Chapter 4
"Do you think we have time?"
"You're the boss" M.T leant back on the railing, his hump tapping the curved ceiling. The Bitch strolled up and down slightly, in smaller and smaller steps until she was eventually spinning on the spot.
"What does Holi think?"
"Hay fever sucks"
"I meant about Kevalk"
"I dunno, they didn't get on that well if I remember correctly"
"He did save her life on Thessia"
"So did you"
"And you"
"...She's not great at fighting is she"
"Remember why we called her Clusterfuck?"
"Screw it"
"What?"
"We're stopping" She strolled out from the hallway and across the bridge, Cartwright saluted as she passed, she skipped across the bridge to the cockpit. "Which one of you is the pilot?" Both chairs span round revealing a Human and...a Rachni.
"He's the lead pilot, I'm the co-pilot and, sort of, his translator" She eyed over the Rachni, who fidgeted with his...antennae thingys.
"Does he have a name?"
"...Not really, they're more defined by their roles in the colony, I guess he's Pilot."
"I'm going to call him Mr Wiggles"
"...I'm not sure if he'd like that"
"Do you have a problem with that, Mr Wiggles" Mr Wiggles looked over to the co-pilot, then back at The Bitch before turning on his chair and returning to the controls. "Hey we need to head to Dekunna...uh, what's your name?"
"Davids, Ma'am, Thoren Davids"
"Ok well, tell Mr Wiggles to head to Dekunna"
"He can hear you"
"Well I'm not saying it again" She turned and left the cockpit.
"You didn't have to"
The engineering deck was loud, excessively loud, it was homely. Hopefully Holi felt the same way.
"I have a god damn migraine" She shouted lifting her head from her bunk.
"Still acclimatising, huh?"
"Could you not bump me up a bit, first class or something?"
"It's fun watching you suffer"
"This is the first time you've been down here"
"Well you've not visited me in my cabin either"
"It's too far away, and it's in a bad neighbourhood. Besides we've been on this ship for a day" She sat down next to Holi's feet and put both her hands on the bed.
"We're going to see Kevalk"
"Oh" She sat up fully and pushed herself next to The Bitch. "Is he?"
"No. No he's still, still going"
"Good" She stepped up from the bunk and walked to the door.
"It might take an hour or two, you could use some rest, after your bout of the sniffles"
"I don't feel like sleeping right know"
"Me neither" The Bitch stared at her feet before standing up and heading for the door.
"HEY!" Christia yelled over the noise of the machinery.
"Oh, yay" She turned to face the fuming Head Engineer "Look I know-"
"Dekunna! What the hell happened to Omega?"
"Nothing, I hope. I was born there"
"Why aren't we going back there?"
"We are. We're just making a little detour"
"Detour!? What am I supposed to tell my future employer?"
"Uh, your current employer has rejected your resignation?" Christia didn't seem to find that funny, she stared daggers at The Bitch before punching her in the shoulder forcing her way out.
"Does she have cameras or something...Mr Wiggles!" She snapped her fingers and head up to her cabin.
The shuttle down to Dekunna was slow and silent, she tried to speak, maybe make light of the situation, but they didn't really know the full situation, it hadn't changed much in the past few years, well not for the better at least. The cities weren't as big as those on Earth or even Turvess, but the Elcor are famously nomadic, travelling in herds. The fact that they actually built a capital city, and that it survived the war was damn impressive. Metanna hospital loomed into view, from here she swore she could see his room but then again the Elcor all look the same, or similar, that was racist.
"You guys ready?" M.T murmured
"As I'll ever be" The shuttle came to a stop outside the hospital The Bitch grasped a rail to keep herself upright. She breathed deeply and stepped out into the halls of the hospital. It was busy, frantic, for the Elcor at least, she didn't quite remember asking where he was, she didn't really need to, they had visited before and she imagined he was too big to move anywhere else. It always seemed far, too far away and the doors seemed to loom over them, although they must have, the Elcor are much bigger than she was, at least M.T wasn't complaining.
His family were inside when they entered, his wife, Daena, and two sons, Kenath and Dunkane.
"How are you?" She asked slowly stepping into the room, M.T and Holi behind her.
"Calmly, he is stable" Daena responded
"But how are you?"
"Defiantly, you did not come here to make pleasantries"
"...No"
"Reluctantly, we will leave you" They kept their word and left silently, Daena must still think this was her fault. She tried, she really did. Kevalk was a shade of pale grey, his left arm had been torn off by a Praetorian, and he had almost been disembowelled, he was lucky to be alive, and had been lucky for the past year.
"Hey, Warhammer" She took her place by the side of the bed, M.T sat in the seat left by Daena, Holi approached the window and looked outside, her hands quivered.
"Hello, Jessica"
"Call me-"
"We are past that, the war is over, no more codenames I am simply Kevalk now, you are Jessica"
"Holi and M.T are here"
"I know"
"Why aren't you doing the thingy?"
"What thingy?"
"You know uh...Sarcastically, you look really well"
"We are past that Jessica"
"...How are you?"
"Sarcastically, I'm fine" Jessica forced a grin, she stroked the hair from her eyes, and wiped a hand across her face.
"...Can we remove your bandages? I've always wanted to see an Elcor's insides"
"They are much like a humans, only bigger"
"Daena seems happy to see me"
"I have told her, Jessica, I have told her it wasn't your fault"
"Did she listen"
"I have told her, Jessica" Jessica scanned the room, M.T held a gruesome stare at Kevalk's stump, Holi couldn't bare to look away from the window.
" I got a new ship, and I became a Spectre"
"I heard, you will do well, you deserve it"
"I'll show you when you get better, There's plenty of room for you I made sure of it. We'll get you a prosthetic arm...and stomach I guess, I'll introduce you to my crew, obviously there's M.T and Holi, but there's our Cartwright, Christia, Mr Wiggles, you'll love Mr Wiggles he's a Rachni"
"Jessica"
"Then we'll have our awesome field team back in action, just like the war, flying round kicking ass, just avoid those Praetorians buddy.
"Jessica"
"Yeah"
"I need you to relieve me"
"What?"
"Of my duty"
"Oh Thank God"
"Your last order, was to not die...but I am afraid I cannot complete that command"
"You've survived so far"
"I have suffered"
"You'll...get better, you have to"
"I don't want to Jessica...I want to let go, but you have to dismiss me"
"I..." She choked back her tears, M.T stepped forward.
"Jess, you have to..."
"I know...I don't want to...I" She stood from her chair, her lip quivered, her body trembled, Holi pushed past her into the hallway, she saluted toward Kevalk. "Sergeant Kevalk, you...You are dismissed"
"Jessica" Kevalk choked "Will you stay?"
"Stay?"
"Until the end, To see me into the ground"
"Will Daena.."
"I have told her Jessica"
"Goodbye Kevalk" She turned and left the room, as Kevalk slowly closed his eyes. She fell back against the wall and forced her head into her hands, she felt a heavy hand on her shoulder as M.T sloped down beside her. "Call Mr...Mr Wiggles...tell him to land...I ...have to find Holi...she's just...she's too young"
"She's seen worse"
"She's seen you"
"Hehe yeah" The laughter was bitter, unnatural, but M.T left afterwards, quietly.
He passed the next day, it was peaceful or at least that's what the doctor claimed, and he didn't say it sarcastically so that was a bonus. Daena was reluctant to reveal funeral details but there was a week to pass before it was time. Christia was pissed off, but she can yell all she wants, some things are more important.
Holi was difficult to console, mostly because Jessica needed consoling herself, she would claim it was nice to share in grief, but any form of grief is agony. She didn't have a suit, she didn't have anything nice to wear, her military uniform wasn't quite appropriate, nobody want to see Talon colours at a funeral, she wore what she had, a dark hooded top and black jeans, she didn't intend to be seen, she didn't want to offend his family.
Holi was brave enough to attend with her, M.T was always going to be there, he seemed to have already grieved, maybe he knew this day was coming, or maybe he's seen his fair share of close friends die. The ceremony was...different, long, but appropriate for Kevalk, a lot of it was told through smell of sight, it was a mostly Elcor attendance after all, but some relatives and friends were kind enough to offer apologies to her and her allies, at least what they did would be remembered.
It's funny, strange, how hard it was to say goodbye, she had already done it once, but it seemed harder now, knowing. She didn't stay for the wake, she had overstayed her welcome it seems, she headed straight for her ship, parked nearby and was unfortunately greeted by Cartwright, saluting as always.
"Commander there is a message for you from the council"
"Not now Cartwright" She pushed past forlornly "It's been a long day. I need some rest"