Dog Days
Second-in-command has a disagreement with his bloodthirsty captain
Content warnings1
"Say that again."
"Requesting report," she said instead.
"Uddish…"
"Requesting report!"
Through gritted teeth, Jin reported. "All systems normal. Course set to Vron B9, Outer Sector D6. Stay High will engage local station as soon as we're in range. Are you seriously…"
Before he could finish, Captain Uddish Kifre rose and marched out of the cockpit.
He found her in the cramped combat bay, trying to work her sword without carving up the walls or the handguns. The metal of the blade and her arms flashed together with the music blaring from the speakers.
He stopped at the airlock to turn it down. When he turned, a breeze grazed his cheek and her sword hovered two inches before his adam's apple. "Don't," she growled.
Jin held up his hands in surrender. Ever since they'd been young cadets at the military academy, Uddish had been faster, colder, thirsty for blood. He, on the other hand, had been the calculating thinker, the best shot, the cautious one who kept his distance, always kept his hands clean.
"You of all people should know," he said, "what it would mean to enter their system. If we take this job offer, we'd only be empowering the enemy." I expected better of you.
"Wrong," she said down that naked blade. "We'd be able to steal their resources and use them for our cause. The irony!"
She was drunk on this idea. Jin could taste its heady perfume on her togue even without physically touching her.
"The danger far outweighs the irony."
She rolled her dark eyes and finally lowered the sword. As soon as she couldn't chop off his hand anymore, he pointed the gun he'd swiped while turning around. "Two can play this game, Kifre." And when she didn't move a muscle: "Do you really think we'd have time for our cause while we slave away for their megacorporation? Zilla will eliminate us if we so much as look funny at a merchant ship!"
Fast as lightning, her blade knocked the gun out of his hand. It clattered on the floor. "There are ways around their surveillance. We'll take Vendish with us, he can hack any comms network in a millisecond."
"Eventually word will get back to Zilla. They'll still have us in their back pocket!" Jin stepped forward.
Uddish pointed the sword at his heart. Jin knew it could pierce his combat suit but he didn't care anymore. Her burning determination, the naked metal of her arms filled his perception. How could she of all people…
"We'll just have to be better than them," she rasped softly. The tip of the sword rested against his breastbone. "Stronger."
When something flickered across her features, Jin knew it was a reflection of his own expression. He closed his ungloved right hand around the razor-thin blade. Heat trickled down and into his sleeve.
Uddish pulled back the sword, cleaned it on her thigh and resheathed it in one smooth motion. In a split second, she was at his side and cradled his bleeding palm between her collarbones where her suit left a rectangle of skin--barely large enough for his hand but more than enough for Jin Zawir the leech mage.
Her force poured into him, crackling and sizzling, filling him up to the brim with delicious life. He moaned, aware of her heartbeat under his hand, her grim will to survive, and not only that, to light the world on fire with missiles, grenades, swords… Everything and anything to annihilate the inequality and injustice brewing under the Confederation's benevolent facade. If she had to sell herself to the devil, she would. And Uddish Kifre would win.
At last, he understood. He still didn't like it but he understood. She was his captain, after all, before she was his friend.
Gently he retrieved his hand and lowered his head. "As you wish, captain."
Uddish nodded briskly but her gaze lingered on his blood. "Come on, let's get you patched up."
Physical violence, blood