Chapter 16
SIXTEEN
JETT
After several long, quiet moments, Jett uncoiled himself and crossed the room. “I need you to make me a promise, Ed.”
Eddie chuckled and smiled at him, and Jett had never seen anything so beautiful. Eddie was the shining star in the black Void of his life, always there to lead Jett home.
“For you? Anything.”
Shaking his head, Jett tried not to smile. “This is a promise you’re not gonna like. I need you to promise me that you won’t, under any circumstance, board the Golden Lion.”
Eddie’s face went blank. His posture stiffened.
“I don’t know what’s happened over there. And there’s a very real chance that I won’t make it back.”
I don’t know if I can handle this anymore, Ed, Jett said in the confines of his mind.
“Do you expect that to happen?” Eddie’s voice was a strained neutral.
Jett thought for a moment longer than necessary. “No…but there is still the chance that it could happen. And I need you to promise me you won’t put yourself in danger for me.”
Tears welled up in Jett’s eyes and he wiped them away with the back of his hand. He was sick of crying. He was sick of uncertainty and hurting and fear.
“I can’t make that promise, Jett.” Eddie was halfway across the room before Jett looked up from the floor.
“I can’t lose you again, Little Rose.”
It took only a second for Jett to launch himself into Eddie’s waiting arms. There, engulfed in Eddie’s warmth and smell, it felt like nothing had happened, like nothing had changed.
The distance between them had narrowed to a crack easily stepped over.
And it disappeared completely as soon as their lips found each other.
It wasn’t restrained like before. It was with the hunger of love renewed that Jett pressed into Eddie, devouring his kisses.
Eddie broke away and knelt before Jett, his hands running down the sides of Jett’s torso and hooking under his ass.
Then he was lifted from the ground, pressed into the wall, and the kisses resumed.
Eddie’s tongue licked across his mouth, teeth pressed into his lips, and Jett opened himself to welcome Eddie with feverish devotion.
When they finally parted, their hearts sated for the moment, Eddie’s face was flushed pink, his eyes sparkling, his chest heaving.
Jett knew he looked the same, that he looked and felt more alive than he had in months, perhaps years.
Losing Eddie had only shown him how dependent he was on the man for his regulation, for his peace of mind, for his ability to sleep through the night, and face the harsh reality of life in System Sol.
“Ed,” Jett whispered as his hands rubbed over the soft freckled skin and rough beard of his lovers face.
Little lines creased his skin, too shallow to be called wrinkles.
They took the last of his youth and morphed it into a mature handsomeness.
He was older than the Eddie he’d fallen in love with, made of sterner stuff than that younger, softer man, but that only made Jett love him more.
Jett felt that, in some way, he was finally seeing Eddie as he was meant to be. Seeing Eddie for the person he’d always wanted to be, but had been held back by a bond of trauma to his own family.
He'd seen Eddie through the last seven years, watched as the man aged and matured and took on new life. Jett just hadn’t seen the whole of it until just now.
“What are you looking for?” Eddie unhooked Jett’s legs from his waist and gently set him on the floor.
“The man I love,” Jett responded. “You look so much like him, but he’s younger and stupider.”
Jett pressed himself against Eddie, listened to the steady thump thump thump of his heart, felt the expansion in his chest. Felt the way those large hands settled so perfectly on Jett’s waist, and how perfectly he fitted within Eddie’s embrace.
“Oh, my Little Rose, I am still here…I still love you.”
Jett looked up at him and felt his heart explode in his chest. Hands on Eddie’s chest, Jett pushed himself up to steal one last kiss from his man.
“Attention! Boarding teams report to the armory.”
“Go, Eddie,” he said. “It’s time for us to get to work.
Jett slipped out of Eddie’s arms and turned toward the door.
“Still?” Eddie called out, his voice so full of hope that Jett could have melted in place.
Looking over his shoulder, Jett smiled. “Always, Eddie.”
Jett navigated down four levels in a daze, not sparing a glance at anyone he passed. He wanted to preserve the last thirty minutes with Eddie in his mind for however much longer he lived—the feel of Eddie against him, the warmth of their embrace, the gentle pressure of their lips together.
An itch flared to life in his palms as he descended the stairs, boots pounding on metal.
Jett rubbed his hands on his hips, but was unable to wipe off the ghost of blood that coated them.
The further he descended, the more people joined him, the more nervous he became.
Ten years had passed since his…incident…
and he was terrified that something like that might happen again.
The Armory took up the entire bottom level of Shuttle Shibuya, with enough room for 100 people to suit up at the same time. There were only eight or nine officers per team, including the Medics, so it was not as crowded as it could have been.
Jett weaved through the mass of bodies, each of them quiet, tense, as they donned their armor. His rack was at the end of the room, set slightly apart from everyone else.
His bodysuit covered everything from his feet to his neck. His armor plates would magnetically lock into place on the environmental suit and wouldn’t be disconnected unless he hit the override.
This was almost like he had a second skin or was armored like a bug. There were vulnerable spots between the plates, but they were small targets, and Jett was very experienced.
Jack appeared at his rack, suited up but without his gloves or helmet.
“Ready for your computer?”
Jett nodded and turned his back to Jack. The man attached the computer to its cradle. The systems whirred online, but he wouldn’t see any stats until he donned his helmet. Over the computer went his back plates.
The worst thing about the suit was that Jett couldn’t feel anything but the interior foam and the weight of his armor.
He couldn’t feel the air around him, the metal of his weapons, couldn’t hear the scrape of boots against the floor.
The lack of sensory feedback made life—and combat—more difficult. But he’d adapted.
Jett turned to face the room, helmet held at his side. Everyone was more or less ready—his dalliance with Eddie had made him one of the last to arrive. Jett stepped up on a bench so he could see everyone and slammed a fist into his locker. When everyone quieted, he spoke.
“To reiterate what you’ve already been told, we’re going into an unknown search and rescue situation.
So listen up, ‘cause I’m only saying this once.
” Jett paused to let the whispers subside.
“For those of you who don’t know, I’m here because I spent twenty years doing Emergency Response with the CDF.
Because not all of you have the same training or experience as me, I’m gonna lay down a few ground rules to get us all through today.
“First, no one acts like a hero. We have experienced squad leaders for a reason and you are to act as they direct. If there is a question, it will be directed up the chain of command to me or Captain Stone.
“Second, look out for your squad mates. You’ll see details that others won’t. Keep communication open and serious.
“Third, stay on task. Each squad has an assigned area of the ship to clear and a set objective. No one goes outside of the zone without my say so.
“Fourth, if the situations starts to deteriorate, you head back to the Shibuya immediately.”
Heads nodded as he spoke. Some shared quiet words with their neighbor, but Ollie had picked the best of the best that Security offered. Jett could depend on them.
“And finally, there is a chance that something will go wrong and you won’t come off the ship. Keep that in mind and be careful.”
He stepped down, a muffled crash splintering the silence that had settled in the room, slipped his helmet on, and locked in place. A beep alerted Jett that his computer had synced with the Shibuya.
Static filled his helmet for a moment and then cleared.
“This is Shuttle Shibuya control testing connection to Lieutenant Jett Valla. Please confirm that you read me loud and clear.”
“I read you, Saint.”
“Good. I’m patching you Captain Stone’s panels.”
Jett waited, nervously twitching where he stood, and sighed in relief when the channel cleared and Eddie’s voice came through.
“Jett?”
“I’m here, Ed. Tell me about the ship.” He kept his voice neutral, professional. Especially important now that they felt each other in their cores. Felt every fear, every anxiety.
“The engines are cold, life support systems are starting to fail, six of the lifeboats are still docked, and we are not receiving any answers to our hails.”
Jett nodded to himself, scrolling through the data that just appeared in his helmet.
“The hull is intact and gravity generators are still working.” Jett hated going into a zero-g environment.
“We won’t know how bad life support is until we’re inside.
But we have oxygen tanks, air purifiers, hazmat protection, heat.
We can handle anything short of our suits being punctured.
And the armor prevents that from happening. ”
“What happens if the armor isn’t enough?”
Jett swallowed and stretched his hands in their gloves. “Then we haul ass back to the ship, and hope nothing is contaminated.” It wasn’t a great answer, but it was the only one they had. He hoped that there weren’t any biological contaminants onboard.
The Shibuya shuddered and stilled.
“We are in place to extend the umbilical,” Eddie commented, sounding very much like he didn’t want to be doing that.
“It’s gonna be okay, Ed. Try not to worry.”
“How can I not worry? We’ve only just…” he trailed off.
“I know, Ed. But I will come back to you.”
“Attention: Boarding Crew One report to the airlock.”
In his private channel with Eddie he said: “See you on the other side, Farm Boy.”
To his teams, “You heard the lady. Form up by squad.”
Jett stomped to the front of the room as others around him moved to their spots.
He felt as if he were leading all of these people to some uncertain doom.
A pity for them, but it was appropriate that Jett courted death once again.
He was prepared for it, had met it more times than any man should.
Death was almost an old friend now, the kind that came unbidden and stayed too long, lurking in the dark, watching him.
And though he had hope, Jett didn’t have the courage to say no when Death came calling once more.