frustrating, but in the end I'm running off at the first note of displeasure. Even on the First Light we never had a row. This is our first, and even though he should bloody well explain himself and what he could have possibly meant by 'it's you!' I'm still the one who ran off before he could try and back pedal. What in heaven could he say to make that better though? What could I have possibly done to deserve that? If he thinks saying 'I'm sorry' in front of half the officers on the ship while he's on his way out the door will do it, he's got surprises in store. She thought to herself as she checked the status of the third team. They were on their way.
“Hello Commander,” Finn approached her with a nervous smile.
Ayan smiled back and shook his hand. “It's good to meet you in person Finn. Your work on integrating the hypertransmitter into the Triton was fantastic.”
“Thank you.”
“I understand you're my second in command for this trip?”
“Yes Ma'am.”
“Well, it shouldn't be complicated. An excuse to see the station, really, so keep your wits, make good choices and we'll have a good time over there,” Ayan reassured him. It was good to look forward to something, even if it was simple technician's work.
“Hey pretty lady.”
Ayan jumped and turned to face Minh, who was smiling at her with his arms crossed. “Oh hey!”
“And this is the man responsible or getting us reconnected with entertainment networks from around the galaxy?”
Finn nodded and offered his hand. 'It's not like I did it myself, I had two teams-'
Minh grabbed his hand and nearly shook his arm out of its socket; 'Thank you. Thank you, thank you! When all this clears up I'm going to settle in and watch a whole day of Odd Span. I have one hundred twenty episodes to catch up on.'
'I've never heard of it.'
'It's a HV show about a group of people trapped on a planet where the laws of nature are broken, really good. You're invited, bring whoever you like.'
'Thank you sir,'
Ayan laughed and shook her head. 'I could never get into it, I guess I just can't get used to seeing physics not working properly, even if it is just a holovision program.'
'Can I borrow your commander for a minute?' Minh asked Finn.
'Uh, sure. I should go meet the third team anyway. It was good meeting you,' Finn nodded before walking off to the rest of the team.
'I think you actually scared him,' Ayan smiled.
'I think he needs some R amp;R, he's pretty wound up.'
'I thought of leaving him aboard, but there aren't many team leaders and he was the only one whose had a night's rest.'
'How do you feel about leading a mission off ship?' Minh asked in a whisper.
'Well, it's been a few years. Since before the First Light.'
'That's a few years,' Minh chuckled. 'Nervous?'
Ayan took a slow, deep breath as she looked over the two teams gathered along the side of the hangar. They spoke leisurely amongst themselves as they waited for the third team and their transport to be ready. 'Honestly? Just a little.'
'I was too, don't worry. Just concentrate on what has to be done and it'll all be fine.'
'You nervous? That I'd like to see.'
'I'm nervous all the time, even now.'
'Riiight, what's got you in jitters now? Debriefing coming up?'
“Just finished debriefing two for today. We lost two people and four ships out there. Way too heavy on losses for what we were doing.”
“I'm so sorry.”
“I didn't expect it, but it can't be helped. Paula is meeting me for dinner, now that's got me nervous. I'll probably end up chatting her ear off about flying tonight anyway.'
'It was rough out there today, you should have someone to talk to about it.'
'I think she expects something else, but you're right, as usual. No one expected such a big fight when we got here. I'm just glad it ended well. I sort of wish I could sit down with the old crew. You know, Oz, Jason, Laura, you, Jake, but you're needed on the station, Oz is busy on the bridge with Jason, Laura's busy trying to figure out where the obscuring field is coming from and Jake is unloading slaves from the Palamo.”
“I wish I could stick around, but I need to see that station. I also want to have a go at forming a relationship with the people over there so we can have a safe port for a while.'
'Oh, I'm not saying everyone should stop what they're doing so we can have a shindig. I hear the station's a mess, but it's huge, and I've never seen a gravity mill before, it's pretty impressive. You should check it out.'
'I'll be sure and tell you about it in the morning.' Ayan and Minh took a moment to just look at the large hangar. There was so much going on. Two fighters were having particle weapons installed while heavy braces were being brought out so a larger ship could be moved. High above their heads an aft hold access point was opening to accommodate a forty eight meter long captured ship. Its hull looked like it had never been cleaned, showing the debris and common scorch marks of a ship that had seen many different environments. Past that vessel Ayan could make out the shape of another, slightly smaller vessel that had been secured inside the hold already. The rack on the port bulkhead was rotating so three fighters could be loaded into the punter well beneath the deck, and a squad of soldiers were making their way to the large doors across the hangar deck so they could help with the slaves being offloaded in the adjacent hangar. 'So he's not looking at keeping the Palamo?' she asked, breaking the comfortable silence.
“Nope. After the pummelling it took to stop that thing repairs would take months. You should see him though. All the slaves are trying to get his ear and tell him how they can help on Triton. A few are asking when he can take them home, but most want to serve. Some even want to go back to the Palamo to help strip her for parts.”
“He's not going to?”
Minh shook his head. “He said what he found in her hold is more important so the Clever Dream is going to start ferrying the cargo across. Ashley and I have been put on the roster tomorrow with our navigators to lead recovery crews just in case the ships we've captured don't fill us up. There are three more ships in the Palamo he's taking and a couple adrift he's marked for Chief Vercelli to look at.”
“If I weren't taking care of the station I'd go along with you. I think we'll find an ally here if we give them a hand and considering how well hidden this place is I think it could be a good fit for us. If we give them limited use of our fabrication systems we might have a long term safe port here.”
“Smart and beautiful, what a package,” Minh winked.
“Charmer. What's up with you and Paula, anyway?”
“Just a late dinner before I pass out for a few hours.”
“What if she follows you back to your quarters?” Ayan grinned wryly, dimples playing on her cheeks.
Minh waved her insinuation off. “I don't think it's anything like that, she probably just wants to get to know the new Wing Commander. Maybe berate me a little more for wrecking an Uriel.”
“Doubtful, but you delude yourself however you must. Have fun.”
“How are you and Jake getting along?”
Ayan's attention was drawn by a bulk express car moving through a transparent steel tube leading up into the rest of the ship. Jake was inside, even from across the bay he was instantly recognizable. He was looking right at her, she looked back to Minh, who didn't notice the express car behind him. “Little steps back and forth,” she replied quietly.
Chapter 12
