*****
Toni gave Unit Seven a cold, hard look. It stared back at him as placidly as ever, its expression a study in neutrality. Toni remembered how at first he had thought it looked somewhat wrathful in appearance. Now it appeared almost afraid, although perhaps he was simply seeing his own emotions reflected there. The Suit was currently lightly armored, and it was certainly armed about as well as he could have hoped for, but the array of weaponry still looked woefully inadequate when he considered what he’d seen over the net. Leiben had been solidly creamed from afar and drones had fallen like confetti from the sky. Yet they were expected to get up close and personal with the attackers, a military force whose exact location, strength and number of bodily appendages was entirely unknown. Just how exactly were they supposed to engineer a victory?
He took out a thick marker he’d commandeered in Lograin and hopped up onto the unit’s right knee. Approaching its forearm, he began to write on it, trying hard to make the lettering square and legible.
“Finally found a name for it?” he heard from below as he finished up. It was Ray.
“Not quite ...”
“I’m calling mine MAY REVENGE. What do you think?”
“Sounds appropriate, I guess ...”
Toni hadn’t even considered naming his Suit. Somehow he didn’t feel connected to it enough to do so. He had always thought it would be a Hammerhead he’d eventually be naming, anyway. Ray scrutinized the print and read it aloud.
“I am not authorized to be a hero. What’s that about?” he asked in puzzlement.
“It’s just something the ell-tee told me. It’s to remind me of what I have to do.”
“And what’s that?”
“I’m a baby-sitter, I guess ...” Toni admitted with a sigh, and he explained what had happened only an hour before.
“Jeeesh ... Hirum?” Ray exclaimed once he’d finished.
“Yup.”
“That’s bad luck for you, Tones. Escort detail on your own mate. But you still drew resupply, so don’t bitch about it too much. I’m gonna be in the rear-end digging emplacements and stretching wires while you’re having a ball, so it’s not all bad. Maybe you’ll even get lucky and see some action ...”
“Yeah. Lucky ...” Toni mused.
“You all right?”
“Yes. Listen, how’re things going in sec-three? Your sarge putting up for you?”
“Jorren? Every time he sees us, he gets this look like he’s disgusted or something and looks away. It’s beginning to piss me off. I might just have words with him about that ...”
Toni grinned. Had he known Ray for only a day, he might have taken him seriously, but he had since learned that if his mate had that deadpan face, it was probably because he was screwing around. No cadet would dare “have words” with their section commanders; that was a conversation that would never happen. They all knew the ex-ASC drivers were ticked off for having been pulled from their company in the eve of Capicua’s first battle.
“Yeah, you do that. They’re full of themselves, they are. Need to be put in their places. And what of the special one?”
“Hell, forget about him, Tones, he’s not screwing around. Sueli’s the one pissing me off. Sickness is her natural state now, though every once in a while she goes into remission. Right now Hannah, Ian and I are sec-three’s only operational units, except for the sarge, of course. And we’re all that’s needed, you know. That Hannah’s a real trooper. She’s the best looking femme too, now that Sueli’s gone three shades of green. I –”
Ray cut off whatever he had been about to say. As Hannah approached she tripped over a shrub, letting off a girlish squeal quickly followed by an embarrassed smile. Toni realized what Ray had meant; having lost only a kilo or two, she didn’t have the almost emaciated look of Rakaia and especially Sueli, and as such her complexion wasn’t much the worse for wear. Her eyes, pale as always and a little tired, nevertheless expressed some enjoyment at her predicament. And she seemed as yet completely untouched by fear.
“Hi, Toni. Can we talk?” she asked.
Toni’s brow twitched at the question.
“Arright, I’m gonna get some sleep. See ya later, Tones. You too, Khaki ...” Ray declared with a twisted smile on his face, giving Hannah a brotherly clap on the shoulder she seemed not to notice. They waited silently until he was out of earshot.
“Khaki?” Toni remarked with a smile.
“Arakaki. Khaki. It’s his way,” she explained distractedly, refusing to meet Toni’s eyes for a moment.
“Ahuh. He likes you.”
“Shut up, ok? I’m here about Rakaia.”
“Oh.”
“Are you angry with her?” she asked bluntly.
Now that he thought about it, he had never had a one-to-one conversation with Hannah before.
“No, far from it. I think it was me who screwed up, actually, though I don’t want to get into details ...” he answered carefully.
“Good, I don’t wanna hear about it,” she said evenly before pushing on.
“Point is, Rakaia’s got some issues to deal with so she can be a little ... uh, brittle, sometimes. I know that and she knows it too. And I’ll admit whatever happened in med bay is none of my business. So I guess I’ll just be direct. Do you like her?”
“No. I mean I like her, but not that way. I mean, hell, she’s as well equipped as any I’ve seen so maybe I was checking her out a bit, but ... can I shut up now?” he finished, hating himself to the core.
Hannah’s slender eyebrows had perked up just a little at his reference to equipment, but she hadn’t said anything. She considered his reply for a while.
“OK, it’s simple then. You’ve apologized, from what I heard. She accepts your apology but says for you to keep your distance, you fucking pervert. Not my words,” she added with a smile.
“I’m sorry ...” was all Toni could say.
“Keep your head down out there, OK?” she warned, flashing him with a bright smile before she walked away.
Not to worry, dear Hannah, he thought as defeat overtook him, I’ll never raise it again.
Turning away, he slipped the Suit’s access-key into its slot.