Melissa Good - Xena Sci-Fi 1 Partners By Melissa Good

“Jess, think about what you’re doing. “ Stephen urged her, keeping his voice low.

Jess put her glass down. “Screw yourself..” She said, standing abruptly. “Process my outpapers. I’ll go pack. Not that I‘ve got a lot to.” She tossed a chit down on the tray and turned, heading for the door to the hall.

Stephan was far too stunned to react until it was too late and she was gone. He stood up and started after her, aware of all the eyes on his back as he got to the door and went through it, looking quickly right and left.

The hallway beyond was empty however, only two cleaning staff were carefully vacuuming along the wall, their gray coveralls almost blending into it. Of Jess there was no sign, and he debated whether he should go to her quarters.

Go and try to talk her down? Stephen frowned. He started towards the bunkhouse but his comm unit chirped and he stopped as the soft bing and central comms voice sounded in his ear. “Commander Bock, to central ops, priority.”

He paused, then reluctantly headed down a slightly different corridor, a sinking sensation already in his stomach.

**

Jess kept her pace relaxed until she’d entered her living space, waiting until the door slid shut behind her before she let herself react, spinning her body and slamming her fist into the wall with enough force to dent it.

Then she dropped into one of the chairs and stared at the ceiling, her eyes staring at the Interforce shield above the workspace. “Mother fucking bastards.”

Her voice sounded loud in the room. There was no echo. The fabric on the walls absorbed everything, even the crack of her fist against the surface underneath.

Her stomach was in turmoil. The meal she’d just eaten was lodged somewhere up near her breastbone, and suspected it wouldn’t be long before she ejected it. ‘Damn them.” She whispered. “Spend your whole life giving it all to them and what does it mean? Jack nothing.”

Jack nothing. Jess rested her head against her hand. A hundred emplacements, countless liters of blood shed, more successful missions than any other agent and on top of it, this last damn cluster and what?

Nothing. “What have you done for me lately? Wasn’t that the old saying?” Jess felt the anger draining out of her, leaving her mostly just depressed. “Come cover our asses or get lost. Yeah well…” She glanced around. “Guess I’ll go get lost.”

Literally, she would get nothing. Her last pay transfer, any supply chits she had on record, and a ride out to the nearest shelter. They wouldn’t even give her a transfer home.

Not that home had any meaning for her, anymore. Jess half closed her eyes. She’d been submitted to the corps when she’d been old enough to walk, and entered for school and training. The cost was covered by the agency, and she was guaranteed a job for life, as long as that life lasted, given what they did.

She’d been back home maybe a half dozen times in all, strange, awkward visits with her mother and two brothers, the one hardly knowing what to say to her and the two boys resentful they didn’t get to go where she had.

No way was she going back there anyway. No way.

Her father, of course, had died in service, the same service she’d given her all to, all her life because that’s what Drakes did. Ten generations. She was the eleventh. To now find out just what that was worth – it hurt.

Maybe she’d just tear into central command and go after Bricker. They’d gun her down, and at least she wouldn’t have to suffer living in a crate, and scraping seaweed from the rocks downstairs. Be a fast exit, wouldn’t it?

She was glad Dad wasn’t around to see it. Even more glad he hadn’t been around to see Joshua’s defection. Close as he’d been to his tech partners, he’d have lost his mind with it.

With a sigh, she pushed herself to her feet and went over to her workspace. She sat down in the big, comfortable chair and keyed in the pad. Would Stephan have already processed her? She waited for a lockout, but the pad logged in and gave her access with no complaints.

She keyed in her own profile and watched it form on the pad, sliding at her command to the section where her service status was and pausing. She reached over to tag herself inactive, when a soft chime indicated some incoming event.

Maybe Stephan was just a step behind her. She keyed over to the input and opened it, finding instead an info packet there.

“That makes no sense.” Irritated, she was about to flip back and effectively kill herself in the system when she caught the sending entity and paused, realizing it was from the district assignments group. Reluctantly, she keyed it and watched it open, reading the first few words before she realized this had to be part of the insanity Stephan had told her about.

“Screw that.” She closed the file and went back to the status, resetting the field to voluntary dismissal, and applying it before she could talk herself out of it and into a compromising honor suck. “Done.”

The screen went blank immediately, and she heard a soft whir and clack from upstairs as the weapons locker sealed itself. A glance to the door showed a red light next to it as well, and she got up, feeling an irrational sense of loss hit her unexpectedly.

Even though she’d made the choice. Even though she thought it was the right choice, and that it would at the very least save the bio alt they’d picked a gory, terrifying sacrifice. Knowing she was now no longer a part of this place, of these people, of this world she’d been given to was hard to accept.

Hard to fathom. But she could hear the echo of the weapons lock in her mind and she knew if she tried to go outside she’d be met with an armed guard, denied access to anything except the lockdown if she persisted.

She could stay here, until they processed her. Then she’d be taken to the service exit and the door would shut behind her, and she would never enter it again.

Done. Over. She doubted any of the others would even come to say goodbye. You didn’t, when someone walked out. She certainly had never, though she’d seen a half dozen agents do it, some she’d considered friends.

Quitters. She remembered feeling embarrassed about them, unable to understand why they would just walk out.

Well now she knew.

Jess walked over to the bed and lay down on it, half curling up in a ball and wrapping her arms around the pillow. She felt an odd sensation in her throat, and a tense pain around her heart, and she closed her eyes tightly, focusing on letting it all go past her.

**

Stephan entered central comms just as the big screen was fizzling to gray. He walked over to where Bricker was leaning against the main console and looked at him in question.

“Took you long enough.” Bricker said, in a crisp tone.

“I was in the dining hall.”

Bricker turned and put his hands on his hips. “Danao just transmitted a burst report. They got word through some scientist who just transferred up to Garden Station there’s been a breakthrough.”

“Yes?” Bock tried to focus on it, his mind distracted by recent events.

“Light amplification screen. They got photosynthesis working on a twelve by twelve meter platform.” Bricker informed him. “We need that tech. Council’s told me to get that tech.” He put hand on the planning board. “So let’s get going on it.”

“Commander.” One of the ops monitors came over and handed Bock a pad. “This just activated.”

Stephen looked at it, and cursed under his breath.

“What?” Bricker said.

“I presented your idea to Jess Drake.” He said, handing the pad over. “She elected to shift out instead of going along with it.”

Bricker took the pad and stared at it. “Are you kidding me?” He looked up at Bock. ‘What kind of idiot is this?”