by L. Fergus
“Do we know how many enemies were aboard the ship?” said Defiance.
“I’ve found twenty-two so far,” said Kita. “I don’t know how many are wandering below. I’ll call and ask the others if they’ve run into any. I’m sure we would have received a report if they ran into heavy resistance.”
“Find out. We can’t have them running loose on the ship.”
Kita raised an eyebrow about being ordered about. She quelled a flippant response. Defiance was doing her job. Still, she didn’t like taking orders from anyone, be it Collector or her girlfriend.
“Ladies, how’s the resistance down there? The Princess wants to know.” Will the others catch my sarcasm?
“None to speak of,” said Valor. “We’ve encountered a few guards guarding the humans, but they gave up easy.”
“You fill the brig up with prisoners, and they’re your problem,” said Kita seriously.
“So far it’s just twenty-four.”
“Twenty-four guards to guard twenty thousand people?” said Kita.
“They do lock the doors. I have no idea how they’re feeding them. We haven’t stopped to talk to anyone other than to let them out and tell them to report to general quarters.”
“We’ve run into a group of humans not locked up,” said Babydoll. “They were on some kind of work detail. The guard surrendered, which just made it easier to kill him or, at least, I assume it was a him—big bunny like head, tall, fluffy tail.”
Kita chuckled. “Yeah, that’s a male Verisom.”
“We have a few in the engine room. Some went quietly, others didn’t,” said Sheppard. “Everything is quiet down here. We’re guarding the two entrances.”
“Alright, thanks.” Kita sighed. “Very light,” said Kita to Defiance. “They don’t have much of a guard detail. I think they were counting on the door locks to do the job for them.”
“Well it worked,” Defiance grumbled.
“I doubt the crew knew what was happening or understood our allies had become the enemy.”
“I still don’t expect them to roll over like dogs.”
Kita shrugged. She didn’t blame the crew. In the absence of orders, they sat tight. How long would they have waited?
“Kita, I have the holotable working,” said Valentine.
“Good, thanks.” Maybe that’ll get Casey’s mind off the crew. “Come on, girls. Let’s see what’s out there.”
Kita approached the fifteen-foot table. On either end, the table displayed readouts of the ship’s biometrics and status of the squadrons. In the middle was a holographic rendering of local space. It showed Enterprise in the middle and five enemy ships in an arc from 270 degrees to 25 degrees at 15 degrees down angle.
A crewmember with the words AIR BOSS across his back went through the squadron readouts. All were red, except for one green that was blinking.
“We already have a fighter ready to go?” said Kita to the Air Boss as she touched the fighter icon.
“Hey, don’t do that!” said the Air Boss.
An image of a pilot appeared. “Hey! About time. I’m ready to launch. Let’s go, let’s go, let’s go. We’ve got enemies out there with asses that need kicking—”
The Air Boss closed the window.
“Who is that?” said Kita taken by the pilot’s enthusiasm, determination, and dedication. She wasn’t willing to send the pilot out alone, but she appreciated the gesture.
“That is Major Alex Garcia, affectionately known by her call sign Rainbow Jack. She’s one of the best wizzos we have.”
“What’s a wizzo?”
“A wild weasel—electronic warfare operator. Their job is to hunt down the enemies’ radar, and other electronic surveillance then jam or destroy them. They also will go ahead of the main fighter squadrons to set off enemy countermeasures then destroy them.”
Kita raised an eyebrow. “That’s a job that requires a lot of courage.”
“You’ve got to be crazy smart to do it. Rainbow Jack is one of the best.” A few more fighter icons turned green. “Looks like the squadrons are pulling themselves together.”
“How long until we have flight operations, Commander?” said Defiance.
“Unknown, Your Highness,” said the Air Boss. “I don’t know the status of the pilots or the ground crews.”
“Why don’t you find out? I don’t want to be a sitting duck when those enemy ships realize what’s happened.”
“Yes, Your Highness.” The Air Boss saluted and hurried away.
Kita leaned against the table and crossed her arms. “What’s the matter, Casey? I know you don’t like them, but this is extreme even for you.”
“They’re just lucky I haven’t shot any of them.”
“For the circumstances, I’d say they’re doing an excellent job. The bridge is almost staffed, fighters are coming online, I’m sure the rest of the ship is gearing up as fast as we can find people.”
Defiance glared. “How would you feel if you had disgusting worms oozing all over your swords? When the people who are supposed to defend it let the enemy have it without a fight?”
How did I end up defending humans? “We never told them the Verisom and Diamocks were the enemies. I submitted to them, so did you. They were just following our example. The crew doesn’t know you were nearly sold into slavery or that we’re no longer working with the Verisom or Diamocks. We haven’t given them any direction or told them anything about what’s happened. They can’t read our minds. Cut them some slack and give them a chance to catch up.”
“Should we tell that to our enemy?” Defiance yelled. “My crew is incompetent—please give us some extra time before attacking?”
The elevator opened. Sheppard and Stormy exited, both wearing their duty uniforms.
“That’s not fair to the crew, Casey,” said Sheppard as she stopped in front of Defiance and Kita. Kita had recalled them and kept them abreast of the conversation as they made their way from the engine room to the bridge.
“Oh, shut up, Admiral. You’re their leader. This is your fault. They should have fought for my ship. You,” Defiance pointed at Stormy, “are to hunt down those responsible for turning my ship over to the enemy.”
“What?” said Stormy sounding appalled.
“You’re a political officer, aren’t you? Find the traitors. Do what you’re trained to do.”
Stormy stood up straight. “I’m sorry, Your Highness, but my loyalty isn’t to you, it’s to Kita.”
“You traitor,” snarled Defiance. She grabbed Stormy’s eyes of providence from her collar and ripped them off.
“Ok, that’s enough,” said Kita standing up and moving between Stormy and Defiance. “You gave Amanda your blessing. You can’t renege on it now. I don’t know what your problem is, Casey, but you better solve it in a hurry. I plan on taking this ship into battle as soon as it’s operational. I won’t have a pouting princess with ruffled feathers get in the way. The crew is doing their job and getting the ship operational as fast as they can.
“Screaming and threatening them won’t help. I won’t have you act like my father, screaming and yelling, trying to get blood from a stone. The crew has been sitting for months and wants nothing more than to get a little revenge, especially after I tell them what happened to you.”
Defiance reached to slap Kita, but Kita caught her hand.
“Ah-ah. There are many times when slapping me is appropriate, but now is not one of them.”
Defiance turned red. “You tell them what happened to me and I’ll—”
“You’ll what?” said Kita. “There’s nothing you can do to me.”
“I can break up with you,” hissed Defiance.
“Ok, bye. I’ll be sad, and my heart will hurt. I’ll probably cry on Rene’s shoulder.” Sheppard rolled her eyes. “But the same thing goes for you as for Cotton. I won’t bend. I’m a fixed point.”
“You are such a bitch.”
“I know, but you knew that. Same as I know it about you
.”
“I hate you,” snarled Defiance.
Kita shrugged.
“It’s still my ship,” roared Defiance.
“Good luck getting someone to command it,” said Sheppard.
“What?” screamed Defiance. “Are you betraying me too, Admiral?”
“No, but I’ll turn in my globe and anchor before I’ll let someone treat the crew and ship like this. We’re not some toy for you to play with or dogs to come when called. I’ll tell the crew to stand down or better yet, I’ll tell them to keep going and—” Sheppard’s elbow glowed blue. The glow raced down her arm as she punched Defiance in the mouth.
Defiance flew backward, crashing into the side of a workstation. Blood poured from her mouth as teeth fell out. Defiance tried to get up by reaching for the top of the workstation. Her hand missed, and she fell back to the floor.
Kita led the other Angels over to check on her. She could hear soft sobs coming from under Defiance’s hair. Kita stroked the dark locks a few times, before picking Defiance up and sitting her upright.
“Are you ok, Casey?” said Kita.
“My mouth,” Defiance sobbed in a mushy voice.
“It’ll be ok. We’ll find all the teeth. They go back in easy enough.” Kita picked them up as she found them.
“I can’t believe she hit me.” Defiance spoke with a noticeable lisp.
“Every once in a while we need to get hit in the mouth to knock some sense back into us. That’s all Rene did. It was nothing personal. She was just standing up for the crew and showing you the light.”
“But…”
“Just take it as the lesson it is. You may be a fallen angel, but even we have limits. Sheppard showed you one.”
“I’m sorry…” Defiance said with a sniff.
“I know. You can apologize to Amanda and Rene. They’re the ones you offended, not me.”
“Ok.”
Kita helped Defiance to her feet. “I’m sorry, Amanda and Rene. I was out of line and abused my authority,” she said as she hung her head.
“Apology accepted, Your Highness,” said Sheppard.
“You can keep my eyes,” said Stormy. “I’ll find a different uniform to wear.”
Kita cringed inwardly. “Talk to Denver. She’ll get you one of mine.”
“I guess I deserve that,” said Defiance. She sighed. “Admiral, can you get the ship ready to fight?”
“Wilco at best speed,” Sheppard said with a smile.
Kita put her arm around Defiance. “It’ll be alright. Just give her some time. Come here, let me help you put those teeth back in.”
“Come on,” said Valentine to Stormy. “I’ll get you a new uniform made for you.”
As Kita helped Defiance put her teeth back in place, Anderson approached. “Your Highness, Captain, we received a message from the Diamock ship, Bite Lock. They want to know what happened and if we know anything about the freighter.”
“Ahh…” Kita bit her lip.
“Tell them it’s a Free Zentonian protestor ship,” said Defiance. “We don’t have the resources to detain them and interrogate them on how they knew we were out here.”
“Yes, Your Highness.” Anderson kept his face straight, but Kita could feel his doubt.
“Will that work?” said Kita having her own doubts.
“From the reports, I’ve read the Zentonians do it all the time to Verisom. It shouldn’t be anything too out of the ordinary. It’ll buy us the time we need to get ready.”
“I extrapolated the enemies goals from studying the mission history stored in Enterprise’s command computer,” said Valentine. She stood at one end of the holotable with the rest of the Angels gathered around as well as the higher-ranking crewmembers. “They were studying fighters and how to defend against them.”
“There goes our strategic and tactical advantage,” groaned Sheppard.
“Not necessarily, Admiral,” Valentine said the word with so much disdain she could have cut Sheppard.
Kita cringed. “Denver, you don’t have to do this,” Kita said privately over the comm.
“I just don’t wish to answer to her ever again.”
“You’re not answering to her. You don’t answer to anyone. You’re helping me help Casey. She and I will take care of Rene.”
“Then tell her to keep her comments to herself,” Valentine said aloud.
Before Kita could speak, Sheppard said, “I owe the Angels an apology. Denver, I especially owe you an apology. I made a series of poor choices that led to some big mistakes, and I acted horribly to all of you, especially you, Denver. I treated you worse than a machine.
“I thought I was doing what was right by the emperor. I believed Kita was a paramount threat that needed to be brought to heel. I was positive she was going to doom us all. I could say it was Galina’s fault—that I followed her orders—but I won’t. My actions are my responsibility, and it’s my fault. I killed some very dear friends and…I killed Spike and Quill.” Tears streamed down her face as she choked up. “I’ll never forgive myself for pushing that button. I was a fool, and I’m sorry—I’m sorry I ruined our lives and killed our friends. You have every right to hate me. I deserve it. Just know I’m sorry. If I could sacrifice my life to bring them back, I would. You deserve them, not me. I’m just…I’m just pathetic, and I don’t deserve to stand with you.”
Sheppard turned and fled. Kita phased in front of Sheppard and caught her in an embrace.
“Shh, shh,” Kita whispered in Sheppard’s ear. “It’s alright, but you can’t run from this. You do deserve to be one of us. I say so. You have to face them. They were your friends. They gave you your chance to speak. Let them speak.
“Not everyone hates you. I don’t hate you. I love you. You were a great mentor to my girls, and you taught them a lot. You stepped in and took over when I was imprisoned in that tree. I didn’t ask you to, but you did anyway. You could have left them to Galina. I don’t think I ever said thank you, but I owe you so much. Without you, Spike and Quill would never have grown up to be the girls they were. I wouldn’t change anything. Now, come on. Let’s see what the others have to say.”
Kita led Sheppard by the hand back to the holotable. Valor, Starlight, Defiance, and Stormy were waiting, looking concerned.
“Rene, you ok?” said Valor. She glided up and gave Sheppard a hug.
“No,” whispered Sheppard.
“We're here for you,” said Starlight.
The other new Angels joined in the hug.
“Do you even know what this is about?” scolded Anthrax to the new Angels.
“Not really,” said Stormy.
“I do,” said Defiance. “Rene was following the orders of her commanding officer. It’s not her fault. She was doing her duty to me.”
Anthrax bared her shark-like teeth. “That doesn’t excuse what she did. She knows right from wrong. She should have known an illegal order when she heard it. She killed Nina and Tink. She may not have pulled the trigger, but it’s her fault.”
“No!” cried Sheppard. “I had no idea Galina was going after the families. They were supposed to be hostages. I never would have killed them. Please, you have to believe me.”
“What about the others that were slaughtered?” said Tenshi.
Sheppard hung her head. “I knew about directive Seventy-seven. I never thought she’d execute it. I…I underestimated how much Galina hated Kita. I should have seen it. I should have known all of her decisions were made in a jealous rage…but…but I thought she was right.”
“There’s your problem,” Toxic said snidely.
“No. Rene was doing exactly what I expect all of my officers to do,” retorted Defiance.
“What’s the rule about sleeping with your superior officer?” said Anthrax.
Defiance looked at Sheppard. Sheppard closed her eyes and nodded.
“We all know Galina loved Kita more,” said Aspen. “Sheppard was just a way for Galina to pass the time.”
; Fresh tears welled in Sheppard’s eyes.
“That be harsh comen’ from ya,” said Raptor. “I be thinken’ Sheppard loved Galina.”
“I did, but I grew scared of her. I feared to go to sleep, that I might not wake up. I did whatever I needed to keep her happy.”
“It sounds like we have abuse,” said Stormy.
“The only one doing the abusing was Sheppard,” said Valentine.
“That’s not fair,” said Valor.
“You weren’t on the receiving end of it,” screamed Valentine. “It almost cost me my relationship with my partner, and it damn near cost me my life. You want to know how many times I wanted to put my pistol to my head? More than I can count.”
“Whoa, Val, it’s alright,” said Toxic as she hugged Valentine.
Phoenix stood by looking bored.
“This does not sound like the Rene I know,” said Starlight. “She’s been wise, kind, and willing to show us how Angels are supposed to be.”
“Give her time,” said Toxic, the glow from under her hood dimming.
“I agree with Hali,” said Kamikaze.
She received a round of surprised looks from the Valkyrie Angels.
“Sheppard was my mentor as well as Spike and Quill’s. She taught us so much, and when my moms vanished, she took care of us like we were her own. The flock wasn’t kind to Sheppard during the Harbinger invasion. I was surprised Sheppard did her duty. I can see where she’d come to trust Galina more than us. I don’t blame her for what happened. This was a monster of our own making. I hope she finds peace. She may owe some of you an apology, but we all owe her one.”
“I’m not apologizing to her,” screamed Valentine.
“We can stand here and yell at each other until all the suns go supernova,” said Babydoll, “but only one person’s opinion matters and she made up her mind when she kicked Sheppard’s ass in this very room.” Babydoll looked at Kita.
Kita smiled at Babydoll. Thanks for putting me in a tough spot, Kerri.
Babydoll smiled back and gave Kita a wink.
Kita looked around defiantly, daring anyone to challenge her. “I have made up my mind about Rene. I know what she’s done and why. There is one person I want to hear from. She lost the love of her life that day and hasn’t said a word. She’s managed her broken heart by herself.”