The Ninth: Invasion (16 page)

“Well, that’s simple; you were in love,” Sanderson said as he took a seat at the cramped table.

“How long were you listening?” Brent asked for Tyra.

“Not long,” Sanderson said, obviously annoyed.  “Was trying to get the food dispenser to work.  These models are nothing like the ones back on the academy.”

“Love?” Ronald asked as he glanced over the prim and proper military man.  “What makes
you
say that?”

Sanderson stiffened.  Tyra’s focus had drifted to her plate.  She was obviously deep in thought as she slowly ate the remains of her meal.

“I’d assume it would be apparent,” Sanderson deflected.

“What’s apparent?” Hiroko asked as she took a seat.

“Is the squad
finally
waking up?” Brent asked.

“We can’t all be perfect like you,” Hiroko said.  “Some of us were exhausted after fleeing a world.”

“Exhausted?” Owen asked with a grin as he sat next to Hiroko.  “Then why did you wake up at the same time you
always
do?  Sounds like an excuse to me.”

“Don’t talk when your mouth is full.”

“But I haven’t even started yet . . .”

Hiroko shoved a forkful of her meal into Owen’s open mouth.

“Now it’s full.  So be quiet.”

“Ah, young love,” Cain said with a grin.  “Already feeding one another.  This must be driving you crazy, Angela.”

Hiroko blushed as Sanderson started chuckling.

“It’s no more nauseating than listening to you,” Angela said coldly.

“Only listening?” Cain asked as he winked at her.  “And here I thought you’d be probing my deepest feelings.”

“Why would I bother?  You might be a narcissist, but the rest of us couldn’t care less about you.”

“Big words coming from the ‘black widow.’  I seem to remember you being quite the nasty little narcissist yourself.”

“Are you looking to pick a fight?”

“That depends.  Will there be a tender exchange of apologies and some harmless
fondling
afterwards?” Cain asked with a wink.

“You disgusting scum!” Angela shouted as she balled a fist.  “I should strike you down for implying such a thing!”

“She’s right, Cain,” Kindra said with a yawn.  “It’s downright cruel to imply two people could fit in those filing cabinets you call bunks.”

The squad burst into laughter.  Angela stared down Cain with abject hatred.  Cassandra sat next to Brent and put down an extra meal in front of him.

“You’ll never get rid of him at that rate, Angela.”  Cassandra took a bite out of the meal.  “The more you let him bother you, the more he’ll keep at it.”

Angela sat down and started taking her frustration out on her meal, stabbing and impaling every bite.  Brent tried a bite of the food.  It looked like one of the bread rolls from Deriso.  It tasted identical to the D rations.

“So, what are we going to do until we get to Eos?” Dante asked.

“We train,” Tyra said distractedly.

“Train for what?” Humphrey mumbled.  “Where?”

“For now, let’s work on getting around the ship,” Ronald proposed.  “Hiroko lost her footing with just a gentle nudge.  If we came under even moderate fire while in any kind of gravity field, we’d all be immobilized.”

“Sounds like a plan.”  Sanderson nodded in approval.

The squad finished their less than delicious meal and started leaving the cramped room.  In groups of three they headed down the hallways, practicing maneuvering through the corridors.  Penny and Hiroko had forcefully teamed up with a reluctant Cassandra.  As the rest of the squad left, Brent found himself alone with Tyra again.  She was still picking at her empty plate.

“I
am
pathetic.”  Tyra set down her fork.

“I wouldn’t say that.”

“Ronald knew from the moment he first saw me I was hopeless.  I never would have guessed he was the reason I got into the SF in the first place.”

“Maybe he did get you into the SF, but he doesn’t think you are hopeless.”

“How can you say that?”

“Weren’t you listening to him?”

“Of course I was.  His first division leader was right to ignore me.  I didn’t belong in the SF.  I don’t belong here now.”

“I don’t buy it,” Brent said with a smile.

“
What
?”  Tyra’s head jerked back in surprise.

“This self pity, I don’t buy it.  I was there in the Gauntlet.  When the Shards were about to overrun us, you didn’t give in.  You didn’t fall to pieces.  You were strong and resisted the fear and self-doubt.  You fought back and led us to crush our enemy.”

“But you were. . ..”

“Don’t give me that garbage,” Brent cut in.  “Maybe at first you where just overwhelmed with your success.  But now you are actively trying to shift all the accolades to me for your success.  You are scared, aren’t you?”

“Scared?  Of what?”

“Of losing Ronald.”

Tyra stared at him in complete confusion.

“You said it yourself; when things were at their absolute worst Ronald has always been there for you,
always
.  You are worried that if things change, if you don’t
need
him anymore, he’ll leave you.”

“That’s nonsense. . .”

“He said it himself.  He wanted you to succeed.  You are worried that when you do, he won’t feel obligated to support you.  He’ll feel his duty is done and let you fly solo.  You think if you play the wounded girl he’ll stay by your side forever.  He’ll protect you as long as you pretend to be weak.  I know you better, and I’m willing to bet he does too.”

“What do you mean . . .”

“When he speaks about you his voice is filled with reverence.  He doesn’t sound like an older brother talking about his weak little sister.  He knows how strong you are.  He admires you, always has from the sound of it.”

“Me?  I’m not as strong as you think.”  Tyra sighed.  “You’ve created a nice story, but that’s it.”

“So, you are saying I’m completely wrong.  That not even a part of you thinks like that.”

“Not even in the slightest.  You give me too much credit and have over thought things.”

“I suppose it’s possible, and to be polite I’ll drop the subject, but tell me one thing first.  Would you rather Ronald stayed by your side because of an obligation as your protector, or by choice as your companion?”

Tyra looked into Brent’s eyes, unable to answer.  As he got up and left, her head sank, and she stared at the empty plate before her.  Once he was out of her sight, Brent hurried down the narrow corridors.  Somehow he just couldn’t let things sit as they were.  He knew Tyra was too strong a person for this, and he was determined to get his squad leader back to her old self.

Mimicking the captain’s gymnastics, he made a decent speed down the crate-strewn hallways.  Passing the trios of troopers practicing the same gymnastics, Brent searched for his quarry.  Finally, he found who he was looking for.  Ronald, Sanderson and Kindra were practicing in an isolated hallway.  Kindra was on the ground, laughing.  Sanderson offered his hand, only to be pulled to the ground himself.

“Ronald, Tyra needs a word with you,” Brent said as he took a seat on a crate.

“What’s wrong?”

“No idea, she said it was urgent.”

Ronald raised an eyebrow and quickly headed off in the direction Brent had just come from.  Kindra cast a suspicious gaze at him.

“
You
don’t have any idea what’s wrong?”  Kindra dusted herself off as she stood.  “That’d be a first.  What’s the game?”

“I’m not omnipotent, you know.”

“Near enough. You meddling?”

“Can’t let the girls have all the fun,” Brent said with grin.

“Meddling with what?” Sanderson asked him, still sitting on the ground.

“The strings of fate.”

Sanderson and Kindra both stared at him quizzically.

“Never mind,” he said as he realized neither one got the reference.  “Let’s just say I’m following Mrs. Lucchesi’s example.”

“Fair enough . . . Sanderson, you planning on sleeping there?” Kindra asked.

“
What
?  Don’t forget you are the one who knocked me over.”

“Don’t blame me for dropping your guard.  I would have expected better from you, always parading around in a perfectly neat uniform.”

“Let’s not start
that
up again.”

“Start what up again?” Brent asked.

When Sanderson got to his feet, he realized Kindra shared Brent’s ignorance.

“Don’t tell me you’ve forgotten!”  Sanderson stared at Kindra in disbelief.

“Forgotten
what
?”

“Well if that’s how it is,
I’m
certainly not going to remind you.”

“I’ll knock you down again if I have to,” Kindra threatened.

“Threaten me all you want, I’m not blabbing.”

“Aw!  Don’t be like that.  What did I forget?”

“I’m not saying.”

Sanderson nimbly jumped over a crate and landed next to Brent.  He raised an eyebrow and stared at Sanderson quizzically.

“Fine, it’s not like I care anyway.”  Kindra sounded almost like she was pouting.

Sanderson just shook his head, not giving in.  With a quick motion, she leapt at him.  Brent ducked as Sanderson deftly avoided her pounce.  He started running down the corridor with Kindra in pursuit, demanding he fess up and tell her what she had forgotten.  Brent was chuckling to himself when the P.A. made a tone.

“Attention all hands.  Ship will jump in thirty seconds.  Please prepare.”

Brent recognized the voice as the captain’s, although something was different.  Maybe it was the fact they weren’t under attack from an ITU ship, but he would swear the captain sounded perfectly at ease.  As the Wall passed over him, he didn’t hear a single scream in terror.  Either the ship was well insulated, or his demonstration in the cargo bay had left a permanent impression.  With no one to practice with, he decided to check in on the civilians.  To his surprise, he found the cargo bay full of still sleeping people.  There were several children awake and playing quietly, but most were still resting on the ground, breathing deeply.  Out of options, Brent headed back to his so-called bunk.  When he arrived, he found at least half the squad waiting.

“There is absolutely nothing to do on this ship,” Erin grumbled.

“I hate to agree with her,” Hiroko said in clear annoyance.  “I mean I
really
hate to, but she’s right

Erin glared at Hiroko, who stuck out her tongue in response.

“There seems to be a decent sized crew; I wonder what they do for fun.”  Owen stretched against the wall.

“Why not ask the expert?” Brent asked.

“Who?” Doug asked.  “You mean Cain?  He hasn’t returned yet.”

“Never fear, Cain is here.  Did I hear someone
whine
my name?”

“They are bored stiff,” Brent said.

“Can’t have that.  While the Subira can’t offer you the thrills of an academy, there is a recreation room on the ship – 3Ps, card games, drinking, and a few other pastimes to help move time along.”

“Works for me; lead on!” Doug said.

“No drinking for you,” Mr. Springate said to Doug quickly.  “I’m not dragging your sorry carcass through these tiny corridors.”

The troopers chuckled as Doug grumbled.  Cain started marching down the corridor like a cruise director, even going so far as to announce points of interest along the way.  Brent chuckled to himself as he heard the squad fade into the distance.  As he sat at the edge of his bunk, he realized he wasn’t alone.  Rhea was huddled in the corner of the room, a deeply sad expression on her face.

“I’m sure they have their reasons,” he said idly, trying to get comfortable.

“Don’t even start.”

“Suit yourself.  Just thought you might like chatting with the only guy on the ship who has no opinion on the Union.”

“Are you
trying
to mock me?  You just called them the . . . that name.”

“Well, forgive me for not wanting to say Individual Traders Union over and over.  It’s a bit of a mouth full.”

“
Independent
,” Rhea said with a chuckle.

“What?”

“You called them the
Individual
Traders Union; it’s Independent.”

“I suppose it would be safer for me to just call them the ITU,” Brent said with a grin.  “I can see why the abbreviation is so popular.”

Rhea paused a moment as she watched Brent smile warmly.

“Do you really mean you don’t hate the ITU for what they are doing?” she asked slowly.

“I can’t say I hate them or love them,” he said honestly.  “I don’t know them personally, and I have no idea why they declared war in the first place.  It would be narrow minded of me to just brand them evil and be done with it.  You seem to like them, and you are a good person, so they can’t simply be evil.”