Venna leaned over the limp Titus as he laid on the ship's cargo hatch floor. Benjamin was throwing his EMU suit off with reckless abandon. Venna, her suit still on, grasped at the clasps on Titus' helmet. There was a slight hiss as the seal broke and life giving air began to flow. Venna stuck her fingers under Titus' chin to feel his pulse and looked up at Benjamin. She dreaded the thought that she had been too late and he was dead. This couldn’t happen to her again. Not again.
Her finger finally reached the bare skin of Titus’ neck. "I feel a pulse!"
“That’s fortunate. Especially because the paperwork for all of this would have probably fallen to me. Now he can do it.” Benjamin scoffed.
Venna’s eyes spasmed toward Benjamin as he chuckled and fiddled with a strap on his under-suit. Her eyes quickly refocused on Titus and locked in on the rise and fall of his chest as he laid supine on the floor. His breathing was now coming in a steady rhythm. Her gaze seemed to be studying Titus’ every movement when Benjamin broke into her captivation with a question.
“What the schlack happened? I went into the ship and then lost all communication. Next thing I know, there were flashes outside and you pick me up in a different ship.”
In a crouching position, Venna bounced on the balls of her feet with her hands before her mouth as if in supplication. Her eyes darted back up to Benjamin and her mouth opened to answer. “They had tech I have never seen and used it for a perfect ambush.” Her hand jerked up to wipe away a bead of sweat that had been encroaching on her left eyelid. “The synchronization of their attack was perfect. My only option once I was dead in the water was to abandon ship and find a new ride.” With this last statement, a rye smile touched the corners of Venna’s lips and her hand gestured around as if displaying a grand prize to its recipient. “After that, it was a simple matter of taking out the remaining ship.”
Benjamin nodded along with her explanation and his face took on a serious look. As she finished, he steepled his fingers together and looked down upon Titus’ slowly reviving body on the deck of the ship’s side hatchway. “Seems that we were lucky to have you watching over us. This really could have gotten out of hand quickly if you hadn't kept your cool.” Benjamin looked around the interior of the ship and let out a low whistle. “This definitely is advanced tech. Look how the thruster power system is routed through the hull past what I have to assume are some sort of cooling mechanisms.” As he said this, he scratched the side of his chin and rested his other hand on his hip.
“What happened to you once we lost comms?” Venna placed a hand on Titus’ knee as her question wafted up to Benjamin.
Benjamin refocused on Venna and threw up his hands. “Well you know, I figured I would search the ship for their mini bar and maybe kick off my boots and relax.” A sardonic smile appeared on his face and then shifted back to neutral as Venna rolled her eyes. Holding out placating hands, Benjamin inserted, “I just floated into the ship and began looking around when I noticed the comms go dead. I tried to look out some of the viewing ports on the ship but I really couldn't see anything. I realized something was off and figured the best option was to search the ship for their comms system and try to commandeer that.”
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Venna looked at Benjamin with newfound respect. He often came off as someone who never took anything serious, but when in a fight, she realized he could be counted on to keep his head and make good tactical decisions. “Did you find anything useful?” She queried.
“Nothing.” Benjamin pulled at a strap dangling from the ceiling. “It looks as if they had purged all records and gutted all of the hardware from the ship prior to abandoning it.”
As Benjamin finished the last consonant, Titus groaned. “Ouch-“
“Titus!” Venna shouted.
He eased up one elbow after another to rest on the floor. Breathing heavily, he torqued to the side and vaulted up into a standing position that swayed even after his momentum stopped. Looking up at Venna and Benjamin, “All alive I see. Everyone well?” This last question came out in a breathless whisper.
Benjamin strolled toward the unsteady Titus. “Now that you mention it, I think I tweaked my back dragging your useless self into the ship.”
Venna smacked Benjamin’s chest with the back of her hand as she walked past him. “Don’t even try that. You weren’t even on the ship when-“ and she really emphasized this next word “-I pulled Titus into the ship I captured.”
Venna tried to find the humor in the situation. She knew that Benjamin often used humor to deflect difficult or uncomfortable things, but still, the reality that they had gone into this mission without backup despite her protestations began to simmer in the back of her mind.
As he struggled to gain a strong upright posture, Titus looked first at Venna and then rested his gaze on Benjamin. “Seems like you are not well.” Leaving a slight pause, Titus gathered his breath. “Your humor has gotten worse somehow.”
Ruckus laughter burst out of Benjamin as he shot forward and gave Titus a slap on the back. Titus listed forward from the force of the slap and braced himself on the bulkhead in front of him. A faint smile hinted at the corners of his mouth.
Venna’s exasperation continued to grow. Had they no idea how close they had all come to death? They clearly didn't grasp the level of frustration that was welling up in her over the entire mission living up to her worst fears. Venna felt the emotion of the entire ordeal finally begin to wash over her. She looked away from Titus and Benjamin and toward the cockpit of the ship.
“Venna, you all right?”
Her head snapped back towards Titus. “Yes sir. No issues for me.”
Titus’ gaze lingered on her for a second before looking around the ship.
Venna and Benjamin soon caught Titus up on what had transpired for each of them once comms had gone silent. Venna felt a wave of pride when Titus balked at her description of commandeering the attacking ship. Once they had each finished their updates, Titus began to explain what had happened to him. Venna’s pride in her own actions soon melted into shock at what Titus had accomplished. His ability to turn an impossible situation into a victory was more than what she would have been able to do.
At the conclusion of everyone’s stories a silence descended over ship. Then suddenly Titus let out a short growl. “So we frabbin go nothing!”
His outburst startled Venna. How dare he lose his cool when she was the one who had every right to be angry. “I guess you should have listened to my concerns.” The terse rebuke escaped her lips before she could reign it in.
The heat shrouding Titus’ countenance dissipated like the water being poured onto a fire. Deep sadness flickered across his face as he took in her words. “Venna-“
“We should chart a course back to Juno.” Venna shouldered her way towards the cockpit and began to strap herself in.