“Thank you, Captain Rawlins.”
The woman inclined her head.
“The pleasure was mine.”
Commander Bryce Alder stared at the screen and watched as the Ebon Knight continued on its trajectory out of the system. It was annoying but not unexpected and probably the best result of his attempt to delay the Witch’s departure.
Still, it made him frown.
“Why is she still leaving?” he murmured, referring to Stephanie rather than the ship. “She has a meeting.”
As he spoke, there was a sharp knock at the office door.
“Come in.” His gruff tones sounded clearly across the room.
His aide-de-camp was breathing heavily as he came in.
“Well, Bramich?” he demanded.
“Sorry, sir,” the lieutenant panted, “but Ms. Morgana—”
Alder cut him off. “You meant the Witch?”
“Uh…yes, sir.”
“Well?”
“Well, sir, she isn’t coming.”
“She refused?”
“She said her schedule was fully booked, sir.”
“So the Navy’s not important enough for her to talk to?” The commander scowled.
“No, sir. She merely couldn’t change her schedule,” he tried to explain as if making excuses for the Witch would let her off the hook. “The other meetings were of vital—”
“More vital than her homeworld’s defense?” His voice rose in annoyance.
“That’s not what she said, sir, only that if the threat wasn’t immediate—”
“Every threat is immediate!”
“Yes, sir, but no one’s attacking anything directly and her intervention isn’t needed, while the meeting she had to attend was—”
“It could not possibly have been more important than this one,” Alder snapped and watched as the other man struggled to keep his puzzlement from his face. “What is it?”
“Well, sir, you said it was only a quick meeting to touch base regarding Navy cooperation…” The lieutenant let his words trail off at the look on his superior’s face.
“I take it you told her that?”
“I said it was regarding Navy cooperation,” he admitted, “not that it was a quick touch-base.”
“And she still didn’t think it was important enough to come by?”
“She said the other meetings were high priority, sir, and she is the Witch, so…”
“So you didn’t push the matter,” Alder concluded for him and wondered how he would pass the news on that the Witch was still outbound and would soon be somewhere they couldn’t see her.
“Of all the useless…” he began and flicked his hand at the waiting lieutenant. “Get out of my sight!”
Bramich left hastily and Alder wished the man had been stupid enough to argue. He was about to call him when another lieutenant appeared at the door.
“Sir, it’s gone.”
“What’s gone, lieutenant?”
“The Witch’s ship, sir. It just skipped.”
“From the non-transition zone?” For a moment, the commander thought he might be lucky, but the lieutenant’s next words crushed that hope.
“No, sir. She reached the transition zone and vanished. Not even a ship-length in, sir, and she was gone.”
“You mean she wasn’t completely in the zone?”
“No, sir, her stern reached the zone and then she skipped.”
Smart bitch, the commander thought, irritated to not have the excuse to file a complaint that might have meant he could call the Witch’s ship back.
Well, she wouldn’t remain untouchable for long.
On board the Knight, Stephanie didn’t know how lucky she was.
Captain Rawlins turned to her. “They won’t call back, ma’am.”
She shrugged, grateful that Elizabeth had taught her to not put up with any Navy bullshit. “What can I say? I’ve been taught by the best.” She sighed. “And how many times have I asked you not to call me that?”
The woman gave her a tight smile. “Not enough.”
“What if I made it an order?”
Immediately, the smile disappeared. “I’d rather you didn’t, ma’am.”
Stephanie gave the captain her sweetest smile. “Then don’t make me.”
Rawlins gave her a thoughtful look. “We’ll see.”
She waited for the honorific and relaxed a little when it didn’t come. Maybe this would work out, after all. She still missed Emil, but Rawlins reminded her of Elizabeth. It could still work.
The captain caught her look. “Is there anything else?”
Stephanie glanced to where Avery and Wattlebird were seated side by side. Both had their gaze fixed on the console, and the same slight smile played over their lips. Rawlins followed her gaze.
“Trouble waiting to happen,” she noted, but she smiled like a mother acknowledging two wayward sons.
Some of her apprehension eased and she smiled in return.
“Don’t let them break my ship,” she quipped and turned to leave.
The woman’s reply was almost reassuring.
“That’s our boat, Stephanie. Ours.”
The Knight managed a credible sniff.
“I am no-one’s boat,” she argued, “but my own!”
As Stephanie left the bridge, Earth’s One R&D Headquarters stood silent—except for the training room.
Training didn’t stop simply because most of the company was shipping out. Both Arne and Amy discovered they had missed a good workout.
“Man, I don’t think anyone but Ms. E’s given me this much of a challenge since Tracey,” she said as she ducked under a punch. It still hurt to mention her friend but didn’t diminish the truth.
She recovered, bounced back, and spun as Arne lunged. Her kick caught him squarely in the gut.
He grunted as her foot landed and took a couple of steps back as she bounced toward him. A series of punches followed, which he blocked, then caught her arm and stepped around quickly to trap it in a lock.
“Sonuvabitch!” she exclaimed and tried to twist out of it, only to find he’d anticipated her attempt.
His hold tightened and he forced her onto the mat. “Do you give?”
Amy tried another twist and gasped when he applied more pressure. He waited as she froze and let her work it out. It was a relief when she slapped the mat in defeat.
“Not bad for an old man,” she grumbled, rubbed her arm, and shook it out. “You wanta show me how you did that?”
He chuckled. “Are you sure this old man has what it takes?”
She blew a raspberry. “You’re not that old, Arne. Come on. Give.”
“All right, then. Don’t say you didn’t ask for it.”
Twenty minutes later, he began to wonder if he hadn’t been the one asking for it. Amy proved to be a determined and demanding student and insisted they repeat the lesson until she was sure she had it right.
“Are you happy now?” Arne asked as she maneuvered him onto the ground for the fourth time in a row.
He slapped the mat out of habit and she released him.