Chapter 6 #3
Mace shakes his head. ‘Not necessarily. I think we should have a vote. I’m for sending Ellie back to The Citadel.’
‘What? Why would we do that?’ Allen asks.
‘You know how it is in the Disputed Lands. It’s dangerous even for us, and we’ve been training for this for years.
I think Ellie’s life would be threatened,’ Mace says.
‘Besides, she doesn’t have any healing powers.
With a Pocket Healer, we could do the basic healing ourselves.
She’s expendable. It’s not worth risking her life for this. ’
Expendable.
It’s pretty much the worst thing I’ve ever been called in my entire life, and I loathe Mace with an intensity I never thought I’d feel. He knows what I want, and still he’s trying to go over my head. Because of what? Because I’m endangering his precious mission?
‘Out of the question,’ Xandra says. I’m shocked that, of all people, she’s the one to defend me. ‘If she forfeits, we’ll lose a shitload of points.’
Okay, maybe not defending me, but at least she’s on my side.
Sort of.
Just because I might cost her precious points.
‘Agreed,’ Julian jumps in to say. ‘If the teams have been assigned, we have to complete the mission in full formation.’
‘We can pull so far ahead from the next teams that it won’t matter,’ Mace says.
‘Wouldn’t it?’ says Xandra. ‘Are you for real? You know how it is. The ranking at the end of the missions decides the kind of postings we’ll get at The Citadel.
If we get a bad score, bye-bye dreams of ever being Central Command one day.
You’ll never catch up. Are you ready to give up your dream for this? ’
‘Our entire future hinges on this mission,’ Julian says.
Mace scowls.
So he dreams to be part of Central Command? That isn’t surprising. He certainly had the scores, so far.
‘Yeah, right, Mace,’ I say. ‘Don’t you want to be Central Command one day?’
‘If she gets killed, we’ll lose just as many points,’ Mace mumbles. ‘And then, I’ll have to explain why that happened to her parents. I’m not exactly keen on telling them how their only child died on my watch.’
‘It will break Laura’s heart. She’s one of the kindest people I’ve ever met. She doesn’t deserve that.’
My breath catches. He remembers my mother’s name? How much she liked Mace? And then, I realise that the arsehole is using that to manipulate me.
‘How about we ask Ellie what she wants?’ Allen’s voice is soft, but everyone seems to listen.
‘Thank you, Allen, for including me in the conversation,’ I say. It’s obvious that they’re used to working together as a team – and that I’m an outsider. But I can live with that. It’s all I’ve been during my Apprenticeships. ‘I want to stay.’
Mace growls.
Allen is completely unperturbed. ‘Then it’s settled. Ellie stays on the mission. You’re the only one who doesn’t want her on the team, Mace, and you’ve been outvoted.’
‘Well, define “want” her on the team,’ Julian says and sniggers.
I’m even less inclined to like him. But I don’t have to like him, and he doesn’t have to like me. We just have to work together.
‘We need to vote for a team captain now,’ Mace says.
‘Do we really need to?’ Julian snorts.
‘I vote for Mace,’ Allen says quickly.
That could potentially be a catastrophe for me. If Mace gets voted Captain, he’ll use his authority to send me back to The Citadel.
‘Mace for team captain,’ says Xandra.
‘Mace,’ Julian parrots quickly.
Then everyone is looking at me.
Oh, now they see me. ‘I think Mace should go first,’ I say sweetly.
‘Xandra,’ he says simply, and she glows.
Oh, right. How could I have also forgotten that Allen also said something in the lines of ‘he’s pathetically in love with her?’ Well, she can have him. I’m not interested in him. At all. Not after he tried to have me kicked out of the team. And called me ‘expendable’.
‘I didn’t realise that Xandra was an option,’ Julian muses. ‘Should we vote again?’
‘No,’ says Allen, at the same time as Mace says, ‘Yes.’
They have a strange stare-off and then Allen sighs. ‘Fine. So, two votes for Mace and two for Xandra. The choice is up to you, Ellie.’
‘Hey. I didn’t say that I’m voting for Xandra,’ Julian interjects.
‘Good. That settles it,’ Xandra says. ‘So, Mace is team captain.’
‘But I didn’t not say that I’m voting for Xandra,’ Julian continues.
‘Ellie,’ Allen rubs at his temples, ‘please spare us Julian’s indecision. Have mercy on us.’
‘I choose … Allen,’ I say. Allen – who, so far, seems to be the only decent person of their group – swears under his breath. But if Julian changed his vote, maybe he’d change it again, and support Allen? It would be good to have the only person sympathetic to my cause as Team Captain.
Mace glares.
I fold my arms. Bring it on. ‘Well, unless Mace can persuade me that I should vote for him so he gets to order me around every time he wants.’ Mace narrows his eyes at me. ‘No? You’re not even going to try?’
Julian throws his hands in the air. ‘It’s Mace! I vote for Mace! It’s settled.’
Everybody seems to breathe out in relief. Except for me. Is he going to send me home now?
I wait with bated breath while Mace begins tapping on his ART.