by Zen DiPietro
Weeks passed, and Raptor remained absent.
Peregrine, like Hawk, remained in Fallon’s quarters, though she slept on the couch. Even if she’d wanted to sleep in the bed with Fallon and Hawk, there simply wasn’t enough room.
The three of them worked on absorbing their experiences, knowing they were all going through something, but never speaking of what.
Whenever Fallon thought of Minho, her chest felt like she was suddenly pulling lots of G’s. Consequently, she endeavored to keep herself busy and keep herself occupied with her teammates.
“This is a nice station,” Peregrine observed one morning at breakfast. “Everyone is very polite.”
“Of course they are,” Hawk said. “They never know when an admiral might be standing behind them. Personally, I’m bored. I’m ready for frat boy to arrive so we can get out of here.”
Fallon smiled at the nickname Hawk had given Raptor at the academy. That felt like so long ago, even though it was only a couple of years in the past.
“I like Jamestown too,” Fallon said. “There’s always something going on.”
“Oh, sure, team up against me.” Hawk threw a napkin down in disgust. “That’s it. I’m out of here.” He gathered up his empty dishes and pretended to stalk off.
“Where do you think he’s going?” Peregrine asked, watching him go.
“My guess is that he’s just going back for more food, but doesn’t want us to know that because we might tease him about how much he eats,” Fallon said.
Peregrine nodded. “Sounds about right.”
One of the things Fallon liked about Jamestown was that even though her quarters were small, she still had a hydro shower. She didn’t need much more than that, really, now that she had three-quarters of her team back together.
As she washed off the sweat from her workout, she traced the tattoo on her abs, thinking about the matching versions imprinted on her partners.
Had Minho shared something like that with his team? Would he have agreed to get a tattoo if he’d been allowed to join Avian Unit?
She’d never know.
After repressing thoughts of him for weeks, he kept coming up in her mind, as if fighting back.
Minho wouldn’t have allowed her to forget him. Nor would she, ever.
She hadn’t even told Hawk and Peregrine about his death. It was the one thing she could say about her time away from them, and she hadn’t been able to. Saying it out loud felt like it would truly be the end of him, as illogical as that was.
After drying off and pulling on a shirt and some soft, formless pants, she crossed the tiny bedroom where she could hear the others talking. “What do you think about ordering dinner in?” she asked. “I’m thinking—”
She froze. She could only see a person’s back, but she knew that back. Every slope and angle of it. Even the freckle right at the small of his back, which was currently hidden by a PAC uniform.
Raptor turned, looked at her for a long moment, and his face creased into a smile. “Aren’t you going to say hi?”
It seemed inadequate, but she nodded. “Hi.”
“Is that it? I’m a little underwhelmed here. I’ve been imagining what it would be like for us to all get back together. In my head, it was all confetti and cheers, and, I’ll admit it, a little bit of me being lifted up on your shoulders and carried around.”
She laughed.
“These things never happen the way you imagine them,” Hawk said.
“That’s for sure,” Peregrine added. “It’s best just not to have any expectations.”
“Oh.” Raptor nodded slowly. “So…no cake?”
Hawk put an arm around Raptor’s shoulders in a gesture that would have been fraternal, if his arm wasn’t like a crowbar. “Damn if cake doesn’t sound good. Let’s go find one.”
All four of them, now finally together again, slept in Fallon’s living room that night. They spent the day together, then dispersed to their own rooms for the night.
In spite of the fact that they all had experienced some bad stuff, she finally felt whole enough to face whatever mission came at them next. She was sure they felt the same way, though all of them, when they thought no one was looking, sometimes wore a morose or bitter expression before covering it up.
She didn’t mind having her quarters back to herself for a little privacy. Especially since she knew that Hawk, Peregrine, and Raptor were all just steps away. She still needed to go through her things from Asimov and sort them. Some things could be disposed of, and others might go into her storage compartment.
Realizing she hadn’t checked her messages that day, she sat down at the voicecom and saw that Admiral Krazinski had sent her two messages, both in text form.
Odd.
She opened the first one, which had a file attached to it.
Fallon,
I’ve waited a little while to give you this, because I thought you needed some time. I hope that was the right choice. Now that you have your team back, I think you’re ready.
Losing Minho was a great loss to all of us. He was easy to like, and you two must have grown quite close over the last couple of years. You weren’t just an assignment to him. He listed you as his next of kin. All of his belongings have been put into storage, and you can go through them whenever you wish. He also left this video. No one has viewed it. It’s only meant for you.
He was one of the best officers I’ve had the pleasure of knowing. He suffered after the loss of his team, but you gave him a second chance to save his teammate. I’m certain that he had no regrets, even though we have many for having lost him. He was a good man.
John Krazinski
She let out a slow breath. Minho had waited a long time to say whatever he wanted to say. She wouldn’t make him wait longer.
She selected the attachment.
Minho’s sudden appearance on her screen made her take in a sharp breath. There he was, alive and smiling, looking beautiful and kind with the crinkles that appeared at the sides of his eyes.
How could this man no longer exist?
“Fallon,” he said, still smiling. “If you’re getting this message, it means that you’ve graduated from my expert tutelage. You worked hard and I hope you learned a lot, and that what you learned will keep you alive for a very long time. I wish I knew how I died. Not just so I could, you know, keep it from happening, but also so I could say something pithy about my last moments and wrap it all up with some really profound words.”
He grinned suddenly and her heart ached. “But life is never that convenient. All the wrong things happen at all the wrong times. We miss our chances. What matters, in the end, is that we lived each day giving our best to the PAC and the people we care about. If I died doing that, then be happy for me because it’s what I truly want. It’s what we all sign up for, after all.”
His eyes dropped for a moment. “That’s it, I think. Fight hard, and if something good comes your way, take it, even if it’s only for a little while. Take all the good things while you can. They’re all we get to take with us when we go. Thanks to you, I know I’ll be taking some great things with me.”
He smiled again, then tilted his head to the side thoughtfully. “You know what? If I’m dead, I might as well say something I never would have said when I was alive. Ready? I love you. Everything about you, from the way you laugh to the way you fight. Even your dedication to your team, which is why I never would have told you how I feel. But I didn’t need to say it. You make life good again without declarations and all that.”
The corners of his eyes crinkled. “It’s kind of nice to get to say that. Weird, but nice. Almost worth dying for.” He laughed. “Almost. Anyway...take care, Fallon.”
The video ended.
Silent tears ran down her cheeks as she archived the message. She didn’t want to see it again, but she wanted to keep it safe.
Tears landed softly in her lap, making wet circles as she moved on to the admiral’s second message.
Repo
rt to my office at the beginning of the day shift for Avian Unit’s new orders. It’s time for you to get back to work.
She gave herself ten minutes to finish her mourning. “Life is never convenient,” Minho had said. “I love you. Fight hard.”
She would fight hard, and make sure his sacrifice made a difference.
After her ten minutes were up, she steeled herself and went to sort her things from Asimov Station and put them away, rather than letting them remain in her closet. She had to get on with life.
She wouldn’t forget Minho. The tea box she’d bought when she was with him would be a source of strength, not one of grief. She would make tea and think of him, and smile.
Eventually.
Meanwhile, she had her team to take care of, just as he’d taken care of her. No doubt they needed it, after whatever they had been through on their own missions.
She tightened her grip on the tea box and gently set it in her kitchenette.
In the morning, she’d find out what Avian Unit would do next.
“Blood and bone.”
Message from the author
Thank you for reading!
If you enjoyed this story and can spare a minute or two to leave a review on Amazon, I’d be grateful. It makes a big difference.
Believe it or not, we’ve made it to the end of the series. The final book will show Avian Unit finally becoming what they were always meant to be. So without further ado, here’s the link to Out for Blood.
Be sure to visit www.ZenDiPietro.com and sign up for Zen’s newsletter so you’ll never miss a new release or sale. Stay tuned for more adventures!
I hope to hear from you!
In gratitude,
Zen DiPietro
About the Author
Zen DiPietro is a lifelong bookworm, dreamer, and writer. Perhaps most importantly, a Browncoat Trekkie Whovian. Also red-haired, left-handed, and a vegetarian geek. Absolutely terrible at conforming. A recovering gamer, but we won’t talk about that. Particular loves include badass heroines, British accents, Kpop music, and the smell of Band-Aids.
www.ZenDiPietro.com.
Dragonfire Station Universe
Original Series (complete)
Dragonfire Station Book 1: Translucid
Dragonfire Station Book 2: Fragments
Dragonfire Station Book 3: Coalescence
Intersections (Dragonfire Station Short Stories)
Mercenary Warfare series (complete)
Selling Out
Blood Money
Hell to Pay
Calculated Risk
Going for Broke
Chains of Command series
New Blood
Blood and Bone
Cut to the Bone
Out for Blood
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