It takes me and Sparrow a few minutes to recover. As urgent as the situation is, we're only human. I hold her for a moment, sobbing against her. But she's weeping over me too. We need that moment to grieve. She just killed someone. I just lost a partner. We both know it's Communion that really killed him. If anything, what Sparrow did was a mercy. I tell her that, and she knows it. But I hold her as she cries, because she feels like she killed a friend. We spend our tears and cling to each other on the floor of that cold cargo module, because we couldn't go on if we didn't have this moment.

  But we only take a moment, because Communion is still out there, and we have a bomb on a timer. I wipe my tears away and pull my helmet back on as she climbs back up the ladder and preps for takeoff. As much as it pains me, I open the cargo bay and roll Rockchaser's body onto the landing pad. I can't take the risk that Communion is in his implants. He'd understand; besides, he died taking Communion down with him. He went out like a cop; protecting people. He was my partner, even just for a week. It was an important week. And I'll carry on, because he'd want that too.

  Still, I feel hollow. It hurts worse than anything since losing Alex. Even worse than what Rabi and Communion did to me. I close the door and shed my helmet and climb the ladder without conscious thought. Sparrow says a few words to me, and I respond without really hearing her. Autopilot. Huh. Like those new implants on Luna. It all comes around full circle, doesn't it?

  The Chimera takes off, but I don't really notice, even as the turbulence tosses me about in the seat and makes me bite my cheek. Sparrow is focused on the nav console. Her face is red and wet, but I'm sure mine is too. Both of us are strapped in, silent, and I ponder the time. Probably about thirty minutes until it goes boom. I guess there's no way to know the exact time until it happens. With my implants totally off, I can't even tell what time it is. Maybe it would be safest to live without them, to take them out. But you know what? I do want some answers. And I'm going to get them, with my augments.

  I lick my lips and start my implants, one by one, before I turn my head. "Sparrow, can you bring the comms back online? I want to contact the frigate."

  Sparrow glances over at me as she initiates another hard burn of the engine. "The same frigate that blasted the comms array off the station? You want to draw its attention to us?" She raises an eyebrow.

  I take a deep breath. I sniffle, but I nod. "They have to have seen us; even in the EM soup of the Jovian. The Chimera's engine is going to stand out pretty bright. Besides, they might be willing to talk, and I want to know what Rabi told them," I add with a little heat, closing my eyes.

  I feel something on my hand and look down, seeing Sparrow's hand squeeze my wrist through my suit. "Whenever you're ready, Melody."

  The comm system is active, and I link in. Looking at the nav display I ping the... Saratoga? Yeah.

  The ping is answered almost immediately, through an heavy military-grade filter. "This is Lieutenant Jensen, aboard the Colonial Navy ship Saratoga. Pilot of ship registered Chimera, please identify," a young sounding male voice demands. Oh yeah, Sparrow's ship link doesn't carry her information. I almost forgot. "Repeat, pilot of Chimera, identify."

  You sound barely old enough to drink, Lieutenant. "This is Lieutenant Cruz, scouting officer with Third Precinct, Code Enforcement, aboard the Chimera. I'm pinging you my credentials now. I'm contacting you about the military quarantine enacted on Ursa Miner Station."

  "Roger, Lieutenant Cruz, ID confirmed. Quarantine has been lifted."

  My eyes widen. "Come again?"

  "Roger, Chimera, confirm naval quarantine has been lifted. Hostile enemy combatant is eliminated, as confirmed by responding Code Enforcement officers."

  Hostile enemy combatant? I suppose you could call Communion- wait, no!

  "Sorry, would that confirmation have been from the shuttle that departed Ursa Miner station?"

  "Roger that, Lieutenant. The initial report came from Captain Rabi Gupta, and follow-up confirmation by Captain Ashton Cartwright."

  Wait, what? "I'm sorry, you spoke with Cartwright? I thought the station comms were destroyed... well, by you."

  "Roger, Lieutenant, protocol was to prevent hostile enemy combatant, identified as alias 'Rusteater', from contacting and alerting other members of their terrorist cell or leaving the station by vessel or D-space. The Navy apologizes for any inconvenience, and claims can be submitted for reimbursement of up to twenty percent of the value of destroyed materiel."

  That statement sends me reeling. You have no idea about Communion at all.... "Can you confirm? Was it Captain Gupta who initially contacted you about the terrorist cell?"

  "Uh, let me pull that and see... roger that, Lieutenant, she was the initial reporting party. And Captain Gupta contacted us again by shuttle confirming destruction of the target by another officer, Lieutenant Melody Cygnus- oh, that's you. Huh, congratulations Lieutenant."

  I slap my forehead. Of course she wouldn't tell anyone about Communion. It's her baby. "Was Rusteater the only target?"

  "Roger. Well, the whole Gaian League is classified as terrorists and therefore hostile enemy combatants, but that was the only target identified on Ursa Miner station."

  This tale has been unlawfully obtained from Royal Road. If you discover it on Amazon, kindly report it.

  I turn my head and stare at Sparrow with wide eyes. She lifts her hands, shrugging. "How did you speak with Captain Cartwright if you destroyed our comms?"

  "Uh... I suppose that's a question for him, Lieutenant. I just took the call. Maybe he had a backup system? Wait, your profile here says you're suspended...?"

  I roll my eyes. "Thank you, Lieutenant, good luck hunting Gaians," I say quickly, breaking the call.

  There's a moment of silence in the ship. Sparrow furrows her brow and turns to me. "Did Rabi ever actually say she told them about Communion?"

  I think back. "No, just that she reported a serious threat. In fact, she teased me about that! I never got a cookie because I didn't guess what she told them!"

  Sparrow blinks a few times. "What? Sorry, a 'cookie'?" She asks with a skeptical tone.

  "Nothing, just some mind-game she was playing." I say as I flush pink. "But she didn't tell them about your Gaian connection. And she could have," I point out.

  A few heartbeats pass as we both contemplate that. She breaks first. "Moreover, Cartwright didn't tell them. How'd he ping them?"

  I look out, seeing the station growing closer. "Try pinging Ursa Miner. I have a feeling they've rigged up a transmitter."

  I'm right, of course. Ashton picks up my ping immediately. "Ah, Lieutenant Cruz. For someone who's suspended, you've been quite busy. I suppose you are calling about the missing prisoner. Or perhaps it has something to do with the backup station reactor that was reported missing, and appears to have been obtained using the CE registry key of Sergeant Rockchaser?"

  My belly roils, and I take a breath to steady my nerves. "With all due respect, Captain, I don't have time to dance with you. Sergeant Rockchaser is dead."

  There's a moment of silence on the line before he responds. "I see," he says in a tight voice. "Is Sparrow with you?"

  I gulp. "Yes captain, but she-"

  "Lieutenant, you are hereby ordered to immediately dock with Ursa Miner station and return Sparrow to custody," he says in a voice as cold as Europa's surface.

  I grit my teeth. "Cartwright, she didn't do it. Or rather... Communion is down on Europa, and it ate Brent alive. I'm telling you-"

  "I understand what you're telling me, Lieutenant. Now I’m ordering you. If you do not immediately dock and return the prisoner, I will consider that insubordination," he responds with a clipped tone.

  "Hard to be insubordinate; I'm suspended," I growl.

  "Suspended with pay, Cruz, at least while your PTO holds out. Suspended, I should note, not terminated. You are required to follow lawful orders while you are a scouting officer on my station, even while suspended," he adds. Technically correct, as always, you analogue-brained prick!

  I clench my fists, about to raise my voice, to curse him out, to tear this smug, uptight asshole a new one. But I take a deep breath. Because I know my flaws. What would Rockchaser do? He'd move with the situation, use bureaucracy as a tool, play the system. There's an easy third option; he already told me once. But first, there's something more important than my job. Rockchaser also said... if you mean you gave him too little credit, I agree. And Rockchaser gives good advice.

  I close my eyes. I take a breath. Because Rockchaser did respect Cartwright and had been one of his officers for years. "Sir, I want you to know that the plasma rifle saved my life. And Sparrow's too, probably. I know you did a half-dozen things to help me that I didn't even notice, and I repaid it with ingratitude and attitude. I don't think you're right, about a lot of things, but I wasn't right about a lot either." I let a breath out and take another. "But I want you to know, down on the surface, I did everything I could. Rockchaser did too, and if we did things right, he saved more lives that I can count. I'm sorry I couldn't bring him back to the station with me, Ashton. I know you two worked together for years. I'm sorry I was such an asshole. Brent was a better partner than I deserved, and he saved me so many times. Thank you for pairing us.”

  There's silence on the other side. It drags on. And continues to drag for so long that I'm worried he hung up the channel in the middle of that monologue. But then I hear him take a deep breath. One that catches. "Lieutenant, it's nice to know that you do see your flaws. And learns from your mistakes. I'm sorry that it didn't go differently, both on the surface, and with your transfer."

  Hah, Rockchaser, you're still the best. "Me too. Before we get to the ugly part, can I ask what you told Lieutenant Jensen? And how you're transmitting?" Curiosity killing cats and such.

  "We fabbed together the components to make an ad hoc array and boosted the range enough to reach the frigate. We got it working shortly before you took off from the surface of Europa. And as for the Saratoga, I told Lt. Jensen the truth about Officer Rusteater's ties to the Gaian League, his sabotage of the station and skyhook, and his death down on the surface."

  There's an important part left unsaid. You didn't tell them about Sparrow. "Thank you, Captain," I say quietly.

  I hear him grunt. "It's procedure. You don't expect me to issue reports to an outside agency about one of our active CIs, do you?" I blink at that. Huh. Brent was right again. You’re not a total asshole. Cartwright clears his throat. "As for the reactor...?"

  "It's gonna blow in a few minutes," I say, an edge to my voice.

  "A shame. Since it's attributable to Sergeant Rockchaser's registry key, and since he himself appears to have died in a tragic accident at the detonation site, there's nobody to sit for a deposition or write a report. If the site itself is about to be destroyed, with the evidence, I suppose there's no more follow up to be done on the matter." Hah. Rockchaser would laugh at that. The captain coughs. "And the explosion, and fallout... it's not enough to harm... any native life?"

  My eyes bulge. Vacuum-sucking... Cartwright knew about the squids? With my broken nose and broken rib, even breathing hurts, but I can't help chuckling, and wincing. "No captain, the radiological effect is negligible compared to the ambient radiation in the Jovian. Plus, the ice is so thick, it'll propagate the explosion laterally, not downward. Sweeping up all the spiderbots- er, mining mechs, left on and around the base."

  There's a moment of silence. "Well, that would appear to cover it, Lieutenant. And I appreciated the written message you sent me; it clarified where you stood when I made my decision on what to report." I blink a few times. Ah. Well, there's something to be said about apologizing before I'm in trouble. Er, more trouble. Cartwright coughs again. "And now, the ugly part, as you so put it. Lieutenant Cruz, I repeat my order for you to dock with Ursa Miner station and return the suspect to my custody."

  I smile at that. Because we both know what happens now. "Green across the board, sir. And I resign, effective immediately." So, your move Ashton. I'm a civilian now, and not currently within your jurisdiction. And even if you wanted to, you don't have any transport to pursue me.

  I hear a grunt through the channel. "I suspected that would be your answer. Good luck hunting Captain Gupta, Ms. Cruz. And tell Sparrow I won't log the Chimera as housing a known ecoterrorist, as long as she never returns to my station."

  I roll my eyes at that and cut the channel, giving Sparrow a tired smile. I reach a hand towards her, and she takes it. Well, Rockchaser was right all along. There are more important things than being a cop.