Chapter Twenty One
Dahlia didn’t hear anything else about the missing research member that day. She tried to accept it as a blessing that other people were handling it and she was being given a breather. She caught up with Sabir on the guard postings and the news for the day she’d missed, worked with her soldiers on their mental defense, and led them on a brief trek through the trees to further familiarize them with the area should they need to navigate it at night again. She couldn’t push a feeling of unease out of her mind, however, and went through the day feeling as though she were in the calm before the storm.
That night wasn’t much better and she rose early to check on the guards assigned to the third shift of the night. She found Fidelity, Rezzi, and Nel staving off sleep watching Rezzi set off a silent fireworks display. She suppressed a chuckle as she slipped into the shadows and padded silently towards them.
She took Nel first as he stood the furthest back. She leaned just a little on the sleepiness she felt coming from him. She had to lean harder than she’d expected; Fidelity had been training him well in defense. His eyes drooped and he nodded off. She gently picked him up and carried him a few feet away where she laid him down then walked silently back.
When she was close she heard Fidelity start and lift her hammer and the glow of Rezzi’s fireworks faded. She crouched down and started, full speed, out of concealment, bulling into Rezzi and taking him down. Fidelity swung her hammer but missed, her eyes unadjusted to the dark after staring at Rezzi’s light show. She turned to sound the alarm. Dahlia released Rezzi and pushed herself into the air off his diaphragm, effectively knocking the wind out of him. She somersaulted up and over to land between Fidelity and the alarm bell and yelled “ha!” before dropping to avoid another hammer swing.
“Fuck! Captain!” Fidelity yelled, dropping her hammer as Rezzi staggered to his feet wheezing and Nel rushed in, apparently awakened.
Dahlia stood up, suppressed the laughter bubbling up inside her and lectured her fourth officer, “This is why I said no fires at the post. When you stare into a fire you can’t see through the darkness around you. If you’d been adjusted to the darkness you would have seen me take Nel. Rezzi might have reacted before I took him out and you would have aimed your swing better. A fire blinds you and leaves you open to an attack.”
Fidelity’s shoulders sagged, “Yes, Captain, I apologize, it was my responsibility.”
“Chalk it up to an effective lesson and I expect you to be more conscientious from here out. Especially given the recent attacks. I’ll let Sabir know you’re volunteering for second shift to make up for your lapse in judgement.”
“Yes, Captain.”
Dahlia turned to Rezzi, “Don’t risk taking an incapacitating blow for the chance to take no hit at all. There was very little chance of you getting away from me when I hit you at that speed but if you’d blocked and covered or attempted to force us both into a roll rather than trying to push against me you might have tied me up long enough for Fidelity to raise the alarm.”
Rezzi bowed his head, wincing a little. “Thank you, Captain, I’ll work on judgement in my defense.”
She turned last to Nel, “Your psychic defenses have gotten better, work on your sensitivity now so you are able to detect when someone starts pushing into your psyche.”
Nel bowed as well. “Thank you, Captain, I will.”
Dahlia nodded her head, “Good.” She turned and left the chastised soldiers, walking towards the main area of the barrack. She located and started the kitchen fire and pulled out a strong tea. She brewed the leaves, the refreshing aroma stimulating her mind. Then she sat with her tea and her thoughts a while until dawn brought Sabir in. He heated some tea himself and joined her. She didn’t offer him any of hers. Those who knew her well made the mistake of accepting tea from her only once. She sipped her brew appreciatively. Maybe it was an acquired taste. Or maybe she just enjoyed being arbitrary.
“Good morning, Lieutenant,” she greeted Sabir.
“Good morning, Captain.”
“I’d like you, myself, and Lieutenant Arreal to start checking on the guards at night. They seem to have gotten sloppy.
Sabir frowned, “Of course, Captain. Anything happen?”
Dahlia sighed, “They just got bored and distracted, I gave them a shock and a brief lecture. Fidelity has volunteered for second shift.”
Sabir smiled, “You mean you scared the hell out of them.”
Dahlia grinned at him, “Like another sleepy guard I remember.”
“You were one hell of a Lieutenant.”
“You never fell asleep on guard-duty again, did you?”
“Hell, I didn’t sleep for days for fear you’d wake me up again.”
“It’s better than waking up to a real enemy.”
“Hell of a lot better. Ok, I’ll arrange with Arreal.”
“I’ll check on second shift,” Dahlia offered.
“I won’t pretend I wouldn’t appreciate that. I never was able to learn your trick of waking up in the middle of the night but I can get up early. And Arreal’ll prefer to check the first shift anyways.”
Out of the three of them Arreal was definitely the late to bed, late to rise type. He joined Dahlia and Sabir at the table when the sun was fully up and a number of other soldiers had come in and out for breakfast. Arreal sat down with his tea and Dahlia and Sabir let him sip in silence until his eyes had lost their morning fog.
“We’re checking in on guards, make sure they’re not getting sloppy with the recent enemy movement,” Sabir told him. “We decided that the last one out of bed got to check on second shift.”
Arreal glared into his tea, Dahlia tried to keep a straight face. That was a mean trick to play on the man so early in the morning. She sipped her tea, “Gee, I don’t know Sabir, I thought we agreed to fight for it today.”
Sabir grinned, “Same outcome then.”
Arreal sipped his tea again and shot over at Sabir, “It’s worth taking that challenge for a chance to see you trying to get out of bed in the dead middle of the night.”
Dahlia decided to step in before her lieutenants went to blows over the shift she’d already decided to take, “He’s just trying to get you riled up, I offered to check in on the second shift since I’m the most likely to actually wake up and do it.”
Arreal’s face relaxed with poorly concealed relief, “Did I ever tell you you’re my favorite captain? Hands down, not even close.”
She raised an eyebrow, “And who is your second favorite then?”
“Still you. You’re first, second, and a close third at the moment.”
“And you’re a born suck up.”
He shrugged, “Hey, whatever it takes to not get up for second shift.”
“You two could probably still use a little warming up. After training we’ll send Genji to lead the barrack on a run and you can stick with me for a little sparring.”
“Only time I don’t mind having my butt handed to me by a lady, “ Sabir joked.
“Watch it, I saw Fidelity’s hammer getting awfully close to your skull yesterday,” Dahlia countered.
“Fidelity’s not a lady, she’s a monster with cute, pink hair.”
“Fine, you pigs, I’ll see you at the training ground.”
Arreal waved his hand in mock distress, “How did I get pulled into this? I don’t want to get beaten by my captain because her first lieutenant has a big mouth.”
Dahlia slid out of her chair and made her way outside, “You live and die by the company you choose.”