Kane jogs to a stop in the aft galley, where the tables and chairs are nearly full with enlisted and civilian members of the fleet. He can see one of the Grodrrns eating her meal with an egg in her lap. It’s not Khla, so it must be Nyonnys.
Just as Kane starts toward her, he hears a safety click.
“Lieutenant Kane. Boss knew you wouldn’t be brought down with anything we can manage. But, you can be halted with a dilemma.” The voice speaking softly is a male’s, but he can tell from his peripheral vision when he glances that it is the person he followed. It appears he was fooled.
However, there is an implication with where he’s at now. If the plan, which was good enough to force him to choose following sounds instead of his actual target, was centered around incapacitating him in some way, then the dilemma undoubtedly involves the many lives on the mess-decks weighed against Nyonnys.
Kane states plainly, “Hand grenades.” He manages to catch the mystery-anti off guard, as he was smugly about to say the same. Kane spots a few people who are keenly aware of them, but that doesn’t mean all of the assailants present have blown their cover. He asks softly, “Why do this? What does she keep promising that makes jeopardizing the fleet worth it?”
“Don’t patronize us, traitor. They are alien monsters. THAT one helped destroy Earth. How could YOU forget?”
“I haven’t forgotten how Earth was destroyed. That’s one of the few things I’ve known all along. And, I know that the Grodrrns didn’t do it.”
“But they would have!” whispers the assailant sharply. “They showed no mercy when they invaded. Same with the bugs.”
“What about me? I’m an alien. This device look like anything you’ve ever seen before?”
“That’s neither here nor there. BUT, it is the subject of this moment. You’ll take it off and destroy that THING’s egg, and everyone else on the mess decks will survive.”
“Interesting. You’d kill humans just to kill one alien and an egg. Excellent survival planning.”
“Don’t test me! You don’t have the leverage here. The lives present are in your hands.”
“I wonder… Would you kill humans to accomplish nothing?”
“What?”
In a flash, Nyonnys and her egg suddenly fall through a hole in the floor, and she cries out in surprise. The hole closes just as quickly, startling everyone on the messdecks. Kane’s subtle hand gesture commanded a bend in reality. He’s thankful it worked. Every day that passes, he remembers a fraction more of who he is and what the device is. But, he does worry that his ability to control the vast power of the gauntlet isn’t up to the dangerous level of power it can muster.
Thankfully, he could hear Rena through the portal crying out in surprise as Nyonnys fell. His move was successful. Nyonnys should have fallen square into the Cave Queen’s pool, absorbing the impact for both her and the egg. It’s not great for either, as the bulky reptilian aliens are actually not the best swimmers, given their weight and density, but she should be able to recover quickly enough.
Kane turns to face his startled and confused attacker. “Now then. Your move. Grenade the messdecks for nothing and confirm exactly who you people are; the real monsters, or surrender. Your turn to pick. No boss. Just you.” Kane stands patiently, confidently, and unafraid.
Perhaps, he should have acted more like a soldier. How he’s acting is surprising to himself, but it doesn’t feel… arrogant. It feels… prepared?
Regardless, the complete lack of concern in the Lieutenant’s position sets off the attacker in a panic. He shouts, “DO IT!”
He fires at Kane as quickly as he can cycle the pistol he has. The gauntlet’s protective barrier is a passive feature, and seems to activate when Kane is remotely in danger. However, because of it, small arms are completely harmless to him.
Still, though, he quickly disarms the attacker, palm-heel-striking him across the room. This doesn’t absolve Kane of all of the problems of the moment, though.
He has a pistol and an untold number of grenadiers to deal with. Not to mention any or all of them could still escape. And, people are screaming and attempting to do just that.
He has an idea, though. The cafeteria is rather central in the ship, possessing no outer walls. However, it still has the same vacuum-sensitive doors prepared to seal the room to prevent the air within the ship from being lost to space in the event of a multi-space rupture. And, he is an all powerful-...
His mind trails away from that strange and sudden thought. Instead, he simply creates the portal he envisions above his palm. The interspatial hole in reality connects to another point in space with no true relative distance between sides of the hole.
This portal is connected to somewhere outside of the ship, and an instant vacuum begins pulling the air out. Kane stumbles, but resists being pulled through the hole. With its size, it almost instantly lowers the pressure enough to seal the doors before anyone can make it through them. However, he must drain all of the air from the room if he is to save anyone, as ironic as that is.
He can hear the chain-like jingles unique to a certain type of weapon. There are only seconds left.
Fortunately, all of the sound dissolves away completely, and only two of the round green objects clonk to the ground. Kane spots the two who threw them, and he aims and fires. Thankfully, two things have gone in his favor; the pistol is a hybrid weapon capable of firing in vacuum, and the science teams haven’t yet focused on a substitute grenade for fighting in non-oxygen environments.
That means, his two shots find their marks, while the grenades do nothing, even as their spoons bounce noiselessly across the floor. The two grenadiers fall, and Kane aims at no one in particular after. Most of the individuals who remain are collapsing to asphyxiation. He carefully walks towards the dropped grenades, unscrewing their fuses from the body of the explosives. He glances around at the others, but there aren’t any other grenades quickly apparent.
Plus, his strange device’s barrier may be keeping him alive momentarily, but he can tell the air around him is getting thin. He walks to the nearby door, tapping on it. He keeps his palm on the door, and he can feel the vibrations of a return tap. Someone is on the other side and prepared. He taps the short code message to repressurize the room, and shortly after, the procedure begins.
It will only have been a minute or so that the air was completely absent, so everyone should be okay, if mild injuries from the vacuum. As soon as the door can be opened, Kane opens it, informing the damage control team and combat team waiting.
“Senior Chief, the antis attempted a bombing. I used my gauntlet to incapacitate everyone in the room. There are two who have been shot by me. They are antis. Anyone else holding a grenade needs to be brought in for questioning. Do not let anyone leave until everyone has been searched.”
The senior chief, caught off guard by the presence of the Lieutenant, catches up quickly when Kane sets straight into his orders. Senior Chief Nomos nods, “Yes, Sir! Group A, tend to any wounded! Group B, police everyone for grenades or other explosives and detain them. Group C, secure the doorways. No one in or out.” The groups affirm and break off to their tasks.
Kane then states, “The antis were more planned out than expected. I’m going to regroup with the VIPs.”
“Understood, sir.”
Kane jogs up the hallway. He hopes the others protecting the suspected targets -the non-humans- have come to the same conclusion as him. They need to gather together where they can defend all of the antis’ targets.
He also hopes Syretia ended up okay. His choice potentially saved Nyonnys and her growing infant. But, ‘Quincy’ may have ultimately escaped.
That, he will have to answer to.
***
“Admiral! Admiral! Are you here!?” Pazna jogs into medical with Pratt and French following closely. “Admiral Long, Spaceman Pazna-OOOF!”
The young soldier is slammed by a powerful clothesline by what feels like a solid block of wood coated in a light fuzz. French and Pratt flinch back, crying out in surprise.
A terrifying, towering figure lunges out of one of the rooms, snatching Pratt’s weapon away from him before anyone can react. French fires in a startled and instinctive panic, and people scream. Pazna yells desperately, “WAIT! HOLD FIRE! FRIENDLY! FRIENDLY!”
The Grodrrn launches French against the wall with a powerful forearm strike, and Pratt fumbles for his sidearm, crying out, “HE’S CRAZY!”
Pazna finally gets a full look at the Grodrrn. Perhaps unsurprisingly, it is Baskylla Jardzen Dzor, undoubtedly looking after the Admiral. Though, the reptilian warrior is already soaked in crimson blood.
“Yarjen Jor! Wait! Please!”
The Jardzen grips Pratt with a single hand wrapping around the young marine’s chest. His momentum sharply slowed, though, indicating Pazna was heard. Pazna sighs, adding quickly, “We were sent by Chief Grey. We believe antis are coordinating a mass attack.”
Dzor snorts, and Mina’s voice says from the room Dzor exited from, “We know…” She walks slowly and wearily out of the room, clutching her swollen abdomen. She coos gently to the Grodrrn Commandant, “Thank you, Jor. I’m in your debt…”
Dzor breathes a deep breath, exhaling deeply. He drops Pratt, who falls onto his backside in fear. “Impossible to know who is ally.”
Pazna sits up cautiously, stating, “We shouldn’t have charged in. What’s the situation?”
Mina answers, “Admiral Long, Jessica, and Little Bird are holed up down the hall with Melody and Vivi. Beyond that, we’re not sure where anyone else is right now. Ten antis attempted to attack Medical, including a medical officer who was undercover.”
Dzor leans down, pulling each of the rookies to their feet by forearms, and French coughs. He manages to joke, though, “That was a lot harder than training, Yarjen.”
The Grodrrn looks at him with his usual naturally stern gaze. His reply is calm, though, and as gentle as his deep voice can go. “Lucky I did not break bones.”
French tries to stretch, wincing in pain. “ERGH! W-Wouldn’t rule it out…”
Pazna states, “Be careful-...”
Mina cuts him off, “If you can fight, French, ready yourself. If you can’t, fall back to cover. You’re no good if you can’t focus.”
French nods, “I’ll make it, Petty Officer. Just don’t expect… Hancock moves…”
She scoffs. A voice similar to her own calls out, “Thing Three!”
“Thing Four!?” Rena jogs up and hugs Mina. Pazna looks at the humongous squid-like alien following surprisingly gracefully in the narrow halls of Medical. The Cave Queen is followed by a couple more marines and a shocktrooper, as well as Helmdraavv Nyonys and her egg.
Mina asks, “Is everyone regrouping here?”
“VIPs are. They don’t want any of the non-humans isolated. Not with the scale.”
Syretia squirms in past the Cave Queen, carrying a surprising individual; none other than the Void Queen Zeeannssii.
Mina winces, but she hesitates when she sees the younger queen’s eyes.
It’s almost like a flash, or a spark of something.
That something softens Mina’s initial hostility. Syretia wants to help Zeeannssii, and she needs help.
Realizing that she’s the most informed in the area at the moment, and the most coordinated, given that Dzor is rather tunnel-vision when he focuses in on something, Mina hesitates only once more. “Syretia! This way!” She waves, leading the Zarakyssn queen past the nervous onlookers. Her own body seems to be paining her, but she is able to show Syretia to an open operating room.
The insectoid queen hums softly at Mina, and the young woman smiles. She then turns, “Pazna, Pratt, help her get Zeeannssii onto the operating table.”
“Wh-... What!? Are you crazy!?” Pratt flinches, bumping backwards lightly into Dzor.
“Yes. Hormones. Go.”
Pazna steps forward, jogging quickly into the room Syretia just entered. Pratt groans, whining as he follows, “Petty Officerrrr… She’s WAY scary…”
Mina retorts as he jogs past her, “Then you should hope she has a shred of gratitude. Pwall’kyn, is that you?”
“Yes, ma’am,” replies the Grodrrn shocktrooper.
The tale has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.
“You mind watching over them? If Zeeannssii does anything, try to restrain her first.”
“Understood. Moving.” The shocktrooper squeezes up the hallway, and the others make room for him.
Mina jumps when a long tendril affectionately finds her waist, and she blushes, looking to the Cave Queen as the affectionate alien waits patiently. Mina giggles, and Rena says, “Heyyyy, no funny business.”
The Cave Queen chirps gently, “I am happy you are safe.”
“Me, too. Anyone seen Khla? The shocktroopers should be okay, right?”
Dzor nods, “Grodurns have nothing to fear from these filthy traitors.”
“Girls wait!”
Dzor looks down when two tiny presences make themselves known. “Unckie Jor? E’eryting otay?” Melody is the one who spoke, and both Melody and Vivi are standing on the floor. Jessica jogs to a stop, shocked at how crowded the area is.
The Grodrrn ship commander is splattered with blood, but he replies surprisingly sensitively, “Area safe. I protect.”
Both girls grin with their small, razor sharp individual toothlets. They notice the Cave Queen, bowing politely, “Mama Cave Queen.”
The Cave Queen hums a chirping, warm sound as she reaches to the girls with ease, gently touching each one’s cheek.
Jessica Long says softly, “Sorry… They heard new voices talking calmly. I-... Is everything okay?”
Dzor nods, “For now.”
Rena adds, “We’re regrouping VIPs here. The bait plan backfired.”
Mina replies, “Nyonys and My-hrm Cave Queen, please come back this way and step into these unoccupied rooms, just in case. Thing Four, Mom, you and the others should cover the entrance.”
Heloise replies gently, “Will do, sweetie. But,... Have you seen your…”
Mina answers, “Dad called to check on me. He said they locked down the lab. It’s only him and Doctor Fry; um, my attending doctor when I’m in the lab.”
Heloise asks cautiously, “Doctor Fry trustworthy?”
“I hope so. She helped deliver their eggs.” She gestures at Nyonys, implying both her and Khla. “She’s actually a herpetologist, so she might actually be weirder than Dad.”
“Good.”
“Mom!” Rena calls from up the hall. “We have enough bodies here, please keep Baby Sis safe!”
The former police officer chuckles, “Very well.” She smiles at Mina, murmuring softly, “I still can’t believe how much you two have grown up.”
Mina blushes, squeaking furiously, “MOOOM! Don’t embarrass me!” She then asks seriously, “Wait, so what about Craw? Have we heard from her?”
Dzor replies, “She is on patrol in shootle. Egg with her.”
Mina nods. “Good. I think that accounts for everyone other than Grodrrns males and Niodzen Halk’uru. Will… Will she be okay?”
“All Grodurns okay,” states Dzor confidently.
“Are you sure, Yarjen?”
“Yes. Grodurns mighty.” He looks around at the beings around him. The humans, in particular, are entirely the reason Dzor is no longer an honored and respected Fievegal Baskylla Jardzen. He himself has not faced their rifles, but he is well aware that humans are capable of bringing down Grodrrns. Especially so, since they have well-established exactly how to do that with shocktroopers specifically. If it was a simple matter of civilians rebelling against the military, it would be a non-issue. However, individuals in all facets of the fleet have proven to be traitors.
Dzor sets his pride aside, saying to Pwall’kyn, “{Pwall’kyn, tell the others to gather at medical. Better safe than sorry.}”
Pwall’kyn nods, replying, “{Respectfully, Yarjen, Senior Chief Tachibana ordered all Grodurns to gather here.}”
Dzor nods, replying to Petty Officer Coulson, “Grodurns gather here as well. Humans scrappy.”
The marines laugh, and Jessica teases, “Um, Y-Yarjen, I think that’s the nicest thing you’ve ever said.”
He snorts in amusement. “I return to Admiral and protect. Petty Officer Coulson join.”
Vivi exclaims excitedly, “Yeah! Anny Mina and we pway games!”
Mina smiles. “Can’t say no to that. Thing Four, keep me up to date with the entrance. I’ll help the Admiral keep organized.”
“You’re not my Mom!”
Heloise jokes, “Rena! Listen to your sister!”
“Awww… Moooom!”
Everyone chuckles again, and they break off to their respective areas.
***
Kane jogs up to the hallway to the Garden, finding marines and shocktroopers controlling the area. Kane makes his way in past the marines keeping prisoners under guard. He finds Senior Chief Tachibana, Chief Grey, and a shocktrooper speaking.
Tachibana notices him, greeting him, “Commander. We’re-...”
“Apologies. Quincy. Where is the person wearing the nametape ‘Quincy’? She’s suspect number one.”
They blink at him, and Grey shouts, “Who has Quincy?”
It takes a moment for everyone to look around, and that moment wastes precious time.
Rifle fire thunders in the hallway, and the marines snap to. “CONTACT ENTRANCE!”
Thinking quickly, the shocktrooper closest to Kane rips one of the conex box doors off, charging forward with it as a shield. The first of the rebels form up on the door, and Buur, the shocktrooper, positions across from them with his makeshift shield to fire at them. They try to spread out some to fire at him, and his size betrays him. The current marine weapons were designed with Grodurns in mind, so each hit is an actual injury, causing him to flinch.
Kane looks at his strange gauntlet. Can he muster another trick like the one in the cafeteria? He’s still not sure what powers the mysterious device, as it definitively has lost power more than once, sometimes almost seemingly at an interval.
Fortunately, the rings are spinning, and he can feel the static tingle of the passive barrier.
Tachibana suddenly appears next to him, shouting, “SIR! SYRETIA’S EGG!” She points, finding it hidden behind a marine. A stray round or basic shrapnel could be the end of the tiny insectoid life within -the hope for true peace between several species-.
Grey walks past, firing his shotgun as he orders, “GO STRANGER! I’LL COVER BUUR!”
Kane nods, bolting for the egg. He doesn’t like having to prioritize one life over another, but the egg is defenseless, and he is the most defensible. Given a weapon, he can still fight while protecting the egg more efficiently.
He orders the young marine, “Find better cover! I have the egg!”
“Yes sir!” The marine scrambles behind one of the other conex boxes as the rebels press into the Garden, firing at Buur and the marines while Buur tries to deny them lines of fire. He’s taking bad hits, but keeps fighting.
Still, he is a living being. One hit from a rifle nearly topples him, but two Marine chiefs -a Senior Chief and a Chief- quickly bolster the door. Grey does his best to hold the Grodurn upright, growling out, “NOT SO FAST, YA REPTILIAN BASTARD! YOU DON’T GET TO TAKE A NAP IN THE MIDDLE OF BATTLE!”
Buur coughs up blood, but nods, shrinking behind the door as much as possible as Grey and Tachibana do everything they can to keep it upright. Buur is in full shocktrooper armor, meaning as long as the regenerator doesn’t get hit, he will survive.
Of course, his regenerator is low on power, which creates issues of their own as the clock ticks.
One brazen rebel, thinking himself a hero, most likely, tries to rush Buur and finish him off. Tachibana ensures he finds a mouthful of buckshot when he tries to mount the door for a shot on the shocktrooper’s back. She curses caustically, hateful of the idea of killing soldiers wearing the same uniform as her. But, she knows which side she’s on.
Grey asks, “How’s your regen holding, Buur!?”
The Grodurn groans, managing to raise his weapon hand and fire over the door. He grumbles, “I am… Grodurn… I am… the blade that will kill… what tries to stop me…” He winces from another injury, adding wearily, “I am… Lashgard…”
“That’s it! Keep fighting! Damn Marine Corps needed shocktroopers a hundred years ago!” Grey supports the Grodurn’s weight as much as possible, reloading his shotgun. “Tachi! Trade!” He trades weapons with her, allowing her to focus on the door and firing at the enemies in the doorway. He quickly reloads her shotgun next as the enemies press forward. They don’t actually have to enter the room. They just need to kill every one of the Marines.
Metal pings are a tell-tale sign to hardened soldiers, and both Grey and Tachibana tense. Both call out, “GRENADE INCOMING!”
Tachibana throws her body onto the closest one that pings under the makeshift shield.
Grey shouts at her, “IT WAS SMOKE!”
The Senior Chief keeps her weight on the object long enough for the white smoke to billow out, and she yelps, unfolding from the grenade to reveal that her armor suit is smoldering. The white smoke quickly billows out, and Tachibana quickly pats out the embers from trying to contain the hot device.
More of the smoke grenades tumble into the room, and Grey shouts, “You idiots are sucking up all the air, and you’re mad at the crocs?”
A sudden mechanical roar, like a jet engine, fills the hallway, rapidly approaching the door. The sound suddenly ceases, and the marines outside cry out. They begin trying to coordinate, but whoever is attacking them is moving too quickly.
Grey peeks over the door edge. The newcomer seems to be throwing human beings around like ragdolls, suggesting it must be a Grodrrn. However, the Grodrrns don’t care much for jetpacks, which the roar had to have been. Especially because human corridors are so tight for them as is.
The attacker is also using human weaponry, firing in the chaos as the enemies try to hit him.
Grey yells, “Someone help me get Buur clear!”
The Grodrrn shocktrooper coughs, murmuring, “Leave me. Safety of ship comes first.”
“No man left behind!” snaps Tachibana as she instantly tries to shoulder Burr’s other arm. She shouts to Grey, “Ready!? HEAVE!” The two push, dragging the heavy reptilian forward. He groans in pain, but does his best to help support what weight he can. Several more marines jog close, keeping their heads down as they run. They squeeze in to support some of the shocktrooper’s weight, helping move him more quickly to cover behind one of the conex boxes. No sooner does Grey drop him at the hiding spot does he jog back forward, “Secure lines of fire down both directions! Someone push that box for better cover! Stranger, fall back to Buur’s position and cover him and the over-easy!”
Voices confirm, “Yes Chief!” “Moving Chief!”
Tachibana jogs after him, “On your six, Chief!”
“Aye!” He jogs to the door, stacking up with Tachibana posting beside him, ready to follow him. Two more young marines jog after them, posting behind Tachibana.
Grey listens to the chaos in the hallway, and someone tries to run into the room with his rifle ready, shouting, “Friendly incoming!”
Grey fires, blasting the newcomer in the thigh. He cries out, but Grey is no fool. He had his rifle up. Tachibana shouts in surprise, but Grey says calmly as the rifle clacks across the ground, “Restrain him. Medic!” He peeks partially and briefly around the corner as the sounds continue. He pivots with his shotgun up.
He smirks when he sees the ‘who’ giving the rebels such a terrible run. He’s using every bit of his new and fancy armor to fight, like some sort of video game character. Grey checks the other direction, finding no one. He storms into the hall, taking cover in one of the doorways. Tachibana squeezes in next to him, asking over the noise, “Is that Hancock?”
Grey replies, “Yeah!” He calls out, “Rookie! Leave some for us!”
Hancock’s voice comes back, “Fire away, Chief! I’m running out!”
Grey laughs, charging closer as Hancock successfully drives the rebels back. He and Tachibana fire their shotguns carefully, avoiding hitting Hancock.
It doesn’t take long until they manage to corner the rebels, where one of the airtight hallway doors has closed. Mr. Right’s face peeks through the window, and he waves.
Hancock shouts, “Weapons down! Drop ‘em! Now!”
The rebels comply quickly, dropping their weapons quickly, and Grey states, “Tachi!”
“Got it! Go!”
Grey jogs in, keeping low so that he can slide the weapons back while Hancock and Tachibana hold the rebels at gunpoint. There’s about twenty of them left, and Grey focuses mainly on getting the weapons away from them as quickly as possible, and the two young marines join him.
They parade the captured rebels into the Garden, where Kane is holding a young woman by the neck with her feet dangling.
Grey jogs forward as the others call out, “Commander?”
Grey puts his hand on Kane’s forearm, asking, “Whoa, whoa, there Stranger, what’s the rush?”
Kane’s gaze locks with Grey’s, and it nearly startles the grizzled, one-eyed soldier. The lieutenant’s eyes are drained of what little blue, making his eyes a steely grey. But, deep within, there is a sort of glow that looks almost like a fire.
The gaze shifts, and Kane’s expression softens. The young woman is nearly unconscious, and Kane lowers her to her feet, allowing Grey to catch the girl. Grey can see her name tape now; ‘Quincy’. He asks the Lieutenant Commander, “What did she say?”
Kane’s gaze goes distant, but is his normal shade of pale blue in his eyes. He replies softly, “‘Earth was lucky.’”
Grey watches the mysterious supersoldier for a moment. Something feels off about the reply. Kane is difficult to rattle, and though it makes him dangerous that he can be rattled at all, it doesn’t feel quite right. Something about what this young woman said set him off. His gaze was wildly out of character and ready to end her.
Almost like he was in tremendous pain. More than the mere mention of Earth should have an affect on someone like him.
But, Grey is a rather wise old Marine. He knows when someone isn’t going to speak. And, he knows, they have bigger things to worry about.
He asks, “What makes you think she’s Suspect number one? Bit young to be our CB, isn’t she?”
Kane nods, “I thought so too. But then, she has a… charm about her. An innocent facade that’s easy to be hooked by, and an intelligence and broad view for the big picture. Both are perfect for organizing this.”
Grey nods, “Sounds good to me. We’ll box her up next to Hitch and set our secret weapon on her.”
Kane looks to find Mr. Right jogging in, grimacing at the bodies in the hallway, but excited and frightened otherwise. The Lieutenant Commander asks, “Mr. Right?”
Grey scoffs. “Right man for the job.”
Mr. Right approaches them, trying to be ‘military’. “Marines.” He salutes with his left hand, fumbling to decide if he should be using his right or left. Kane and Grey give quick half-salutes, and the eccentric former billionaire asks, “So? Did we win?”
Grey frowns, murmuring quietly, “As much as we can in a situation like this.” He looks around at the destruction. Buur has recovered, but his regenerator is completely out of power.
Mr. Right says surprisingly respectfully, “Yeah… Bit too much like what drove me off Earth…”
Tachibana asks as she approaches, “How do we prevent this? We can’t go on like this forever.”
Grey looks at Quincy, replying, “Well, assuming this is the right one, we might be able to cut off the head. Then, it’s just a matter of giving the disgruntled what they want.”
Mr. Right replies, “You thinking what I’m thinking?”
“I doubt it.”
The businessman scoffs, adding, “Let’s make them a ship. O-Or like a barge. Can’t believe I didn’t think of this. We can make habitats that the starships pull, but are self-contained. Everyone wins.”
Tachibana replies a little skeptically, “Won’t people just be afraid we’ll dump the barges first in a crisis?”
Mr. Right starts to object, but pauses. “Oh… I mean, I guess. I was just thinking… Space is our biggest issue right now. You know, inside space, not outside space in this case.”
Grey retorts, “Got it, Mister Rhyme.”
Hancock jokes, “Mr. Right in the Limelight making rhymes like he Rhymeright.”
Grey points at the young Ensign, “I’ll kill you, Rookie.”
Mr. Right grins, saying, “Hey, I appreciate you, Rex. My kind’o Marine.”
Lieutenant Commander Kane says politely, “Secure everyone we captured today. I’m heading to medical with Syretia’s egg. Anyone need to go?”
Buur limps up, clutching his side. “I should go, I think. Regenerator out of power.”
Kane nods. “Can you walk it?”
The Grodrrn nods proudly. “Of course. I am Lashgard. Mighty Grodurn Shocktrooper and Marine.”
Grey grins, musing, “Aaay, that’s what I like to hear. Rookie, you and I will escort Right back to the shuttle. Sound good, Senior?”
Senior Chief Tachibana, Grey’s senior on paper, nods respectfully. “Yes. I’ll coordinate everyone here. The VIPs are heading to Medical. Though, we should secure the hangar and move triage for the VIPs there.”
Grey nods, “Agreed. I’ll let you know how it looks when we get there.”
The marines break off to carry out tasks. One more battle has been won, but it was one that should never have been fought.
Of course, ideally, no battle ever needs to be fought.
And yet, there is already a new one brewing.
***