by HR Ringer
Xiùlán’s eyes narrowed as she lapsed forcefully into Mandarin, “Sà màn shā! Ràng tā qù ba!” [薩曼莎！讓它去吧！– Samantha! Let it go! ] Using thumb and fingers of her left hand to massage her temples, she moved to stand beside Sammy’s chair, where she carefully lowered herself into Sam’s lap, lower legs hanging over the upholstered arm. Sammy placed her arms around her lover’s torso and hugged her as Xiùlán apologized. “Dammit, Luv, I’m so sorry. It’s just… I am really tired. I don’t want to be cross with you, but sometimes you’re as bad as a rat terrier worrying a bone. You have simply got to let this one go. You and Griff did your jobs, Sammy… You discovered the how, where and when. The brass choosing to do nothing is on them, not you, or Griff or General Park.”
“I’m sorry I upset you, Xiùlán.” Traynor placed an apologetic kiss on a warm cheek. “Forgive me?” Traynor looked at her lover from under half-lidded eyes, like a small child caught with her hand in the cookie jar.
Xiùlán tried her best to continue looking aggrieved, but quickly found herself smiling back at Sam, knowing full well that, while she was sorry for aggravating Xiùlán, she was not being truly repentant about her fixation on the destruction of the Anixara, agent Michael Moser Lang and, ultimately, Cerberus. “This all comes back to Heather’s murder on Mars at the hand of Marianna Walsh, doesn’t it?”
Sammy closed her eyes, took a deep breath and blew it out slowly before answering. “That miserable little bitch got off too damned easy, Luv. I haven’t forgotten about Heather Gonzales… don’t think I ever will; someday, I will come across the information that will lead me to the person, or persons, that killed Walsh and Holden in their cells. If the bastards are not already dead when I locate ‘em, I’ll make them beg me to kill ‘em.”
Xiùlán shook her head in near disbelief, then rose from the chair., stepped over to her travel packs and opened the larger of the two. “I have something for you, Sà mǐ… a going-away present I planned to give you tomorrow, before the shuttle left the Tokyo for Arcturus Station.” She removed a long object from her pack; setting the pack on the floor, she laid Sam’s present in her lap. “I have an unhappy feeling you’re going to have a real need for this someday.”
Sam inspected her present for a few moments before smiling up at Yuán. With a murmur of, “what in the world…” she carefully unwrapped what turned out to be a curved wooden scabbard with ornate metal endcaps and a pair of metal bands a third of the way from the top; protruding from the top was an ornately carved, canted hilt. Sammy grabbed the scabbard in the middle and tugged on the hilt, easily drawing a medium length sword from within; its thin, highly polished blade was curved in the opposite direction of the hilt, and was sharpened tip-to-guard along the lower edge. It also appeared the upper edge had been sharpened for about a third of its length back from the tip. Sammy whispered, a touch of awe in her voice. “A liǔyè dāo.”
Standing to face Xiùlán, Traynor’s voice held a hint of wonder. “My God, Xiùlán. This… is extraordinary! You’re giving this to me? Where in the world did you find it?”
With a shy smile, Xiùlán replied, “Do you like it, Sà mǐ? While you were searching for a tattooist, Mom and I went through a few antiques stores. She found this, covered in dust on a shelf in the back of the second store we visited. Mom insisted we buy it… to give to you, for saving my life, Sà mǐ… for getting me off that miserable station and out of the Abyss alive.”
“Oh, Xiùlán… This is… it’s…” The lump in Traynor’s throat cut off her speech as her eyes glassed over with unshed tears. With an effort, she managed to squeak out, “… magnificent!”
Xiùlán’s grin was radiant. “I’m glad you like it, Sà mǐ… Mom will be thrilled when I tell her! You’ll remember that during the Ming and Qing dynasties of China, the liǔyè dāo was used by the cavalry, and then also by the infantry. These became the martial arts saber of choice in the Qing dynasty as well.” Holding out her hand, she asked, “May I?”
Sammy passed the sword, hilt first, to her lover, who stepped back from Sammy to give herself some room. “Remember your lessons from Mars? This is a slicing weapon…” She demonstrated several methods of close attack, the blade singing each time it sliced the air between them. “As the back… or top… of this blade is sharpened a third of the way from the tip, you can perform a double slash, like this…” she demonstrated against an imaginary foe, slashing across and down to her left, then back to her right, the strokes so fast the blade’s song never diminished. Taking a different stance, she demonstrated a stabbing motion as she commented, “You can even use it to gut someone, but I don’t recommend it, as it places your arm with reach of your enemy.” When she finished, she placed her left hand over her right on the canted hilt and held the weapon in front of her, point down, for several seconds. Taking a deep breath, she let it out and presented the weapon back to her inamorata.
Traynor was overwhelmed by this exquisite gift. “I need to get in touch with your family… your mom… to thank her for this. You know I love you, don’t you? You… having you with me, alive, is all the reward I have ever needed, Xiùlán.” Traynor slid the sword back into its scabbard, which she inspected closely. “Looks like this could be worn on my back, hilt behind my head, just like on Mars. I’ll have to try that… be a ‘ellova surprise for a bad guy, wouldn’t it?
Xiùlán chuckled, then replied, “You’d have to be standing right in front of him, wǒ de ài.” [我的愛 – my love]
Sammy nodded her head in agreement as she replied, “That’s how I like to operate.” Clutching this present to her chest, she added in a reflective tone, “I could have really used this on Cartagena Station.”
Yuán smile faded as she said, “Well, here’s hoping you’re never in a position where you have to use it… then again? Knowing you, I won’t be holding my breath. Come on… it’s getting late. Let’s go to bed so I can get some cuddle time with my favorite specialist.”
* * *
* ALLIANCE CRUISER SSV TOKYO, NEAR THE ARCTURUS MASS RELAY *
The Alliance shuttle, having just completed its 36-light-year jump from the Charon Relay in the Sol System, slowly eased into the small, transient vessel hanger, where the pilot spun the UT-47 on its axis in order to be facing the barrier protected exit, before easing the ungainly looking craft to the deck. As he was going to be departing for Arcturus Station within fifteen minutes, her left all the systems running.
As the side-hatch opened, a young Marine corporal approached and came to attention as a staff lieutenant stepped from the passenger compartment, to be closely followed by a woman fully dressed in black battle armor, the no-gloss ceramic plates possessing an ebony tinted deep red trim. The lieutenant turned back towards the woman in black to take the travel packs being carried for her; these she set down beside her so she could envelope the armored female in an apparently heartfelt embrace. The young Marine looked towards the deck, the overhead, the bulkheads – anywhere but at the two people, obviously more than friends, as they said goodbye for what was likely to be an extended separation.
The lieutenant backed away a step, grabbed her packs and turned to approach the corporal as the woman in black (reluctantly, it seemed) reentered the idling shuttlecraft. Looking up at the lieutenant, ‘damn, this is a really tall woman!’ he was momentarily mesmerized by sable brown eyes that seemed capable of looking straight through him.
Speaking in a lightly accented voice, the lieutenant said, “Corporal? I’m Staff Lieutenant Yuán.”
“Uh, yes Ma’am. Pleased to meet you. If you’ll follow me, I’ll show you to officer’s country.” He paused as Yuán turned her head to watch the UT-47 rise from the deck, engage the twin thrusters at the stern and slowly leave the hanger. After the shuttle’s departure, Yuán returned her attention to the corporal and said, “Lead on.”
* * *
Chapter 34: Application of Lessons Learned
You must understand: they fear you. There is nothing scarier in t
heir minds than a girl who knows the power of her flames – Nikita Gill
* * *
ANN – Alliance News Network
CIC - Combat Information Center
FTL - Faster Than Light
Inamorata – A woman with whom one is in love; a female lover (Italian)
LADaR – LAser Detection and Ranging
Liǔyè dāo – Literally, a willow leaf saber (柳葉軍刀), short sword with a continuously curved blade; some of these swords feature a sharpened back edge from the tip back about a third of the 96.5 centimeter length
NDA – Non-Disclosure Agreement, signed by Yuán and Traynor at termination of their program
Nángùn – literally, a 'southern staff' – a polished, two-meter long white wax wooden staff
O7 – An allegedly discontinued vocational code in the Systems Alliance military. The ‘O’ designates covert operations and the ‘7’ refers to the highest level of proficiency
VI - Virtual Intelligence
XO - Executive Officer
* * *
* ALLIANCE CRUISER SSV TOKYO, NEAR THE ARCTURUS MASS RELAY *
Staff Lieutenant Yuán Xiùlán had been given a short tour of the Tokyo after being assigned to the female officer’s quarters on the crew deck; she would be sharing a compartment with three other officers – a pair of Navy Chief Warrant Officers and a Lieutenant. She was stowing her clothes – items on hangers in a small, shared closet, with folding items going in a foot locker, when Lieutenant Olivia McKenzie walked in to meet her new roommate. “Xiùlán? Is that really you, Xiùlán?”
Xiùlán turned to greet the bearer of the familiar voice. “By my ancestors… McKenzie?” Xiùlán held out her hand as she looked at her former Lieutenant in amazement. “How in hell did you wind up here on the Tokyo?”
Olivia ignored the hand, opting instead to raise both arms to embrace Xiùlán in an enthusiastic hug. “It’s so good to see you… after all this time and who knows how many light years!” Stepping back, Olivia looked Yuán over and added, “And you made Lieutenant! Good for you! Damn! It’s really great to see someone that actually made it out of… special training… not that I’m at liberty to talk to anyone about it. Three fucking years of my service life erased. Whatever happened to… your friend… woman with a grudge against that general’s little bastard nephew?”
Xiùlán smiled as she replied, “Samantha Traynor… Sammy. She made Chief Warrant Officer – an Ops and Intel Specialist… just been posted to Arcturus Station.” Xiùlán’s smile faded as she said, “We had a few adventures together in the Terminus and the Traverse.”
McKenzie could see the subtle change in Xiùlán’s expression. “Must have been hard to leave her behind. Scuttlebutt always had the two of you as an item… guess there was more truth than rumor there, huh?”
Xiùlán saw no reason to deny it. “Sammy’s the love of my life, Olivia. It was hard to see her leave.”
“I can only imagine. So, have you seen or heard from anyone else we knew?”
“Not since Mars.” Xiùlán folded her empty travel packs and placed them on a shelf in the closet. There was just enough room within to stand her nángùn in a back corner. “Oh, we both had a meeting with General Park just before shipping out…” Xiùlán said. “She actually handed us of our promotions and new assignments, after we signed her damned non-disclosure agreement.” Shaking her head slightly, she added, “It was all I could do to keep Sammy from letting her mouth screw up her career.
McKenzie laughed and replied, “Yeah, Sammy always was a bit of a hothead… not someone to suffer fools gladly, and damn if there aren’t a lot of ‘em in the Alliance, huh?” With a final chuckle, Olivia continued by asking, “So, what’s your assignment on the Tokyo?”
“Haven’t been assigned yet… Should that worry me?” Xiùlán closed the closet and faced McKenzie.
“Big ship… fairly easy for the higher brass to forget about people, especially newbies like yourself. Guess I better give you a quick tour while I take you to meet Lieutenant Commander Nolan… Randall Nolan… he’s in charge of this little corner of paradise. No bullshit good guy… treats everyone square.” McKenzie paused as she moved towards the exit. “After you’re done with Nolan, I’ll give you a proper tour of this ship… the newbie tour just shows you the highlights. You need to see what really makes this ship work, top to bottom, stem to stern.”
Xiùlán nodded once, saying, “Sounds good… lead the way.”
* * *
Nolan waved Yuán to a seat by his desk after greeting her warmly. “Welcome aboard, Lieutenant. I’ve been looking over your service record… seems whatever vocational training and missions you were assigned these past thirty-six months was purposely redacted. Care to say why?”
Xiùlán looked straight at the commander as she answered, “Unfortunately, I’m bound by an NDA, Sir… had to sign it right before my promotion and transfer.”
Nolan’s smile was grim. “You’re not the first officer sent here with an NDA in their jacket, Yuán. Sounds as if the upper brass is trying to keep something hidden.” Picking up the datapad containing her service record, he added, “So, you made Staff Lieutenant based solely on your basic training?”
“I really wish it had been that easy, Sir. My last four or five months before my thirty-days leave were pure hell, Sir; unfortunately, it’s nothing I am at liberty to discuss.” Xiùlán sighed as she rubbed one cheek “If you really need to see my records for that period, I was told they can be unsealed by any flag rank officer.”
Nolan nodded, saying, “I’ll have to speak with Captain Anderson. It’d be nice to know what training you had during that time period.” Grasping his chin between the thumb and forefinger of his right hand, he scanned through the information displayed before asking, “Is there any training you’ve had that is not covered by the NDA?”
Yuán smiled as she replied, “I’m an expert hand-to-hand combat specialist, Sir. Haven’t met anyone on the mat yet – human, asari or turian – that could walk away under their own power. I’ve even killed a few batarians who were trying to kill me.”
Nolan gawked at her in disbelief. “That’s rather boastful. I’ve never met anyone so good at martial arts that they couldn’t be beaten.”
Yuán didn’t blink or look away from Nolan’s appraising stare. “Wouldn’t say it if it wasn’t the truth. Middle of my special training, the instructors couldn’t find anyone that wished to spar with me on the mat… they all complained about how vicious I was as a fighter.”
Nolan continued to look at this woman with a skeptical eye as he said, “Well, I think I need to put your statement to the test. I’ve been needing a good martial arts instructor. I’ll set up a match for you… something that will allow me to observe your skills.”
Yuán smiled as she replied, “Sounds good, Sir.” After a brief pause, she added, “I hope your med bay staff is well-trained.” Sensing her dismissal, she stood up and held out her hand. “Thank you, Sir.”
Nolan stood and took her hand as he said, “Don’t thank me just yet, Staff Lieutenant. Let’s see how well you manage with the opponent I have in mind for you… you may not wish to thank me from a bed in the med bay.” As she squeezed his hand slightly, he finally noticed her forearm, and immediately regretted his statement. ‘Shit! If the rest of her body is as hardened as that arm, I may be visiting her opponent in the med bay.’
* * *
* EXERCISE SUITE DELTA TWO, ALLIANCE CRUISER SSV TOKYO *
Marine Master Sergeant Rueben Ortega was 172 kilos of pure muscle, with the typical Marine’s dislike of Navy brass, from the lowliest ‘enswine’ to the captain of the ship. Ortega had been assigned by Commander Nolan to see how long it would take him to send Lieutenant Yuán out of the exercise suite on a stretcher.
Ortega hadn’t been told anything about Yuán, so was surprised when a tall, pajama-clad Chinese woman had walked into the exercise area. As she approached the center of the square mat, Ortega noted she was
barefoot, but wearing light sparring gloves, which the referee quickly checked for contraband before holding his hand up between them to explain the rules for the match – three 3-minute rounds, a minute of rest between each. Ortega growled, “Ya really think I’m gonna need more’n’a minute to break this chink bitch?”
Yuán stared coldly back at this sergeant, whom she now knew to be a racist, misogynistic Neanderthal, and calmly replied, “Nǐ de pìgu shì wǒ de!” [你的屁股是我的! – Your ass is mine!]
When the ref blew his whistle, Ortega, who had apparently attended the Krogan school of fighting, came at her so fast he couldn’t do anything but continue plowing forward as Xiùlán simply dodged to her right to avoid him. As he spun about to come at her again, she employed her triple-snap punch, moving her arms and fists so fast they were a blur; using only some of the power in her corded arms, she hit him in the nose, mouth and below his right eye, staggering the man enough to completely halt his forward momentum. Ortega’s nose was now bleeding, along with the insides of both his lips; this quickly turned his lower face into a bloody mess. Additionally, the area around his right eye was rapidly swelling and turning purple.
Shaking his head in an effort to clear the increasing fuzziness in his brain, he attempted to close with her so he could employ his own arms to hit her; as he swung at her with a massive right fist, she handily dodged the blow by spinning out of range. Ortega had never fought anyone so light on their feet, and it was hard for him to think as he squinted at her with his left eye, his right eye having swollen nearly shut.
Thinking to end this, Yuán ducked under the massive arms attempting to grapple with her; using the middle knuckles of her right fist, she punched him in the solar plexus, then quickly crouched and rolled out from under him as he dropped to his knees, unable to quell the spasms in his diaphragm. Regaining her feet to stand behind him, she placed her fingers in the middle of his back and shoved, causing Ortega to fall forward onto the mat as the ref was frantically blowing his whistle to stop the match. Stepping to the edge of the mat, she dropped to a kneeling position, feet behind her, toes on the floor.