So she understood long stretches of utter quiet, when it was only her, her Wraith and the deep, jeweled infinity of space.
This silence, however, between her and Calder Nothing familiar or comfortable about it. It pulled tightly until she thought she might crack from the strain.
Tell me what you know about Marek.
The illumination from the display traced the contours of his face. His high cheekbones, the straight line of his nose and fullness of his mouth. Again she felt a strange flicker of memory, a far-flung sun glinting across light years of distance.
He had almost two decades with the 8 thWing. Career. Or so I thought. Though his voice had been toneless before, now it held a sonic blades bite. There were discussions, ongoing debates. If we had a shift together, wed talk of circuitry arrangements, the best way to make ships faster, more responsive. The whole time he sat drinking kahve in the mess, listening to stories about sweethearts on homeworlds, he was plotting. Planning. His tone hardened with self-recrimination. None of us in Engineering knew.
Nobody blames you.
His mouth curved, sardonic. The fact that you immediately try to absolve me causes me to believe that I do actually shoulder some responsibility.
I dont shoot down every PRAXIS ship I face. I try, but sometimes even my best effort is not always
enough.
She waited, wondering what he might make of this admission of imperfection. Denial, perhaps. It often went that way, when the fissures in the cation armor began to show.
He stared at her. Then, slowly, nodded.
She didnt know who was more surprised: her, from his acceptance, or him, for offering it.
But Marek did keep himself aloof. He returned to the subject as if eager to put the strange, tenuous moment behind them both. Didnt take criticism well. Whenever review came around, hed be sullen for solar weeks. If he thought he wasnt getting enough recognition, hed get angry.
Violent?
Calder shook his head. He never kept up with his PT. If he wanted to hurt someone, hed find another way to do it.
So he might not be a threat.
Physically? No. But Marek knows his tech. Wherever he is, hell have systems in place. And the leash will be off.
Leash?
He stared out through the front-facing window as planetary systems slid past, and it surprised her now, how such a lean man could fill the cockpit with his presence. Rather than growing less aware of him as time passed, she had somehow developed a new sensitivity to him. She had seen him in combat, so that now, with each shift of his body, she had a precise knowledge of his muscles, and how he moved.
Marek pushed for making the weaponry more aggressive, stronger.
We need all the firepower strength we can get.
Not the way he wanted it. It had elements ofcruelty. Not fast, quick enemy deaths, but a drawing out of their suffering. He wanted their ships to burn around them, giving them time to die slowly, smell their own charred flesh.
Celene cursed. Someone had to suspect that we had a monster in our ranks.
When called before a panel, he retracted. Said he was only joking. But, Lieutenant, he said, turning to face her, there was no jest. I didnt know Marek well, but I knew that he wasnt prone to jokes.
Then well need a strategy to face him.
His brows raised. Word on base is that the best pilots rely on intuition, not strategy.
She shook her head. As a Wraith pilot, Ive faced so many battles, I cant count them anymore. Some arrive with no warning. I might be on patrol, or escorting a ship of refugees to their new homeworld, and then PRAXIS is there, in small force or large. Always deadly. Years of training and experience taught me to react without thought, to trust instinct and my squad mates not merely to survive, but to prevail.
She gazed at the tracking screen, and its faint flicker showing her the way to find a traitor. But sometimes, when Im fortunate, I get a chance to formulate a strategy beforehand. Im not so faultless that I wont grab any advantage.
Calder studied her for a moment. Wherever Mareks situated himself, he finally said, he will be well guarded. Count on very tight security protocols. And cutting-edge tech.
She allowed herself a smile. Good thing Ive got the NerdWorkss best as my partner.
Chapter Four
Now alone in the cockpit, he started when a mans voice crackled through the line. It came in faintly, pops and hisses cutting into words.
Any ship within rangecan you hear me? This is a distress call. Anyone?
Reading you, Nils said into the com. Identify yourself.
Akash Gabela, Galactic Registry number 473-Beta-Rho-229.
Nils ran the name and registry number through the ships database.
Who is he?
He glanced over his shoulder to see Celene coming into the cockpit, strapping on her plasma pistol. As always, he needed to hide his reaction to her. It didnt matter how many times they changed shifts, seeing her made his pulse accelerate, his breathing quicken. She might have been asleep moments ago, but her silver eyes were alert now as she stood beside him and scanned the readout.