Free Fleet Box Set 1

by Michael Chatfield

  After a few minutes of silence, Rick began talking again. “James, you need to get some sleep and have a talk with Yasu.”

  If there was something I didn’t want to do, it was have a talk with Yasu.

  “Hear me out,” he said, forestalling my complaints. “You’re going to have the Wake-Up drained from you and a solid eight hours then have a talk with her when your head’s clearer. Non-optional. I’ll have your security detail hold you down if I have to.”

  The intensity of his eyes showed me he wasn’t lying. Thinking about being dragged to my room, kicking and screaming, did not paint a pretty picture. “Fine, I’ll have some sleep as long as I can sleep in my Mecha.”

  “I don’t know how you can sleep in that thing, but fine.”

  We finished off our food quickly. The sooner I finished, the sooner I could detox and get back to work, I thought as we went to my room. A doctor waited outside of it with a detox injection to clear my system.

  I really need to just get them added to my auto injector.

  They put it into the injector port of my Mecha; the auto injector system put it everywhere in my body. I started to not feel so good on my feet as I stumbled into my room and lay on the floor, not even able to make it to the bed.

  “Help me roll him over,” Rick said.

  Two Mechas turned my body so I was lying on my back on the floor. With that, I let sleep take me and the ghosts of the brothers and sisters I’d lost visited me.

  ***

  Yasu had been thinking once more, when another meal was passed under the hatch she’d broken. The hatch was lifted up and then the tray was tossed in. She ate it slowly. Without any exercise, she’d put on weight, though it didn’t matter. None of it really mattered after she’d seen the look of hatred and sadness in James’s eyes. How she’d felt his trust leave her. She felt like such an idiot for listening to Takahashi and the “old ways.” She’d messed up everything she’d had with James and he would never trust her again. Takahashi had been wrong about him. All he saw was the gamer. He didn’t see Salchar the commander. He hadn’t seen what James could do up close and thus he had no respect for the one man who probably deserved it the most.

  After the talks she and James had had about his inability to trust anyone, she understood how paranoid he was and that she’d stabbed him in the back. In his eyes, she hadn’t just tried to kill him; she betrayed the last shred of tentative connection they possessed. She felt miserable.

  The food was bland and tasteless as she stared at a bulkhead Takahashi had sliced through. She thought of the looks from Janice and Dave that they’d given James, of sorrow and pity and then the rock-hard, emotionless masks they’d worn as Janice and Calerd pulled her from her Mecha and placed her in James’s closet.

  The hatch moved to the side. Rick stood in the doorway. He stepped in while the hatch closed behind him.

  “Why did you do it? And no bullshit.” His tone brooked no argument.

  She could see how Rick and James had grown: Rick becoming a confident, reliable, and humorous commander, while James had fully embodied Salchar, being a calming force when needed, but ever the leader who charged with his people instead of staying back.

  Rick clearly wasn’t joking around now.

  “I thought he was sleeping with another female member of the crew,” she said flatly.

  “He would never do that. He respects you too much for that, though it seems like that trust and respect wasn’t reciprocated.”

  Rick’s words hit her like blades as she bit her lip to stop tears. She couldn’t remember when she last cried, but from a few words, it was all she could do to stop herself from sobbing. Once she was sure she had control over her own voice, she started talking.

  “I just wanted to find out why he was spending all of his time away from me.”

  Rick’s eyes softened a bit. “Why didn’t you talk to him?”

  “Talk to him? He’s always doing something, around someone. People are always listening. I can’t just talk to him. He’ll brush me off, send me to meetings for him, and give me a room so he can hide in an obscure closet.” She waved at the room.

  “He did those things because he didn’t want to place pressure on you. He knew that you didn’t want the marriage. Hell, he didn’t, but you are married and he wanted to respect you. He wanted to gradually know what was allowed and not, but he’s been so busy running the fleet and even that’s been impossible. With us going back to Earth, you’ll be able to divorce him or be free of him one way or another.” Rick’s eyes were dark as he looked at the floor.

  Yasu couldn’t understand it. Being free of that crazy, annoying, stubborn, idiotic man was what she dreamt of. Now, when told that she would be free of him if he was dead or legally when she got to Earth, she felt at a loss of words. She couldn’t remember her life before James had pulled her and a band of recruits together into a working squad. He’d laid down the rules to keep people civilized and then overthrown their masters with ingenuity, with a forum made of data pads and the stubborn will that it would be done. Finally by taking the second-biggest Syndicate post in the universe in one move.

  “No.” Her fists bunched.

  “What was that?” Rick leaned closer.

  She grabbed his battle suit, suddenly coming to her full height, five centimeters taller than Rick. She could hear the hatch being thrown aside. “I’m not leaving him.” Her eyes locked with his.

  He held up his hand, stopping the Mechas from taking her down as a small, sad smile spread across his face. “I thought I saw a spark between you two.” He held her hands gently as she relaxed, her cheeks red. “If you want to keep your marriage, you’re going to have to fight for it and bring it to life.” The sadness and anger in his eyes was replaced with happiness and relief, as if he’d had the weight of the Resilient lifted from his shoulders. “Are you willing to fight for it?”

  “Yes.” Yasu looked at the floor and, slowly, up at Rick, who still held her hands, now not gripping his battle suit.

  “Good. Follow me.”

  She was whisked out of the room as Rick marched forward, dragging her by the hand. He jumped in the lift, sending them to the level the bridge was on.

  The protection detail tensed as she came close.

  “Move it!” Rick said.

  “She’s not to be allowed in there with him.”

  “She’s his damned wife, and I doubt she’s going to be able to kill him while he’s in his Mecha. Plus, I’m making it an order. I will pull you off that door if need be.” Rick’s eyes were ablaze.

  “Scan her,” the man who had stopped them said to his team member, who passed a scanner over her quickly.

  “She’s clean.” Sighing and obviously uncomfortable, the questioning guard opened the door with a code and Rick pushed her inside.

  “Lock it,” he said as the hatch shut, a look of terror on Yasu’s face.

  Locking bolts held the door firmly closed as she scanned the room. The light was dim but just enough for her to see outlines. Like the Mecha lying on the floor thrashing about and mumbling. She watched James as he slept, fighting his demons and talking to people he’d lost. She had never seen him like this before. She’d heard of it before from the people she talked to and trained. The higher up someone was who actually cared for their people, the more ghosts they slept with.

  She knew that pain from losing those who she had known in their squad, and those she’d known as Salchar created the Free Fleet.

  She felt a need to stop the pain that was written on his face, to hold him and let him share his burden. She knew such actions would only result in him pushing her away, so she sat and watched over him as he slept. She would wait for him this time.

  ***

  I woke with a start. I never woke peacefully anymore. As I saw my sensor registered another person, I rolled, pulling my pistol as I did so and aiming at them.

  The shadow didn’t move as my Mecha queried the person’s IFF tag.

  “Yasu.”
I stood up and holstered my pistol. I could still feel the fatigue as I raised the light level of the room so that we could see each other clearly and I took off my helmet.

  “You need to sleep more,” she said softly, looking away as if in a—dare I say—submissive manner, yet I was still too angry to take her tone into account.

  “I would if I wasn’t running a fleet and worried about people killing me in my sleep because they don’t think I’m fit for command.” You know, the very fear I told you about. I bit off any more words. My whole body was tense; I forced it and myself to relax. “I guess we should have a talk about what that was all about. You wouldn’t be in my room otherwise, I would hope and think.” I ground out the last part, making it clear how I felt if she was in my room for any other reason.

  “Rick locked me in here. I checked the door. It’s locked and sealed,” she said into the floor at my feet. She tensed slightly. “So ask away.”

  “Did you attack me because you didn’t think I was able to command this fleet?” I asked without thinking.

  “No.”

  I glowered at her, trying to discern whether she was lying. To be honest, I had expected my authority to be challenged, though I thought it would’ve been a lot sooner.

  Always be on the lookout for those who want what you have. I had promised to look after this fleet. I was no military genius, as was evident in the manner of how the Free Fleet personnel and Commandos acted. Salutes, big ceremonies, and speeches were rare, practically nonexistent. This force didn’t need to be babied, and things such as marching and drill were only used as punishment.

  I had often thought of how I was “playing” commander, but after Parnmal, I knew I had to embody that person. I truly became Salchar, which had been reinforced by Yasu sitting in front of me.

  “Why did you assist Takahashi in his coup?” My eyes never left Yasu’s downward-cast face.

  “I didn’t know it was a coup.” She looked into my eyes. “You’re my commander. I would do anything you ordered me to. I and anyone in this fleet would follow you into hell.”

  That’s a boldface lie. I wouldn’t follow someone who had gotten so many people killed.

  She continued, her voice rising as she got angry. “I know that you don’t think of yourself as the CFF, but you are, so you best not be giving me that look, James Cook!” The fire in her rose as I sat back, taking a few minutes before I said something else.

  “So what were you doing, assaulting my little cubby?”

  To my surprise, Yasu looked at her feet as she blushed. It was the first time that I could remember her without that trained mask for more than a few moments, and actually blushing. I knew it was real by the awkward way she tried to hide it.

  “I thought you were having a relationship outside of marriage, which is not taken lightly in Japan, at least not in traditional families. Whenever I tried to talk to you, you were surrounded by people and I wasn’t sure if I could get a truthful answer out of you or if you would be embarrassed if I was wrong. The more you pushed me away and brought others closer, the more I thought you had someone else.”

  I thought I could hear sadness in her voice. But that couldn’t be. She was the Blade Mistress, after all.

  “Every time you slept, you slept somewhere new. But on this ship, you slept in the same cubby. I didn’t think of any reason for you to sleep in the cubby instead of the captain’s quarters. I thought of it as proof of your guilt. I didn’t think that you were trying to give me room so that I wouldn’t feel pressured in our marriage. I’m such a baka! Takahashi kept pressuring me, telling me that we must strike now or my family’s name would be tarnished. He started as soon as he heard from the Sato sisters that you kept away from me, used meetings to separate us, even training of the AMC.”

  “He wished violence from the start?”

  “To him, anything dishonorable deserves violence of some sort. He is a very old-fashioned man.”

  I nodded, having seen Takahashi myself. “So what should I have been doing?” I put my anger away for a second. This seemed to return some of her hard exterior as she talked.

  “Well, we should’ve consummated our marriage at least once at this point. And if we are to sleep, we sleep together so as to share in our problems of the day and relax so that when battle comes, our minds are cleared and our blades are ready. Instead, you’ve only slept in a bed once with me, when I forced you to, and then you left as soon as you awoke.”

  There was no missing the hurt behind those words. I sat down on the bed, a little shocked. She had actually wanted me to be in the same room as her, consummating our marriage. My blood pressure skyrocketed and I felt more awake without Wake-Up than I had been in months. I blushed like a schoolgirl.

  “Ah, uh, well then. I think we need to learn to communicate more.” I stumbled through my words as I saw the corners of Yasu’s mouth twitch upward while I collected myself. “So, what should we do from here?”

  “I’ll probably be thrown into the brig for assaulting you, as well as face a bunch of charges. Then shipped to Parnmal with Takahashi?” Her statement turned into a question.

  “Well, did you attack me with a desire to take command or disrupt the attack on Sol system in any way, or affect this ship or fleet?”

  “No.”

  “Then I see it as a violent altercation of team members. This type of thing has happened before.” I shrugged as she visibly relaxed.

  “What about Takahashi?”

  I leaned back as I became more serious, my voice dark. “This might be an issue between us, but his involvement is unwarranted. He was to become a battalion commander. He should have confronted me and made me aware of this issue, not insisted on attacking me. His purpose was violence. He wanted retribution for seemingly tarnishing your name, which does not make him innocent. Though this is a strange situation, I will waive most of the charges, but he will remain without rank or privileges. He will become a grunt again in the AMC. Unless someone warrants otherwise. It will be put before a tribunal.” I pulled out my data pad and sent off a message to reflect my decisions.

  “On a side note, I think I should tell Stephanie what he did. She might seem like a bag of wildly contained bouncing energy, but with this, I think she won’t be too happy. She’s been talking to me about how he blows her off all the time. To find out that he tried to attack me for blowing you off—now that will be interesting to watch.” I grinned.

  “He hasn’t had any long-term relationships that I know of. Even with Stephanie being thirteen years old, I think she’ll make Takahashi understand she is no child anymore,” she reflected as I nodded.

  “So, I have my rank back and everything?” she asked after a few moments of reflection.

  “Yes, though I expect to have that room rebuilt before we reach Sol system.” I looked at her.

  “So, fix the room. What else should we do in the meantime?” The way she bit her lip clearly showed what she wanted to do. Apparently she had some stress to work through. Though I was still bone-tired, Wake-Ups or not.

  “I think talk. And if you aren’t going to stab me, I’m going to take this off and have a shower.” I indicated my Mecha as I stood.

  “I won’t stab you.” Her tone was a little exasperated as she rose slowly too.

  I hid my grin. Somewhere deep inside, I’d missed her, and maybe not that deep inside. I started taking off the Mecha, helmet first.

  “You really are slow,” she said from behind me.

  Just as I was about to whirl around, deft hands helped me out of my Mecha, and I relaxed. “Thanks.”

  Yasu nodded and shook her head at my Mecha as she went to a closet. I quickly made my way to the bathroom as I saw her pull a deodorizing can for the Mecha.

  Maybe I should have spent a little less time in the thing. I got into the shower. I luxuriated in the feeling of water flowing over me as my muscles relaxed and a little smile formed on my face.

  “I’m with Yasu and I don’t mind it,” I said to myself as
I continued to wash myself off. Sometime later, I heard the hiss of the hatch open, followed by the shower opening. Yasu pressed against my back, hugging me. My eyes widened in alarm as certain, erm, things pressed up against me as she held me.

  After a few moments, I turned around and faced her.

  “I know we used to be enemies, but everything changed when we were recruited. I can see that I was wrong.” She looked at my chest as I studied her as well. It was hard not to. “You are a good warrior, no matter what I said, and I want to make this work.”

  “Uhmm, okay.” Brilliant response, I know, but I wasn’t exactly thinking with all my brain there.

  She grinned as she crooked an eyebrow. “Something on your mind?”

  “Just a lil something.”

  Her face split into a grin as she reached up and kissed me. It was rough and hard, but I liked it. I pulled her to me. After a few seconds, she pulled away. My lips ached for hers.

  “It’s about time we made this marriage real.” She guided me to the bedroom, dripping from the shower still as she pushed me on the bed. Even with my Avarian-looking body, she didn’t seem to care.

  The rest resulted in a very wet bathroom and then a soaked bed, which I fell asleep on again. I awoke to Yasu throwing me a battle suit.

  “We’re about to start charging wormhole generators,” she said.

  I got to the end of the bed, putting the battle suit on. She pressed against me, her battle suit seeming much more seductive as I touched and caressed it.

  I felt closer to Yasu than I had ever. Not because of consummating our marriage, but because we’d shared our lives with each other; we’d talked until we’d fallen asleep about her father, my life with Mecha Tail. I don’t think I’d talked to anyone as freely as I talked to Yasu. I didn’t know what I was saying until I said it. I told her everything and she did the same. There weren’t any barriers anymore. Within a night, we’d gone from an unsure two individuals to a married couple, and I kind of liked it. It gave me a sense of security I hadn’t had before.

  After a few minutes, we walked out of the captain’s quarters.