted her teeth stubbornly, getting up. “It’s not his call.” She said.

  “It’s not his call.” Captain Arden agreed, smiling slightly. “It’s yours. Take your time to decide, there’s no rush. Excuse me.” She added in response to a buzz on her wrist comm. “I need to take this. Let me know how it goes.”

  “You won’t need to let her know how it goes.” Tony said quietly, standing up and leaning towards Alanna to ensure she heard him, as the captain headed down the hallway.

  “All recorded?” Alanna asked, keeping her voice equally low as she sipped her coffee.

  “Yes. And he’ll say what he can to damage you. It’s not too late to back out.”

  “Get him.” Danil said, looking up at Alanna from his wheelchair. “Get him to betray his secrets and make a mistake, and make sure he knows what he’s done before he dies. Get him.”

  Tony sighed. And that, of course, was that.

  “Wait, wait a minute. Before she goes in, the man who took a stomach wound to rescue both your asses, would like to know why she’s mad at lover boy James. Focus Summers, what could our perfect James have possibly done wrong?”

  “Who’s James?” Danil asked in exasperation.

  “Shut up, kid.” Gregory said eloquently.

  “They could have just stayed on that shuttle.” Tony said unexpectedly. “Left you to wake up on the Sarayan station. And you were so looking forward to that. I could tell. You owe Gregory a lot. So come on, tell us what the hell your problem is.”

  Alanna sighed, finding herself less than thrilled by Gregory and Tony’s newfound friendship. “I’m not talking about…” She attempted one last time.

  “Can’t eat.” Gregroy said with some relish. “I get a special tube for it. Two weeks without real food.”

  “Oh for fuck’s sake.” Alanna growled in exasperation.

  “You can’t blame him for what his father did.” Tony said, ignoring the completely confused look Danil shot his way.

  “I know that. I would never blame him for that. Nothing that happened here was his fault.”

  Tony paused. “That’s what I was going to say.”

  “Well, I agree. It’s not his fault.”

  “Then why…”

  “Really? Really Tony, you can’t think of a reason? Maybe threatening to torture and kill people to get your way is considered endearing on Tundra?”

  “Who did he threaten?” Gregory asked, clearly entertained.

  “James said he would make sure every Sarayan on that station died if Alanna didn’t come back alive.” Tony said, speaking up without any reservations, his eyes on Alanna. “and he was right to say it.”

  “He was.” Gregory agreed. “One Tundran life.” He nodded to himself, as if that was the end of the matter.

  “Your life.” Tony echoed, looking at Alanna.

  “He was right.” Danil said unexpectedly, into the angry silence. “You would have gone first. And you would have died first. We needed you.”

  “You needed Aster.” Alanna said sharply, letting out some of her anger.

  “She was already dead.” Danil said. He turned to Tony. “Wasn’t she?”

  “Yes.” Tony nodded, in acknowledgement.

  “It was just…” Alanna began.

  “It wasn’t just her face.” Tony shook his head. “She had internal damage. She was already dead. But she wanted the gun.”

  Alanna closed her eyes. And Tony had pumped Aster full of enough pain killers and steroids to keep her going those last few moments. Until she died. She pushed herself off the wall. “Time to talk to Bernard.” She said. “No.” She shook her head, stopping Tony as he came to follow her. “Just me. I got this.”

  “We have a blow torch.” Gregory offered generously. “We can do things Sarayan style. Wouldn’t want you to… ugh, well that’s just disgusting.”

  Pale and slightly shaken, Alanna wiped her mouth as her stomach dry heaved, looking horrified. “I’m so sorry. I don’t know what’s wrong with me. I swear that’s never happened before.”

  Tony raised an eyebrow. “Well, it’s happened some.” He said mildly. “That tea the doc gave you, that was ginger tea?”

  “Yes.”

  “And your leg still hurts?”

  “She’s not getting the good drugs.” Gregory said, mostly to himself.

  “Head on a pike.” Danil murmured, ignoring the exchange as his eyes drooped from exhaustion.

  And for some reason, completely out of character, Alanna wanted to lean over and hug him. And then, even more uncharacteristically, she did. “I’m sorry.” She said quietly. “I’m sorry about Aster. I’m sorry about all of it.”

  “They fought and died for the honor of Bernard Bernhard.” Danil said, staring at her blearily, too tired and too weak to cry. “They really did.”

  “Yes. So did I, once. So did you.”

  “We weren’t given a choice.”

  “There’s always a choice.” Alanna said. And then she turned around and walked towards Bernard Bernhard.

  Tony reached out a hand to stop her. “You have a strategy?” He asked. He wouldn’t let her go in alone, angry and unprepared.

  “Sure I do. I’m going to go with my strengths.”

  “Mutiny?” Gregory asked in some confusion.

  “My other strength.” Alanna explained patiently.

  “Uh.” Gregory said doubtfully. “I’m not sure hurling on him’s gonna get the job done.”

  “You gonna make him mad?” Danil asked, forcing his eyes open.

  “Like I said, my other strength.” Alanna shot a surprisingly cheerful grin in Tony’s general direction before heading down the hallway.