Bringing Stella Home (42 page)

Maria gave him a hard stare. James
squirmed where he stood.

“
Danica always runs these
kinds of ideas through Roman first. I’m next in line; why didn’t
she come directly to me?”

“
Well, uh,” James
floundered, “she’s been busy.”

“
Busy with
what?”

“
With, ah—”

“
You’re lying.”

The blood rushed from
James’s cheeks.
Think fast,
he
told himself.
Come on, think fast—

“
You’re right,” he blurted.
“Danica didn’t give me orders to talk with you. I decided to come
on my own.”

Maria’s eyes narrowed. “So you’re
trying to go over the captain’s head with this? Are you aware that
on most ships, that’s considered mutiny?”

“
No!” said James. “That’s
not it at all. Danica and I were still talking things out—she
hasn’t come to a decision one way or the other. I just wanted to do
a little research on my own, feel out the crew, see if
I—”

“
You’ve got a lot to learn
about the way things work around here, kid,” said Maria, her voice
as cold as ice. “No, I will not approach my men with this idea—not
until I hear from Danica directly. And if you approach anyone under
my command, I will charge you with insubordination and report you
to the captain. Do you understand, Ensign?”

“
Yes, Sergeant,” James
said, shaken.

“
And to be frank, I thought
this mission was a terrible idea from the beginning—especially for
what you’re paying us.”

James’s cheeks flushed. “I, uh,
well—”

“
Goodbye.”

James was all too happy to
leave.

I’m a
fool
, he thought to himself as he stood
outside her door. With Roman wounded and Artyom dead, he had no one
to act as a go-between between him and the enlisted men—and after
Maria’s lecture, he dared not approach any of them directly. That
left only the officers: Vaclav, Ilya, and Anya.

He turned and walked briskly down the
corridor—no time to waste.

* * * * *

Anya piloted the gunboat through the
debris field in the wake of the simulated battle. The flashing red
indicators at the bottom of her screen told her that she was
pulling three gees, even with gravitic damping. Half a dozen alarms
blared in her ear as a squadron of Gaian Imperial fighter drones
pelted her with incessant gunfire.

Just before she pulled
clear, she hit the nose end of a half-destroyed freighter and wiped
out in an enormous explosion. The replay showed her the collision
from various exterior angles, fried remnants of her craft
scattering in all directions. Over the visuals, the words
M
ission Failed
flashed in blue across the center of the screen.
Battle lost.

Anya watched the explosion play itself
out over and over again. She checked the stats for interesting
details and found that she’d been flying at four thousand meters
per second relative to the wreckage at the moment of impact. At
those speeds, death was instantaneous and, theoretically,
painless.

Not that it mattered. Death was
death.

She’d passed this mission nearly a
dozen times before, but this time she’d programmed the simulator to
increase the Gaian Imperial numbers by three hundred percent.
Against such odds, she had virtually no hope for success, but that
wasn’t what she wanted; what she wanted was a
distraction.

The door to the simulation room
chimed; someone was there to see her. Anya halfheartedly switched
off the holoscreen and cracked open the sim unit.

“
Come in,” she said, hoping
it wasn’t the captain—or worse, Ilya.

The door to the room parted. To her
surprise, it was the Ensign, James McCoy.

“
Hello?”

“
Hi, James,” said Anya,
smiling to set him at ease as she climbed out of the sim
unit.

“
I’m sorry—did I interrupt
you?”

“
No, you’re fine; I’m just
running some old missions. What’s up?”

He paused for a moment, as if unsure
of himself. “Danica is considering putting together a commando team
to rescue my sister,” he said. “With the Hameji transport, it
shouldn’t be hard to sneak in—we just need to put together a team
for the mission. Would you, ah, be willing to join?”

“
Why are you coming to me?”
Anya asked, a little confused.

James shifted uncomfortably. “Because,
uh, Danica told me she wouldn’t send out the mission unless I could
put a team together. I’ve already talked with some of the other
crew, but they’ve all turned me down.”

“
A commando raid against a
Hameji capital ship? Sounds dangerous.” Not that it
mattered.

“
It’s actually pretty
straightforward,” James argued. “We know what ship she’s on, we
have the transport ship for cover—all we need is a couple of people
willing to go. Please,” he added, eyes begging, “I need your
help.”

Anya stared at the boy for a long time
before answering. She knew he wasn’t telling the whole story—Danica
would never send someone else to put together a commando team.
Besides, the mission was absolutely crazy—suicidal,
even.

But when she looked into his eyes, she
didn’t see any fear. Recklessness, maybe, but not fear. Whatever
else he was, the boy was no coward.

Oh, what the
hell.

“
All right,” she said. “You
can tell Danica I’m in.”

James’s face lit up instantly. “Thank
you—thank you so much! With you as the pilot, I’m sure we can do
this.”

“
Yeah,” said Anya, a little
absent mindedly. Her thoughts drifted to the simulation. Three
gees. Painless death.

“…
know if Ilya is up for
this?” James was asking. “I wanted to—”

“
I can get Ilya on board,”
Anya said without thinking. “Just leave it to me.”

“
Thank you,” he said again.
“You don’t know how much this means to me.”

“
I’m glad to be on the
team,” she said. “We’ll get your sister back.”
Or die trying.

Not that it mattered.

* * * * *

Later that night, Anya sat on her
bunk, filing her nails as she waited for Ilya to come. She had
little doubt he would; he had never been one to turn down a night
with her.

Sure enough, the door
hissed open and he sauntered in, the characteristic smug expression
written across his face.
He’s so full of
himself
, she thought as she watched him
step inside. One of the reasons she’d fallen for him.

He betrayed you, you know.
Not that you didn’t deserve it.

“
Hey, baby,” he said as the
door hissed shut behind him. “You wanted to see me?”

“
Yes,” she said, focusing
on her nails as if they were more interesting than him.

“
Well?” he said, sitting
down next to her. His arm snaked around her waist, making his
intentions all too clear. She glanced up and narrowed her eyes at
him.

Coward.

“
I was talking with James a
little while ago,” she said.

Ilya’s face fell. “Talking about
what?”

“
About things,” she said,
pausing to admire her hands. “After this mission’s over, I just
might retire and go home with him.”

Ilya’s cheeks turned red, much to her
satisfaction.

“
You’d leave me for that
stupid kid? He’s just a boy.”

“
He’s more of a man than
you.”

Ilya cursed and rose to his feet. In
his anger, he looked tough and dangerous—not at all like the
weakling she’d found cowering in the maintenance corridor after the
battle.

“
I haven’t made a decision
yet, though,” she said, rising up to face him. “I’ve got to admit,
I kind of miss you.” She took him by the hips and pressed her body
against his, smiling.

He angrily shrugged her off. “I don’t
get it,” he said. “What the hell do you see in that
guy?”

You’re worthless. Even he
doesn’t want you.

Anya withdrew and stood back, giving
him an obstinate look. “When the Hameji boarded us, James stood his
ground and fought them. You turned tail and ran.”

“
So? It was the
Hameji—anyone in their right mind would have run.”

“
Psh,” said Anya. “Say that
to Artyom and the others who died.”

“
Yeah, well, where were
you? I didn’t see you in the corridors when the fighting got
tough.”

He’s right, you know.
You’re no better than him.

Anya folded her arms—she’d had enough.
Time to get to the point.

“
James and Danica are
putting together a commando mission to rescue his sister. I’m
already in as the pilot, but we could use a cyber-ops officer. If
you want me so much, prove that you’re a man and join
us.”

Ilya’s face turned white. “Did you see
what the Hameji did to us the last time? To fight them again—that’s
suicide!”

“
Are you in or
not?”

Ilya didn’t answer right
away.
He’s not going to go for it,
the voice in Anya’s head told her.
You’re not worth it to him. You never
were.

“
You’re not going to change
your mind about this?” he asked.

“
No.”

“
For sure?”

“
Yes.”

He turned away and slammed his fist
angrily against the wall, making her jump.

“
Please don’t make me do
this,” he begged. “I’m not what you think I am.”

“
Prove it.”

Several moments passed, in which
neither of them said anything. Through the walls, Anya could hear
the low throbbing of the ventilator fans. She shifted on her
feet.

He’s not going to do
it.

“
There’s no other way
around it?” Ilya asked. “Nothing else I can do to prove
myself?”

“
No. Not if you want
me.”

He took a deep breath and turned
towards her. Something about him seemed noticeably different.
Instead of slouching, he held himself with confidence. His arms and
legs were stiff and shaking, but they radiated strength instead of
weakness. Gone was his characteristically smug smile, replaced by
an expression of unabashed fear and seriousness that was a thousand
times more honest.

“
All right,” he said, “but
if I’m in, we get together—now.”

She smiled. “Deal.”

They made love that night as if it
were their first time—or perhaps their last. Anya knew that death
was coming for her—death and oblivion—but the thought only spurred
her on to greater heights of passion. And later, as she fell asleep
with Ilya’s arms wrapped tightly around her, she smiled to herself.
It felt good to not be alone.

Chapter 22

“
Come in,” said Danica. The
door hissed open and Vaclav stepped through, with James close
behind.
An unlikely pair,
she mused, raising an eyebrow.

“
Captain,” said Vaclav. He
saluted; Danica returned his salute.

“
Nicholson, McCoy. How may
I be of service?”

Vaclav spoke first. “The Ensign tells
me that you gave him orders to put together some kind of commando
team for a raid on the Hameji fleet. Is that true?”

“
No. Please
explain.”

“
I found him going behind
your back recruiting crew members for this mission. I came to you
as soon as he approached me.”

Danica frowned. She looked James
squarely in the eyes, and his cheeks started to pale.

“
Well,” she said to him,
displeasure evident in her voice, “what do you have to say for
yourself?”

“
You told me I had a couple
of days,” he said sheepishly.

“
You approached my crew
about this without my consent?”

“
Well, uh, it was the only
way to—”

“
Do you realize I could
charge you with mutiny?”

James bit his lip and hung his head.
“Yes.”

“
And still you did
it?”

He clenched his fists and glanced up
at her, determination written across his face. “I had to,” he said.
“It was the only way to get my sister back.”

Danica stared at him for several
moments in silence. A part of her wanted to scream at him—but when
she met his eyes, all she could see was the face of her
brother.

That only made what she had to do
harder.

“
Peter, Nicholas,” she said
into her wrist console. “Come up to the bridge. Bring your
stunners.”

“
What?” James shouted.
“What are you—no!” He tried to run out, but Vaclav knocked him down
and pinned him to the floor.