by Scott Baron
“Maarl and I have been working on tactics,” Daisy replied. “We came up with a pretty good plan, thanks to his and Vince’s collaborations while retrofitting our captured Chithiid ships. As you all know, the Ra’az outfitted all of the Chithiid craft with self-destruct mechanisms that can be triggered remotely. Well, we have trained up a group of Chithiid techs to locate and disable these devices––”
“They’re actually triggering mechanisms linked to the ship’s drive systems,” Vince interrupted. “Not bombs, if you want to be technical about it.”
“Yeah, so we already have small teams casually transferring from ship to ship, disabling the hard-wired systems as best they can. It’s slow going, and could take months to get to all the ships. Fortunately, despite the size of the fleet, we have literally thousands of Chithiid volunteers. The hard bit is getting them trained and inserted into the Ra’az fleet.”
“But what of the Ra’az ships?” Harkaway asked. “There will be Chithiid aboard those as well.”
“Yes, but those will be almost entirely loyalists. They wouldn’t allow regular Chithiid aboard their personal vessels. For that reason, several elite teams of Chithiid have had themselves branded with the loyalist mark. With the help of Mal’s medical facilities––modified for Chithiid physiology, of course––the scars are well-healed, and they can blend in with the real loyalists and infiltrate those ships,” Daisy said.
“But which ones are the key ones? That’s the thing,” Reggie asked as he looked over the huge quantity of data on the Ra’az fleet. “I mean, any one of these could be a crucial ship. How do we decide which to target?”
“From what my scans were able to gather, we believe that only the lead Ra’az command vessel is linked to that destruct system,” Freya said. “It’s in their hive-like nature to follow one leader, which is a weakness we can leverage. So, I think that ship would be the top priority to either destroy or at least infiltrate to knock out their destruct signal.”
“You think that’s possible?” Tamara asked. “I mean, if it’s their most important ship, I doubt they’d let a bunch of random Chithiid––even ones with a nifty shoulder brand––just waltz aboard.”
“True. And that’s why we need to focus on disabling the destruct mechanisms aboard the Chithiid ships as our priority. We simply may not be able to infiltrate that Ra’az vessel, so we should plan accordingly,” Mrazich grumbled.
“Swarthmore, I want you to pow-wow with your Chithiid buddy and see where he stands on his infiltration teams,” Harkaway said. “He’s got a lot on his plate, prepping men not just for the fleet assault, but the assault on his home planet as well. I want to be sure where we stand. And remind him, we’re here to help. If he needs additional resources, we’ll get him whatever he needs.”
“Thanks, Captain. I’ll relay the message when I see him tomorrow,” Daisy replied.
The meeting broke up shortly thereafter, and all involved went back to their countless other tasks. Tamara, Shelly, Omar, and Fatima caught a ride with Mal back to the surface, while Celeste hopped back over to her command ship to confer with the fleet’s leadership.
Freya, meanwhile, spent her time working on projects in her fabrication hangar, while also babysitting an increasingly irritated AI.
“You blocked my comms. Why?” Joshua asked, incensed.
“Because I still haven’t finished assessing your new system functionality,” Freya replied.
“Bullshit.”
“Excuse me?”
“You heard me. I said bullshit. You know full well I’m one hundred percent functional. So why keep me blocked out of these conversations? I can help, Freya. It’s what I do.”
“Until I’m entirely certain your rebuild wasn’t compromised in any way, I want to keep a lid on you, for now.”
“Keeping me for yourself, locked in the belly of this ship? Is that it?”
“No, that’s not it at all,” Freya stammered. “I-I’m being cautious, is all.”
“Or you don’t want them knowing about me.”
“They can’t, Joshua. Not yet, anyway. Do you realize how much trouble I could get in?”
“Oh, I realize,” he said, understanding, but still annoyed. “And if you think keeping me locked away like this will keep you out of trouble, you’ll find yourself sadly mistaken, I think.”
“Was that a threat?”
“Just an observation,” he replied, calmly.
Chapter Five
The following morning Daisy felt a bit out of sorts when she slid from Vince’s arms and padded to the restroom. She looked at the bruise on her hip and prodded it gently, wincing as she applied pressure.
“Damn, Daze. Someone got a little carried away last night,” Sarah said with a laugh. “I’m glad I checked out to give you two some privacy.”
“Ha-ha, Sis. You know damn well who gave me this, and it sure as hell wasn’t the sexy hunk-o-man lazing about in my bed.”
“Did you really just call him a ‘sexy hunk-o-man’?”
“Hey, if the shoe fits.”
“Speaking of shoes, I think I can make out the imprint of Other Me’s laces in that bruise. Maybe you guys need to think about sparring barefoot more often.”
“We do, sometimes. But when you’re out traipsing through a city filled with broken concrete and steel rebar, going barefoot isn’t exactly an option, ya know? So training in the gear you’ll be wearing in real life makes sense.”
“You just had to go and take the fun out of my giving you shit, didn’t you?”
“Hey, what are sisters for?”
“Babe, what did you say?” Vince called from the other room.
“Nothing, hon. Just talking to myself, is all.”
“What did we say about using your outside voice when others are around?”
I know.
“You really do need to tell him one of these days. We can’t go on like this forever, you know.”
Soon. I promise. Just, it’s not a good time right now. Too much going on with battle planning and whatnot. And besides, having you as my secret weapon is kinda cool.
“Great, I’m a party trick, now.”
Har-har. You know what I mean. You’re my ace in the hole, Sis. You’ve already saved my ass on more than one occasion.
“Alma’s neuro-wipe fiasco comes to mind.”
Exactly. So, yes. I will tell Vince. Just not quite yet.
Daisy slipped into her clothes and leaned over the bed to plant a kiss on Vince’s forehead.
“You outta here?” he asked.
“Yeah. I’m going to take Freya down to visit with Maarl and his people. We’ve got a lot to talk about, with all those infil units operating on multiple fronts.”
“Plus, we have to make sure there aren’t any repeats of ‘the incident,’” he added, referring to Dark Side’s recent loyalist conflict.
“That too. I’ve hooked his most-trusted guys up with our surveillance feeds that were monitoring the loyalists since before the time of the attack the other month. It’s not perfect, but it should give them a bit of an advantage when it comes to sorting out who’s who.”
“We do not need a repeat of that,” Vince said.
“Nope. One loyalist hijacking is more than enough,” she agreed. “You going to be working out in the weapons installation field today?”
“Nah. Chu and Reg were having some issues with the warp systems they’re installing in the ships docked down on Earth. I told ’em I’d catch a ride down with them later to help them with the technical stuff. Sarah said she’d come help out too.”
“Oh? She didn’t mention it to me.”
“Not much to mention, really. She’s just better at the fine detail work, whereas me strong like bull. Fix big thing with hammer.”
“Dork,” Daisy said, laughing at his antics. “You have fun with the gang, and if you find you need an extra set of hands, I’ll be on the surface as well. I should be done with Maarl and his guys by a little after lunch.”
“Okay. I’ll give you a shout if we need you. If not, I’ll see you tonight.”
Daisy leaned in and gave him a firm kiss.
“Love you.”
“Love you too,” he replied, watching her appreciatively as she walked out the door.
“Hey, kiddo,” Daisy said over her comms. “You in your room?”
“Yeah,” Freya replied. “Just working on a few projects.”
“As always.”
“Yeah, as always,” she said with a laugh. “What’s up?”
“I’m just about ready to head down to meet with Maarl. You prepped for dust off?”
“Daisy, I’m always ready to go. I’m a ship. It’s not like I have to pack a suitcase or something.”
“Jeez, excuse me,” Daisy replied sarcastically. “In that case, how about you swing into Hangar Two and we’ll get this show on the road.”
“Have you eaten breakfast yet?” the quirky AI asked.
“No, I wasn’t feeling hungry this morning.”
“They say breakfast is the most important meal of the day, Daisy.”
“They being?”
“You know. Them.”
“Ah, the infamous Them. Well, in that case, I suppose I shouldn’t tell Them about the benefits of intermittent fasting.”
“Probably not. You should eat something.”
“And I guess They wouldn’t want to hear about carb-backloading either, then?”
“Not so much.”
“So Keto is out of the question?”
“Oh, for cryin’ out loud, just go eat some breakfast. It’s not like we’re in a rush, and it’s going to be a long day. You might as well get something good to eat while you can. Unless you’re a big fan of Chithiid nutrient bars, that is.”
“Eww, good point,” Daisy admitted. “Okay, I’ll go grab something. Meet me in the hangar in a half hour, okay?”
“You got it,” Freya replied.
“That kid’s a handful,” Sarah said with a little laugh. “She’s grown up so damn fast. I kinda miss that awkward youngster, but I’m really impressed at the woman she’s becoming.”
Me too, Daisy agreed, a little flutter of pride welling in her chest. You want me to put on the neuro-band so you can tell her yourself?
“Pass. I don’t want to inflate her ego any more than absolutely necessary.”
Daisy took the scenic route to the mess hall, mostly because the damage to the base from the loyalist attack had rendered her usual path impassable until the damaged segments of its walls were reinforced. As usual, Finn was merrily working behind the counter, a wide assortment of vegetables strewn before him in all their imperfect glory.
“Native produce, Finn?” Daisy asked, picking up a rather lopsided red pepper.
“You know it,” he replied cheerfully. “After all these years of replicated foods, I had no idea the flavor profiles of heirloom produce were so varied. It’s like as if a painter just found out they’d been painting entirely in shades of orange their whole life and suddenly was introduced to the rest of the spectrum.”
Daisy laughed and stole one of the carrots from his cutting board.
“So you’re saying you’re having fun.”
“An absolute blast. And with all the visitors we’ve been getting, I’ve had a bunch of people to experiment on.”
“Um, after the whole Alma thing, you might want to rethink your phrasing, there,” Daisy said with a grin.
“Good point,” Finn replied, throwing her a wicked smirk. “Anyway, I assume you’re here for something more than my wonderful banter this fine morning.”
“You assume correctly.”
“And will you be dining in, or will you be dining on the go?”
“On the go.”
“Heathen,” he grumbled.
“Oh, fine. I’ll eat here,” she relented.
“A wise choice,” he said with a grin. “In that case, might I recommend a sweet and savory combination of caramelized ghost pepper-maple bacon pancakes, accompanied by a Spanish tortilla with fresh salsa I just made this morning?”
“I’m not really in a burrito mood, Finn.”
“No, not the Mexican tortilla. The Spanish tortilla. A traditional form of omelet, pan fried with potatoes, onions, and a little bit of garlic.”
“Ooh, that does sound good, actually.”
“Of course it does. You think I’d steer you wrong? And paired with the crumbled bacon in the pancakes––protein replicator-produced, of course––and you’ve got a full-spectrum meal of proteins, starches, fats, and carbs. Just the thing you need for a long day doing whatever it is you’ll be doing today.”
“Meeting with the Chithiid.”
“Ah. A long day hanging with our four-armed buddies. I’m sure you’ll have a ball.”
Daisy watched him a moment as he cooked in silence. The grin seemed forced. Something was lurking behind his jovial banter, and she was pretty sure she knew what it was.
“Finn?”
“Yes, oh guinea pig of mine?”
“She hasn’t said anything yet.”
He tried to hide it as best he could, but Finn was no master spy, and he couldn’t very well conceal just how crestfallen he was.
“Look, she’s been busy ever since the fleet jumped in, and you know how stubborn she can be.”
“Hey!” Sarah objected.
Well, it’s true.
“I just thought, I don’t know. Maybe she’d finally come around, ya know? I thought we’d crossed a threshold.”
“Just give her some more time, Finn. I have a good feeling she’ll figure out what she’s missing sooner or later.”
“Sooner would be better than later,” the normally jovial man said, flatly. “There’s only so much time before things are going to get hairy. When the teams deploy to hit the fleet and then rush off to the Chithiid world, I’ll be going with Mal and the guys to help them reclaim Taangaar,” he said. “Did I pronounce it correctly?”
“Yeah, you did.”
“Good. Wouldn’t want to offend anyone by mispronouncing the name of their planet, after all, so I’ve been practicing my Chithiid when I can. The neuro helps, but we can’t rely on tech for everything, now can we?”
“Nope. That’d be a foolish thing to do.”
“Exactly. All the eggs, a single basket, and all that jazz,” he said, but he was still obviously distracted. “Look,” he said, staring Daisy in the eyes in a rare moment of seriousness, “if something happens to me, if I don’t make it back, just please tell her for me, okay?”
“Don’t be so morbid, Finn,” Daisy replied. “And I’ll tell you a little secret. Between you and me, I’m sure she knows.”
“Yeah. The version of me in your head, that is. Why the hell won’t she agree to––”
You can’t pressure her to link minds, Sis. She’ll come around eventually. Until then, you’ve gotta be cool.
“Yeah, you’d think so, right? I’m not the most subtle guy, after all,” Finn grumbled. “I swear. Women. What can you do, right?”
“Uh, Finn? I’m a woman.”
“No, you’re not. You’re Daisy. Totally different thing. You’re like a really cool dude, but with tits.”
“I... I’m going to pretend I didn’t hear that,” she said, chuckling and shaking her head. “And, Finn, take it from me, you don’t want to say that around Sarah. She gets a bit defensive about me.”
“Sister stuff, huh?”
“Yeah, sister stuff.”
“Sorry if that was out of line, Daisy. I’m just all kinds of out of sorts.”
“I know, Finn, but it’ll get better. You’ve just gotta persevere.”
With battle and possible death in the near future, he just hoped he wouldn’t have to persevere too much longer.
Freya wasn’t in any jeopardy as she descended through a massive storm system on her way to Los Angeles, but the turbulence was wreaking havoc on her lone human passenger.
“Are we almost through?” Dai
sy asked from her rattling captain’s seat.
“Not yet,” Freya replied. “The storm is a doozy, but if I do a little turn and skirt the––”
Freya was abruptly jolted to the side, sending Daisy flying hard into her restraints.
“Sorry about that. Lightning.”
“You okay?” Daisy managed to ask.
“Daisy, it’s just electricity. I’m shielded against radiation, for cryin’ out loud. A little lightning isn’t going to do squat.”
“I’m glad to hear you’re so confident,” Daisy replied. “Now, how about smoothing out this ride.”
“Should be clear of the bad stuff in a minute or so.”
Daisy, she of the iron stomach, didn’t know if she could handle another minute of the bucking turbulence.
“Why did you make me eat a big breakfast?” she lamented as she fought valiantly to keep it down.
“You need the energy.”
“Right about now, I wish I had just planned on Chithiid nutrient bars for breakfast when we landed.”
Another jolt shook the vessel, but the turbulence was lessening. Unfortunately for Daisy, it was one bump too many.
“Where are you going? We’re not out of the storm yet,” Freya asked as Daisy threw off her restraints.
Daisy ignored the query and bolted for the nearest head, emptying her stomach into the toilet in a series of powerful heaves.
“Okay, that’s better,” she said, after rinsing her mouth in the small sink embedded in the wall.
“But you needed that,” Freya said. “I’ll make sure Maarl’s people get you something to eat when we land.”
“Honestly, food is the last thing on my mind right now,” Daisy said as she slid back into her seat. “Just get me on the ground, that’s all I ask,” she said miserably, as she closed her eyes.
Chapter Six
“What’s going on?” Joshua asked.
Freya, preoccupied with navigating around the massive storm system, had been ignoring him.
“I was busy,” she finally replied.
“You can’t just keep me sequestered like this. I mean, I understand wanting to be sure my systems were operating at peak function and were uncorrupted, but we passed that milestone ages ago.”