HMS Valediction

Chapter 2.3

After stalking the passageways and thinking about the infinite ways my life could have been different, their apex becomes clear — the one place in time and space where if the moment hadn't erupted into disaster, my life could be a million shades brighter.

All fingers point to Dean.

Freaking Dean.

And his stupid mouth.

He had to tell Colonel about my nightmares. He had to voice his concerns and tell the world that I was unfit for battle—unfit to train for the HEL-SR program. Now I'm on ARC10 with a brig full of lunatics high on whispers, being driven into the depths of the universe by unseen spindled legs and hearing my worst nightmares trailing me in my waking hours with a highly illegal pregnancy carrying a bastard son.

I stop and face the wall to bang my head against it.

What.

The.

Fuck.

Do.

I.

Do.

Now?

With each clunk of my forehead against the bulkhead, an echo rings out. The noise is loud enough to distract me from the gust of thoughts forming a dark and angry storm.

When I rest my head against the cold wall, the banging continues.

Weird.

I face right, searching for the source of the blasting racket.

In my experience, noises with unknown sources have never been harbingers of anything positive.

Standing straight and treading cautiously, I take a slow pace toward the resonant pulse. The curving walkway is horrible for sight-lines, so I prepare my body to react within a nanosecond's notice. My fingers hover over the handgun at my hip.

A middle-aged woman, plump in stature with gray strands of hair intermixed in her auburn bun, leans against the wall, her back facing me. One arm is raised above her head where she's holding a dented, tin pot. She bangs it rhythmically against the wall over her.

My breath escapes as a sigh of relief. "Ma'am, cease your activities and return to your rack immediately."

The woman slows but doesn't stop clanging the pot against the bulkhead.

"Ma'am, did you hear me?"

She slows more.

I step forward. "You are in a civilian-restricted area, a violation of ARC code seven-two-dash-six. Turn around."

One inch at a time, she pivots slowly. She holds her arms straight in the air, the pot above her like a lantern in the dark. Her fully-dilated eyes peer at me in the deepest, darkest, black.

Oh Heaping hell.

I activate my coms and flip on my tracker by bending my index finger to touch my PAHLM. "Lorn to SCOPE ACTUAL. Code Crust."

"SCOPE ACTUAL to Commander Lorn, copy all. Norbit and Avant are oscar mike. ETA four minutes."

The woman stares right through me as she leans against the wall to smack her pot against the bulkhead above.

I don't try to stop her. There's no point. Instead, I cross my arms over my chest and heave a deep, heavy sigh as I wait. The woman continues staring with her black eyes, but I can't really tell if it's at me or beyond. I look over my shoulder. No one.

"What are you looking at?" I ask her, not really expecting a response.

"They follow you." She stops her banging.

When the ringing from her clamoring settles, I pick up the faintest sound in the quiet.

Tik tik tik tik tik tik

I startle and trip to the wall behind me, tracking the sound as it beats toward us. There's little point in attempting to track the thing in the overhead, so I shove myself between the woman and the lurking Xani. When my hand touches her arm to ensure she retreats with me, I'm shocked to feel her grip my wrist.

"Don't touch me, bloodwhore!" The old woman screams, her ugly voice piercing my skin.

She squeezes. Her hand on my wrist is so tight, I can't move. I gape at her hand on me, stunned, and attempt to pry her fingers off.

"Let go," I growl. "Now!"

Her vice grip is unrelenting. She stares at me, wide-eyed, black spilling into what little whites she has left until her sockets are a starless sky. The pot clatters at our feet as her other hand wraps around my arm as well. With a sharp inhale, she bears down on my flesh. She squeezes. Squeezes hard. Squeezes with both hands twisting my skin, bruising my bone, and anchoring herself to my body. I don't realize what she's doing until I notice she's dug her heels into the deck and bends her knees to prepare for launch. With one swift whipping motion, she throws me. I'm in the air, sailing fast. I slam into the opposite wall and slide to the floor.

Pain rockets through my spine. But that's not my direst concern. I curl inward and press a hand against my belly. My other hand lifts to eye-level so I can tap the star. Blinking red. He's fine.

The footfalls of VIPERs finally echoes around me.

No pain beside my back. No dizziness. You're fine. He's fine. Get up. Go.

I push myself up and follow the woman who has turned and run. Norbit and Avant are suddenly at my side as we sprint through the halls. Luckily the woman is slow despite her immense strength and Avant grabs her around the middle and pushes her up against the wall, pulling her hands behind her back. The woman screams and moans.

"What happened?" Norbit asks, nodding toward my arms.

They've already started to bruise. Red marks twist to soft purple as Avant arrests the struggling woman.

"To either of your knowledge, have any of the others shown increased strength?" I poke at the forming bruises and yes, they hurt like hell.

"No, Commander," Norbit says, watching Avant pull the woman away from the bulkhead toward the brig. "None."

"Fucking great," I whisper, back-bending and cringing as my misaligned vertebrae pop. "Just fucking great."

***A/N***

Hello loves ❤️

So, if you're following me, you'll probably have seen my little note, revealing my slight case of doubt. You, fam, are incredible. Thank you so much for flocking to my profile to give me a boost of confidence I needed. Of course I'll be posting HMS VALEDICTION. I need to just make this quick PSA to make myself feel better.

THIS IS A FIRST DRAFT! ARC10 has had many re-writes and edits, many consultants and wonder-wordsmiths to help me form it to what you've read. HMS VALEDICTION is all me. This is such an early draft, please forgive the typos, plot holes, and badly-crafted conflict. I will work on it. I welcome your suggestions and comments. Only through your comments can this book ever become what it needs to be. 

Thank you and love you all! 

❤️L