by Zen DiPietro
“That sounds perfect,” Brannin said. He looked to Fallon, questioningly.
“Absolutely. When are you supposed to meet them?”
“Now. They’ll be having drinks already.”
A drink sounded good to her. “Great. I’ll buy the first round.”
“I’ve never been much of a drinker,” Brannin admitted.
“Oh, well that’s perfect. This is absolutely the right night to start.”
They laughed as they left the infirmary.
“What a lovely surprise,” Jerin said as Brannin sat next to her. Fortunately, they’d chosen a large table in the back of the room that easily accommodated two extras.
Brak and Fallon sat, with Fallon next to Kellis and Brak on Jerin’s other side.
Fallon enjoyed the meal. Not only did she have good news for her team when they returned, she also had an opportunity to catch up with her friends.
She’d never seen Brannin so relaxed and engaged in a social setting. She recalled him hovering around the edges of such gatherings, cordial, but slightly formal. He seemed more confident, more animated. Happier. He and Jerin talked most of the evening, often quietly having side conversations while the rest of the group discussed something else.
All in all, it was a lovely evening.
But Fallon couldn’t wait for her team to return so they could move their plan forward.
Brak joined Fallon for a run the next morning. Despite not being able to exercise for the past two weeks, Fallon kept up with Brak as they ran around the track above the gym. Brak made her work for it though. As always.
“So your team will be back in a day or two?” Brak wasn’t even winded. She simply looked fantastic, with her strong body and her iridescent scales.
Fallon was sure she did not look fantastic. She was soaked with sweat and probably red-faced. “Yes.”
“Can I assume that whenever they get done with whatever they’re doing, you have plans to do things I shouldn’t know about?”
“Fair assessment,” Fallon agreed.
“Ah.” Brak said no more, and Fallon appreciated her discretion.
“I do have plans that involve the Onari, though. I’d like to talk to you, Jerin, and Kellis privately at some point today.” It took some effort to spare enough of her lung power to get such a long sentence out.
“Ahhh.” This time, Brak sounded satisfied. “I can coordinate that, if you like.”
“That’d be great.”
“Okay. Are you ready to get serious about this run?”
Fallon wondered how much more serious they could get, but she wasn’t one to pass up a challenge. “Let’s go.”
Fallon invited her friends from the Onari to her quarters. Once they’d settled in the sitting area, she launched right in. She looked from Jerin to Brak to Kellis as she talked.
“You know that I’m working an off-the-books mission. I’m also pretty sure you know that I’m working directly against all official and unofficial PAC departments.”
She saw no flickers of surprise. She continued, “Anyone who wants to know nothing more of this should say so now.”
Silence.
“Okay.” She forged ahead. “Anyone who doesn’t want to get involved with espionage and, possibly, treason, should say so now.”
Still not a peep.
“Really? I’m talking about some bad shit here, and once you know about it, there’s no not knowing it. You’ll be in, whether you like it or not.”
Kellis spoke up. “Could you move on? We didn’t have you on our ship for months because we thought you were selling muffins.” She glanced at Jerin and her cheeks grew pink.
Jerin waved a hand at Kellis. “You said what we’re all thinking.”
Fallon took a breath, preparing to say words that no BlackOp ever did. “My team and I, as you may have suspected, are part of Blackout. Someone corrupt has taken it over, and we’re trying to take control. If we don’t, every treaty the PAC has ever signed will be publicly broken, and we’ll be embroiled in war for decades to come.”
She gave them a moment to process that, then dropped another bomb on them. “We’re setting up a rebellion, right here on Dragonfire. And we want the Onari to be part of it. I want you to make Dragonfire your home port. I’ll ensure that you’re properly funded, and in return, you’ll be our allies and, perhaps, run missions for us.”
“What could we do to help? You already have a top-notch infirmary and CMO here on the station,” Jerin said.
“We do,” Fallon acknowledged. “But we need Brak. Whatever Krazinski is planning, it involves the kind of dangerous technology that blew a chunk out of my brain. I need her, ready and able to analyze any data, or any medical technology I discover. Possibly to look after other test subjects, if we find them.” She shifted her gaze to Kellis. “Kellis has already expressed a strong desire to be of help, because of her abhorrence for corruption and the suffering it causes. She brings technological and mechanical expertise that could be invaluable to us.”
Kellis nodded.
“And me?” asked Jerin. “What do I have to offer?”
Fallon smiled. “To be honest, I’m not sure. Yet. The Onari is a heck of a ship though, with a heck of a crew, and I need all the allies I can get.”
“Fair enough.” Jerin looked satisfied. “Who all is in on this?”
“My team, including Ross. Nevitt. Arin and Endra know something’s up, but none of what I’ve told you here. Wren knows I’m a BlackOp, but little else.”
“That’s it?” Jerin’s eyebrows arched high. “That’s a pretty small rebellion.”
“I guess I’m conservative when it comes to gambling with people’s lives,” Fallon returned dryly. “I’d like to bring Arin in, but I’m not certain he’d want to be involved, and once I reveal the situation, I can’t just let him say ‘no, thank you,’ and go on about his life.”
“What if we’d declined?” Jerin asked.
“I didn’t think you would. But if you had, I’d have had to kill you,” Fallon deadpanned. When no one laughed, she added, “I’m kidding.”
Kellis and Jerin looked unimpressed with her humor, while Brak remained unaffected.
“Tough room.” Fallon shrugged. “My team would have found that hilarious.”
“I guess I’ll have to work on finding death threats amusing, given the people I’ll be working with,” Jerin noted.
“You’ll get the hang of it,” Fallon assured her. This time, Jerin and Kellis both looked mildly amused. It wasn’t the reaction she’d have gotten from Peregrine, Hawk, and Raptor, but she had hope for these three.
Fallon related the conversation she’d had with Jerin, Kellis, and Brak to Nevitt, then returned to her quarters. Once her team made it back from Zerellus, she’d arrange a meeting with all her allies. Her entire rebellion, together in one room. She couldn’t wait.
She enjoyed a long, steamy hydro-shower, standing under the water for far longer than necessary. As she dried off, she traced the tattoo on her stomach, hoping her teammates would return soon.
With her brain officially certified as ready for service, she finally felt like she had what she needed to take over Blackout. She still required the intel to make it all happen, but she’d get that. She was no longer the pawn in Krazinski’s game. She wasn’t even a mere king. She owned the entire chessboard.
It was hubris to think that way. She knew that. But people like her needed an excessive ego to be able to do their jobs. Fallon wasn’t too good to let some healthy self-aggrandizement ease her way.
As she got into bed she smiled, thinking about how much ass Avian Unit would soon kick.
Fallon leaped to her feet almost as fast as her eyes opened, then froze, listening for whatever had woken her.
She touched the back of her waistband, making sure her knife was in place. Creeping toward the doorway, she stayed right outside its sensor range. Waiting.
The door opened and she raised her fists, prepared to take down her opponent by
any means necessary.
“Relax,” a familiar voice said. “How about you don’t attack me this time?”
“Lights!” she called, even as Raptor snaked an arm around her waist and pressed against her. “How about you don’t sneak up on me when I’m sleeping?”
“But it’s fun,” he argued.
He was right. She loved the feeling of the adrenaline zinging through her. And she was glad to see him. But she scowled at him anyway.
He grinned. “Miss me?”
“No.”
“Good. I didn’t miss you, either.” His other arm came around her and they leaned into each other. She let his warmth soak into her.
“Where are Peregrine and Hawk?”
His arms rubbed against her sides as he shrugged. “Off to the pub, I think.”
“What about the mission debriefing?”
“It’s the middle of the night. They thought they’d let you sleep.”
“I guess you didn’t tell them you were planning to wake me up anyway.”
His smile was wicked. “Nope.”
“Can you at least tell me if the mission was successful? You’re back awfully fast.”
“Completely successful.”
“Good.” She studied his expression, part playful, part intense. He seemed happy. “So this is an ongoing thing between us?” She hadn’t been certain of their relationship protocol when they boarded Dragonfire, and they hadn’t discussed it in the meantime.
He looked down at her, suddenly serious. “You were the one who decided to change the parameters of our relationship when we were on the Nefarious.” He dropped his arms, stepping back. “I guess you’ve changed your mind, now that you have your memories back?”
Without giving her a chance to answer, he launched into a stream of profanity that would have made Hawk proud, then spun on his heel and strode out the door of her bedroom. “I should have expected that. You’ve always run away from me,” he called back as he walked through the common area to the exit. “You know what? Fuck you. I’m done.”
The doors to her bedroom closed in her face.
“Security override,” Fallon barked, then gave her code to the computer.
The doors whisked open and she charged in. Electricity streaked down her spine and through her limbs. She was more than ready to fight.
Two surprised faces turned toward her.
“Fuck me?” she hissed at Raptor as she stepped in close to him. “Fuck you. I ask one question and you storm out on me? Bullshit.”
She glanced at Ross, who looked surprised but entertained. “Excuse us.” She skewered Raptor with a look and stalked to the nearest bedroom.
“That’s Hawk’s.” Raptor didn’t earn himself any points with his dry observation.
“Fine!” She stomped to the second bedroom and went in. She stood, arms crossed, waiting for him to follow.
When the doors closed behind him, she launched her assault. “You—”
“I’m sorry.”
“What?” She searched his face, but his expression was as soft as his voice.
“I thought you were going to blow me off again,” he explained. “I guess I was more worried about that than I realized. I’m sorry.”
She’d been ready for a fight, and now he wasn’t cooperating. The man was impossible. “How do you know I’m not blowing you off?”
His whole face lit with amusement. “You didn’t chase me down and misuse your security override to tell me you want to be just friends.”
She tried to find some part of that to argue with, but couldn’t. “Prelin’s ass! Stop being right.”
He laughed. “I really pissed you off, didn’t I?” He stepped closer.
She scowled at him.
“Good.”
“How is that good?” she snapped.
“It means that I finally matter to you.”
“You’ve always—”
“Kind of. As long as it didn’t get in the way of our job.”
Her irritation burned off. He wasn’t wrong. “I thought you felt the same about it.”
“I did. I mean, not at the very first. But then we were together, as partners and sometimes more, and that worked. I was good with it being that way.”
“Then I went and changed things on the Nefarious, after I got burned.”
“Yeah,” he agreed. “You started it. Changed us.” He rubbed his ear and stared past her to the wall. “When you lost your memory, it was like a reset. You didn’t remember us. I figured maybe that was better, so I told you as little as possible. But there was still a spark between us. And you wanted to actually be with me—for real, not as stress relief after a near miss. I started thinking about it as a real possibility.”
“It was never just stress relief,” she told him. “It was more like, when the chips were down, all the stuff about not being together didn’t matter.”
His expression softened. “I know.”
She sat on his bed. “In my quarters a minute ago, I was only trying to clarify. We’d never talked—”
“Like I said, I jumped to a conclusion. I was wrong. But I’ve already said ‘I’m sorry’ twice now, and I’m not doing it again.” He sat next to her with a teasing smile.
“Okay. So where does this leave us?”
He leaned in and kissed her neck, right over her carotid artery. “No idea.” His hair brushed against her ear and she could smell its familiar scent—unchanged after all these years.
She ignored it. She had to be entirely clear with him. “I’m still involved with Wren. I think. I mean, since we’ve been back she and I haven’t…” Yeah, there was no good way to finish that sentence. “But she and I aren’t finished. There’s still something there.”
“I know. But would you be here right now if you’d never married her?”
She had to think about that for a minute. Being with Wren had opened her up to possibilities she’d never considered. “No.”
He moved closer and kissed the corner of her mouth. “Exactly. So I don’t care.”
“Maybe you don’t care tonight. But maybe you will tomorrow.”
He covered her hands with his. “I’ve had plenty of time to think this through. There will never be anyone but you for me. And I know you’ll never share what you and I have with anyone else either. So if she’s the adapter that makes the two of us fit, I’m good with that.”
“What about monogamy?” she asked. “I was raised to think it matters.”
He curled his fingers around her hands. “So don’t pick up any stray lovers and you can be monogamous with both of us.”
She laughed. “That’s not how it works.”
He slid his hands up her forearms. “It does if it works for us.”
She sighed. “This love stuff is foolish and messy. There’s a reason I wanted to keep it professional.”
“Yes, I know.” He leaned in close to whisper in her ear. “Also, ha ha. You said ‘love.’”
Dammit. He was right. But she felt strange about the idea. She didn’t want to be less than loyal to Raptor or Wren. “What if you change your mind?”
“I won’t. So shut up.” He shifted so his lips were a breath from hers.
She shut up.
She woke up alone in Raptor’s room. After a quick shower she put her clothes back on so she didn’t have to run them through the processor. They were lounge clothes, but she’d dash back to her own quarters and get dressed. Nobody would see.
But when she stepped out of the room, her team had already assembled in the sitting area. Hawk, Peregrine, and Ross glanced at her from seated positions without pausing their conversation.
Fallon turned her back on them to look toward Raptor in the kitchenette. She tried to send him a message with her eyes. No one is surprised by this?
He arched an eyebrow at her.
Of course they’d figured it out. They were intelligence operatives, for Prelin’s sake. They’d simply been minding their own business all these months.
&n
bsp; She saw Raptor silently laughing at her as he approached and handed her a cup of hot tea. “Here.”
“Thanks.” She sat with the others. “It’s good to have you back.”
Hawk winked at her. “We missed you too, kid. Wasn’t the same without you.”
“What did you find?” She sipped her tea.
“Everything we needed,” Peregrine answered. “It was almost too easy.”
“‘Too easy’ as in ‘it must be a trap’?”
“I don’t think so.” Raptor had taken a seat on the couch. “It’s just that Colb is staying in plain sight, behind several layers of security. It wasn’t hard for us to get a good look at it all to see exactly what we were dealing with. I mean, it would have been impossible for your average Joe, but we knew what we were looking for.”
“Right.” Colb had such a high profile that if anything happened to him, it would immediately be noticed and featured on every news cycle. He probably had some provisions in place as well, as security against being kidnapped by Blackout. Certain documents and statements, probably, that would be released in the event of his capture. It was what Fallon would have done, and what Blackout would expect.
“So we can get in to see him?” Fallon asked. “Without Blackout seeing us do it?”
“I’m still working out a few details,” Raptor said. “But yes.”
“Anything happen on Dragonfire while we were gone?” Hawk asked.
“Yes. Brak approved me for physical activity and I’ve recruited the Onari. Jerin, Brak, and Kellis are with us.”
“Wow,” Hawk said. “That’s quite a development.”
Peregrine nodded. “That’s great.”
Raptor only smiled. Was he smiling at her more than usual, or the regular amount? She frowned at him, but that only made him grin outright.
“So when do we go see Colb?” she asked.
“I should know later today,” Raptor answered.
“Good.” She sipped her tea. “Anything else to report?”
They shook their heads.
“In that case…” She set her cup on the table and stood. “I’m going to get dressed and start my day. Some of us have to work for a living.” She smiled at their pretend outrage before slipping out the door. “Keep me posted.”