“She is now, despite all your attempts to wreck her.”
“Ha! I took good care of her.”
“I’d hate to see what she’d look like if you took bad care of her. Thirty-one modules! Thirty-one I had to replace!”
“I know, I know, you’ve told me that for the last two days.”
“Uh, one thing,” he said, suddenly serious.
She looked up, worried by his tone.
“NSP2 Hamlin, she’s not going to get charged. She’s keeping her flight status, too.”
Beth felt a wave of relief sweep over her. It had been touch-and-go. Mercy had demanded that the gate be kept open, threatening anyone with bloody hell if they tried to destroy it before she and Bull made it back. Beth only found out about it after waking up in sickbay, where along with Uncle and Ranger, she was starting her G-Shot convalescence. An outwardly defiant, yet obviously scared Mercy, had told her that there was no case against her. She’d stayed on the other side of the gate, assuring the command that if the aliens appeared heading her way, she would destroy the gate herself, with her on the other side. To her, it was a classic case of no harm, no foul.
Beth had reached out to grab her hand when she heard that, deeply touched, but afraid that the Navy brass wouldn’t see it that way. Yet now it seemed as if they had. Beth was pretty sure that the CO had a lot to do with that, pulling in favors from the same GTs who got him his position in the first place.
“I’m glad,” she said, a huge understatement.
“Me, too,” he said, then added, “Well, if you’re awake, do you need anything? Another Coke?”
It seemed that just about everyone in the squadron had stopped by, almost all with a Coke. She’d coked out.
“No, thanks. But there is something. I’ve been thinking—”
“That’s dangerous.”
She rolled her eyes and then said, “I’ve been thinking. I’ve never really thanked you for your work on Tala. She took a lot of abuse, you know, yet somehow she kept on flying. Without you . . . I don’t think I’d have made it back.”
He lowered his head, stuttered, and managed to mumble out something she didn’t quite catch.
“I’m serious, Josh, and I know this isn’t much, but maybe you can add your name as plane captain to the nose?”
He looked up, eyes wide open. There was no regulation one way or the other about what went on a fighter’s nose. Some pilots had their plane captain’s name there as well, but not many. Usually, that was reserved for far more senior captains.
“I’m . . . I’m . . .”
“Just do it, OK? It’ll make me happy. And maybe make you pay more attention to what you’re doing. Thirty-one modules couldn’t stand up to a little fight?”
For once, he didn’t have a smart-ass comeback, and she knew he was touched. It was deserved, though. She’d been serious about whether she’d have made it back with someone else keeping Tala combat-ready.
He was embarrassed, though, so she took pity on him and said, “maybe I will take that Coke, if you don’t mind.”
“Your wish is my command,” he said, regaining a bit of his old self.
He got up to leave just at the hatch opened and Bull walked in. Josh bristled. He’d been well aware of the warrant officer’s antagonism to her, and he blamed the man for almost getting her killed. Like a teacup chihuahua facing down a mastiff, he looked like he was going to block the man from entering.
“It’s OK, Josh. Why don’t you get that Coke.”
With a wary look, Josh edged around Bull, giving him the evil eye before leaving.
“That young man is pretty protective of you,” Bull said.
This was the first time she’d seen him since they’d been recovered. She was pretty clear as to what happened to get him into Tala, then her memory was in bits and pieces, mostly of him crushing her under him. It had been a relief to finally get pulled out inside the hangar of the cruiser that picked them up.
She’d expected to see him, though, that he’d have come by before this.
“I trust you’re OK, Chief Warrant Officer,” she said, her voice cold.
He didn’t seem to notice her tone, and he said, “I’m fine, now that I’m out of that stupid ward. The docs say I’ll make a full recovery, though.” He flexed his hand a few times, then added, “I’m off flight status for a month or so, but that’s better than the alternative, right?”
Beth was confused. He hadn’t G-shot. Why was he off flight status?
“Why were you with the docs?”
“Because of the nerve damage. Whatever took out Hammer almost took me out, too. A little more power in it, and I wouldn’t be around anymore.” He paused a moment, then said, “And without you, too. I know everyone thought I was a goner. Hell, I knew I was. I expected I’d be out in the deep black by now, waiting until I suffocated or died of thirst.”
Beth didn’t know what to say, so she stayed silent.
“Look, Ant. Uh . . . Beth. I know I treated you like shit. I thought you were just some PC hire, you know. I thought you got lucky as a civvie pilot, then you got appointed as a petty officer, never earning your way,” he got out in a rush.
“Well, I was wrong,” he said, his voice choking up. He coughed a few times, clearing his throat, then said, “You’re a helluva pilot, Beth, and I’d be proud to have you as a wingman anytime, if you’ll ever have me.”
Beth had expected him to grudgingly thank her at some time, but this was more than that. He seemed utterly sincere.
“You would have done the same.”
“I don’t think so. Not before, at least. But now, I would,” he said softly, staring at his fingers as if there was something interesting about them.
“Anyway, I just wanted to tell you that before I checked in with Ranger and Uncle. I don’t envy you guys,” he said with forced humor.
“Thank you. I appreciate it. And I’m not looking forward to this, either. In fact, I’m pretty tired now. If you can, would you tell Frye that I don’t want the Coke after all? I want to get some rest.”
“He probably won’t believe me.”
“No, he probably won’t.”
“Well . . . take it easy, Ant. I’ll check in tomorrow, if that’s OK.”
“Sure. Anytime. I’m not going anywhere,” she said before watching him leave.
She wasn’t sure why, but a small tear rolled down her cheek.
***************
I don’t see why I have to come,” she told Josh as he wheeled her down the corridor into the hangar.
“Regulations. It’s your Wasp, and you have to approve it for the upcheck.”
“Not like I’m going to fly anytime soon,” she muttered.
It embarrassed her to be wheeled around like an invalid, but the docs wouldn’t let her stand until next week, much less start walking again. She wasn’t sure she could walk yet even if she wanted to. Navy regulations could be a pain in the butt, though, so it was easier just to let Josh take her there. Hopefully, the place would be empty, she could approve Tala, then get back to the ward.
“Where are the lights?” she asked as he pushed her wheelchair into the darkened hangar. “What’s going on?”
Josh didn’t say a word as he pushed her through the other parked craft before stopping.
“Well, are you going to tell me what game you’re playing?” she asked, starting to get a little upset.
She didn’t have time for his games now.
Suddenly, a lone light broke through the darkness to illuminate a Wasp. Her Wasp.
“Take a look at the nose,” Mercy said, stepping out of the darkness to stand beside her.
“Mercy, what the heck . . .” she started, before trailing off.
At the top, in large script at a 45-degree angle, was “Tala” and a star.
Below that, was “Petty Officer Floribeth S.O. Dalisay, with “Fire Ant” directly beneath.
The bottom line was “Spaceman Josh Frye.”
To the left of
the names were two images: two odd-looking spacecraft of some kind. It took a moment to realize they symbolized her two enemy kills.
Wow, she thought before she went back to her name.
“Fire Ant?” she asked.
“It was Bull’s idea, and everyone agreed. You know, small, but with a wicked fucking bite. If you like it, I mean.”
Beth started to protest. She hated “Ant,” knowing it was a reference to her size. But “Fire Ant?” It had a . . . something, a cachet. She was small, so what? Nothing to be ashamed of. And she did have a bite.
“No, I like it.”
Mercy turned around and yelled out, “She likes it!”
Immediately the lights turned on, and the entire squadron came out from hiding with a cheer. They rushed her, waiting to shake her hand.
“Holy crap!”
“Beth, you cursing? I’m fucking surprised at you!” Mercy said with a laugh.
Beth sat in her chair, just gaping at everyone. Several people carried glasses of Coke from what looked to be a Coke fountain on one of the tech tables. She took one, but immediately spilled it as people reached out to shake her hand.
Towering above the rest, but in the back, was the Dark Knight himself. She caught his eye, and Commander Tuominen nodded.
Beth had felt like an outsider since arriving. She wasn’t one of them, and except with Mercy and Josh, she didn’t think she’d ever fit in. That had changed. She’d found a home. More than that, she was a Wasp pilot, a fucking great Wasp pilot, and with the enemy out there, her services were going to be needed.
Her story had just begun.
Thank you for reading Fire Ant. I hope you enjoyed this book, and I welcome a review on Amazon, Goodreads, or any other outlet.
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Other Books by Jonathan Brazee
The United Federation Marine Corps
Recruit
Sergeant
Lieutenant
Captain
Major
Lieutenant Colonel
Colonel
Commandant
Coda
Rebel
(Set in the UFMC universe)
Behind Enemy Lines
(A UFMC Prequel)
An Accidental War (A Ryck Lysander short story published in BOB’s Bar: Tales of the Multiverse)
The United Federation Marine Corps’ Lysander Twins
Legacy Marines
Esther’s Story: Recon Marine
Noah’s Story: Marine Tanker
Esther’s Story: Special Duty
Blood United
Women of the United Federation Marine Corps
Gladiator
Sniper
Corpsman
High Value Target (A Gracie Medicine Crow Short Story)
BOLO Mission (A Gracie Medicine Crow Short Story)
Weaponized Math (A Gracie Medicine Crow Short Story Available in the Expanding Universe Anthology 3)
The United Federation Marine Corps’ Grub Wars
Alliance
The Price of Honor
Division of Power
The Return of the Marines Trilogy
The Few
The Proud
The Marines
The Al Anbar Chronicles: First Marine Expeditionary Force--Iraq
Prisoner of Fallujah
Combat Corpsman
Sniper
Werewolf of Marines
Werewolf of Marines: Semper Lycanus
Werewolf of Marines: Patria Lycanus
Werewolf of Marines: Pax Lycanus
To The Shores of Tripoli
Wererat
Darwin’s Quest: The Search for the Ultimate Survivor
Venus: A Paleolithic Short Story
Secession
Duty
Semper Fidelis
Non-Fiction
Exercise for a Longer Life
Author Website
http://www.jonathanbrazee.com
Fire Ant Page 13