Yen frowned. He had been intentionally avoiding the ground assault team. Though he was perfectly aware of how important the mission was to their successful invasion, Yen also knew that he would have to face Buren. The idea of working so closely with a former teammate who so blatantly disliked Yen did not excite him.
“Later,” Yen muttered. “What else do you have?”
Iana shrugged. “So long as we’re on the topic of the invasion force, you still haven’t picked a pilot who’s going to take you down to the planet.” She batted her eyes suggestively, to which Yen had no choice but laugh. “Laugh if you want, but I’m serious. You’re not going to find a better pilot than me.”
“I couldn’t agree more. Unfortunately, that’s the exact reason why I can’t pick you to be my pilot. You’re the best pilot I have, but you’re also a Duun pilot. I need you in the air protecting my butt. Without you, I won’t stand much of a chance of making it to the surface.”
“Well,” Iana conceded, “as long as we’re clear that it’s because I’m too good for you. So if you’re not going to pick me to be your pilot, who are you going to pick?”
Yen began leading Iana away from the ship and toward the exit to the hangar bay. Whether he liked it or not, he needed to head down to the briefing room and start working on the ground assault mission. “I think I’m going to go with Warrant Pelasi.”
Iana stopped in mid-step. “The Uligart? The pilot who just got here? You don’t even know him.”
“You’re right, I don’t know him. But his former Squadron Commander gives him some glowing recommendations. I have no doubt that he’s going to be a capable pilot.”
“A ‘capable’ pilot,” Iana chided. “Remind me not to ask you for a letter of recommendation in the future.”
“Joke if you want to, but I also picked him because if he turns out to be useless as a pilot, I’ll always be there to take over. I’d rather have him under adult supervision than out there in a Duun by himself.”
Nodding, Iana rejoined him as they walked toward the doorway. When they passed through the hangar bay’s exit doors, Iana reached out and put a comforting hand on Yen’s shoulder.
“You know,” she said, “I’m sure we can take care of the maintenance checks for the rest of today. Why don’t you spend the rest of the day with your lady?”
“I still have a lot of work to do…”
“All of which will still be here tomorrow,” Iana interjected. “We’re just now at the Demilitarized Zone. We still have, what, almost a month until we reach our launch coordinates? We’ll have everything done well before then. Take the time off now, while you still can.”
“You really are a lifesaver, Iana,” Yen said, smiling. “Thank you.”
“Yeah, yeah,” she muttered. “Do me a favor, won’t you? Tell her bye. I’m going to be so busy here with the ships, I won’t get a chance to be there when she leaves.”
“I will,” Yen agreed.
Iana smiled. “Good. Now get going.”
Though he continued smiling as he walked away, Yen couldn’t erase the sharp stab of regret in his chest, knowing that after tomorrow Keryn would be gone from his life.
The next morning, Yen carried Keryn’s bags as they approached the airlock. The Cair Ilmun had already been launched from the hangar bay and was now docked to the exterior of the Revolution, ready for its departure. Though the night before had been filled with a myriad of passionate emotions, the morning felt stale. The pair walked in silence with an air of professionalism floating nearly palpably between them. Keryn had changed out of her Fleet uniform, instead donning a pair of sturdy hide pants, a loose blue shirt, and a thin brown jacket. Jutting from beneath the coat as she moved, Yen could see the pistol strapped to her hip. Even simply dressed and with her hair halfheartedly pinned up, Yen found her increasingly irresistible. Watching her walk calmly toward their inevitable separation, his heart pounded painfully in his chest.
As they exited the last lift that would bring them to the airlock, Yen found himself among a small group of soldiers, dressed in attire similar to that of Keryn’s. A few other members of the Revolution were present as though saying farewell to the departing crew, but there were significantly less present than what Yen would have assumed. Frowning, Yen realized why. Most had other pressing tasks to accomplish with the pending assault on Earth only a month away. To everyone else on board, Keryn’s mission was insignificant. Yen had to concede that her mission was pretty insignificant to him as well. It was the fact that she was leading the mission that drew him inexorably to the airlock.
The rest of Keryn’s crew met her with warm smiles and friendly waves. A large Oterian with a dangerous scar running the length of his face took Keryn’s bags from Yen and disappeared through the hatch, loading the bags onto the Cair Ilmun. The other members of her team went back to the minimalistic farewells that they were sharing with loved ones and friends. Even those were brief and slowly, one by one, her team loaded on the ship, ready to depart.
From the far side of the vestibule, Penchant walked through the thinning crowd. Not surprising to Yen, there wasn’t anyone around sharing their goodbyes with the aloof Lithid. Adam, noticing Penchant walking past, broke away from the woman with whom he was saying intimate farewells and approached the pair as well. Reaching out, the Pilgrim shook Yen’s hand before giving Keryn a hug.
“You ready for this?” Adam asked Keryn, his excitement undisguised.
“I don’t think we really have much of a choice,” Keryn said. Yen could detect a hint of nervousness behind her words.
“How about you, Yen?” Adam asked, turning toward the psychic. “You’ve got way more responsibility than we do. How are you holding up?”
“You know,” Yen replied. “The entire fate of the Alliance military is resting on my shoulders. What’s there to be nervous about? You know, I really wish I had all three of you coming with me.”
“Adam might have served you well on Earth,” Penchant replied in his gravelly voice, “but I was never cut out for large scale assaults. I am better suited for the espionage mission.”
Adam shrugged. “I don’t think Earth’s sun would have complimented my complexion.”
For the first time that morning, Keryn cracked a smile. “Why don’t you two go load up the last of our gear and I’ll meet you on board. We have a lot of flying ahead of us, so the sooner we depart the sooner we’ll get there.”
“Take care, Yen,” Adam said, shaking his hand before turning away. Penchant nodded, his featureless face betraying none of his emotions.
When they had both passed through the airlock and the crowds had thinned to only a few crewmen working around the area, Yen turned to Keryn. A storm of emotions brewed behind her violet eyes.
“It’s not too late for you to stay with me,” Yen offered. “We could always find an excuse why you couldn’t lead the mission.”
“It became too late after I agreed to lead this mission. Now that I have so many people relying on me, there’s no way I could possibly let them all down. I have to go.”
“I don’t want you to leave me,” Yen admitted.
Keryn sighed and looked away. “I told you once before that this wasn’t about you and me. This has always been about the mission and what’s best for the Alliance. It doesn’t matter what we feel for each other.”
“And how do we feel about each other? You know I love you, but every time I say it you find a way to avoid saying it back.”
“Please don’t,” Keryn pleaded, shaking her head.
“I love you, Keryn. I’ve loved you for a long time now. I am willing to wait for you, no matter how long it takes us to be reunited. We were meant to be together. If you feel the same way, then there’s no reason why you can’t look me in the eyes and tell me that we’ll be together again someday.”