Gunship

by J. J. Snow

  “Well, ladies”—Ty balanced a glass and cigar in one hand while studying his cards— “prepare to watch the pilot go down in flames, ’cause while he might fly a bit, he can’t match a scout sniper in swapping paper!” They all laughed, and Ty slapped three cards down, calling the rest of the table.

  They played War, Snaps, and Naromian Draw. In between hands, they joined in on the unit songs or listened to the band and caught up with friends. A few more of the local girls stopped by to chat with Holly or Tisha and stayed to be entertained by Ty and Chang. Ty stood up on his chair as the girls called for a toast. He grinned and raised his shot high as he spoke.

  “In the military, you learn some tough lessons in the field. Tonight, I feel inspired to share out some of that hard-won wisdom! I’m not a real fancy speaker, so here goes. Lesson one: Never trust a private with a loaded gun or an officer with a map!” Ty downed his shot and was handed another as the crowd laughed appreciatively while a couple officers called out at him from the back of the room, laughing as well.

  “Lesson two: Never share a foxhole with anyone braver than you—it tends to get you either shown up or killed!”

  He swayed a little, lifted his third shot, and hollered out, “Lesson three: If you find yourself in a fair fight, then there’s a good chance you didn’t plan your mission right, ’cause there ain’t no such thing as a fair fight in the ISUs!” The ISU vets and active duty called out some “Hooah Sergeant!” followed by “If you’re fighting the ISUs, how could it ever be fair? We own the night!” and some more catcalls and cheering. Ty swayed a bit more and smiled as he leaned over to take his last shot from a buxom blonde.

  “And the most important lesson I could ever share for survival on the battlefield…” He paused dramatically. “Coffee always tastes better…when you dig the latrines downstream!” He threw his head back and downed the last shot to great applause and more laughter. Duv came over to help him down, but instead, Ty pulled him up onto the chair next to him.

  “And now, folks, I give you Duv Jackson…one of my best mates and the finest pilot this side of the galaxy…or so he says! C’mon now, Jackson, give us a pilot’s toast for good measure!” Duv shook his head as the crowd began to clap and call out “pilot’s toast, pilot’s toast, pilot’s toast!” Then he grinned and accepted a shot from the blonde, holding up his hand to silence the crowd.

  “I don’t know that I have any kind of brilliant wisdom to share like my good scout sniper buddy here, but I might have some philosophy I can impart…” Ty slung his arm over Duv’s shoulder and raised another shot glass, wearing a mock solemn expression as Duv punched him in the side jokingly, then cleared his throat and put a serious, sincere look upon his face while hoisting his drink.

  “Here’s to me in my sober mood, when I ramble, sit, and think,” he began, leaving a slight pause in between the lines, “Here’s to me in my drunken mood…when I gamble, sin and drink!” The crowd cheered and waited for more. Duv grew more serious and the bar watched him with anticipation to see what he would say next.

  “But when at last it’s over…and from this world I pass…then I hope they bury me upside down—” He looked around the room with a sly glance and then announced: “So the whole world can kiss my ass!” and downed his shot with Ty while the room broke into a roar of laughter.

  As the two of them stepped down from their chairs, grinning like hyenas and slapping each other on the shoulder, the blonde who had been standing with Chang leaned over and gave Ty a quick smack on the bottom. He grinned back at her and began a mock tug-of-war with Chang over the gal’s affections. Marek watched with amusement as they finally engaged in an arm-wrestling match to decide who would escort her out for the next dance. Ty won the last round with a whoop and, after downing his drink, scooped the gal up and carried her off to the floor.

  While the group was laughing at Ty’s antics, a small, dark-haired woman entered through the front door. She was petite and moved gracefully, quietly, almost like a cat. She had a three-quarter-length, black, Asian-style jacket on with a battle rifle slung across her back and a blaster on her hip. Chang paused mid-drink, watching her scan the room. Her movements were very precise, calculated and intentional. Chang set his drink down on the table. Her posture was nonchalant yet confident, and it was clear she was looking—no, hunting for something, or someone. She paused, surveying the crowd until she zeroed in on their table and made a beeline straight for Duv.

  “Incoming,” Chang said, standing. Duv looked around and spotted the woman headed for him in a determined fashion. Chang loosened his knives at his back, palmed one into his left hand, and placed his right on his blaster. Whoever she was, she was trained, and she looked like trouble.

  “Someone you know?” Holly asked, somewhat concerned as she approached.

  “No. Get behind me.” Duv stood up with a grim expression and pushed Holly behind him and Chang. The rest of the bar took notice of what was happening, and heads began to turn to see if there was going to be trouble. Quite a few blasters were loosened in their holsters as the girl reached the table. If she noticed, she didn’t let on. She looked around calmly at Chang and Duv. Chang readied his knife. Marek and Ty, meanwhile, had noticed the unexpected visitor and begun pushing their way through the crowd, hands on their blasters.

  “I’m looking for Pilot First Class Jackson. Which one of you is him?” She gazed up at them. Duv and Chang looked at each other and then back at the girl.

  “That’s me,” Duv said, ready to pull his blaster. “What can I help you with?”

  “I heard you all were hiring and might have a spot for an electronics expert.” She looked around as the room let out a collective sigh. A couple of people laughed and went back to what they had been doing. Ty and Marek finally pushed their way up to the table, both frowning at the intruder.

  Duv let his breath out and ran his hand over his hair. “Yeah, we got a spot open. What’s your background?”

  “Electronics master, worked five years in the fleet and then another three with the ISUs. I’ve been working privately for a while, but I miss the travel. I heard you all were the crew to check in with.” She looked hard at Duv. “You all sure are jumpy.”

  Duv sat back down. “It’s been one of those weeks.” The rest of the table sat too, and Holly leaned up against his other side, holding her drink and looking curiously at the new arrival. Ty stood leaning on the table, obviously irritated that his dance with the blonde had been interrupted, and downed another couple of shots. All of their nerves were raw, thanks to Zain’s cryptic warnings and then Macon’s attempt on the Captain. All they wanted was a simple night out on the town, but it seemed like they just couldn’t catch a break. They had been on guard since the Vervian deal, no leave, no downtime. Whenever it looked like they were finally going to get a break, something else would happen to screw it up. Ty’s initial concern over their new visitor was rapidly turning to anger as he eyed the dark-haired woman and slammed his empty glass back down on the table, a sort of unspoken challenge.

  Duv ignored Ty. “So where are you coming from?”

  Ty interrupted. “Can ya shoot?”

  The girl looked Ty up and down, then turned back to Duv. “Who’s he?”

  “He is the sergeant at arms for the ship you’re applying to,” Ty replied, leaning aggressively over the table. “Who the hell are you?”

  “Name’s Tiny. And yeah, I can shoot.” She looked up at Ty defiantly.

  “Tiny. Who the hell is named Tiny?” Ty poured himself another shot. “I really don’t appreciate your attitude, little girl. You know, it’s been said that I tend to get a bit stupid when I get drunk, especially when folks come rolling up and interrupt a fine evening with work talk. I’d hate to have to ruin a perfectly good night for you.” He let his hand rest back on his blaster again. Duv rolled his eyes, threw his hands up in the air and leaned back in his seat. So much for keeping the situation relaxed.

  The girl looked back
at him. “Yes, the stupid part I can definitely see. Then again, I didn’t come here to talk to you. I came here to talk to him.” She pointed at Duv and began to turn away from Ty.

  Ty grabbed her shoulder, roughly spinning her back to face him. “Hey! I don’t think you’re getting what I’m telling you. We ain’t got time for you, so why don’t you take your business elsewhere? We already got all the recruits we need, and we sure as hell don’t need any wannabe ninjas or whatever you’re supposed to be.”

  The girl gave the faintest of smiles. As her rear foot started to pivot Chang reached out and grabbed her arm. She looked at him as he shook his head and gestured around. The locals had continued to watch what was going on as Ty got louder and more aggressive. They stood, hands on blasters, waiting to see what the girl was going to do.

  “I would recommend you not do that, as tempting as it may be. It would likely get you killed in here tonight.” Chang turned to Ty. “I think you are neglecting your lady friend. She looks like she is ready for another round on the floor.” He leaned forward and whispered in Ty’s ear, “My uncle used to say, if you are patient in one moment of anger, you will escape a hundred days of sorrow. Go relax, leave business to us, we’ll take care of this.”

  Ty grunted in disgust and then looked back. The blonde giggled and waved, gesturing back towards the dance floor. He let her pull him away but gave the dark-haired girl an ugly warning look as he went. They disappeared into the crowd with Marek following at a discrete distance, still amused by his new crewmates and the evening’s events.

  Duv bent over towards Chang. “What the hell was that about?” Chang shrugged and made a bottoms-up sign followed by the crazy-person sign after Ty.

  Duv took his hand back off of his blaster and let it rest on his thigh under the table as he turned back to the girl. “Do you have a duty report?”

  The girl turned back from staring down Ty and retrieved her handheld. Duv held his out, and she transferred a copy of her duty report to him. He scrolled through it, noting that she had a strong background in electronics, was an expert in several martial arts branches, and had qualified as an ISU marksman. He also noted the typical pattern of reporting he would expect to see from someone who had performed special service.

  “So how’d you hear about the job?” Duv asked casually as he slid the handheld back in his pocket.

  “Actually, Commander Zain told me about it.”

  “Oh yeah? And when did you see him?” Duv’s hand went back to his blaster.

  “I didn’t. I just landed a few hours ago, and I had a message from him suggesting I look you up and try out for the slot. So I take it the drunken jackass who just walked off isn’t the deciding factor on the position?”

  Duv smiled. “Nope. The drunken jackass who just walked off is one of the evaluators, though. The Captain will make the final decision.”

  “Well, when will I have a chance to talk to the Captain?” The woman gazed soberly at Duv and Chang. Chang held up his index finger for a moment of council. He and Duv walked back to the wall while the girl turned to survey the room again.

  Chang watched her a moment, then leaned towards Duv and whispered, “She is ISU, but also I think maybe a plant by Zain. Have her try out and let the Captain decide. Keep your friends close, your enemies closer. Might give us some insight into what the Commander is up to.”

  “Yeah, or it might bring other problems. Her paperwork checked out, though, and she’s solid.” Duv caught Ty looking at them from across the room again over the blonde’s shoulder. His face was still dark. Chang led the way back to the table.

  Duv raked his hand through his hair. “What the hell. Your record looks good and we need folks. Show up Sunday morning at oh-seven-thirty. Crucible training starts then. I’ll send you the details.”

  The girl nodded curtly and abruptly turned on her heel. In a moment, she was gone. Duv looked at Chang wearily.

  Chang nodded. “I agree, my friend. A brilliant military strategist once said, if we know our enemies and know ourselves, we can fight a hundred battles and never lose. It’s when you have so many enemies that you cannot tell them apart from the friends that it really starts to wear you out.”

  They were finishing up another hand of cards when the crowd let out a roar. Ty had pulled Marek out onto the dance floor and pushed him into the arms of a large older woman who was laughing and pulling him into a bear hug. Duv pointed at his watch, and Chang nodded agreement. It was time to go. Together, they stood up, Duv with one arm still around Holly. They watched as the woman swung Marek around the floor while Ty gleefully followed, swinging the blonde along with him.

  “So do you want to rescue Marek, or should I?” Duv asked, still watching Marek’s horrified expression as the woman began to plant kisses along his neck and face.

  “A beautiful woman belongs to everyone, but an ugly one is yours alone,” Chang offered in his typical stoic fashion. Duv shook his head and pointed him towards the dance floor.

  “Rock, paper, scissors to decide?” Chang held out his fist.

  —————

  The ship creaked and groaned as Reilly walked the decks. Periodically, she would touch a wall or look into a room or down a hallway and pause, remembering. The long dent, now buffed out to a faint scar, on one side of the upper level of the cargo bay that reminded her of the dud missile that they had caught in a battle right after she pinned on Captain. The wall at the back of the common room that used to be covered in thick, scarred cork for dart throwing, where she learned from Chang how to best throw a knife. The corridor outside the armory where, as a new lieutenant, she had had to stand up to a hardheaded sergeant named Joby Ty who had issues with following a woman into battle. Reilly shook her head and smiled, remembering the trick right hook she had caught him with that had brought him to his knees and earned her the chance to prove to them all how well she could lead on a battlefield. She walked quickly past the medical center, thinking of those who had died, those she had had to say goodbye to as they left this world for the next. She climbed slowly up the stairs and paused outside the officer’s quarters.

  Tentatively, she reached up above the door and felt around. Her fingers touched a ring of metal and she stood on her toes, head down, eyes closed, and traced the key that had melted into the door frame. And she remembered. She could see Jeremy in his uniform, tired but still looking sharp and handsome, his lopsided grin, the way his eyes lit up when he saw her. She remembered the day the ship went down and they fought and fought and fought until finally someone rescued them from hell. Reilly could still see his eyes mirroring her own, the fear, the pain, the sadness, and the ghosts that wouldn’t leave. Knowing with just a glance he could tell what she was thinking, trying to match him in hand-to-hand combat, her speed to beat his strength, and laughing when her latest trick failed. And remembering how he made her feel, made her smile, made her a better person, and how when she had lost him, it had ripped a hole in her that nothing could heal. She slowly pulled her hand back, away from the pain and the darkness and how badly she had wanted to die. How she would’ve died except her crew wouldn’t let her, how they fought to keep her alive and helped her find her way back. She owed them a lot, her little space-bound family. She carefully wiped at her eyes and leaned in the doorway for a moment, remembering Jeremy’s warmth, how it felt to be held by him. No one had ever gotten that close to her before and no one would ever again. It was too painful and the darkness still too real.

  The crew had tried to convince her to date again, but Reilly wasn’t interested. Her life and her experiences very few men would understand or accept. Some would feel threatened by her, others would try to change her or make her a pet. Her lifestyle kept her apart, and she was fine with that. In fact, she preferred it. The last time they had tried to set her up, it had been a disaster. They had meant well and so she had agreed, but it was too much, too soon. The eligible bachelor tried too hard and Reilly knocked him out, which resulted in a ba
r fight of epic proportions. Reilly got thirteen stitches, Chang got a black eye, and Ty got his jaw broke…again. She spent the next three days drinking until Gunny found them a job that required all of her focus and helped get her back on track. No one had brought up dating to her again.

  Reilly looked up from her black reverie as she heard the others returning. It was only 10:30, but it sounded like they had had a very good time. She moved down the hall to refill her coffee cup and then sat at the common room table to continue working on the ledgers with a frustrated growl.

  The cipher was still a mystery. She had tried all of the programs and ciphers she knew, but so far nothing had worked. Footsteps clattered up the catwalk. Duv and Holly came in the far door giggling like two kids, followed by Chang and Marek. They drew up short when they saw her.

  “Uh, hey Captain. We didn’t know you’d be here,” Duv said awkwardly while Holly peered over his shoulder at Reilly.

  Reilly was not in the mood. “Where the hell else would I be, Jackson? It is my ship, isn’t it?” She shot a steely-eyed gaze in their direction.

  Duv started to stutter out an answer, but Reilly shook her head and stopped him. “Go on already. I hope he’s worth it, Holly!” She waved at them impatiently and they scooted through the room towards Duv’s cabin.

  Duv glanced back once they were out of sight. “You know the Captain?” Holly shook her head. “Well, she knows you.” Duv gulped at that thought and reminded himself to set his room alarm a bit earlier than usual.

  Marek rapidly excused himself, said goodnight to Chang, and disappeared back the way he had come towards his room.

  Chang, unperturbed by Reilly’s mood, walked over and poured himself a cup of coffee and then joined her at the table. She glowered at him for a moment until they both broke into laughter.

  “So, do I still have it, Gunny?” Reilly smiled tiredly and looked down the hall in the direction Duv and Holly had disappeared.