The Technician's Fight, Draft 1, CH37

“Energy spike at the station,” sensor stated.

“On screen,” Gralgiran instructed, and the image of the dreadnought with the occasional flash of explosion making it to the outer hull was replaced with the small form of the station. “Weapons?”

“Negative, too low output for weapons coming online. It’s engines.” The image shifted, and the station doubled in size. Not enough to let him make out ships at docks, but he was the burst of light. “Signature matches that of our shuttle!” he exclaimed, and the mood on the bridge rose.

He kept his relief under control. The hunt would be over soon. He and Jer would—

“Another spike! There’s a second ship leaving the station.”

“Who?” he demanded, knowing full well the information would be limited. They had no information about any of the ships that had been docked.

“Signature matches that of the prey.”

“What are they doing?” The most likely strategy would be for them to attempt to stop his people now that they had rescued the captives.

“Unable to determine at this time.”

A flash of energy against the station.

When sensor didn’t say anything, Gralgiran glanced in that direction, and the shocked expression on the male’s face froze his heart.

“Our shuttle,” was all the male managed.

No. He refused to accept it. “Confirm. Hunter, focus! Confirm what happened.”

“Checking,” the male said, snapping back to attention.

Gods be kind.

“Opposition status!” he ordered so he couldn’t think of the possibilities.

“Down to eighteen ships, Alpha,” a hunter at a backup sensor board answered. “Focusing on evading our weapons.”

“Hull Status.”

“Overall hull at eighty-three percent,” Maintenance returned. “But energy absorption plating down to forty-six.”

“Alpha,” sensor said, and the strain in their voice warned him of what was coming. “Confirming the explosion was our shuttle.”

“Fired upon?” He searched the screen for someone to make pay. “Did the prey fire on them?”

“Negative. Scans of the prey didn’t show weapons. No indications it was fired on, but….”

“But what, hunter?” he snapped.

“It’s chaos. Short of going over the scans second by second, it’s impossible to tell how it happened.”

He wanted to scream. He wanted to hunt the gods and demand explanations. All he had was the battle.

“Weapons, target the prey.” Even if they weren’t the ones who had destroyed his Heart, they were the reason he’d had to send him on the station. They were why he was dead. “It’s the priority target. I want it destroyed.”

“Changing priorities, Alpha,” came the response. “Marking prey for death, all others only to be kept from hitting us.”

“One screen. Focused on prey.” He was going to watch those Earthers die. A screen formed in the upper right. He couldn’t make out the Earthers’ ship, but he’d see the explosion when it was hit. Until then, he had a battle to supervise. “Engineering, update.”

“Power is steady in purple. Weapons on plasma pulse are being allocated the bulk, Kinetics, the rest. The backup will need to be looked over after with how your pilot pushed it, but it’ll give your Heart something to do.”

He almost keened. He fought the tears. He was an Alpha. He would grieve once those responsible had paid. A glance at the screen showed him plasma becoming dots in the distance, and a shadow illuminated as they passed by it. That it had traveled enough distance to be even that visible served as a reminder of the kind of speed that ship was capable of. It wouldn’t save them. They were making the mistake of coming in their direction. Weapons would get a lock they wouldn’t be able to evade well before they hit the Bane.

He ignored the flashing from that ship and focused on the battle. The only flash he was interested in was its final one. He gave weapons instructions to target ships he judged would soon be a threat. He demanded updates of Repairs, Maintenance, Life support, and he forcefully did not look at that screen. At the reminder of what they had taken from him.

“Alpha!” someone yelled, and the look the pilot gave him was desperation. “That’s Bane Code!”

“The computer can’t resolve it!” comm said before he chastised the civilian for using the wrong rank and making Gralgiran further responsible.

“That’s because whoever’s at those lights doesn’t have good control of them, but it’s Bane Code. Coming in Hot!”

Gralgiran looked from the pilot to comm. Bane code was what the pilots called the communication system they’d built that didn’t rely on the usual methods. Comms had them, because they needed to be able to communicate under all circumstances. Even his special ops hunters were known to use it because it was nearly impossible to detect unless those looking to intercept it were in the direct path.

“Confirm! Confirm! Confirm!” Comm yelled. “Bane Code! Coming in hot, all rescued, extra passengers. Stop shooting.”

“Tag as friendly!” he ordered. “Weapons, change of orders. Protect friendly at all costs! Pilot, get us to them now!”

“Altering course, Captain.”

“Priorities altered, Alpha.”

He would seek forgiveness from all those he’d wronged once he confirmed he held his heart.

*

He shouldn’t be there.

There was still work to be done, a few of the stragglers to destroy, a battle to look over in case of a surprise attack. But he hadn’t been able to wait. As soon as he’d been told the ship had attached to the Bane, he’d transferred command to the bridge beta and had hurried to the hangar.

Now he waited.

Through Bane code they’d confirmed his Heart was alive, but it wasn’t designed for detailed communications, so he had no idea what state Jeremy was in.

The hatch unlocked with loud protest. He couldn’t remember the last time it had been used. The only reason to latch a ship to that hatch was if there was suspicions it could be a trap.

And as much as he didn’t want to entertain the thought, that remained a possibility. While every hunter received training to withstand interrogations, no one was unbreakable. And Jer hadn’t received that training yet, but Jer wouldn’t know Bane code. But Toom would, and he was a civilian, so he never received the training.

The hatch opened, and his hunters exited. The three betas followed by their teams. Three of them on stretchers, sheets over them, carried by those who weren’t too injured.

The hunt had sent three of his hunters to the Forest.

Don’t punish them for my insolence.

He wanted to run to him. Hold him, smell him. Prove to himself his Heart was alive. He wanted to abandon his rank to be with Jer.

Jer’s beta noticed him and brought them all to a stop.

Silence fell in the hangar.

“We return from the hunt,” the beta announced. “With success, but losses.”

“You hunted well,” Gralgiran responded. “The gods will honor those who fell.” So long as his transgression wasn’t so deep, they punished him by making his hunter suffer. “Your hunt is over. Your families await you to help you remember that now it is time to live.”

He was the first to reach them, to take his Heart in his arms. He buried his nose in Jer’s neck and breathed him in. Once he was satisfied, he pulled Toom to them. “Welcome home,” he told them.

“It’s good to be back,” his Heart said. “We have spoils and prisoner—”

“Let the others deal with that, Jer. I’m not your Alpha right now. I’m just Gral. I thought I’d lost you when the shuttle exploded. I almost killed you when I ordered the Bane to destroy the ship you were on. I—”

Toom snorted. “You really have that little faith in me?”

“I’m not….” He swallowed. “I’m not thinking as well as I should right now, Toom. I’m sorry for my lack of faith.”

Toom rubbed muzzles with him. “You’re forgiven.”

“Toom,” Jer said. “I hope you don’t mind if I keep Gral to myself for tonight? You can reassure him you’re still alive tomorrow.”

“You two take your time. There are others who will want to make sure I survived this.”

“Thank you,” Gral told his friend.

*

Gral held on to his Heart and cried. He cried for what almost happened. For what he almost did, and from the utter relief having him in his bed, the two of them utterly exhausted, caused.

*

He stepped into the room and couldn’t proceed.

The banners felt accusatory.

He’d blamed all of them.

The gods expected to be blamed, but they expected to receive blame for things that fell within their territory. He’d been indiscriminate. He’d let his grief potentially make things worse.

There were rituals of atonement he could perform. More than he could count, he expected. But he couldn’t imagine any of them being enough for this transgression. So he’d opted for this.

“I seek forgiveness, but don’t expect it. My grief isn’t an excuse. You have stood by my people, your children, for as long as Thuruksamian brought us into being, without ever giving us reason to doubt you, and I did. I am sorry. I have already made promises to some of you, and I will see them through. Whatever you need of me to right this wrong. On my namesakes, I will perform it.”

Not able to think of anything to add, he said the only thing left before leaving.

“I remember you.”

*

“Status,” he said, stepping onto the bridge. He wanted to stay in bed with Jer. Make sure he couldn’t lose him. But he was an Alpha, and he had duties.

“Two ships escaped within Earther territory,” The beta said. “The station is unpowered, something the packs saw to before they left. We have Earther pirates, station personnel and scientists in the cells. We had to put them three to a cell. The packs had the time to round up everyone while the ship was made ready to leave, and anyone who surrendered was brought back. We also have fifty-three stasis pods with Federation citizens in unknown condition in medical. A machine like the one used on your Heart was used on them, but from what the scientists said, none of us is enough like Earthers for it to work properly. Their ultimate goal was altering it until they could cure all of us. The machines the packs bought back are with the builders.”

“How many have they reported bringing back?”

The beta smiled. “What report? No one’s had time to fill out anything among this chaos.”

Then they’d be able to ensure the Bane kept one for their own studies. “Was why the shuttle exploded determined?”

“Self destruction. The pilot and betas didn’t know what the battlefield would be like once they reached the Bane, so erred on the side of not leaving something behind the Earthers could use to lay blame at your feet.”

He nodded. That would be expensive to replace, but, “have we confirmed the station sits within unclaimed territories?”

“Yes, Alpha. And it’s already been filed and claimed as battle salvage.”

“I thought no one had time to file anything with how chaotic things were?”

The beta shrugged. “The crew was kept busy during it, but you know us betas. Easily bored. Once the battle was done, what was the one on duty going to do, just stand here and yawn? She found stuff to do. You already owned the station by the time I came on duty.”

He wouldn’t be able to sell it on the market, not that he expected to find a buyer for it. Unless it had been designed to be moved, it was a proposition outside of all except governments to make happen. He expected the Leadership would want it, and he’d let them have it at a very reasonable price.

One that let him replace the shuttle and see to the repairs without having to return to Kelser.

“The investigation packs are already going over the data that was brought back from the station. The biggest hurdle they see is breaking the encryption. It’s in a language they don’t have a familiarity with, using thought processes different from ours. They say they’ll get the information. They just ask for patience.”

“They have it.” He hadn’t even known there had been data retrieved. He had definitely not lived up to his rank. He took his place in the center of the bridge. “You are relieved.” And he set about working his shift.

*

He shouldn’t have made this promise.

The two of them were going to make sure he paid for it.

He stepped into the hold, to it much louder than usual. And, by the sounds, the people were actually working. Had the Quartermaster made promises of his own to help their survival?

“Xe!” the female at the counter yelled. “Captain’s here!”

The response was too muffled by distance for Gralgiran to make it out.

“What is going on?” he asked the female when he reached the counter.

“We’re putting all the stuff that had to be moved back in place.”

“Aren’t there machines for that?” The machines the Quartermaster had used to move all that in the first place?

She shrugged. “You’ll have to ask Xe about that. He just asked if I wanted to help and,” she grinned. “It’s Xe, so of course I said yes.”

The Quartermaster arrived and rubbed muzzles with her. By her shiver, Gralgiran had an idea of what the unseen hand did. “They can use help cataloging. Why don’t you go do that. I’ll be there once the Captain’s done with me.”

With another rubbing of muzzle, she left.

The Quartermaster licked his finger, then pushed himself to sit on the counter. Gralgiran wasn’t surprised the male was nude.

“Is anyone actually working?”

“Yes, and quite hard. Enough. I have to make sure they take breaks.”

Until someone lodged a complaint, this really wasn’t any of his business. And he had business to conduct. “Xenial Tal’halan.” The male eyebrow rose to his ear, and Gralgiran waited for the comments. When they didn’t come, he continued. “I’d like you to arrange a meeting with your uncle. The Bane is going to be at Groskhirota Restis in three months.”

The Quartermaster nodded. “I have to know. You’ve never used my name, since rescuing me, unless circumstances forced your hand. What is it this time?”

“I made a promise.”

“To whom?”

Gralgiran glared.

The Quartermaster grinned. “What is your namesake going to think of you making a promise to mine?”

“I think I’ve given him worse to deal with at the moment.” That made the other male pause.

“I’m not going to ask. What’s the promise you made?”

Would he gain anything from not answering? Would that go against his promise? “To attempt to get to know you. To attempt to build a better relationship between us.”

The male’s eyes went wide. “Why? Why would you do that?” he whined. “What have I ever done to you that you’d want to make my life so difficult?” He realized something while Gralgiran was still trying to understand what was going on. “Don’t answer that. The list is probably too long. But really?”

“I don’t understand how my promise to your namesake is making your life difficult.”

“You promised him you’d try to get over how you feel about me so we can be friends. Just what kind of male am I going to come across as if, in return, I go about making your life difficult? What’s my namesake going to think of me? Do you have any idea how fun it was to make you squirm and look for things I could do that would force you to put me in a cell? Where am I going to get my fun now?”

Gralgiran looked toward the back of the hold, still unsure what was happening.

“Different kind of fun,” the male replied dismissively. “Definitely fun in its own right, but come on, Captain. Do you have any idea how much I got off on antagonizing you?”

“Too much.”

“No such thing.”

And he realized that his promise hadn’t changed just his life. “What happens now, then?”

“I have no idea. I mean, I’m going to have to be nice to you in return.” He turned his head and made a gagging sound. “Although, you know, you could—oh, this is going to be impossible.”

“You can let me off my promise,” Gralgiran attempted. “I expect your namesake would respect that.”

“Tempting. Really tempting. But I can be an adult about this—”

Gralgiran couldn’t stop the snort.

“—and treat you like a friend of rank deserves to be treated.”

“Don’t you take all your friends to bed?”

The male shrugged. “And maybe it’ll happen with you too.”

He nearly voiced his protest, but that hadn’t been an assertion it was just a question of time. And the male’s behavior left him only one possible action.

“When not on shift,” he said and did his best not to sound reluctant. “You may address me as Gralgiran Helrarvnir.”

“It will be my honor, Captain.”

And since he hadn’t been given a way out, again. He could do only one thing. “I’ll let you get back to work, Quartermaster.” He headed out, overhearing the male whisper.

“Just wait until I tell Jer about this.”

No fucking way.

*

Jer was cooking. By the amount of food on the table, he was trying hard not to think about things.

“Jer, can I talk with you about something?”

His Heart put the steaming pan on the cooktop and faced him. “If it’s about medical, they looked me over, gave me shorts, and the all clear to go home. If it’s about my session with the Psychologist. It’s tomorrow.”

“That’s good, but this is about something else.” And he told him about his promise to Xeniila Haran, and what he’d told the Quartermaster. He left the male’s reaction out of his recounting. That was something the male deserved to tell in person.

Jer hugged him. “Thank you.”

He hugged him back. “You are worth it, and so much more.”