The Ninth: Invasion (23 page)

“I think I saw her move.  I never realized Cassandra was such a late riser,” Penny said with a chuckle.

“Maybe Brent kept her up
all
night.”  Marie nudged Penny.

“Okay, that’s enough of that,” Hiroko lectured the others.  “Let’s try to show some respectability.  We are troopers after all.”

“Say what you want, but you were the one who insisted on joining us,” Penny said with a grin.

“Just what are you implying?” Hiroko asked.

“I’d think that would be obvious.  You wanted to see the two lovers caught in the act too.”

“Maybe she hoped for a few ideas to try out on Owen.”  Marie patted Hiroko on the back.

“That’s enough, ladies!” a voice shouted that over pronounced the last s.

“What do you want . . . Who exactly are you again?” Marie asked.

“Philip!” he shouted with his lisp.  “For the twelfth time, the name is Philip.”

“Is something wrong,
Philip
?” Penny made a point to over emphasize his name.

“You told us not to let
anyone
disturb them until they awoke.”

“Of course we didn’t mean ourselves,” Marie said as she rolled her eyes.  “You planning on scaring us away or something?”

“Be nice, Marie,” Liz said in her shy voice.  “He’s just doing what
you
told him to.”

“Yeah, but . . .”

“Philip, did you see Brent leave this morning?” Liz asked.

“I can’t be certain, but I did see a figure sneaking about not too long ago.  If it was Brent, he’s probably in the stalls right now.  He’s kind of habitual that way.”

“There you go,” Hiroko said, praising Liz.  “Trust in a level head to get to the answer while a pair of hot heads argue pointlessly.”

“What answer?” Marie asked.

“That if we want to know what happened we need to get to Brent and grill him before he fully wakes up!” Penny shouted, already heading toward the exit.

“We could just grill Cassandra now, you know,” Marie called out to Penny.

Cassandra stiffened sharply.

“You want to risk the wrath of a groggy heavy worlder?” Hiroko asked with a chuckle.

“Good point.  Wait for me, Penny!” Marie shouted quickly.

“I can’t believe you plan on charging into the stalls like this.”  Hiroko shook her head disapprovingly.

“You don’t need to follow if it is that troubling to you.”  Marie started off after Penny.

“I can’t leave it solely to Liz to keep you two in line!” Hiroko shouted as she chased after the others.

For a moment it was quiet.

“They’re gone, sir,” Philip said.  “I’ll have the Protectorates stand guard
properly
this time.  Please take your time.”

With that, Philip closed the curtain, his footsteps receding into the distance.  Cassandra collapsed on top of Brent, every muscle in her body relaxing after the tension.

“I thought they were going to catch us,” she said with a relived sigh.

“Red handed?”  He chuckled.

With a start, she realized her hands were still burrowed under his clothes.  Jumping away, Cassandra sat on the edge of the bed.  She examined her hands as her face simmered a deep red.

“What happened to no regrets?” Brent asked with a chuckle as he got out of bed.

“Now you’re going to make fun of me?” she pouted.  “Was all that talk of love just to get into my pants after all?”

Brent rounded the bed and took a seat next to her.

“If I’m not mistaken, you were the one trying to get into mine.”

Cassandra turned an angry look at him.

“Are you always going to question my motives?” he asked with a sigh.

“Maybe,” she said, returning her gaze to her hands.

“Why’s that?”

“I don’t know.  Maybe I just don’t trust you.”

“You know, Cassandra, it
is
possible that someone might come to love you for those very qualities that you hate about yourself.”

“What are you talking about?”

“This is just a guess, but I wonder if you jump to conclusions because you don’t think I
can
love you.”

“You know something, you think too much.”

“Fair enough, but maybe you do, too.”

Brent got up and returned to his side of the bed, collecting a fresh uniform from his bag.  He hadn’t thought about it the night before, but Marie and Penny really had planned things out, even to the point of leaving a bag for each of them containing their spare clothes.  As he approached the curtain, Cassandra grabbed his hand.

“Please don’t go.”  She pulled him away from the curtain.  “I don’t want you to leave mad.”

“I’m not mad,” he said with a gentle smile.

“How can you not be mad?  It must be infuriating having to deal with someone like me.”

“What kind of person is that?”

“Someone who doubts you at every turn.  It must be hard for you to put up with me.”

“It’s true that you are a complex girl.  But you are too tough on yourself.  I know you care for me deeply, and you just don’t want to get hurt.”

“You think you could hurt me?”  She shot a skeptical stare at him.  “Honestly?”

“Physically?  Not a chance.  I’d be back in Medical before I could blink.”  Brent laughed.  “But anyone can be hurt emotionally.  You don’t have to be a Weaver to do the damage, either.”

“For once, would you stop being so objective?”  She folded her arms and frowned at him.  “Stop analyzing my behavior.  Just once I’d like you to tell me how you really feel.”

“Fine, you really want to know?”

“Of course.”  Cassandra averted her gaze away from his eyes.

“You can be ill tempered, quick to embarrassment, and quicker to judge.  You hide what you’re feeling because you are always worried what others think of you.”  Brent let out a sigh.  “Despite all that, you are still a kind person, someone who genuinely cares for others.  You are incredibly cute, even though you think otherwise.  I suppose what I’m saying is that I really do love you, faults and all.”

She stared at him for a moment before a smile broke through the stunned expression on her face.

“I almost believed you for a second, almost,” she said.

“It’s a start.”

“It’s more than that.”  Cassandra leaned over and kissed him.  “We’d better get a move on before those girls come back.”

“Probably a good idea.”

Brent waited for her to gather her things before they left for the stalls together.  The Protectorates were standing guard.  They were overly tense, probably readying for the possibility of a fight against fully trained troopers.  Philip noticed the pair approaching and signaled the others.  In unison, the Protectorates bowed like the tripod to the pair.

“Thanks for the assist,” Brent said, returning the bow.

“Our pleasure, sir,” Philip said with a smile.  “If you need my assistance again, just let me know.”

“Wait a minute.  Don’t tell me you showed up because of Brent.”  She cast a confused glance at the Protectorates.

“Of course.”  Philip seemed overjoyed at his part in deceiving the female troopers.  “He was worried something like this might happen, so he sent me instructions last night.  This morning he sent me the signal and I ran to the rescue.”

“Playing both sides I see.”  Cassandra folded her arms as she looked Philip over.  “Weren’t you the ones who set this up in the first place?  This sounds like an idea they stole from Cain.”

“The troopers’ idea was a good one, so we helped them out,” Philip said defensively.

“But our loyalty has always been to Brent!” another Protectorate shouted.

The Protectorates all shouted in agreement.  Cassandra shot a questioning glance at Brent.  He could only shrug.  They passed the Protectorates and left the cargo bay.  She was extremely cautious as they moved down the corridors.  At every turn she would hug the edge of the corridor, scanning ahead.  She was no doubt on the lookout for the girls.

“Is it just me, or has everyone gone a little crazy since we left Deriso?” she asked while peering around a corner.

“War can be a traumatic experience.”

“I’d agree with you if we had taken any part in it.  All we did was get on a ship in the dead of night.  Not exactly something that requires therapy.”

“True enough.”

“So, if that’s not it, then what has gotten into everyone?”

“Why are you asking me?”

“Well, you’re a Weaver.  Even if you can’t sense emotions right now, you should at least understand them somewhat.  Besides that, you do think a lot.  I’m sure you’ve got an idea or two in that head of yours.”

“I see, so it’s the brains that attracts you.  At least now I know it’s not just physical,” Brent said sarcastically while flexing.

“You’re lucky I like you enough to put up with your taunts.”

He chuckled to himself.  Cassandra looked like a spy in a comedy 3P, sneaking so obviously that passing crewmembers would stop to scratch their heads as she passed.

“So?” she asked, passing another junction.

“Hmm?”

“What’s your theory about why people are acting funny?”

“What do you mean, funny?”

“As if you have to ask.  Marie and Penny are working overtime to harass the two of us. 
Kindra,
of all people, was embarrassing Owen and Hiroko.  And, to top it all off, Cain is basically guilty of sexually harassing Angela.”

“I wonder if it’s not the other way around.”

“Excuse me?”

“Nothing, it’s just something Dante said.”

“Oh?”

“He thinks Angela is
intentionally
picking fights with Cain.”

“Whatever for?  He’s annoying enough without provocation.”

“It’s just his gut feeling.”

“If you say so.  I’ve had about as much as I can take,” she said as she glanced around another corner.  “Take away the academy and everyone goes nuts.”

“Even you have to admit it is odd to not have the routine and structure,” Brent said with a smile.  “Even the dull parts gave the day purpose.  Maybe this is just how everyone acts without instructors or trials looming overhead.”

“If that’s the case, I wish Administer Bloom was here right now to distract Marie and Penny before they torment me to death.”

“Only you?” he asked with a grin.

“You should be used to attention by now.  You’ve been in the spotlight since you arrived on the academy.”

“Sad but true.”

When they finally reached the stalls, she let out a long sigh of relief.  He made his best efforts to hide his amusement.  The trip and taken twice as long as it needed due to her “sneaking.”  Even without the girls around, Cassandra could torment herself just fine.  Her mood instantly lightened when she realized there were no signs of the other troopers.

“Well, that’s a lucky break,” she said, still watching the corridors.  “Wonder where they are?  No doubt searching for us.”

“Wonder what they would have done if they had found us.”

“I don’t even want to think about that.”

Brent noticed Liz in the distance moving slowly toward them.  Cassandra instantly panicked and leaped around the corner when she spotted the shy girl approaching.  Brent casually walked to Cassandra’s side and leaned over toward her ear.

“No regrets, right?” he whispered.

She blushed as she nodded.  Slowly, she steadied herself and disappeared into a stall.  Brent could make out a smile on her face as the walls rose out of the floor.  He thought about ducking into one himself until he realized Liz was alone.  Her compatriots were nowhere in sight.  With Cassandra safely behind the white wall of the stall, Brent waved to get Liz’s attention.  With a delighted smile, Liz quickly navigated around the boxes lining the corridor.

“Hiding from us?” Liz asked.

“Something like that.”

“I can’t blame you.  I told Marie it was a bad idea in the first place, but she didn’t listen to me.  I hope we didn’t cause too much trouble for you two.”

“No need to apologize.  Don’t tell Cassandra this, but I kind of enjoyed it.

“I’m so glad.”  A wide smile lined Liz’s face.

“Oh, before I forget, I wanted you to give Marie a message for me.”

“A message, for Marie?”

“I talked to Dante for her.”

“Oh . . .” she sounded a tad disappointed.

“I thought the news might be easier if it came from you.”

“Easier?” she was clearly surprised.  “Wait, you mean it is bad news?”

“Not entirely.  He thinks she’s an okay person, but finds her a tad annoying.  Let me see if I can remember it correctly . . . he thought she was too frank and didn’t appreciate the patting.”

“I see.”  Liz started giggling.  “Do you think she’ll listen to me about being more gentle now?”