CHAPTER 12 LEE
SEVERAL WEEKS later, Lee stood before his closet, consolidating the packs of protein bars his mom had drawn attention to during their call earlier, while Kat perched on the bed behind him.
Leave it to Tonya to catch the patch of chaos in an otherwise tidy dark closet with half a thought and zero context.
If only he could bottle up some of her perception and spray it over his own strife.
He’d done his best to ignore whatever was or wasn’t going on with the General, although he’d been keeping an eye on the pipeline ever since their conversation with Nolan on the off-chance anything strange, or excessive popped up.
Something about the mundanity of the situation irritated him, like an eyelash or a speck of dust he couldn’t seem to locate—so contrary to the night they’d witnessed out in that asteroid field.
But the General’s activity all seemed rather normal.
Exactly as one would expect of a busy Commanding General.
More shadow market activity. A new shield tech prototype. Updates to the land agreement with the BPLM. And the creation of a new division within the Trade and Security Administration: the Audit Authority for the Investigation of Research-fund distribution.
That newest one was a mouthful. Lee hadn’t seen who the General had brought on to head this one. But it would have to be someone stuffy by the look of it.
No, the most dubious activity he’d caught onto lately was the end-of-term blowout Marco was planning. Word in the hallway was that Marco had commandeered the blaster range and had been safeguarding the door since noon.
“What do you think he’s got planned tonight?” Lee mused, peering back at Kat. She had her legs tucked under her, toying with the sleeve of her favorite of his hoodies.
“Knowing Marco? He’ll want a shakedown, mix things up before we go into this last term. I reckon nobody’s egos come out unscathed tonight.”
“So predictable.” Lee checked the date on one of the protein bars before tossing it over at her.
“Hey!” she giggled, scooping it up.
“Tonya seemed in excellent spirits,” Kat commented, tucking the protein bar in her lap.
“Of course she is. Her son and his girlfriend are coming on holiday with her next week.” Lee shot her an apprehensive look when she flicked her eyes up to his face.
They hadn’t actually put labels on their relationship yet.
Although, he had to admit, “girlfriend” seemed a rather weak way to label the girl he’d been besotted with since the age of twelve.
“She gets to spend one full week with her favorite person in the world, and right now, that person is not her son,” Lee said, sliding his own tender musings aside.
“What do you think, are you ready to face the full attention and insight of Tonya Waters?” Lee joked, but he was only somewhat teasing.
He could perfectly recall the spark in his mom’s green eyes during the call he and Kat had made onboard Segura.
Knowing Tonya, she’d probably sensed the shift in them even then.
Kat looked thoughtful. “Do you think she knows about us?”
“She hasn’t said anything. But I also wouldn’t put it past her.
I think she and Bri have been planning our union for ages.
” Lee huffed a laugh as he stacked the empty boxes in his arms. As if he and Kat would ever truly settle down.
Their lives belonged to the cosmos. They would roam and streak across the sky, as brilliant and innumerable as shooting stars. The raids just got them into the skies.
Kat had gone back to playing with the cuff of his sleeve, tugging her fingers down inside, when Lee came over to stand beside her. “She’ll be thrilled, you know. She already considers you a part of the family.”
Kat gave him a tiny smile, but the effect was ruined by her nibbling on her bottom lip. “And you’re sure it’s okay if I tag along next week?”
Setting the boxes down on the floor, Lee gently lifted her chin. “She wants you there. And I want you there.”
“Well, okay then,” Kat said, breathlessly.
“And don’t worry, it won’t be weird. Since technically we haven’t said anything to her, there won’t be any of those ‘you’re dating my son’ questions. My dad can’t make it, so if anything, she’ll just be starved for gossip.”
“Do you want to tell her? About us, I mean,” she asked, carefully correcting herself.
“Honestly? I can’t think of anything that would make Tonya happier. But I understand if you want to put it off,” he added quickly, eyes wavering between each of hers as he deciphered the emotion there. And then he caught the shimmer.
“No, we can tell her,” Kat said, and the ensuing smile she gave him was pure sunshine.
The prospect of bringing Kat with him on holiday—of them going together as a couple, to see Tonya—was more than he’d ever hoped for. They both carried a lot of baggage after this last term, but being with her wasn’t part of it. She was the holiday.
The Canteen was noisier than usual when they headed down for dinner that night.
Everyone was celebrating the completion of another term.
Lee loaded his tray with everything that looked even semi-decent as he and Kat went down the line.
He’d pushed himself extra hard these last few weeks to make up for lost ground.
With the end of this term, graduation was now the main course on the table, and every raid, ranking, and training exercise had a seat.
“Going a little overboard there?” Kat laughed.
“What?” Lee looked over, realizing a heartbeat late that he’d added a third helping of roasted parsnips to his tray.
“Nah, I ate a light lunch,” he said quickly to cover his mistake. She just shrugged, adding an additional serving to her own tray. They’d have their work cut out for them.
He was starting in on that work at their usual table when he spotted Zane cutting through the Canteen. Zane didn’t speak to anyone as he skimmed down the line, snatching up a couple items to go. And then he was gone.
“Have you seen him around much?” Kat asked thoughtfully, peering around Lee.
“Zane? Not any more than you have.”
“So, no more secret bro-band hangouts?” she pushed.
“That happened one time,” Lee said flatly.
“And it was just as strange then.”
Lee nudged her with his shoulder but left it there when she curled into his side. “But no. If I had a guess, I’d say he’s doing exactly what we are.”
“Eating for four?” she asked around a mouthful of spiced rice.
Lee nudged her again. “Trying to find a way to move forward.” They were all just trying to move on now and finish the year. And if they were lucky, they’d leave with all their rankings and honor intact.
Although, some of them seemed to be moving on just fine.
“I guess she and Nikola broke up,” Kat said, tracing his line of vision over to the table next to theirs, where Hanna sat lip-locked with another X. “Poor Nikola. They lasted much longer than I anticipated, though.”
“You never really warmed to Hanna,” Lee said, tucking his fork up with his tray.
“Maybe not, but I liked her for him. Something different. Something organic. I thought they were cute.” She turned her attention back to Lee, batting her eyelashes up, mischievous grin and all. “What do you think—still want me to come along on holiday next week?” she teased.
“Oh, I think you’ll do.” Lee slung an arm over her shoulders as they pushed to their feet. “Now come along. We may as well get Marco’s shindig over with. We’ve got some rankings to defend this evening.”
Lee and Kat sat huddled along the far edge of the blaster range, elbows slumped up against the platform of the waist-high barrier.
Their names gleamed somewhere at the top of the holographic score wall.
At least he was pretty sure; with the buzz in his head there were more than a few letters feeling out of place up there.
Whoever was checking transports had conveniently missed the case one of Sean’s buddies had hefted in shortly after their little tourney began. These last few rounds had turned into more of a drinking game than actual competition.
“Who’s up?” Flyn asked, stepping back from the lane up ahead of them. He motioned back to Lee and Kat with the grip of his blaster, the zap-line safeties in full-effect tonight.
Lee glanced down at Kat half slumped into his side, a straw poking up from the bottle she nursed.
“I think we’re out,” Lee said, waving their turn off.
The competition had long-since fizzled out, anyway, after Marco decided to concede his ranking, deeming his time better spent buried up with one of the Ultra girls who’d slipped in to watch.
Whistler had already dismissed himself, and Lee had only seen Zane play a single round tonight. It was time for a break.
Lee was turning to Kat to see if she wanted to get out of here when he overheard one of Neha’s friends from the next lane over.
“I mean that’s our General’s plans, right?” The cadet made explosion noises as he trailed his hand out over the lane. “Blasters. And ships, and total domination.”
“What’d you say?” Lee asked, sitting up.
“Huh?” The Gamma looked over. “Oh, hey Waters. Just talking about our general plans after this,” he slurred. “It’s all high-speed cruising and super top secrets.”
“I thought you’d said—never mind,” Lee said, instead raising his drink to them. It was late and they were all a bit washed.
Lee had seen those kinds of ships, and seen what the General could do with them. Who knew what other kinds of tech were waiting in his arsenal and the joules of energy behind them.
Galactic domination.
If only it were that simple. But no, that was too petty for someone like General Narron. No, his plans would be rooted deeper than that.
Setting his drink back down on the table, Lee let himself sink back into Kat as the hazy stupor took over.