After an hour of watching the people celebrating around him, Lt. Colonel Castor Holloway gave up and retreated to the quiet of his dark office. He leaned back in his chair and prepared to treasure the brief respite from noise, work, and stubborn, drunk colonists.
He heard a few quiet footsteps and groaned. Apparently his escape had not gone unnoticed. "I'm in here, Fuji."
Major Fujita Takara slid open the door and flipped on the lights. "Is there any particular reason why you're hiding away in your office instead of celebrating?" he asked as he sat down. "You're not sleeping in here again, are you?"
Holloway glared at him. "That happened once," he growled. Takara was never going to let him forget that incident. "Is there any particular reason you're harassing your commanding officer instead of celebrating?"
"There's no reason I can't do both," Takara said, grinning. "I find that harassment of commanding officers is a vital part of any celebration. You still haven't answered my first question."
Holloway sighed and rubbed his eyes. There were times when Takara's persistence could be rather annoying, and this looked like it was turning into one of them. "They're all fools, Fuji. We're lucky to have a supply ship at all, and I'd bet you anything it's only because Lord Cavanagh pulled a few strings for his daughter. The immediate danger has passed, but we still don't have enough to waste it on frivolous parties for the whole damn planet."
"They've just come out of a war," Takara said quietly. "They deserve to celebrate."
"Yes, well, I'm letting them celebrate," Holloway said testily, "but that doesn't mean I need to be standing around there all night with them."
"That's not the real reason you're hiding in here, though," Takara said, and his eyes were a little too perceptive for Holloway's comfort. "There's something else . . . or someone else, perhaps?"
"Is there a point to this conversation, Major?" Holloway snapped, growing tired of this whole charade.
"None whatsoever," Takara said, suddenly cheerful. "Oh, and by the way, Colonel, you have a guest." The door slid open to reveal Dr. Melinda Cavanagh. Takara grinned, saluted, and fled.
"Typical," Holloway muttered. Takara had probably been waiting years for a moment like this. "Is there something I can do for you, Doctor?" he asked, in as professional a tone as he could manage. "I'm rather busy at the moment."
"Major Takara seemed to think you were off-duty," she said, raising an eyebrow.
Holloway resolved to shoot Fuji the next time he saw him. "My work is never done, you know."
"The lights were off when we got here," Melinda pointed out.
He resisted the urge to swear. How long had she been waiting outside? How much had she heard? "I suppose I could spare a few moments. Sit," he said, gesturing at a chair and repressing a sigh.
She hesitated before taking a seat, and didn't say anything for a long moment. Holloway was about to ask if she had come for a staring contest when she finally spoke. "You could have told me you had a remote trigger for the transmitter," she said accusingly.
Guilt stirred unbidden. "I did what I had to do," he said, ignoring it. "You'd already disobeyed an order once when it came to the Zhirrhz. I couldn't take the chance that you might do so again." He'd known that she might hate him for what he did, but that was the price to pay for protecting his people.
"I understand that," Melinda shot back, her voice rising. "I just think that if you'd - " She stopped herself and took a deep breath. "But I didn't come here to argue with you."
"Why are you here, then?" Holloway asked, studying her closely. She was examining him as well, and he wondered briefly what she saw.
"I came to say goodbye," she said. "Pheylan and I are catching rides on the supply ship." Her lip twitched. "And I just wanted to say, for whatever it's worth, I don't hate you. I know you couldn't risk the lives of twenty-five thousand on one woman's scruples. I didn't want to leave with any bad blood between us."
He felt a little light-headed, in a way he hadn't since he was a teenage boy. Even though he'd resolved to accept her hatred if that was the price, it was a relief to hear her words. He'd lost a burden he hadn't known he was carrying. "I appreciate your kind words, Doctor," Holloway said.
"You're welcome," she said, standing up. "I suppose I'd better get going now."
A vague idea formed in Holloway's mind. "Wait," he said quickly, standing up and grabbing her arm. "We're not done yet."
She turned to look at him. "We aren't?" she asked, and her tone was more than a little suspicious.
He schooled his face to absolute seriousness. "We still have to settle the matter of your trial and imprisonment."
Her eyes widened in shock and she gaped at him for a moment before regaining her composure. "Colonel - "
Holloway cut her off. "But under the circumstances, I'm sure an arrangement can be made," he said smoothly.
She stared at him, completely baffled. He tried not to grin. "I was thinking of something along the lines of parole. We allow you to leave, and you return to Dorcas, oh, every few years or so. Just so we can make sure you're staying on the right side of the law."
He could see it in her eyes when she finally got it. "That sounds fair enough," she said, her voice sounding a little strange. "Eminently fair."
"Indeed," Holloway agreed. "I'd better escort you to your ship, so you aren't tempted to commit any crimes on the way out. Shall we?" he said, offering her arm.
She took it, and as they walked out, she said, "That was a cruel trick, Colonel." She was still scowling.
Holloway shrugged. "I do what I have to do." And even seeing Takara smirking just outside his office couldn't dampen his high spirits.
I haven't been able to find a single fic based on Timothy Zahn's Conqueror's Trilogy, so I wrote my own, which turned out to be a great deal of fun.
If you're reading this, please review!