“Sir! No, sir,” they shouted and snapped to attention.
He smacked his keycard against the door to the intel office and did his best to not look at the team as they continued down the hall. As he entered, one of the sailors looked up and called out to him.
“Captain Thorne?” the sailor said nervously. “There’s a call on line seven for you. It looks like some early grads were smeared with their new team.”
Early grads. He felt hollow. Those were usually the pick of an intake. To lose them in a team that went down on an operation was a heavy blow. His lips together, he took the call. “Captain Thorne here.”
“This is Chief Wiggins,” the caller responded. “I have some news on your team. They met with resistance and were unsuccessful.”
“All right, prepare to transmit the lists of the fallen.” He sighed and was about to end the call when Wiggins continued. “That isn’t it.”
“There’s more?”
“In relation to your current objective. One of the sailor’s names is Todd. He survived, but he was badly injured. His background files state he was Stephanie Morgana’s best friend in high school.”
“So?” Thorne didn’t have time for ancient trivia on a dead sailor, new grad or not.
“So that was only last year, sir, and communications records indicate they were in touch right up until he went into basics.”
“What stopped them?”
The chief cleared his throat. “Well, basics, sir. They’re not allowed their own comms devices there. She left him messages, but he graduated early and was sent on the first operational mission available.”
The captain groaned. “And that just happened to be mine.”
“I’m sorry, sir.”
“Don’t be, Chief...and thank you. I’ll take it from here.” This time, he did end the transmission. He turned to the nearest sailor. “Harold, intercept the witch and her team before they can leave. Tell them I need to see them urgently.”
He stared at the sailor’s retreating back, then into nothing as he turned the possibilities over in his mind. “I might have the perfect leverage to force her to agree,” he murmured and brought up the reports from Todd’s mission.
Deep in thought, he flipped through until he found the kid’s logs, which noted that the team had run into a fight every few minutes once they’d entered the outpost.
The reports provided considerable information, which meant the mission hadn’t been a complete failure, but they also painted a grim picture concerning the team’s fate. Before he could do more than skim the conclusion, Harold returned. “They’re waiting,” he said and returned to his seat.
Captain Thorne closed the file and saved it to his queue so he could read it in greater depth later. Once it was secure, he strode to the conference room, holding himself straighter than before.
“Stephanie,” he said, coming in the room. “I am sorry to drop this on you right now, but I just received word that your friend, Todd, was injured during an operation. He is currently on a hospital ship heading back to one of our space stations.”
Her mouth dropped open slightly and Lars laid his hand on her shoulder. She ignored him and focused on the naval officer. “I need to get to him.”
He smiled. “Of course. But first, there is the small matter of your enlistment.”
Her team shoved their chairs back as she rose. Her jaw clenched and eyes flashed black. “How dare you attempt to blackmail me?”
Magic sparkled around her body and danced along her arms to her fingertips. “I am the Morgana. I am the one who protects this universe. I am salvation and destruction.”
“Steph,” Lars said and glared at the captain. “Steph. It’s okay. The captain will help us. Steph...come back...”
Thorne jumped as two of the team stepped alongside him. One placed a hand on his arm. “I’d help her if I were you.”
The other one added, “Yeah, that’s not Stephanie anymore.”
“It’s not?” The captain looked again at the girl who turned toward him. Her entire body was wreathed in magical flame, and most of her team stared at her with awe and fear. Even the Dreth—and nothing scared a warrior like that.
She took a step toward him and the magic blazed. The man who tried to talk her down leapt back with a sudden yelp of pain. “Steph. Todd! Think of Todd!”
Her voice was a rabid snarl and she turned fiery eyes to him. “I am thinking of Todd.” She turned that midnight gaze on the captain. “And he is keeping me from him!”
She took another step and reached for him, and Thorne stumbled backward. He tripped and managed to catch himself against the wall. “I—there’s a transport leaving later today.”
Her black eyes smoldered with uncanny rage as she took another step toward him.
“I can see if they can take you—”
She stopped and a little of the fire faded from around her body. Lars motioned for him to continue. The captain took note of the anxiety in the man’s features and looked at Stephanie. His mind scrambled for the right words to say.
‘I... If there’s no room on that one, the courier arrives in two days. I’ll make sure it has room.”
More of the fire died as the energy subsided into her body. The team leader nodded and motioned for him to keep going, but he was lost for what to say next and chose a hasty exit instead.
“I’ll go now. Please wait while I check with the transport right away. You will have passage before the end of the week.”
“Make it so,” the girl told him, and her voice took on sepulchral tones. The man hurried out of the room.
Lars reached out cautiously and wrapped an arm around her shoulders. “Steph?” he asked, turned her toward him, and drew her close. “Hey, you in there?”
The face she tilted up at him was all Steph. Not a trace of Morgana remained, and her eyes swam with tears. He read everything she wanted to say in her haunted expression and held her as tightly as he could. “We’ve got this. You have the ambassador’s number. I need to speak to him.”
She pulled her tablet out and handed it over. “I...I can’t,” she managed to say and he hugged her again.
“You don’t have to.” He looked over her head. “Frog, Marcus. Guard the door. I need five minutes.”
He was surprised when Vishlog moved with them. The Dreth caught his look. “They will think twice about arguing if I am there.”
Before the team leader could counter it, Frog slapped the warrior on the shoulder. “We’ll take him. I’d like to see anything Navy with the balls to take him on.”
Lars took one look at his teammate's face and thought the man might actually start a fight simply to watch the warrior put someone into a wall.
He glared at them. “Fine. But keep him out of trouble. Any fights and the three of you will wear mini-skirts and serve in the Navy bar for the next three weeks.”
“You wouldn’t—” Frog’s mouth dropped open and Vishlog looked at him in disbelief.
Marcus simply rolled his eyes. “Thanks, Frog. Thanks a lot, shit for brains.”
Stephanie giggled, and Lars could almost have forgiven them based on that one small sound. Instead, he kept his expression stern and pointed to the door. “Five minutes. Go.”
They went, and he used her tablet to call V’ritan. The ambassador’s expression of puzzlement turned to anxious understanding.
“Is she okay?” he wanted to know, and he glanced at her before replied. “She’ll be fine, but right now, we need our luggage brought up to the station. Do you think you could—”
“Of course. The entire team’s?”
“Yes. Has Vishlog’s gear arrived?”
“If it has, I’ll send it up. Is there anything I can do?”
“Give our apologies to the king and put our heavy gear into storage? I’m sure he’ll want his suite back.”
“I’ll talk to him and take care of the rest.” His voice revealed real concern. “Take care of our girl, won’t you?”
“Yes,
Ambassador. And thank you.”
He ended the call and went to tell the team the coast was clear. He found them confronting a frustrated and angry Captain Thorne. “I’m done,” he said, and they let the Naval officer pass.
The officer sputtered at the indignity of being kept out of his own conference room, in his own command, in the Navy section of the station by a Dreth! Granted, it was a Dreth on a leash and in the company of two human guards, but still—his own command!
If he didn’t need to keep the Stephanie child on their side, he’d have made something more of it. In the meantime, he kept a good grip on his temper and stalked into the room.
“Troublemakers,” Lars muttered when he was out of earshot, and Frog’s jaw dropped in outrage.
“They were your orders.”
The team leader snickered and turned away but heard Vishlog’s whispered offer.
“Should I hit him?”
Frog’s response was both a worry and a relief. “Oh no. I have something much better planned.”
He didn’t have time for their idiocy but assumed he was in line for one of his teammate’s nastier pranks and decided it didn’t matter. All that mattered was that they got Stephanie to where Todd was before Morgana made another appearance.
The ambassador kept his promise and their gear was delivered with an hour to spare. By that time, they had already boarded the Herman Michaels, named for another famous general in Earth’s distant past. Lars made a note to look it up when he had time—much, much later.
In the meantime, he got the team, the cats, and Stephanie loaded. The felines had caused a stir when they came on board. They’d stalked beside her like they owned the place and only stopped when one of the petty officers had stepped in her path.
“I’m sorry,” he’d begun, “but you can’t—”
Both felines had stepped between him and Stephanie and hissed. She had merely turned to look at him as darkness welled in her eyes and magic sparked around her.
The crewman had stepped aside. “Welcome aboard the Herman Michaels, ma’am.”
The team leader had seen them to their quarters and returned to the dock with Marcus and Johnny to bring their gear aboard as soon as the ambassador arrived. The Herman’s engines were already warming, and Lars wasted no time.
“Thank you, Ambassador. We’ll be back as soon as we’re able.”
V’ritan seemed disappointed not to see Stephanie, but he didn’t demand it. “Please do, and have her call me when she has time. I’d like to hear how she is.”
“Will do, Ambassador.” He glanced back to the ship. “I’m sorry, but I really must—”
He waved them back on board and left the docks. Despite his concern, he managed a grin when he wondered how the Navy had taken to having the cats on board.
A week later, Todd drifted slowly back to consciousness. He groaned slightly when he felt pain but didn’t really understand that it came from his own body.
It moved in waves and rolled over him. His consciousness blurred from the medication he’d been given to ease the suffering. He could hear several beeps nearby and recognized them as the unmistakable sound of medical equipment.
It took him a moment to understand that they were attached to him, but the beeping changed as he moved and he stopped. Damn. What the hell had he done?
For a moment, he lay frozen, studied the ceiling, and tried to work out how he’d gotten there. His contemplation was interrupted when a young woman yelled, followed by a man’s terrified scream and the sound of something metallic hitting the floor and glass shattering.
He couldn’t be sure. It all sounded jumbled and blurred to him. Another yell sounded, older and sterner but still alarmed. Were they being boarded?
His question was answered by a loud roar followed by an immediate deep purring. There is a lion on board?
Another roar followed, this one lighter in tone.
There are two lions? He looked around for a weapon but couldn’t see anything more lethal than a bedpan. Aside from that, he couldn’t work out how to get his body to sit up, either.
Damn! What had he done? He remembered a firefight—several firefights—but not how they’d ended. Todd frowned as he struggled to remember, only to be disturbed by the sound of boots clicking resolutely along the floor and getting slowly louder.
Finally, they stopped outside his door. He turned his head carefully toward it and stared as a shadow shifted underneath the door. The handle started to turn, and the two big animals snuffled outside.
Lions can open doors? He tried to again push himself into a sitting position, but only his arms moved and he couldn’t get the rest of him to follow. As he pushed at the sheets, the door creaked open.
Whatever was on the other side pushed it all the way back, and Todd swallowed and wondered if he could reach the bedpan in time. Magic crackled from the doorway and he froze when the stranger stepped forward.
“Stephanie?” His voice creaked when he recognized her.
For a moment, she simply stood there, her face marred by worry and anger. She was dressed completely in black, her hair pulled back in a ponytail that swung down her back.
He stared at her, and she stared back. After a moment, she glanced in the medical equipment surrounding the bed before she settled her gaze on his battered face. As if it were a trigger, she crossed the room swiftly and pushed down the railing at the edge of the bed.
Moments later, she sat beside him and studied his features. To him, it looked like she couldn’t think of the right words, but she finally got it together and spoke. “What happened? The Navy wouldn’t give me details.”
He swallowed hard, felt the dryness of his throat, and coughed. She reached for the cup at the side of the bed and held it while he drank. Clearing his throat when he was done, Todd was about to explain how he couldn’t quite remember when memories rushed to the surface.
A scream echoed through his skull—not his, but someone else’s. He flinched and focused on her face. “The operation…it went south.”
Stephanie pressed her lips together. “What operation?” she asked finally. “You were still in boot camp. You shouldn’t have been on an operation.”
He shook his head and winced again as pain surged through his head and brought flashes of the fights the team had been caught in once they’d reached the outpost. “They didn’t have the people…and we’d hit all the training markers...gradded us early...put us with an experienced team. We...landed. Got hurt when we hit town. They were waiting… We had no chance.”
Todd swallowed and tears welled as he saw it all again, but he held them back and forced himself to continue. “All of us were hurt, one of the leaders died…for me…pushed me out of the way…”
The words seemed to choke him, and he stopped and closed his eyes. For several long moments, he simply lay there in silence, breathing hard as he held the tears back.
More moments passed, and she didn’t dare move. When he spoke again, his soft voice cracked. “I froze, Stephanie…I froze. All that training and for what?”
Her jaw pulsed as she clenched and unclenched her teeth, and she gripped the edge of the bed hard. She fought to keep her voice calm and tried to answer his question. “It takes much more than training to be a soldier, Todd. It takes practice, and you and your team weren’t given enough.”
She slid off the bed, stood, and straightened her top. “The Navy will always return,” she told him, inadvertently repeating what Arizona had said, “to avenge the fallen.”
“We don’t have enough resources,” he told her and winced at the pain that now made its presence felt.
Stephanie’s tilted her head forward and her face went dark. “That’s why they hired me.”
She laid the palm of her hand against his face and released pulses of healing energy into his body. As the magic obeyed, she willed it to go to anything and everything that had been hurt.
Todd relaxed beneath her touch and his eyes fluttered closed even though he tried to
stay awake. She watched him settle and shook her head as determination set in. “Sleep well, my friend. I’ve got this.”
Chapter Fifty-Six
In the team’s common room on the Naval station, Vishlog picked up a large box of ammo and handed it to Lars. The ambassador had done more than simply bring their luggage up. He’d managed to add several kilos of weaponry and armor. Because the Navy had expected it and were in a hurry, and because V’ritan had accompanied it and Lars had met him dockside, they’d got it aboard.
It was unbelievable, and the team leader made a note to be extra vigilant while on the station because if the ambassador could get this much aboard a Navy ship, who else could smuggle something in?
The transition to station quarters hadn’t made him feel any better, either. They’d offloaded their gear without any questions being asked, and although that might be because the sailors trusted them or were extra wary of Stephanie, it still made him uneasy.
Who else might have succeeded in bringing something else onto the station? He glanced around for any sign of her, but she was still alone with her cats.
She had been very quiet and very focused since she went to see Todd, and he could see that the whole team had been affected. Even Vishlog, who helped him go over their equipment, looked worried. He wondered what was going through the big man’s mind.
The warrior frowned. He could understand the concern for a friend, but the extent of Stephanie’s reaction confused him. She wasn’t the same person he had met a week ago. It was like a switch had flipped and a new person had emerged.
As he handed Lars another box, he caught his team leader’s eye. “Lars,” he began, and was relieved when the human signaled that he should continue. “I was wondering... As we prepare for this mission, I see a change in Stephanie that I do not fully understand.”
The man put the box on the pallet and marked it off on the inventory. He wiped his forehead and looked at the Dreth. “From the moment she knew Todd was hurt, she became less Stephanie and more Morgana. Until she has dealt with those who hurt her friend, we won’t get our Stephanie back.”
Witch Of The Federation (Federal Histories Book 2) Page 62