Pain exploded out from her knee.

“You shot me!?” She attempted to cry, but all that came out was something more akin to the strangled yowl of some backwoods animal.

Her leg was on fire. She could smell cooked meat. She felt sick. Whether from the pain or the thought of her own flesh being seared, she knew not.

“Toughen up princess,” the human said from somewhere behind her. “It was a low powered shot, given that I didn’t want to accidentally blow your leg off. Not out of any concern for you, you have to understand, but I have a feeling I’m going to need to keep you breathing and conscious for the next step of my plan.”

She felt something shove her off her seat, sending pain lancing up her damaged limb as she hit the floor. She howled in pain, naturally. She could hear the sound of fingers pattering across her command interface, before the human spoke again.

“I want all of you over by that wall where I can see you. Hands in the air, and no funny business. I might have needed this sack of shit alive, but the rest of you are all too expendable.”

Gritting her teeth, she managed to open her eyes to view the bridge through her tears. As the human had asked, her bridge crew were standing up and gingerly moving toward the back wall. Craning her neck, she found Jason sitting in her seat, one hand tapping away at her control-pad while the other kept a – not entirely steady aim – pointed at her crew.

Given that he was distracted by that, his typing speed seemed to be suffering, but nonetheless, it didn’t take long at all for her to hear the distinctive sound of the bridge’s door locks engaging.

“That’s better,” Jason sighed. “Wouldn’t want anyone interrupting our little romantic soiree on the bridge.”

“I’ll kill you for this,” Hela hissed, all thoughts of profit forgotten in the face of the agony pulsing out from her knee. “As the Goddesses as my witness, I will flay the very flesh from your bones.”

“Kinky,” he muttered, not even looking at her. “Ah shit, of course they’re demanding confirmation. Just my luck it’s not entirely automated.”

Leaning down, he fixed her headset, which had come loose at some point in the last two minutes.

“Your head engineer is asking for confirmation on your recently issued order to vent all the fuel they’ve collected,” he said. “Give it to her.”

“Eat shit,” she grunted.

Pain flared in her ankle and she screamed, as the smell of burned flesh grew in intensity.

He sighed. “You know, I thought I’d enjoy this. Getting revenge on you for everything you’ve put me through. All the people you forced me to kill to get up here. Fortunately for you, I’m not enjoying this. So please, for both our sakes, tell the engineer to vent the fucking fuel before I have to shoot you a third time.”

She wanted to resist. To tell him to go to the Deep.

She couldn’t though. It hurt too much. So when her headset came to life with the sound of her frantic engineering asking why in the Empress’s name she’d received an order to vent the fuel they’d just collected, she did as she was asked.

“Do as I command,” she sobbed. “Or I’ll have you shot.”

For just a moment, she wished the woman on the other end would argue the seemingly ridiculous order. But she didn’t.

“Disadvantages of an institutional caste system and a feudal government, eh?” Jason chuckled, as if reading her thoughts. “The little people don’t question the big ones.”

She grunted, the pain in her knee and ankle too much for her to banter. More than that, she felt defeated. If her head of engineering had done as she asked, then the hydrogen they’d collected would already be spewing uselessly back out into space.

Which was a significantly faster process than collecting it in the first place.

I’m done, she thought morosely. Any second now, an Imperial naval ship could show up, and we’re in no position to resist them.

Hell, they hadn’t been even prior to a psychotic human occupying the bridge. Even the Whisker might have been able to give the Maw a run for its money if they hadn’t gotten the drop on Tisi’s ship.

“How did you manage to get in here?” she asked, curious as to how he’d pulled it off in spite of herself. “Kill my head of security and steal her keycard?”

“Nope.” The human chuckled, sounding just as tired as she felt. “While I appreciate that you think I could fight your head of security and whatever posse of goons she’s got with her, I figured it was safer to just go around them.”

“How?” They’d been so sure he was trapped in the cargo area. Her chief of security was incompetent, but even she wasn’t so incompetent that the human would have been able to just slip past her and her people.

“Same way I won the combat exercise that got me stranded out here in the first place,” Jason said, his voice sounding a little distant. “Snuck here through the vents. Which is a lot less fun than it sounds.”

Fun? It sounded torturous. Sure, she supposed the human might have been able to fit, barely, but he would have had to crawl through hundreds of meters of ducts, including dozens of twists and turns.

She shuddered, just imagining it.

“You’re insane,” she said finally.

He shrugged, before wincing as the action apparently caused some forgotten ache in his shoulder to twinge. “Just desperate.”

No, he was insane, she decided. No one could be desperate enough to do what… he’d done. Death was preferable to… that.

“Ma’am,” a familiar voice came through her headset, interrupting her musings. “Is everything ok? My keycard, doesn’t seem to be working?”

The voice was accompanied by a knocking on the bridge door.

Apparently, her head of security had returned.

“My people are still searching for the human, but rest assured, he’ll be found soon enough.”

Hela wanted to curse at the woman, to tell her that the damned human had already been found, and he was standing right next to her. She didn’t though. As she felt the warm barrel of a pistol press into her shoulder.

The message was clear.

“Then keep searching,” she grunted with a scowl. “And don’t return until you find him.”

“I… ah… will do, ma’am,” the woman responded.

Hela sighed, letting her head rest against the cool metal of the floor. It was hardly the most dignified look in the world, but for the first time in… well, ever really, she found she didn’t care.

Nor did she find she cared when twelve minutes later an Imperial destroyer roared into existence and started broadcasting demands for the Maw’s immediate surrender.

She was done.

For now, at least.

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

Jason couldn’t believe what he was hearing as he sat in the medical bay of the Pulse.

“It’s not a miracle cure or anything like that,” explained the Shil’vati doctor opposite him. The guy was sitting on a stool beside his bed, tapping away at an omni-pad. “The drug serves to weaken any mental pathways you may have created as a result of the last twenty-four hours.”

Jason nodded gingerly, ignoring the twinge in his neck as he did so. Shil’vati medical tech was good, but even it couldn’t compensate for him totally running his body ragged yesterday. Even after a brief nap, he still felt sore all over.

“Will it mess with my memories?” he asked warily.

The male alien cocked his head. “A little. Some details of what you went through may become hazy for a while, before becoming less so as your brain fills in blanks created by the drug.”

Jason nodded as he gingerly slipped into his jumpsuit. He didn’t much like the sound of that, but he liked the sound of developing some kind of PTSD as a result of his ‘rampage’ even less. Perhaps it was cowardly of him to just… surrender those memories to a drug induced haze, but it was what it was.

Besides, the drugs he’d been administered were apparently available as standard for any soldier who’d seen action, so clearly there was something to them.

“I assume that’s why your CO insisted I fill out my after-action report in exhausting details before I took them?” he asked.

The doctor nodded. “Just so. Captain Hellads doesn’t want any possible complications in this case. To avoid any claims that you are no longer a reliable witness as a result of the treatment, the AAR will serve as your testimony.”

Plus, they had the data from his helmet cam.

Jason was about to ask another question when there was a small knock on the door. Neither man had time to respond before it slid open, revealing a uniform clad Tisi.

“Is he ready?” she asked without prompting, looking at the doctor.

The man sighed, before turning his gaze back to Jason. “Now, nobody can force you to take it, but I fully recommend that you seek some kind of aid from a mental health professional.”

Jason just nodded. “Yeah, I will.”

He meant it too. He wasn’t about to be a tough guy about this. If the doc said he needed to see a shrink as a result of all this, then that was what he would do.

The doctor nodded, apparently satisfied.

“He’s all yours, ma’am,” he said, turning to Tisi.

She nodded. “Come on, recruit. Let’s get you out of the good doctor’s hair.”

The pair of them stepped out into the hall and started walking through the halls of the destroyer. As they did, crew members stopped to stare at him as they passed, often respectfully stepping out of the way as they did. It was weird. More so than usual, because while Jason was accustomed to being stared at, it was usually with either lust or curiosity.

Not awe, he thought.

Deliberately trying to take his mind off it, he turned to look at Tisi.

This was the first time he’d seen her since, well, everything. And it was just as awkward as he imagined it might be in those brief few moments he’d considered it before hopping into a mech and leaping towards what he’d honestly thought might have been his doom.

“Permission to speak freely, ma’am?” he asked delicately.

Tisi just kept walking, gaze squarely ahead of them, and for just a moment he wondered if she was going to ignore the question.

Eventually, she did speak, though she kept her gaze firmly ahead as she did.

“Using ‘ma’am’ again, are we?” she asked.

Jason coughed, vaguely remembering that he had dropped that particular honorific at some point during his touch down on the Maw’s hull.

Why had he done that again? Oh yeah, he thought he was going to die and it seemed cool. Unfortunately, he hadn’t been lucky enough to die, and now he had to face the music.

“Well, uh…”

“Don’t.” Tisi sighed. “Just don’t."

His mouth slammed shut.

“Here’s how it’s going to be, I’m going to talk, and you are going to listen. Is that clear, private?”

“Yes, ma’am,” he didn’t quite squeak but it was a close thing.

“I’m glad you’re alive,” she said. “Let me get that out there first.”

He found a smile creeping across his features, before Tisi finally turned to look at him and got a proper view of her expression. She was… not happy.

“However, if you had died, you wouldn’t have had anyone else to blame but yourself!” She wasn’t quite yelling, but her whispers managed to give off the impression that she really wanted to. “The navy, the marines, the entire empress-damned military functions because it works together. One mind, one body, one soul.”

He nodded slowly, but that was apparently the wrong thing to do, because that only made Tisi look more pissed.

“Oh, you agree do you?” she asked. “Then why is it that at the first sign of trouble, you chose to completely disregard the chain of command and run off to do your own thing?”

He momentarily considered opening his mouth, but thought better of it.

“You know what doing what you did tells me?” she hissed. “It tells me that you don’t trust me. Don’t trust me to make the right decisions. Don’t trust me with your safety.”

This time his mouth did open, and the beginnings of an argument did begin to leak out before she cut him off, stopping in her tracks to face him, ignoring the startled glance from a crewwoman who happened to be walking past.

“Not when things are tough! And nothing you can say will convince me otherwise, because the moment – the moment – there was even a hint of danger you chose to do what you thought was best.”

He had no argument for that. None at all. Because that was exactly what he’d done. From the very first moment they’d met. And Tisi was hurt. He could see it now. Underneath all that anger and indignation was a sensation of betrayal.

“Tisi I-” he started to say, only for her to cut him off.

“Don’t,” she said, turning to continue walking. “Just don’t. You said all you needed to say a few hours ago.” She sighed. “I’m glad you’re alive, Jason. I really am. And what you accomplished was incredible. You turned that entire situation around single handedly. More importantly, boarding teams found forty-two Rakiri in cryostasis in Hela’s ship, all of whom owe their continued freedom to you.”

She paused. “Which is why I’m sorry to say that after this, I’m putting in a formal request to have you transferred off my sh… crew. Talented or not, I can’t have someone under my command who doesn’t trust me to act in their best interests.”

He felt his heart sink. He liked Tisi. Respected her as both a person and his leader. Which was why her disappointment hurt so much. From anyone else, he probably wouldn’t have cared. From Tisi though? Well, he wasn't exactly feeling great as they continued to stride through the halls of the ship. Not just from the knowledge that he’d hurt a person he’d honestly thought was a friend, but that he’d soon be separating from the people he’d come to know and like amongst the Whisker’s crew.

Yaro, Kernathu, Assisse, Scales, Glider, Cerilla… hell, even Rocket.

“For what it’s worth, ma’am, I’m sorry.” He said finally.

Not for what he'd done. Perhaps it was arrogance on his part, but he still thought he'd made the right call. Reckless as it might have been. No, he was sorry he'd hurt her.

Tisi tensed for just a second, before visibly forcing herself to relax.

“Empress above, Hela was right – that bitch – I am a sucker for a pretty face.” She chuckled. “A single sorry and a fluttered eyelash and I’m actually considering not sending that request.”

He smiled sadly, knowing that she was mostly joking. The pair continued walking in silence.

A shuttle sat waiting in the Pulse’s surprisingly spacious hangar bay. He was surprised to see the crew of the Whisker all awkwardly standing there – with the notable exception of Yaro, who looked as dignified as she always did.

Shouldn’t they have been repairing the ship?

Across from them and lined up in parade formation stood what he believed was near the entirety of the Pulse’s crew. Because if it wasn’t, the Pulse had a significantly larger compliment than even its larger size relative to the Whisker would suggest. At the very back, stood near the ramp of the shuttle were the Pulse’s officers, Captain Hellads stood proudly at the fore.

As Jason and Tisi stepped into the bay, the whole room fell silent.

“Is this… for me?” he tentatively whispered.

Tisi shrugged. “I did say what you did was impressive.”

“You didn’t seem that impressed,” he murmured as his gaze ran along the dozens of Shil’vati.

“I had reason to be less impressed with your heroics than most,” the woman reminded him as they walked down the aisle. “These people do not.”

“Present arms!” a heavy-set woman near the other captain called.

Jason nearly jumped as, despite the fact that he was outranked by just about every feasible member of the military he could possibly meet, every hand present came up to salute as he passed.

Most prominently, including Captain Hellam’s.

“Christ on a stick,” he whispered, not entirely of his own volition.

Despite everything that was going on between them, Tisi still managed to level a smirk in his direction – albeit one that was loaded with schadenfreude.

“Welcome to the big leagues, private.” Her grin widened. “You’re a hero now.”

Tisi brought him to her fellow captain, then stepped back, turned, and offered her own formal salute. Jason turned, holding back a well of emotion as he returned the gesture. Then he did the same for Hellam – wondering if he hadn’t just committed some kind of faux pax by not returning her salute first.

Though if he had, the woman gave no indication of it as her hand finally came down. Along with everyone else’s.

The captain smiled. “While you haven’t been here long, I would just like to say that it’s been an honor to have you aboard, private.”

She offered her fist, which Jason bumped gratefully.

“Ah, thank you, ma’am, though, uh, I don’t know what else to say, ma’am.”

The woman next to her chuckled, and with a quick glance at her black uniform, Jason realized that the other officer must have been the head of the marine contingent aboard.

“You don’t have to say a damn thing, son.” She laughed. “The tusk-twisting you laid down on that traitorous slaving piece of Turox-shit speaks for you.”

Captain Hellam glanced at the other woman with a put-upon expression, but eventually looked back at him with a smile. “Not exactly how I would have put it, but essentially correct. Your actions have spoken louder than words ever could.”

He felt more than a little uncomfortable, standing there, with everyone gazing at him in awe.

Mercifully, Tisi decided to take pity on him.

“Permission to depart, Captain?”

“Permission granted, Captain,” Hellam responded. They exchanged salutes, before Tisi gestured for Jason and the rest of her crew to clamber into the shuttle. It was only as the shuttle ramp started to close behind them that he finally allowed himself to relax.

“So,” he said, rubbing his hands together, “what did you all get up to while I was gone?”