Cruz reached a hand up, tucking it under her chin, and lifted her head, his eyes meeting hers once more. There was an understanding in his gaze that only someone who had seen battle could understand.
“Who?” he signed.
By now Howard had joined them, his typical slightly annoyed expression now one of concern.
“David,” Roni started. “And Jag.”
She watched the breath get caught in Cruz’s throat and the color drain from Howard’s rosy cheeks. She didn’t expect anything less. Jag was as much a part of their lives as David was of hers. Suddenly, the ex-GC navigation officer and mechanic had a lot more in common with her than they did before.
Cruz nodded slowly, passing her weapons back to her. “We have more work to do. Soldiers are holding hostages on the second level. You up for it?”
Roni took a cloth from her pocket and wiped her swords clean before putting them away. “Do we still have that stupid rule about not killing anybody?”
“Well,” Howard said, teetering as he stepped over a body. “It might be a little late for that… but let’s try to keep it to a minimum, okay?”
“No promises,” she answered.
Chapter 2
Roni paced back and forth in front of the restrained guards, swords twirling. Not killing them was more of a challenge than rescuing the hostages had turned out to be. She cocked her head to the side and pursed her lips together, kneeling in front of one of them.
The man averted his gaze, and she placed the flat side of her blade against his cheek, forcing him to look at her.
“Pathetic,” Roni said, spitting at him.
Howard cleared his throat nearby.
Roni stood, rolling her eyes. “What?”
“I’m going to head back to Osirion and make sure her systems are good to go for the trip home. We need to check in with Evelynn’s Revenge.”
“Fine.” Roni sighed as she sheathed the blades. She was dreading giving the update to her father. She didn’t want to talk about what happened with David, especially not to the guy running the mission, the guy who was supposed to keep everyone safe. “Yo, Cruz, get over here.”
Cruz looked up from the woman he was bandaging and nodded. She thanked him before he turned to hurry over to Roni and Howard.
The jaunt back to Osirion was uneventful. She was right where they had left her, undamaged and waiting. Roni hesitated before walking up the ship’s loading ramp.
“Do you want me to give the report?” Howard asked, his eyes soft.
Roni considered it a moment before shaking her head. As much as she didn’t want to, she led this mission and she wanted to prove she was a good leader. Plus, a tiny part of her was hopeful that she was wrong. Maybe it wasn’t David in that ship. “No, I need to do this. I need to know for sure.”
She led the way into Osirion and to the bridge. The trio stood, waiting. The Houston was secure. Their mission was a success. Despite all of that, the likely loss of David hung over her like a dark cloud.
Howard opened a line of communication, and Bob Devereaux, rebel leader, appeared on the screen. Dani, Roni’s half-sister, sat on the floor, eyes swollen and vacant. Her expression confirmed Roni’s fears about Jag and David. The words caught in Roni’s throat momentarily before she was able to speak.
“We’ve completed our mission. Houston is secure. My team took some hits. They are in the makeshift infirmary recovering from blaster burns and stuns. However, we were not able to take the ship without suffering GC casualties.”
Bob opened his mouth to speak, then closed it again.
“I’d like to go back in and help treat the wounded,” Cruz signed.
“Very well,” Bob said with a nod. “Talon and his crew are on their way over to extract their people. Patrick will load up the GC prisoners and drop them on the planet below. Once they’re done we’ll jump back into hyperspace to home base. As soon as we’re there, I’ll need you to undock Osirion and bring her down to the planet with the most seriously injured.”
Roni nodded, and Bob blipped off the screen. She stood still as Cruz gathered supplies and Howard started running systems checks. Seeing Dani like that strengthened her resolve to fight back against the GC. Not because she particularly cared for her estranged sister, but because she didn’t want to appear as weak as she did. Roni wouldn’t pick any more fights with the prisoners; she had more honor than that. But she would find a way to take the GC down, even if it was the last thing she did.
After gathering her thoughts, Roni headed back to the loading ramp where Cruz was waiting.
“Good?” he signed.
“Good,” Roni answered. “You go on ahead. I’m going to stop by the bridge and get an idea of our timeline.”
The two parted ways, and Roni arrived at Houston’s bridge just as Patrick finished his report.
“I’d like to ferry the GC troops down to the planet,” Roni said.
Patrick studied her. “I don’t think that’s a good idea.”
Before Roni could protest, Patrick held up his hand.
“Our weapons are still down. It is going to take some work to get them operational again. It’s more efficient to make a run with several shuttles to drop them all at once.”
“Okay, but I—”
“I’d also prefer them to have as little interaction with Osirion as possible.”
“Right, prototype and all.” Roni sighed. “You know, there are ways to get your point across without treating people like children.”
Patrick arched a brow, the slightest hint of amusement on his lips. “We’re running scans throughout the ship to ensure everyone is accounted for. Please prepare the injured for shuttle down to the rebel base. A medical team will be waiting when we arrive. As soon as my shuttles are back, they’ll be prepped as well.”
“Got it.”
“Oh, and Roni?”
She turned from the door to face him.
Patrick tossed a small square object toward her.
She caught it and turned it over in her hands. A recording cube.
“Just in case you wanted to leave a message for the GC. But don’t erase anything. I have a message of my own on there.”
She nodded her appreciation and stepped out into the hall. She held the device up to her mouth and slid the switch to record.
“To whoever gets this message… take a look at your precious government because the clock is ticking. The days of corruption are over. We deserve better. I will personally hunt down every dirty official and every corrupt soldier. The people are taking back their government… and I’m their weapon.”
She slid the switch back and looked at the box. It was perhaps not the most poetic thing she’d ever said, but it did make her feel a little better. She tossed it up in the air and caught it before taking off in a run toward the infirmary.
Roni turned a corner and ran into a group of pirates, causing their medic to drop her bag.
“Look out,” she grunted at the pirates for getting in her way. They may have their uses, but she never really got along with many of them, especially Geneva. They’d had plenty of run-ins during their time in prison to prove that. But she had never seen the medic before.
Roni turned back to look at the woman. Flaming red hair and scaled arms. She was unlike anyone Roni had ever seen before, and she looked like she’d be a formidable opponent in battle. “Interesting…” she mumbled to herself before turning her attention back to the task at hand.
She strode up to one of the restrained guards and tucked the cube down the front of his uniform. “Give that to your boss when he picks you up. ’Kay?”
* * *
Roni drummed her fingers on the armrest of the captain’s chair. Every room on Osirion was filled with the injured rebels waiting to be transported to the hospital on their home base. She snuck in early to scour the kitchen for alcohol but turned up empty-handed, much to her dismay. Instead, she was left alone with her thoughts as Cruz and Howard got everyone situated.
> Roni leaned forward, resting her head on the console when she heard Cruz and his squeaky prosthetic approaching. Her best guess was that it was damaged at some point on the Houston liberation mission, but she wasn’t exactly sure when. She remained still until his feet came into view. A drop of green fluid from the prosthetic dripped onto the floor.
“You know,” Roni said, pushing herself into a standing position. “You really should get that fixed.”
Cruz’s eyes dropped to the floor then lifted back to Roni’s face, but he didn’t respond.
“And why don’t you guys have any booze on this boat? Is Dani really that much of a hard-ass?”
Howard’s belly chuckle echoed from behind her as he hobbled into the room.
Roni’s eyes immediately dropped to the bottle in his hand. “Hey, where’d you get that?”
“Emergency stash,” Howard said, clinking a stack of three metal cups against the glass. He stopped next to Roni and Cruz and poured a small amount in each cup. He passed them around and raised his cup in the air.
“To the two finest young men I’ve had the pleasure of working with. I may have given each a fair amount of grief”—Howard chuckled—“but everything I did was for their own good… and to shape them into the men they needed to be to put up with Roni and Dani.”
Roni couldn’t help but half smile. “Alright, maybe you’re not so bad after all.”
“To Jag and David,” Howard said before downing his shot.
Cruz and Roni followed suit. The alcohol warmed her esophagus then her stomach. She held up the cup for a refill.
“Sorry, lass, you’ve got a ship to fly.” Howard smiled at her and put the stopper on the bottle before taking the dirtied cups.
Sensors beeped, indicating that the Houston had dropped out of hyperspace.
“Home sweet home…” Roni mumbled.
“Ready then?” Cruz signed.
Roni took a deep breath. “Let’s do this.”
“Osirion, you’re clear to depart,” Patrick’s voice sounded through the comm system.
“Let’s get this boat on the ground,” Roni said, taking the controls.
She launched Osirion from the hangar and into the dark cold of space. She paused, taking in the sight of the twinkling stars and distant dust cloud. It was a view she always loved and one that she and David had admired together often.
Osirion’s descent was smooth and practically effortless, a nice change from most of the aging rebel fleet. Once on the ground, they got to work helping unload the injured. Cruz followed, wanting to see to his patients. Howard scuttled off somewhere. And Roni found herself alone again.
The rebel base didn’t offer the comfort she had hoped. Everyone was bustling about like nothing had happened. Roni couldn’t blame them really. If it had been anyone else, she would be carrying about her business now too. But it wasn’t just anyone to Roni. It was David. Her David.
He was the only one that had managed to keep her grounded, metaphorically speaking; nothing could keep her boots on the ground for long. The last time they were forced to part ways, she found herself in prison. Thankfully he was able to go undercover at the facility and help her keep her head, for the most part.
Now she felt lost without her moral compass. It was easy for Roni to get carried away in the heat of the moment and do things she ended up regretting. But David’s ability to read her had helped her to see the lines she shouldn’t cross. His warnings often came as the gentle touch of his hand on her back, or a cautious look. The thing she appreciated most about his method of reeling her in was that she never felt judged. He never came off as being afraid of her. Once the moment passed, it was like it never even happened. She wasn’t sure how many lives he’d saved from her swords, but she did know that he’d helped her from going down paths that she wouldn’t have been able to return from. And without his gentle guidance, she might lose herself in the darkness.
Roni crossed the square toward the memorial board. Names, pictures, and trinkets were pinned to a large wooden panel. She had never taken the time to look at it before. So many lives lost in the battle against an overreaching government. To make it worse, she had nothing to pin up for David. They had no photographs. The antiquated practice was typically reserved for special occasions—weddings, the birth of a child. They hadn’t quite made it to either of those milestones.
“I plan on hosting a memorial.”
Roni turned to find Bob standing behind her, his shoulders back, looking like the GC captain he once was.
“I’m sorry this had to happen,” Bob continued.
The apology caused her rage to resurface. “But did it? Did it have to happen, Dad? Did you order it to happen?”
“Order? Of course not, Roni. You should know better. I wanted a clean mission. In and out. I never want to lose anyone.”
She clenched her jaw.
“Look, I’d love for you to say a few words about David at the memorial. I know how close the two of you were.”
“No,” Roni answered.
“No?”
“What do you want me to say? How great he was? How I loved him? What good will that do, Dad? It’s not going to bring him back.”
“You’re angry, I understand. Think about it. It might be a good chance to say goodbye.” Bob turned and walked toward the hospital.
“I’m not ready to say goodbye,” Roni mumbled.
* * *
Roni sat cross-legged in the grass just outside the communications hut. An untouched bowl of stew balanced on her knee as she twirled a twig between her fingers.
“Roni, hello.” A waif-like woman approached.
“Hi, Barbara.” Roni’s body tensed at the sight of the woman.
“How are you holding up?” Barbara asked as she took a seat in the grass next to her.
“I’d really rather not talk about it. Especially to you.”
Barbara offered a kind smile. “Roni, I am not the enemy.”
Roni blinked slowly at the woman. “You’re not an ally either.”
“You quit coming to your sessions,” Barbara said as she looked out over the camp.
“I don’t see the point of some psychologist telling me what I should or shouldn’t feel. You don’t even know what it’s like out there.” Roni turned to look at her. “Have you ever even touched a weapon? Have you been nose-to-nose with the enemy? I didn’t think so, Barbara.”
“That’s nice that someone brought you some stew. Sometimes, when we experience a loss, it’s—”
“I’m not interested,” Roni said with a huff. She grabbed the bowl and thrust it at Barbara as she got to her feet, spilling a few drops on the woman’s smock. “Enjoy.”
“You’re missing the memorial,” Barbara called after her.
Roni stepped inside the communications hut and slammed the door before plopping down into a chair. She began to fiddle with the dials of the long-range sensors as she gnawed on a piece of jerky. It was really more of a shack than anything, set a short distance away from the buzz of the main camp. The wall was filled with dozens of communications devices all routed to a central monitor. Wires hung like vines, and buzzes and beeps sounded intermittently.
“There you are,” Zadria said as she walked into the small outpost. Her long blonde hair was tied back in a neat braid. “Cruz thought you might be out here. Something about finding someone to save?”
“So now they sent a kid to find me?” Roni rolled her eyes at the young blonde, though she couldn’t really argue against the statement. Cruz really had her pegged. Perhaps he and Roni had more in common than she thought.
“I volunteered. Everyone is at the memorial.” Zadria gently sat her hand on Roni’s shoulder. “Well, except that psychologist lady. I passed her on my way in. Was she here?”
“Yeah, for the same reason as you. To get me to go to that memorial. You might as well give it up now. I’m not going.” Roni sighed and shrugged the hand away. “I’ve got nothing to say.”
“I get it,
” Zadria said.
Roni couldn’t help but scoff, wondering what a new recruit could possibly know about what she was feeling.
“Not about the death thing,” Zadria added. “I’ve been lucky that way.”
“What are you even talking about?”
“I get what it’s like to have everyone looking at you, expecting something great just because of who you are.”
Roni stared at her. “Who are you?”
“Zadria Swift, daughter of the esteemed Captain Patrick Alexander.”
“Oh.” Roni raised both eyebrows. “Shit.”
“Yup. That about sums it up,” Zadria said with a laugh.
“You look nothing alike. I wouldn’t have guessed.”
“Apparently I take after my mother.” Zadria shrugged.
Roni’s fingers paused on the dial as her mind drifted. “Me too,” she said quietly.
Zadria took a seat next to Roni. “So how does this thing work?”
Roni cleared her throat, thankful for the distraction. “It’s a signal relay of sorts. We have different satellites positioned throughout friendly space. We used to have more, but the GC takes them out as they find them. They pick up various messages and send them back here. Sometimes it takes a while for us to get them. It just depends on how far they’re traveling. One of your people… Cassie or something, has been trying to improve the system.”
“Oh, Cassia. Yeah, she’s good at that stuff. I saw her down at the memorial.”
“How about we don’t talk about the memorial anymore?”
“Done,” Zadria said with a nod. “Sorry.”
“Don’t apologize.” Roni fiddled with the dial again, picking up some static. “Got something.”
Zadria cocked her head, listening. “I don’t hear anything but static.”
“The static is the signal,” Roni explained. “Just have to decrypt it.”
Roni ran the signal through the computer system and waited.
The transmission began.
This is operative 6829 on the Mother. The eagle has returned to the nest to gather the eggs. The Mother is angry. Requesting hornets.
Rebel Yell: Operation Ardent Redux: Episode 1 (A Space Opera Adventure) Page 2