Cold Snap

by Macky Santiago

  I stop when Mother Ryn takes a long breath. She learned to do that pretty quickly, just a few weeks or so after adopting me. And I’ve learned that when she does this, it’s an effective way of asking me to get straight to the point.

  “Anyway, we figured that her need to keep all eight of us alive meant that the safest the girls would ever be was in direct proximity to any of us.” I say with conviction. “Leon could have shielded the hovercrafts, sure, but we had no idea what surprises Octavia had left. So, the safest thing to do was give her a target to shoot at and keep the girls in a place she wouldn’t shoot at. Bell and the Doctor were just the most viable solutions. I mean, I would have preferred them to have been with Leon, but he has no evac upgrades. Maybe we should outfit him with some. Hmm…”

  I draw up schematics in my head, intrigued by the idea of devising a full set of search and rescue upgrades for everyone.

  Mother Ryn disrupts my planning as she starts to clap slowly.

  I beam at her shyly, taken aback by her applause. Ah She's just soft on me because I helped win her back a planet. I’m also very cute. And did I mention how awesome I am?

  “It seems the Winter Diamond has struck again.” Ryn says, obviously proud. “Hard. Fast. Living up to the unit designation we granted you all those years ago. Not as clean and as efficient as we had hoped, but the results are undeniable.”

  I breathe in, before I sigh. “Hurray for Team Cold Snap?”

  “I'm serious, Yuki. Angry Faldanians aside, the council wants to award you, Captain Jaeger, his crew, and…” She says, mischief in her eyes, "Agent Zavus with the Alliance cluster.”

  She's got a look I recognize all too well. Ooh, don't start with me woman. Matchmaking is beneath you.

  “So I take it no one's too bummed that their double agent’s been made out? Nobody’s scared he’s actually a triple agent?” I push back, shifting the topic a little.

  This is the Conglomerate poster boy we are talking about after all. The literal face of the enemy for too many members of the Alliance. For at least a decade and change, when the Alliance thinks Conglomerate, his is one of the faces that immediately comes to mind.

  I’m not into politics, but awarding this man a medal for just one successful op won’t sit well with a lot of factions within the Alliance.

  “No, they are not afraid.” Ryn says evenly. “I am among the few who have their reservations about Agent Zavus formally joining our ranks.”

  “Shocker.” I quip, fully reclining again. If she was going to be her to talk and be cryptic for a while, I might as well get comfortable.

  “Do not mistake my caution for distrust in his motives. He risked everything working with us. His actions during this last op are to be commended. Especially because it helped us Liberate Faldan.” Mother Ryn says, her eyes dancing again.

  A smile blooms on my face slowly. Hot damn. Faldan is free. They liberated themselves. We just gave them the nudge they needed and kept their reason for fighting the good fight safe.

  Well, Theron did most of the nudging.

  And hey, props to the Alliance, who I am sure helped kick the Conglomerate out of the system. I mean, the Faldanian Armada is no small thing, but the Conglomerate blockade had enough heavy hitters if I recall correctly, which I always do. Ryn must have showed up with the rest of the fleet. Kudos.

  But like an idiot, I still need to know what her issues are with Z.

  “So, what are you worried about?” I ask.

  “That his integration into our ranks would prove too much of a distraction for our top operative.” Ryn says. “The council were thinking of appointing him as secondary liaison to the Diamond and having him take on a more… permanent place on your ship. With your permission, of course. You both have worked extremely well together on the field, and it only made sense to keep the team together.”

  I sit up again, gearing up to say something witty and biting. But as I open my mouth to speak I only manage to close and reopen my jaw. Ryn laughs. I snort and flop back down.

  “The guys are gonna have to vote. Gotta have majority or it’s a no go.” I say petulantly. “And if the council vetoes any decision we come to, I will pull the ‘full interface ain’t gonna work unless I get my way’ card so fast, it will make your heads spin.”

  Threats are not beneath me, even hollow ones, especially when I am feeling cornered and am only wearing a paper gown. Which is totally unnecessary by the way since I had no real injuries. Well, unless you count that one moment when I was impaled on a blade. I mean, did I die? Pfft.

  Before I can protest, the door opens and Z walks in. Where’s a good Huntsman when you need one?

  Ryn has adopted her ‘speak of the devil’ expression, and I glare daggers at her. I had forgotten how much I hate that extra smug look. And I just know she wants to stick around to watch.

  Before I can say anything, I'm interrupted by the synthoid voice that warbles from her wrist comm. "Admiral Stormcrow, incoming transmission for you."

  "Don't you have, like, a revolution to run elsewhere?" I add without missing a beat. "Shoo. Don't come back unless you have cookies."

  She smiles again, and it's the kind where she knows she has something on me. “Calliope, redirect incoming transmission to the bridge. Heading there now.” She says into her comm.

  “Agent Zavus.” She says to Z on her way out of the room. Z nods back curtly, still a very good soldier.

  Ryn gives me another brief look before she leaves us alone. I do not give her the satisfaction of seeing that I'm flustered.

  Also, I will leave a Trillian swamp toad in her shoe before I leave Haven Five, just for old time’s sake.

  “Did I come at a bad time?” Z asks quietly.

  “Depends on who’s asking.” I say, still trying to hide how flustered I am.

  “So who's asking?” He counters.

  “You tell me. You came here. This whole conversation? Totally your idea.” I say, my defenses going up.

  He smiles, and laughs a little. My heart begins to race. And ache. This is the man who can disarm and subdue two squadrons of armed soldiers with just a stick and his bare hands, and yet he has somehow managed not to let any of that touch him.

  I, at least, have the neuroweave and seven other minds to shield me from the brutality it takes to do what I do. He doesn’t have that kind of buffer. And yet, for all his lethal capabilities he remains… tender. And safe.

  I never understood how that could be. Maybe I never will.

  And to really make things interesting… Sitting here with him, for the first time, truly free of the Conglomerate’s grip makes me think of all the questions we had for each other that we said we’d put on hold while he was playing both sides.

  Questions that I still don’t have answers to.

  “It feels so good.” He says, and I know he believes it. But is it though?

  “I’m sure.” I somehow manage to reply.

  “Oh. Uh... I’m sorry. That was insensitive of me. Your injuries were so severe. I can’t possibly imagine…” Sweet merciful higher powers, help me. Why do I love it when he sputters like this?

  “Please, like you’ve never been shanked by a hyper experimental uber-bot with dead eyes?” I say, finding my center as I slide into being glib and dismissive. “You have your own little collection of mortal wounds and look at you all alive and… stuff. I’m good. And I’m glad you feel good because nothing beats being free of that garbage fire of an evil empire Octavia runs.”

  “Yeah.” He says, still smiling from ear to ear. “I mean, it’s terrible, but I’m free. Finally free. I can do anything I want now. Be anything I want. Fight for whatever and whomever I want.”

  “You really can.” I say, grinning back at him.

  “So, who…” Five hells of Margh. “I mean, what are you gonna do now?”

  Someone kill me. Like, now. Please.

  “Hiiiiiiiiii!” A voice calls out as the door opens once more.

  “Oh.” The newcomer says
as her face falls. Just from that look, I know in my bones Z is the last person she wanted to see at my bedside.

  “Bellona, hello!” Z greets her. He's genuinely pleased to see her. “This is a really good skin.”

  “Isn’t it? I like it too. Thank you! Yeah.” Bell say, somehow managing to sound both saccharine and curt. “But we really do want to check up on Yuki, and by we, I mean the crew.”

  She gestures to the open door. Leon, Mila, Mick, Iñigo, Doctor Capaldi and Jean Philippe all file in one after the other. They're all skinned up because this helps the humans adjust better to them. In their actual bodies, they're walking weapons. The skins, at least, gave the Alliance visual cues to see that they were more than just that.

  “Bellona, for the last time, there’s no need to…” Doctor Capaldi says with a scowl. But Bell is quick on her feet to escort Z out. I don’t know if I want to hug her or throw something at her.

  “Now now, Agent Zavus, Doctor’s orders! We’ll send word when she’s ready for visitors, okay? You’re such a good…. captain! And I really do like your hair!” Bellona says as she ushers him out the door. "Remember, don’t call us! We’ll call you!”

  “Sure! Do you know my—“ Z says, but he's cut off when Bellona hits the trigger for the door to close.

  Mila just shakes her head, while Doctor Capaldi rolls his eyes. Leon and Jean Philippe look embarrassed by Bell’s behavior, while Mick and Iñigo pretend to find something interesting on the floor and the ceiling respectively.

  “Alor, ma fille, we should get an award for not hacking into Haven Five’s systems to care for you ourselves remotely.” Jean Philippe says jokingly. “We are, how do you say, the soul of restraint.”

  “Yeah, you should. I have half a mind to have the council bestow the Alliance Cluster on all of you. Every last one.” I smirk back at him. “I mean, if everyone on the Pernix is getting one, you should too.”

  “Humans are peculiar about their awards, solnyshka.” Mila says. “There are still too many who can barely accept us for what we are in these skins. I do not think bequeathing a human award to us would sit well with most.”

  “Have I ever mentioned that you are a major downer?” I ask Mila, only half kidding.

  “I’m not wrong though.” She counters.

  “Also true.” I say and let out a deep sigh, allowing myself to sink back into the pillows. “So… Looks like we won.”

  “Yeah, we did.” Leon says. “Just wanted to be here the moment you woke up. We all did.”

  “Fairly easy task, since none of them can block our access to the neuroweave.” Doctor Capaldi adds. “We knew the exact moment you opened your eyes.”

  “We wanted to make sure you were okay.” Bellona says. “And I mean, really okay.”

  “You guys aren’t usually this…” I begin to say, wondering why they were doting on me more than usual. But then I see it all over Leon’s face. And the Doctor's. “Oh. Right. That.”

  I scan their ‘faces’, realizing that no facial expression can truly capture what someone feels. Guilt. Anger. The kind of concern that aches so bad it can only come from love. But I knew. I felt it all. The neuroweave is funny like that.

  “It isn’t worth much, but I did ask you to forgive us, child.” The Doctor says.

  “You saw us die. Your pain had to be real if we wanted Octavia to believe she’d won.” Bellona says sadly. “I mean, it all went according to plan, but just the thought of…”

  “Well, it was my idea.” I said, overwhelmed as always at how much they all cared.

  “I don’t care! You shouldn’t have had to have lived through that!” Leon says indignantly. “She’s taken so much from you already!”

  I trace lazy lines over the scars on my palms. What could I say to that? Even if it wasn’t true, in the end Octavia had managed to make one of my nightmares come to life. Not only was I cut off from my family, but I also saw them destroyed at her hands.

  “I’m not one for all that space hocus pocus, but even I consider it providence that we were cut off from you in those moments.” The Doctor says. “We would have stormed that compound and ruined the plan had we felt what you did.”

  “I would have blown up every last one of them.” Mick says angrily.

  Iñigo stares at me, murder in his eyes.

  “Well, you are all the soul of restraint.” I say, tears welling up. I felt it all. How it tore them up inside. How shaken they were at being disconnected. “Well, thanks to Jean Philippe, Octavia’s going to try harder to disconnect us next time.

  “I can assure you her efforts will be unsuccessful.” JP offers.

  “Look, I made the call, and you guys did your part magnificently. All of you.” I pause for a moment, choosing my next words carefully.

  “Yeah, Octavia managed to hurt me again. And though it’s technically my fault because I allowed myself to be in that situation, it didn’t make it easier for any of us.” I continue. “But for better or for worse, I learned something new and very important. Even when she took you all from me, I didn’t break. I didn’t freeze up. I didn’t shut down. I didn’t go insane or go berserk. If anything, that was the best fight of my life.”

  Doctor Capaldi smiles, a fierce kind of pride glinting in his synthetic eyes. Soon, they all realize what this means to me.

  “That was one of the worst things she could have done to me and I survived it long enough to show her that she can’t break me anymore.” I say. “So how’s that for another win?”

  They all grin at me. They get it. They don’t have to like it. Leon and the Doctor certainly didn’t. But we take what we can.

  And we do.

  Tensions ease and the Doctor approaches the machines monitoring my life signs.

  “Well, looking through this chart, you’ll be out of here by tomorrow.” Doctor Capaldi says, changing the topic and interfacing with the datapad by my bedside. “That’s assuming that nobody’s been daft about your nanites and got the readings wrong. We can come get you then.”

  “We also wanted to give you this.” Leon says, handing me a small handmade doll. It had a mop of silver white hair and blue stitches across its face.

  “Princess Lahani made it for you, and Princess Kelna helped.” Leon adds, before sitting down at the foot of my hospital bed. “She insisted I give it to you the moment you woke up.”

  “You can thank them in person someday. Turns out we have a standing invitation to Faldan where the royal family is willing to sponsor us anything within reason.” Bellona says.

  “Thanks for coming to check on me.” I say.

  “It’s always good to know you’re well.” Iñigo says.

  “Yeah.” Mick adds.

  I beam. I swear I could take over the known galaxy with these guys.

  Before I can pour my heart out about how lucky I am to have the best family this side of the known universe, the door opens again and a familiar voice cuts through the mood.

  “Oh wow, am I interrupting anything?” Theron says. I can’t see him, but it sounds like he’s chewing.

  Bellona squeals in genuine surprise.

  “Just came here to deliver something.” He adds.

  I see him as the crew parts to let him through to my bedside. He’s holding a box of cookies in one hand and a half-eaten cookie in the other. Bellona squeals again when she spots the box of cookies and begins clapping happily.