“I’m coming.”
She moved the last fewmetres and then into the lower deck ofthe ship. It didn’t take long to work her way inside to the mainpassenger deck, where the large bay was half-filled with fourJackal dropships. A number of Novas were on the deck and watched asshe passed them. She looked at their faces and didn’t recognise anyof them.
“Who are they?”
“Like the Sarge said, we gotfilled out. Platoon’s at capacity again,but with a lot of newbies fresh from the frontline.”
She leaned in and whispered into herear.
“We’ve got some new bloodfrom Carthago in our lance.”
“Carthago?”
“Oh,yeah. Been there?”
“A couple of times, it remindedme of a museum that somebody had droppeda bomb on.”
“Well. Good luck. In myexperience they’re arrogant and the least tolerant people I’ve evermet. Either you’re a Carthago citizen, oryou’re nothing but a provincial yokel that bends the knee to theAlliance Council.”
Valentine laughed, and then noticedHawkins was back, and at his side a fully repaired Nova.
“Kallias?”
She moved up to him and embraced.
“I thought you’d bought it in our last fight.”
“Me,too.”
She held onto him for an uncomfortablylong time, and as they released, he looked over to Alexis and thenback to Valentine.
“Are you okay?”
Valentine’s mind wasalready wandering, and right back to thatbrutal last minute on Deimos. She could see it now as though shewas there, the great spike that had punched through Kallias’ body.It was a powerful blow that must have severed his spine and centralnervous system, and would have killed him in minutes, if notseconds.
“I thought you had died on…”
“Wouldn’t be the first time,” hesaid happily, “I don’t remember a thing,but I’ve got the scars to prove it.”
She moved her right hand tohis armour and placed it over the pointwhere the spike had entered. She closed her eyes and saw it allhappen again. When they reopened, a few tears ran down to hercheek.
“You died again, my friend. Don’t dothat again. Okay?”
He laughed, but this time it soundedfaked.
“Whatever you say, Val.What about you? You’ve been out of actionlonger than all of us combined. From what I read, only four of youwere left from the last assault, and you were all found under aheap of bodies. That must have been traumatic. I can’t believethat…”
Valentine was no longer hearinghim, but instead she could see nothingmore than blackness. And through that blackness came hands, claws,and blades. She visibly shuddered and then put on her bestsmile.
“Me? I’m good to go, trustme. You know what it’s like, it takes afew days to get back into the swing of things.”
“Well,let’s get inside,” said Hawkins, “We’re launching soon.”
They moved back towards the entrances to the four quarters for theembarked marines, each of which was big enough for a dozenindividuals. A final passage connected them and led to a communalarea, as well as showers and toilets.
“Wait,”said Valentine, “I need to visit the armoury first.”
She nodded to the doorway to the left,leading to the armoury space.
“Yeah,get those limbs checked out,” said Alexis, “and then join us in therec room. We’ve all got a lot of catching up to do.”
Valentine looked to each of them andthen nodded.
“I won’t be long.”
She turned to the transparent door leading into the expanded armouryand fabrication bay. It was built onto the side of the landing deckand adjoined the barrack space, and as she saw inside, she thoughtback to how it had looked before. It was a big space, with racksalong the walls, and several heavy metal tables and clamp-fittedchairs that could be angled about.
They’ve cutdown on the barrack space,haven’t they?
Correct,replied Tex, much to her surprise andpleasure.
She moved to thedoor, waiting as it scanned her beforeshe was allowed inside.
“Lance Corporal,” said a voice tothe right, “I’ve been waiting for you.”
Valentine turned and was surprised to see Lieutenant JackFletcher inside, as well as a junior tech specialist makingadjustments to one of his legs. The ship’s artificer nodded towardsher. He was a grim looking man, bearing the insignia and demeanourof a master sergeant. His eyes seemed too small for his head, yethis gaze seemed to burn through her body. She felt immediately onedge, as though she had just done something terrible.
“You’re late.”
“It’s okay,” said LieutenantFletcher, “There was a delay with theLance Corporal’s firmware patch. It happens.”
The man’s nostrils twitched, and helooked at her more carefully.
“So, you’re one of the last survivorsof the Deimos siege?”
“Yes,Master Sergeant.”
“That was some good soldiering.”
He indicated herto come forward and took a good look ather.
“So, you’ve had the firmware upgrades.Have you been told of the changes to hardware?”
Valentine shook her head, and atthe same time an alarm sounded through the ship. The noise didn’t concern her. In fact, she was quitepleased to hear it.
“This is the Captain. Buckle up, we’releaving Deimos immediately.”
A moment later theship began to shake, and then a humspread through the craft. Valentine knew it was the motorisedlanding gear and thrusters that had such an effect on the hull andstructure of the ship. No matter how complex or advanced thedesign, it was almost impossible to disguise so significant forceson her hull.
“Goodbye, Deimos,” said theLieutenant, “I for one am not sorry to beleaving this place.”
Valentine tried to imagine what was happening andinadvertently activated her Cortex.
Show me where we are.
Imagery appeared in her mind, asthough she was remembering something that happened to be streaminglive. It was a strange feeling, and asshe turned her head, she could see from several of the active videofeeds.
“Camera feed through your Cortex?”asked the Master Sergeant.
“Yes,Sergeant.”
“It’s a useful feature, if yourmind can handle it. Access to the cameras is limited to lance andplatoon leaders only. It is likely to bedisabled once we join the fleet. Enjoy it while youcan.”
He was about to say more, but the Captain’s voice returned. Valentinelistened,
