“How's the kid doing?” Rinweld, commander of the Arbalest station, asked one of the doctors who had just come out of the examination room where they had been looking over Cadence Baron for the past hour. The two of them were watching the girl on one of the monitors in an adjoining room.

  Doctor Fritz, a short figure, standing only about four feet in height, with long red hair and very pale skin, looked at the screen for a moment before speaking carefully. “Health-wise, she's absolutely fine. Better than fine. You and I both know what becoming a Freestyler does to them. She's in better shape now than she's ever been in her life, physically.”

  He went silent then, in a pointed way. Rinweld let that silence hang for a long moment before filling it with a soft sigh. “But not mentally. The poor kid just went through a lot. She lost her sister, maybe forever. And she lost her because of…” He paused, face twisting as he fought through exactly what to say, eventually settling on, “... one of ours.”

  After giving him a brief look for that choice of words, Fritz reached up to put their hand on the much taller man's back. In a quiet voice, they noted, “We all lost Rachel because of one of ours. And you--” Their voice stopped, choosing not to complete that thought. Instead, they continued with, “But yes, Cadence didn't just lose a Freestyler, or a teammate. She lost her sister, the person she looks up to most in the world. Worse, they were attacked in their own home, where they should have been safe.”

  Rinweld muttered a dark curse under his breath while his right fist clenched. He could feel the mechanical servos in the replacement limb whirring a bit from how tightly he was squeezing. It didn’t actually hurt, of course. Yet he couldn’t help but feel that familiar ghost-pain. Not that it was surprising that the sensation would come back now, but it wasn’t helpful at all. “And why is it that they weren't? We have security watching these places. Especially any area our Freestylers live in.”

  Fritz nodded. “Yes, and Nikos knew all about that. He knew how to disable them, and how to get around them. He knew everything, because he used to be the leader of this squadron. And because…” Trailing off into silence, they hesitated before pushing past what was best left unspoken right then. “We trusted him with everything. Which means he knew everything. He knew exactly how to beat our security measures.”

  Rinweld felt like cursing again, but he stopped himself. Just like he stopped himself from putting that mechanical fist through the nearest wall. That particular urge had been right with him ever since Cadence had started telling her story. Nikos was a traitor. He attacked Rachel, and took her away. Then he tried to blow up the entire station and everyone on it. Rinweld couldn't even imagine how far gone the boy had to be to do those things. Hell, he couldn't even imagine how far gone the boy had to be to think he could make a deal with the Intruders that they would actually honor. He had clearly lost everything he had when he was chosen to be a Freestyler in the first place. After… after everything that…

  Growling under his breath, the man finally spoke again after taking a moment to get himself under control. “I checked with our security people here on the station, they've gone over every inch of the exterior, but they don't seem to be any more surprises. We think Cadence was right when she assumed he wouldn't dare go anywhere else during his last approach. He wouldn't have wanted to stand out at all, or give anyone reason to look at the areas he passed by.”

  Fritz glanced sidelong at him, silent at first before asking, “I suppose you've already sent word to our sister station about what he was up to?”

  With a heavy sigh, Rinweld confirmed, “Yes, I spoke to the people on Chimera, and it wasn't a fun conversation, I can tell you that much. They're gathering the rest of his squad now so they can tell them what happened. And they sent people to his house, but I think we both know they won't actually find anything useful. He would've known to clear out the place before he pulled the trigger on all this. The kid wasn't the leader of two different Freestyler squadrons because he was dumb. Though now that I say that, he did make a deal with the Eighty-Seven, so maybe I should reevaluate that.”

  Fritz made a disapproving tsking sound with their tongue before replying, “Whatever led to his choices, the boy is tactically sound. Even if we don't understand how, I think it's dangerous to assume he didn't have some way to ensure they would keep to their side of the deal. As incredibly difficult as that may be to believe. He would have taken steps to protect himself.”

  The taller man didn't respond at first. He just stood there, staring at the monitor. They could see Cadence lying in the hospital bed, staring blankly at the ceiling while shifting back and forth restlessly once in a while. The Kite, Derecho, was sleeping as a house cat up against her shoulder. “She thinks I hate her, you know? She thinks I only tolerate her because of her sister wanting her here.”

  Fritz raised an eyebrow at that. “Did you ever consider telling her the truth, that she reminds you of your own granddaughter, before the Intruders--”

  Rinweld cut him off. “I know what they did to my granddaughter. And I know why Cadence makes me feel the way I do. I know why she can get under my skin so easily, and why I can't stand to see her laying in that bed like that, feeling the way she does. But what I don't know is how to make her feel any better. I don't know what to say to her. I never did before, and I sure as hell don't know now. What do I say to a girl who just went through what she did, who just lost what she did?”

  He felt Fritz touch his back again before the doctor gently pointed out, “You don't have to make it better. Not right now. Better won't come for a long time, but I think what she needs right now is to know that she isn't alone. She needs to know that no one blames her for what happened, because she's sure blaming herself. She thinks her sister was only taken because Nikos was able to use her as a hostage. And, to be perfectly honest, I'm pretty sure she thinks you believe that too. The longer you allow that impression to linger, the harder it will be to make it any better.”

  Rinweld gave him a quick look, then turned back to the monitor. The sight of the girl staring at the ceiling with that expression made his own eyes close. He gave a soft sigh once more before nodding. “You're right, she needs people to be with her, to make it clear no one blames her. She needs to know how grateful we are. That kid picked herself up after what happened, jumped in that ship, and made it up here to take care of that bomb even after watching her sister get taken through that portal. I don't know very many who would've been functional enough to walk down the street after that, let alone pilot a ship in combat for the very first time. Do you have any idea how many would’ve completely fallen apart long before making it that far? She's better than she thinks she is. Rachel knew that the whole time, but I don't think Cadence ever believed she belonged here on her own merit.”

  They both went silent and watched the monitor while a nurse went into the room to ask the girl if she wanted anything to eat. Cadence, unsurprisingly, turned it down without looking away from the ceiling. Finally, Fritz glanced over to ask, “What about their father? What are we going to do about that? Last I checked, the man wasn’t exactly in the right shape to bounce back from this.”

  The reminder about that man and the thought of how much he had fallen apart after the loss of his wife made Rinweld grimace, putting a hand against his forehead to rub it. “He almost didn't survive losing Haneul to the Intruders. In some ways, he might as well not have. The man does nothing but drink and survive off the interest from her inheritance. When he finds out his oldest daughter was taken by those same bastards, and might never come back, I don't know if he'll survive. He certainly won't be in any shape to take care of the one he's got left. Rachel was doing all that. Hell, she's been the one who kept him alive for awhile now. The man is going to be even worse after this. I wouldn’t trust him to take care of a cactus, let alone Cadence.”

  With a single nod, Fritz replied, “I assume they won't be living in that trailer park anymore.”

  Rinweld snorted audibly despite himself. “Trailer park, hell, they won't be living in Chicago anymore. We've barely started even considering the details, but whatever happens, Cadence and her dad will be moved somewhere else, far away from any place Nikos might've told the Eighty-Seven about.”

  This narrative has been purloined without the author's approval. Report any appearances on Amazon.

  Fritz considered that before asking, “What about the rest of the squadron? How much did he know about them?”

  Rinweld shook his head. “Most of them should be fine as far as that goes. There's a couple he knew too much about that we’ll have to move. Which is another bit of bad news to bring them. But even with Rachel and Cadence, he had to use a tracker to find out where they lived. There's a reason we pull them from all over the place, and try not to have two Freestylers from the same city in the same squadron. Operational security and all that.” Even saying those words right then, after everything that had happened, made his face twist with internal disgust. Yeah, that had worked out so well, hadn’t it? All it took to lose Rachel was for one of their own to turn traitor. And not just one of their own, a boy who… Again, he tightened his fist and pushed the thought away.

  Fritz grunted thoughtfully before putting in, “About that, I think you should consider bending that particular rule for Cadence this time. Wherever you move her, I think you should make it a place one of her squadmates lives. She's really going to need someone she knows in her corner right now. Especially since her father won’t be there for her. Not just a security agent, not just a doctor. And not someone she’s meeting for the first time. She needs someone she trusts. Right now, I think one of the other Dust Squadron Freestylers is the best choice for that.”

  Considering the suggestion briefly, Rinweld eventually nodded. “I think you're probably right. It's not protocol, but this is a bit of an extraordinary situation. And I believe I know just which one to put her with. She seems pretty close to Alicia and Slater. I'll ask those two if they have any objections to letting her join them in Seattle. But something tells me they won't.”

  “Speaking of them, and the rest of the squad,” Fritz murmured, “how are they doing right now?”

  Rinweld was rubbing his forehead again. All he wanted to do was lay down and take a nap. No, that wasn't true. That was number three on the list, after charging into intruder territory to save Rachel, and strangling Nikos. Getting some sleep was far down in his priorities after those two. But neither of those goals were actually possible at the moment.

  In the end, he offered a weak shrug. “I don't think they're doing much better than Cadence is, honestly. They all know Nikos a lot better than she does. They're taking that betrayal pretty hard. I think some of them believe he had to have been mind controlled or replaced. Not that I can blame them. I--” There was a crunching sound, and both of them looked to see that the edge of the metal table he’d been gripping had crumpled under the pressure of his prosthetic grip. Gingerly, he released it, pushing on without verbally acknowledging that. “I'd rather believe that too, than think one of ours could actually do something like this. Especially… especially Nikos. And if I ever get the chance to be face-to-face with him again, you can bet I'll find out exactly what he was thinking through all of it. I’ll get every last bit of that particular thought process out of him.”

  Fritz made a sound of uncertainty deep in their throat. “I… well, this is uncomfortable, but do you think the Eighty-Seven will actually let him go after he was dragged into their territory? They might've made a deal with him before, but I feel like being taken there like that might have erased some of his leverage, or protection.”

  Rinweld grunted noncommittally. “I have no idea. And, if I'm being perfectly honest, I really don't know which I'd prefer. There's part of me that thinks it would be better if we never saw him again. But another part thinks we need to pull him in and get answers out of him. We need to know how he contacted them, or if they were the ones who found him. We need to know how this happened. And if they've tried it with others.” That was a possibility he didn't want to say out loud. But then, he wouldn't have wanted to voice the possibility that Nikos could do something like this. This entire situation made him want to scream, and do as much violence as possible. It was so damn hard to stand here like this talking about the situation as clinically as possible, when what he wanted to do was throw himself at those bastards and start ripping them apart until they gave Rachel back. And while he was at it, he’d take Nikos too, and just… and just get the truth out of him.

  Finally pushing those thoughts aside, the man looked over at his companion. “We’ll need to step up security on everyone. And we need to move the station. I don't know if he told them exactly where we are or not, but I'm not taking that risk. Especially now that he's right there with them. He may try trading our location for his own safety.”

  Fritz smiled just a bit. “We knew you'd decide that. That's why we started getting things ready for a shift about thirty minutes ago. It should be just about time.” The stations weren't really meant to move around that much. They were stationary platforms for the most part. But for security and safety reasons, they changed position every once in a while. They could do that immediately in a real emergency, but it was dangerous, and had the chance of damaging their systems. Shifting into travel mode tended to take at least half an hour to do properly. There were systems that needed to be turned off, others that needed to be activated, entire sections of research and development that had to be carefully shut down, their more sensitive pieces stored away, and more complications. To say nothing of the fact that there was a chance movement could draw attention. They were only able to keep a place this large completely invisible while it was stationary. Usually, moving the station involved having every combat ship, including the Kites, flying overwatch. And right now, he really wasn't looking forward to the idea of telling the rest of Dust Squadron that they needed to suit up and take to their ships. They would already be doing it without one of their own, without their leader (thanks to their previous leader), since he absolutely wasn't going to say anything to Cadence about it. The kid needed time.

  Except, when he voiced that to Fritz, the short doctor hesitated before shaking their head. “I think you should reconsider that. Yes, she's very fragile right now. But if you send them out there without her, without even asking her what she wants, she'll think that means you really don't want her here. She'll think it means you don't trust her. She knows how this sort of thing is supposed to work. She's been through a shift before. And she'll feel it happening. The moment she realizes the station is moving and you didn't even ask her to participate, I think it'll do a lot more damage. If she's not up for it, that should be up to her. Let the kid decide. Give her the choice.”

  Rinweld didn't like that. Cadence didn't even have a Squire at that point. But the truth was, she could do something like this without one, even if it wouldn't be the easiest thing. And if it came down to it, they could put someone else in that seat just for the time being. There were people here on the station who could help navigate, and play temporary assistant. That would be enough for something like this

  “Fine,” he agreed after another long moment of consideration, “I'll ask her if she's up to it. But I'm going to give her a little more time, as long as I can. I'll go talk to the others first.”

  Fritz smiled just a little. “And while you're doing that, I'll see if I can't convince her to eat a little something after all. She’ll need her strength.”

  The two men separated, with both of them giving one last glance at the girl on the monitor while thoughts of what she had just gone through, what she had just lost, made them grimace. Then Rinweld started out of the room and down the corridor. The rest of the squad were in one of the rec rooms, waiting around to see what happened next. Late as it was, in any other situation, he would have figured they’d be asleep again. But in this case, with what was happening, he seriously doubted a single one of them had any interest in going back to their bunks any time soon. They needed someone to talk to them. He just wished he had something helpful to say. Anything, really, besides telling them that he needed them to suit up and get in their ships ASAP.

  On his way through the corridor, Rinweld glanced down at his cybernetic hand once more, feeling the servos whirr as his fist opened and closed a few times. Again, that phantom pain returned, as his memories went back to the first moment he’d felt that pain, six years earlier.

  He saw himself shoving open the door of his overturned SUV as it lay in a pile of other wrecked cars in the middle of a bridge. Intruder ships flew overhead, lasers cutting through buildings, people, and other vehicles. A news chopper was sliced in half, before an approaching American fighter jet joined it. Explosions came from all directions.

  But Rinweld’s focus had been on two smaller figures on the far side of the bridge, where they had been ever since being thrown from his tumbling car. Leaping over several bits of debris, the man pushed himself to run faster. They wouldn’t be able to hold on much longer.

  Finally, he’d made it close enough to throw himself that way, landing hard on his chest. His hands had reached out to grab both of his grandchildren. Both young teens had just started to lose their grip on the edge of the bridge, when Rinweld caught them. There, they dangled. The river lay several hundred feet below, but he’d had them. He’d had both of his grandchildren by their arms, and started to slowly pull them back up.

  That was when it happened. One of the Intruder fighters flying by had sent a single, absent shot that way for no reason at all. They weren’t any sort of threat, by even the loosest definition. But it shot at them anyway. That single, tight-beam shot had cut through Rinweld’s right arm, and that of his granddaughter. Their screams had filled the air, continuing through those seconds as Rinweld had been forced to watch the girl fall, right into the path of several explosions. Then she was gone.

  Tears streaming down his face, the man had finally heaved enough to haul his grandson the rest of the way up with his one remaining hand. What remained of his right arm had been mostly-cauterized by the shot. He'd fallen onto his back, coughing from the thick smoke.

  “Grandpa!” the boy had shouted. “Where’s Chloe!? Grandpa, where’s Chloe!?”

  When he’d found his voice through the coughing and tears, Rinweld had only been able to give one answer. “Gone. I’m sorry.

  “She’s gone, Nikos.”

  JOKE TAGS

  ?You Tried To Blow Up Your Grandpa!? You Are A Bad Person, Nikos. I'm Gonna Go Out On A Limb And Say You're A Jerk

  REMINDER, YOU CAN SEE THE LAST TWO INTERLUDES IN THIS ARC AND BE READY WHEN THE NEXT ARC STARTS VERY SOON BY JOINING THE PATREON AND THEN GOING TO THE NEXT CHAPTER RIGHT