a/n: Jack needs to get something off his chest. He also gets two unexpected gifts.

Much less exciting, also fewer swears. Gratuitous Nagi, because I can.

All the good things belong to Monolith Soft.


It had been almost a week since the Kentucky Fried Disaster. When Lila had texted him to hang tight, he'd done his best to distract Lin and her weird Nopon sidekick, a ridiculously easy task. He'd pinned a fake smile on his face and asked Lin if she was developing any new recipes. Lin had started her middle school stand-up routine of mock threats to cook Tatsu, and Tatsu had pretended to want to hide under the table or flee the city. This was enough to keep them amused for hours, in his experience. All he had to do was chuckle at the right moments.

Meanwhile, he'd kept a casual eye on the front door of the restaurant, and a casual ear open for different noise from the kitchen. The sudden shift in activity behind the swinging doors leading to the back, the hurried conference between owner and cashier, those were the hints that Lila'd done the thing, whatever that was. Turned out to be a simple thing: poultry delivery, unexpected and gratis, on the condition that the Commander and his guests be served before the supply ran out. He'd tried to pay for the dinner (one drumstick plate for Lin, two Happy Happy Nopon Meals for the growing boy, and the Sunday special for himself, with mashed potatoes and fried okra, naturally) but the owner refused, even giving him a coupon for the next month (provided they managed to stay in business after this embarrassment).

That had been over the weekend. Now it was Thursday, and he was still waiting for the weekly report on fuel usage at the Sakuraba Refueling Stations, of which there was currently only one. Lila hadn't shown up at the appointed time of 0600. He tapped his comm device. 0621 and he needed to leave soon. He should have left already, to be honest; they'd missed connections before and she'd shot him a text version of the combined report/prediction/request, usually too lengthy because she tended to nail down every detail in print when she could skim over those face to face. He didn't move from the café table. Some things you had to do in person.

Another minute passed, and he spotted her at the end of Barista Alley, sprinting down the length, slicing through the thin crowd. She didn't slow down when she reached his table, sliding into the opposite seat with enough momentum to make it rock several degrees off center. "Sorry, sorry," she said, already trying to pass her comm device to him. "I'll send you the numbers, but the short of it is …"

"Hold on." He blocked the electronics with an open hand and pushed it gently back at her. "I need to apologize first."

She stopped suddenly and looked at him with innocent but attentive eyes. "Apologize? For what?"

"I pulled you into my mess last weekend. Wasn't fair, and I'm sorry to put you through it."

She looked blank for a moment longer, then smiled suddenly. The silver slivers lurking in her brown eyes flared. Then she looked away, shaking her head.

"You laughing at me?" He deserved it, he knew.

"No, not at all, sir." She stared at him solemnly, but the sparkles were still there. "I'm just amused that this is the second apology I've been involved in this morning, and neither were anything I wanted."

"Someone else done you wrong?"

"Opposite thing, sir. My best tech has been sulking since the weekend. I finally shook it out of him, and it turns out he was hurt because I'd kept him out of the loop. About the evello, etc. I didn't really think there'd been a loop to be in, since it was over and done with in under an hour, but to use his words, I had disrespected him. I think I calmed him down, but it took a while. He'd been stewing on it."

"God god, you didn't tell him …" Vandham started in horror.

She shrugged and looked innocent. "I told him the truth. The restaurant had messed up and you didn't want to disappoint the kids. Gino may swear like a …" She struggled for an adequate description.

"A sailor," suggested Vandham.

"Well, like some sailors I know, I suppose, but not all," she said, pointedly. "Anyway, he may sound rude, but he's got a soft spot for Lin. Maybe out of solidarity against shared enemies." Vandham raised a heavy eyebrow at her, and her grin sneaked out into the open. "Hector. He doesn't care for Hector."

Vandham tried not to let himself be distracted by the simmering feud between Lila & Co. and the smartass Pathfinder. He took a deep breath and restarted his apology firmly. "Lila. I had no business asking you to listen to my breakdown. I need to keep my own head together, not drag other people into it. I can't keep failing like that."

She frowned at him, looking very severe. "You lost it for 90 seconds, sir. Total. It wasn't a big deal, and your deciding to call me is proof of that. You called me. Me. Most unimportant person you probably have as a contact. And you were over it before the conversation was half done, and certainly before I'd said anything helpful. I was just a way of marking time, and I'm glad I could do that."

"It wasn't fair to you."

"Sir," she interrupted, then paused. She stared at him with an expression he couldn't quite read, but it looked a little like fear. "If you can't call your friends to vent, who can you call?"

"Huh. Calling a friend."

"Yes. Calling a friend," she repeated uncertainly.

"Good. I like that," he murmured. "Lemme return you the favor. Call me if you ever lose your, uh, composure." He smiled involuntarily. And was stunned by the brilliance of her returning smile. This back and forth of smiles continued, wordlessly, until suddenly her face shifted into the most blank and formal expression he'd seen short of official briefings.

"That's all there is, sir," she snapped. "As I said, I'll send you the details today. Thank you for your time."

He almost replied, "Dismissed," out of ship's routine, but managed to stop himself at the last moment. She retrieved her comm device, rose, and walked quickly past him. A few moments later, over his shoulder he heard her voice again, a little too clearly. "Good morning, Secretary Nagi, sir."

Vandham thus had a few seconds warning, but he didn't manage to wipe the relaxed smile off his face. The Secretary of Defense looked down at the Commander of the BLADE forces and very distinctly did not roll his eyes. "I thought there was an all-hands division meeting this morning."

"It won't hurt 'em to start without me for once. Gives them a chance to get their stories straight. There's been a little too much cocky behavior recently, based on the skell repair orders."

The Secretary nodded in understanding. He added, casually, "I neglected to wish you happy birthday. I hope you enjoyed your weekend?"

"Yup. Took Lin and the potato out for lunch. Pretty nice." Vandham rose and stretched nonchalantly.

"Any surprise gifts?"

"No-ooo, not much," Vandham replied slowly. "Maybe a small one. Maybe two, although damned if I can tell you what they were."

"I was mistaken. I had assumed you were thinking about exactly that. You were smiling quite as much as if you'd just short-sheeted Chausson's bed."

Vandham barked with laughter. "Goddammit, Nagi, don't do this to me. You know I won't have a moment's rest until I manage that, somehow."

"Consider it a belated birthday gift. One that I will deny all knowledge of."


a/n: And if I write the story of the prank, I will not be surprised. It will involve Ma-non, eventually, because although this is pre Chapter 5, it isn't much before it.