“I see,” Junebug said as Taya breathlessly reported her encounter with Neil. The Mercenary captain’s face betrayed no emotion that the younger woman could read. Taya waited breathlessly for some further reaction or comment but Junebug merely continued to walk down the hallway. Several Terran crewmen were moving in the other direction with brisk urgency. Taya side stepped out of the way as they rushed passed.

“Is that all you have to say?” Taya demanded, clearly irritated by the lack of response from Sayeeda. The captain stopped and turned to face the woman.

“What do you want me to say Taya?” she asked, her voice cold and clinical as a galcier.

“Well anything would be a start,” she replied in exassperation.

“It is down time, he is free to have dinner with whomever he likes. Is it ideal that he is cozying up to a Terran Millitary Inteligence operater?” She shrugged her shoulders. Perhaps Neil was trying to get information, perhaps Woods was, perhaps they were just legitmately having dinner. You couldn’t control everything in the field and you would drown if you tried. Sayeeda turned and strode off towards the hanger bay.

“Weren’t you going to get some food?” Taya called after her.

“Not hungry,” Sayeeda called without looking back.

--------------------------

*Bing* *Bing* *Bing*

“All hands prepare for extraction,” an automated voice declared over the public address system. Junebug looked down at the chrono display on her wrist unit. They were about an hour ahead of what the computer had projected but such variations in space and time were hardly uncommon. Carefully Sayeeda lowered the weights she had been lifting setting the bar down on the rest and sitting up. A moment later the color seemed to drain out of the universe and it hung for a second in a monocrome so sharp and pure it seemed to sear her eyes. Then the color was back and the November Sky was back in the real universe. 

Sayeeda felt as though the air changed its taste and that the world seemed a little more vibrant. The Terrans claimed they had shielding that protected against the effects of long term immerstion in the RIP but the psychological effects could not be completely mitigated. The RIP wasn’t part of the universe in anyway human biology expected to experience it. Sayeeda stood up and headed for the shower to wash up before reporting to York. She hadn’t seen much of Neil or Taya in the last two days. She had been busy training herself on a number of Terran weapons she wasn’t familiar with. She had also started a side project of sneaking Terran equipment onto the Highlander during the night shifts. Disguising weapons and munitions in more mundane supplies wasn’t difficult. The Marine guards seemed to be fairly relaxed and the few times she had been challenged a vague mention of York’s name had been enough to quell their questions. The arsenal aboard the Highlander had been steadily depleted over their various adventures, and Junebug figured the Terrans owed them about forty million credits in compensation for the aestimobium.

Junebug let the water run down over her body, sluicing away the sweat of her hour long workout with jets of lukewarm fluid. She was just reaching for the control when the ship lurched sideways with a violence that pitched the mercenary into the wall. Claxons exploded to life and there was another massive boom that seemed to shake reality.

“Alert Red, General Quaters!” the PA directed calmly. Sayeeda climbed out of the shower, pulling on her combat pants without bothering to dry off. Thrusting one arm through her t-shirt she stepped into the hall. Her hand rested on her pistol, though more for comfort than any expectation of actual need.

“Cykali to York,” she said but received only the ping of an engaged signal. On a military circuit a higher ranking officers transmission would squelch a lower one, so York was clearly busy with whatever crisis was befalling them. The ship shuddered a second time and this time Junebug felt a tingle of static electricity prickle her skin.

“Unit,” Junebug said, queing the transmission to Neil and the others.

“No idea what is going on, stand by.” A gravely voice came back immediately.

“November Sky has exited jump, the Chalcedon cruisers Eastern Star and Sycantha have engaged the November Sky with mass driver fire.” How Sven knew that Sayeeda had no idea.

“Say again? Are  you saying we are involved in a fleet engagment?”