HMS Valediction

Chapter 29.2

I stand in the hangar, staring at my ship. My ship. I inhale the sense of freedom lingering in the air. The HMS Valediction's recycled filtration seems lighter—like it's as fresh as an ocean breeze. Freedom is imminent. I tug on the ends of my powder-blue officer's jacket that Nuna insisted I wear when returning. I wipe the silver buttons with my thumb and pull the collar up so it sticks straight up around my chin. Smoothing my slicked-back hair and wiping off the residual moisture on my matching suit pants, I feel presentable enough to return with dignity.

I touch the hand-pad at the aft, lowering the hatch so I can board my ship.

The ramp lowers, and I close my eyes and exhale. It's time to break the news.

To save them the anguish I experienced, I wish I could take this information away from them, to take care of the matter myself so they'll never have to know what their government had planned for them. But instead, I'm headed back into what is bound to be more pain.

I'll be back. At least I'll be able to look among my VIPERs and hold my sister or embrace my friends. I can lean against John or wander the cold corridors with him again.

Ledi steps up to my side. It's getting easier to remind myself that it's not Dean. I fixate on his clean shave. That's definitely very un-Dean-ish. One of my favorite parts of Dean was a few days after being Topside, he'd have the softest scruff on his cheeks and chin. The fresh stuff was prickly and awful, but give it a few days...

"You ready?" He peers at me and nods toward the lowered hatch.

"As ready as I can be for something as fucking awful as this." I step onto the ramp and board my ship.

We take our seats, mine on the left and his co-pilot position on the right. I run through the pre-flight checklists, his responses curt and professional—very much a Dean gesture. I relax into the sound of his voice, the sensation that this is finally going the way it's supposed to.

Ledi places Dean's large hand on the ignition switch between us. "All systems-go."

"VAL-Tower-One, this is Junker-One. Requesting release at Port Bravo-three-three-Juliet." My old callsign from the Topside rolls off my tongue, but it's odd to hear it said in space.

"Junker-One, your request has been approved," Ledi says, turning the switch.

I hold my breath.

The ship doesn't start.

I point at the ignition. "Start it again."

He flips the switch.

Nothing.

"The hell." I drop my hands from their tight grip around the controls.

"Commander," Ledi faces me. "There's no power in the ship."

"No shit."

I stare at the console for a few seconds, thinking about the engine I installed and the electric system I spent what felt like eternity putting together with Ledi's help.

Ledi stares straight ahead. "What should we do now?"

Before I respond, I catch a black blur in my peripherals just outside the enormous window at my forward.

"Captain Moon is boarding," Ledi says.

"Yeah. What a surprise." I spin around in my seat to watch my hatch lower and Moon stomp aboard.

"Having any troubles?" He stands in the middle of the cabin, his black coat and black shirt back in their original places. Now that I know what he's hiding below them, I can't see anything but his marred skin.