Sayeeda stared blankly for several seconds, her mind as blank as the white heart of a star. The information she had been given was so alien and unexpected she couldn't assimilate it. Something bumped her from behind and she spun, embracing the long ingraned maxium that any action was preferable to none.

"Whoa! Whoa!" Taya squeaked as Sayeeda's arm pinned her too the bulkhead. Sayeeda's eyes suddenly focused and she stepped back with a gasp. Taya rubbed her throat and glanced up and down at the naked mercenary.

"Is this a sex thing?" Taya asked with a quick backward step.

"There was a problem in the R.I.P," Sayeeda replied "I came right from bed."

"You sleep with your boots on?" Taya asked.

"Don't you?" Junebug replied. Taya looked momentarily non plused as Junebug vanished back down the corridor.

Ten minutes later, showered and wearing a pair of fatigue pants and a tan PT shirt, Junebug reappeared on the bridge. Taya and Neil had both settled into their stations and the Highlander was on course for the distant white spot that represented one of the systems planets.

"Is this really your home planet?" Taya asked as Sayeeda came in, her terminal already glowing with information on the planet.

"Celandine," Junebug confirmed. There was a brief awkward silence which impelled Junebug to speak further.

"I grew up here, till I was 19 and shipped for the Academy on Blakely," she confirmed.

The world below had an slightly alpine aspect, though the equatorial belt was relatively warm. Dozens of small cities dotted the globe, linked by high speed monorails. Shuttle craft decended from a circle of orbital stations, taking engineers or researchers from station jobs to the ground.

"You haven't been here since you were 19?" Taya asked. Junebug shock her head.

"I came back here on leave after five years with the Armored," she admitted, "It didn't go well."

"You have family here though right?" Neil asked.

"My parents, my sister and brother," Junebug admitted.

"Awesome, are we going to go visit?" Taya asked. Junebug sighed and punched in landing cooridinates for one of the larger cities.

"I suppose so.."

"Wow," Neil breathed as he checked the impressive readings of the planet. It was .93 the size of earth, giving it a very comfortable amount of gravity for the inhabitants, and one a terran or spacer could get used to very swiftly. Its continents were moderately sized and verdant, and its oceans were a cerulean blue and filled with abundant life. Coupled with that, the atmosphere was very slightly more oxygen rich than ancient terra, which made the inhabitants lively and the animals were marginally larger than they might be initially. Neil wished his own wartorn homeplanet was this lovely, and for the first time he began to contemplate that he might have had a rougher upbringing than Junebug.

Whatever happened after she left her homeworld, it had spat out a woman tougher than iron and colder than the void of space.

He was glad for it though. It made her into his girlfriend.

The Highlander approached in a meandering pace, receiving a hailing frequency about two million kilometers from the planet. Neil was surprised when it popped up. Normally they would be hailed fifty million kilos away, not two million. The planet must be used to relaxing when it came to defense.

"Identification number and ship callsign?" A sonorous man's voice chirped over the feed.

"ID number I593794, callsign Highlander. Here for refuel and resupply." Neil replied, lowering power from the sublight engines with a few choice button presses so they could cruise the next few hundred kilometers. "Requesting permission to dock."

"A-ffirmative! Just head in to dock 34D and enjoy your stay on Celandine, sir."

"Uh, thank you." Neil said, amused at the friendliness. Most places they docked they were speaking to either computers or overworked dock dispatchers. Taya laughed a bit, but she noticed Junebug's severity and furrowed her brow. Neil was none-the-wiser, eyes focused on the display. "Think we'll be able to go to the beach? I been meaning to work on my tan, and I haven't swam in water that wasn't chemically unstable in way too fucking long."

"The beaches here are nice," Junebug said in a tight tone, as if she were begrudgingly admitting to it. "But we shouldn't stay longer than it takes to get resupplied if we want to make that payday at Gliese 876. I'm not gonna take a quick holiday over a few million credits."

"Yeah, true. But I'm sure we'll have an afternoon. Your family won't take up too much of our time, right?"

Junebug responded with a decidedly noncommittal grunt that trailed off into an awkward silence. Taya coughed and then pulled up a holographic list of dock charges and tankage fees.

“Speaking of nothing we were talking about, how are we planning on paying for all of this. Doesn’t seem like the kind of placed that has a lot of merc for hire type work,” Taya observed.

“You’d be surprised,” Sayeeda replied with a touch of grimness that evaporated as she keyed in inputs to her own holographic screen. “But as it happens I actually have a bank account here.”

“You have a bank account here? Why?” Neil asked. Sayeeda turned in her seat and raised an eyebrow.

“My dad opened it for me when I was six. I got a little dinosaur toy and everything,” Sayeeda chuckled.

“And are your dino dollars going to run to repairing a starship?” Neil asked clearly bemused by the idea of a six year old Sayeeda. Junebug touched a control and her screen turned multidirectional displaying a balance of close to a million credits.

“Generous allowance?” Neil half chocked.

“My pension is deposited here,” Junebug explained, authorizing the account to deal with he dockyard via a digitized thumb pint.

“Still a generous pension,” Taya pressed elicitng another shrug from the mercenary.

“Col.. Pesident-for-life Andor was always good about taking care of his people,” Junebug explained.

“Plus he liked to make sure none of his officers were inclined to …uhhh follow him into politics with a full magazine if you take my meaning,” she explained. Taya laughed.

“You mean you are being paid off not to launch a coup against your old boss?” she snickered. Junebug shrugged.

“Me and a bunch of other people,” Junebug said. Most of the Armored’s officers had gotten on well, but she knew of a handful that wouldn’t let sentimental loyalty for old times get n the way of a big payday. Soldier of Fortune had fortune right in the name overall. This way Andor kept everyone more or less out of his way for an amount that was less ruinous than fighting half a dozen small wars.

“Docking protocol as engagun,” Lonney brogued as the ship began to turn on her access to approach the hangar, a job for automated beacons rather than human intervention.
“Home sweet home.”

Customs was a relatively brief affair, borne by seasoned travelers with amusement rather than irritation. Fortunately the process was greatly simplified by Sayeeda being a Celandine Citizen which allowed her the option simply to vouch for Taya and Neil and assume legal responsibility for any crimes r damages they caused. The no firearms policy was somewhat harder to deal with and neither the excuse that she was a military officer for whom a side arm was a necessary article of uniform, nor the somewhat shop worn diplomatic credential Sayeeda had received from Prince Aiden years before allowed her to keep her weapons.

So it was that Sayeeda found herself completely unarmed as she exited the downport and walked right into an ambush.

“Sayeeda!” a voice called from the security barricade ahead. The speaker was handsome looking woman in her late middle years who shared enough facial features with her Sayeeda to make her idenity obvious to within a reasonable degree of certainty. Her next words eliminated even that fine ambiguity.

“You weren’t even going to call?!”

“Hello Mother,” Junebug said with the grim bravado of a woman facing a firing squad.

"How did she know we were here?" Neil asked Taya in a whisper, cloaking his mouth with his hand.

Before Taya could answer, Sayeeda's mother brushed past the guards and hugged her daughter. Junebug reciprocated, albeit mechanically. Neil bit his lip so as not to laugh. He could tell he was going to have some fun on this trip, even though Junebug was going to likely hate it. He had some small sympathy for her, at least.

"We got the notification you were en route. Your father had it so whenever you flashed your ID with the security, we would be notified." She said, and then noticed Neil and Taya blink at that. She gave a smile. "If you know my daughter, you know how flighty and secretive she can be. But she won't slip by us that easily."

"She's just so impetuous." Neil said with a certainty only a gossip could have, shaking his head and giving a 'tsk tsk tsk' with his tongue. Junebug shot him a glare, and he decided not to lay it on too thick. To alleve the situation he decided to save her, raising his hand to shake, hoping her mother would take the bait. She finally let Junebug out of the embrace and shook Neil's hand gingerly.

"Are you friends of hers?" She asked, smoothing some loose hairs out of her eyes, fitting it back into her fashionable bun.

"Er, yes. Friends and business partners. I'm Neil Edwards, pilot, and this is Taya-"

"Medical officer." Taya pipped in, smiling politely.

Security approached, SMK2 assault rifles held in their hands. Even with their face helms, it was plain to everyone their patience was running thin. The man at check-in had evidently called them to reel Junebug's overzealous mother back in. When the one on the left spoke, his voice was amplified by a vox. "You can't stand around here. Move along please."

Junebug looked around, saw she would get no back up from her crewmates and sighed. She strode out of the concourse away from the security men despite the fact she had no inkling as to where her mother had parked.

“Neil, Taya, this is my mother Farah,” she said, completing introductions and allowing her mother to lead the way to a sleek black air speeder which lay among scores of broadly similar vehicles. Every few seconds there was a tone and a low pulsing note as one of the vehicles lifted or landed, carrying passengers too and from the star port.

“Any friend of Sayeeda’s is welcome here of course,” the older woman burbled as she climbed into the pilots seat, gesturing them to sit on the luxuriously upholstered seats inside. The buzz and roar of the spaceport shut off immediately as the tempered glass wings closed around them with a soft pneumatic hiss. The vehicle rose smoothly and boosted away. Farah turned her seat to face them, the vehicle set to the automated pilot beacons which allowed sky traffic to flow without constant accidents.

“Now when you say business partners…” Farah pressed eyes bright.

“Yes, Neil is my boyfriend,” Junebug responded to the unspoken question. Farah clapped her hands together delightedly.

“Oh wonderful, and so handsome, do you have a wedding date? Any children?!” she ejaculated. Junebug’s face remained the expressionless mask that it did behind a gunsight.

“I can’t have children Mother,” she replied. Farah’s face became pettish.

“Oh everyone says that but…”

“I had a partial hysterectomy six years ago,” Junebug responded. Her mother gasped.

“Sayeeda Selene Cykali! Why would you do such a thing!”

“Selene?” Taya mouthed to Neil but was ignored by mother and daughter.

“I mean you have to make your own decisions but you know I love grand children and…” Sayeeda interrupted the diatribe by lifting up her shirt to reveal a knot of scar tissue on her muscular stomach.

“A uranium penetrator hit my LAV and spawled off a six inch piece of the inner hull,” Junebug reported, tracing the old wound with a finger tip. Her eyes were like gun muzzles, their focus years and light years away.

“I spent three weeks in the autodoc at Base Alpha,” she concluded. Farah’s face blanced with shock and then relaxed to a scolding disapproval.

“Well, I did tell you not to get mixed up in any of that,” Farah said, somewhat lamely.

“The countryside is beautiful,” Taya injected smoothly into the awkward silence that followed. The cityscape had faded away and vast arboreal forests, cut with streams and green hills flashed below.

“You sound surprised,” Junebug said, grateful for the change of topic.

“I just always assumed that….” Taya trailed off, clearly unsure how to proceed.

“That I came from some hell hole, red of tooth and claw?” Junebug asked, obviously amused despite herself. Taya shrugged her shoulders helplessly.

“Pretty much,” she agreed a trifle lamely.

“Celandine is a beautiful place,” Farah agreed as the vehicle banked close to an impressive waterfall before curving away to the south.

“I don’t know why anyone would ever leave it,” she added. The older woman shot a meaningful look at her daughter but Junebug was already laying back in her seat, eyes closed in a veteran’s cat nap.


About an hour later the air speeder settled onto a private pad on the outskirts of a glittering city of pleasant white buildings and green parks. The Cyckali residence was typical of its type, several acres of gardens around a large single story structure with three distinct wings. A gravel path linked it to the tree lined boulevards that served pedestrian and ground car traffic. Three figures, an older man and a younger couple were already standing on the moss lawn as the flyer settled onto its gravel landing sight. Junebug started awake, eyes wide and hand reaching for a holster she wasn’t wearing. A moment later her eyes focused and she relaxed. They climbed out of the car and the trio came over.

“Sayeeda, it has been a long time,” the younger woman greeted her. The older man, a stocky powerful specimen with thining hair and a devil may care grin rushed past to enfold Sayeeda in a hug.

“By the Goddess it is good to see you girl!” he boomed. Sayeeda smiled inspite of herself as she returned the hug.

“It is good to see you too dad,” she surrendered.

“This is my boyfriend and pilot Neil Edward’s, and my friend Taya,” she introduced. The young woman who had spoken was introduced as Sayeeda’s sister Miranda and the other man her husband Tomaz.

“Aunty Sy!” a voice shouted as a red headed child of perhaps seven years erupted from a nearby hedge. She pounded across the gravel, shedding leaves as she came before throwing her arms around the mercenary. The child shared some facial features with Sayeeda but was paler and had some of the muscular build of her grandfather.

“If it isn’t little Madge!” Sayeeda crowed, scooping the girl up and spinning her around. The girl giggled and Sayeeda set her down, making a desultory effort to brush leaves and dirt from her clothing.

“Don’t call her that,” Miranda said in the tone of someone fighting a losing battle.

“If it isn’t Madge,” Sayeeda replied, deliberately misinterpreting the instruction, “all big now.”

Sayeeda’s father had crossed to deliver a formal kiss to the back of Taya’s hand before gripping Neil’s hand in his own and pumping it vigorously.

“I am Ibram Cykali,” he introduced himself, “but you must call me Brahm.” A robotic servant had emerged from the house and begun unloading what little luggage they had brought.

“We have lunch prepared in the dining room, come, come,” Farah clucked, attempting to get the party moving.

“Margaret, why don’t you go and wash…” Miranda began but the girl was already moving, deftly slipping behind Taya to cut off her mothers attempt to grab her before fleeing back through the hedge to her own entertainments. The younger Cykali daughter glared after her child but apparently thought better of attempting to coral the girl as the party headed into the pleasantly cool interior of the house.

“You must tell us of your self Master Edwards,” Brahm enthused as they entered a dining room dominated by a long table of dark polished marble, places already set.

“Sayeeda has never bought a man home before, so you are something of a novelty!”

This almost felt like a whirlwind to Neil, he wondered how concussed Sayeeda must feel. The landscape was trully idyllic, the temperature modestly warm, and the flowery scent of the outer gardens refreshing. He fancied he might have even smelled it prior, as if they had bottled up the smell and put a light fragrance in the air car. Neil knew Sayeeda was the center of attention, but somehow he felt put on the spot in some measure. He had been 'the boyfriend' before, and often times that brought more glares than happy smiles, and on this occasion, somehow he almost missed the scowls. At least then he could share Junebug's opinion, but now he felt stuck between being fancied over like an object to being secretly scrutinized.

Of course the pilot didn't show it. He smiled with Taya and gave quiet chuckles, and he did not expect her mother to compliment him so highly, nor given the title of 'master' by her father.

Well, there were worse problems to have.

"Ah, yeah. Well Junebug-" Neil started, but saw the look of incredulity twist her father's face. "Sorry, Sayeeda and I met a few years ago on Hodierna, in the Volantis system."

"Junebug?" Her mother piped in, shimmying her way to the table to move aside a small assortment of papers and a plate that looked unused but ill fitting for a dinner. "Sayeeda, do you go by another name?"

"Just a call sign for the business. We work in logistics." Neil explained with perfect nonchalance. "We take contracts, haul goods across the galaxy. It's safe, but the days are long."

Neil was surprised he did not hear Taya laugh at the half-lie.

"She always did want to play the soldier," Miranda said, not deigning to look up as she helped her mother clear the table. Neil noticed Sayeeda cast a look at her sister, but he decided not to notice the atmosphere in the room shift slightly. Miranda's husband placed his hands on her shoulders, whispering something about their daughter to her. She nodded and spoke back softly.

"So that's how you two met? Well you're a small crew, don't mind me saying. Sayeeda could always pull her weight though." Ibram said, beaming with pride. He was clearly pleased she was home, and Neil could tell at least he would be a safe haven from anything that might explode on this visit. "And you two just hit it off?"

Neil laughed, draping an arm over the back of a chair as he reminisced. Everyone always marveled at his easy manner and charming, addicting smile. Luckily it came easily, and her father gave a knowing chuckle. Farah looked fascinated, however. "Oh did she put you through the ringer? I can't imagine her with...well, let's just say it's a surprise to see you." She breathed pleasantly.

"Can I help?" Taya offered, her hands out to take a plate. Miranda pushed past her, shaking her head and giving a dismissive 'no thank you.'

"I had my eye on her for awhile, but she played hard to get," Neil explained in what was perhaps the most concise retelling of the first year of their partnership in the entire galaxy. Sayeeda's mother seemed like she was placing a marker in the folder of her mind to ask Neil more about it later, in private. Neil was making a mental note to never be caught alone at the exact moment. He gave a shrug. "Luckily she realized how much of a catch I was and the rest is history."

Conversation as interrupted as the same robotic servant that had unloaded the luggage entered bearing platters of food which it laid carefully on the table. Tomaz excused himself and returned a minute later with Madge, the girl having been somewhat cleaned but still with a stray leaf or two in her thick red hair. She took a seat at the end of the table and began to pick pieces of fruit out of a bowl of salad to Miranda's evident mortification.

"Mom says you killed a lot of people," Madge said around a mouthful of crunchy green apple, "is that true?" There was an audible intake a breath at the blunt question but Sayeeda only snickered.

"Yes, that is true," she admitted gravely.

"Are you going to kill anyone here?" Madge pressed on, blissfully unaware of the mood she was inspiring.

"That shouldn't be necessary," Sayeeda responded diplomatically. Madge frowned in evident disappointment.

"What if they shoot at you?" the girl pressed on.

"Well in that case it would be necessary... so yes," Sayeeda said. Taya, Neil and Brahm all laughed, the later covering his mouth at the glare he received from his wife and younger daughter. Farah opened her mouth to steer the conversation back to safer ground but Madge was not to be deterred.

"Why do you look younger than Mom? Aren't you old?" Madge asked. Farah sighed and Miranda and Tomaz both flushed with embarrassment. There was some truth in the observation, despite being nearly four years older than Miranda, Junebug looked as though she were in her late twenties, rather than her sideral age which was closer to forty.

"Well Madge," Sayeeda responded, ignoring the mouthed 'Margaret' from her sister, "I spend a lot of time in space going very fast which makes time go slower for me."

"Also she spent three years as a popsicle in a cryo pod," Neil interjected, a mischievous glint in his eyes. Madge made a 'whoa' sound which finally gave her mother the chance to reassert control of the conversation.

"I don't imagine you are staying on Celandine very long?" Miranda asked hopefully. Junebug shrugged, a little bemused at the combination of the familiar and the bizarre. Family life like this was alien to her experience and made her uncomfortable in a way she couldn't really define. She had felt this way when she had first come home on leave after five years in the Armored. Fortunately, the sense of alienation she had felt then was attenuated by the presence of Neil and Taya who reminded her she wasn't alone among civilians.

"A couple of days," Junebug responded, "I'm still waiting for exact times and quotes from the dockyard to repair our ship." Madge immediately began asking questions about the Highlander, an odd combination of the charmingly naive and the very well informed.

"You will stay with us of course," Brham declared, "Your room is still pretty much made up, we will have it aired out for you."

"Taya and I can head back to the Highlander if..."

"Nonsense!" Her mother exclaimed while her father simultaneously spouted. "We have plenty of room!"

Neil held his hands up as if to go 'alright alright!' but in truth he was smiling. It was just beginning to dawn on him how strange it was meeting Junebug's family, now that the surprise had worn off. He would never change her no matter what, but he wondered how she had gotten such a different temperament than everyone else. Then again, Neil was the black sheep of his family too, in a sense. His sisters were far better behave than him, and neither of his parents had encouraged him (too much) to be the way he turned out.

"Have you killed people too?" Madge asked, pointing at Neil with supreme confidence.

"Margaret!" Miranda called, her eyes blazing. It looked like Madge had finally caught the hint from the look, and she sunk down into her chair and pouted, crossing her arms.

"It's alright," Neil assured Miranda and Tomaz, though a look from Miranda showed he misread the situation. She was not mad that Madge was annoying him, except out of principal. She was mostly wanting to spare her daughter the details of anything morbid. Unfortunately, the entirety of the table except Junebug were looking his way. Sayeeda plucked a grape from the fruit bowl and chewed as if she hadn't a care in the world.

"I was a soldier for awhile, so I've seen some action. But I mostly fly nowadays." He said flippantly. Taya sipped some water gingerly, hoping no one asked her any pressing questions. Neil sympathized.

"Foot soldier? No wonder she likes you." Her father said.

"Mech division, actually." He professed, drawing some curious looks. It was rare to find actual mecha pilots in the galaxy. They were mostly used for spec ops, unless one was on a planet where the equipment was readily available, like Fortus. He cleared his throat. "But I did do some ground work. Now I'm just a pilot and engineer. I fix, I fly, I follow orders...mostly." Neil winked.

"Orders?" Her mother asked.

"Yeah, Sayeeda's the captain." Neil replied, pointing at Junebug.

"Sayeeda makes all the decisions, I suppose that is true to type," Miranda observed smarmily picking at her food. Madge had subsided under the combined glare of most of the adults and didn't seem willing to press her luck any further. Junebug continued to eat, clearly making an effort to slow her pace to something that might be considered civilized. Her normal custom was to shovel food into her mouth as fast as possible, a practice learned via eating on the move and made worse by the demands of Terran bio-augments which sharply increased her metabolism.

"We are co-owners of the Highlander," Sayeeda clarified, "but in battle there can only be one Captain... and her hot pilot boyfriend." Taya sprayed a mouthful of water out of her nose, shocked by the uncharacteristic outburst. Miranda flushed and Brahm and Farah both chuckled, somewhat reluctantly in the laters case. Conversation turned to more local matters, accounts of what this or that acquaintance had been up to since last she visited. Sayeeda reacted only when directly questioned, merely nodding along in a disingenuous counterfeit of interest.

Finally dinner broke up and the robotic servant began to clear up. Madge was off like a shot, vanishing into the hedge ahead of the chiding calls of her parents. Sayeeda beckoned Neil over and headed out through a side door and down the hall to a spacious room. She pushed the door open and grinned.

"They still haven't changed it," she reported, her tone leaving her opinion of this uncertain. The inside of the room was plain, spared from being spartan by a variety of sporting trophies and a number of model starships against one wall. A writing desk with an integral console sat in dusty disuse and a comfortable and neatly made bed was against a wall looking out over a balcony that overlooked the neatly landscaped ground. Junebug crossed to the bed and bend down, rummaging beneath it. She came out with a battered military helmet with a polarized face plate and a silver flask. She unscrewed the cap and took a drink.

"What do you think of the old billet?" she asked, flopping back onto the bed, cradling the helmet under one arm.

"Well, I'd say your hot pilot boyfriend approves." Neil said, placing his hands on his hips and gazing around the comfortable room. The carpet was well cleaned, and even the ceiling fan seemed like it had been dusted recently. A smile crept onto his face as he looked around the room, oddly interested in Junebug's life before she had been thrust into her self-inflicted baptism by fire. It was a bit neater than his room on Fortus, if his old room was even the same. Damn, he hadn't thought about it in awhile.

"I mean, I wouldn't want to live here, but it's a nice place all things considered. It's a bit too quaint for me, even before I was in the military. But then again, I was a bit more of a delinquent than you." He gave her a grin that showed his teeth.

Normally when they were alone, he would enact 'getting into his superior's pants' protocol, but honestly the locale was so...plain, and her family so swell, he almost felt like it was kicking a wounded kitten. The accompanying stomps of Madge's little feet banging on the hallway floor also made him feel more trepidation. Yeah, maybe later.

"So, you ok here or do you feel like going out? You can show me your favorite hangouts from way back when. You had to have some place that served a good milkshake or something," Neil said, wondering what a small town on the planet would look like, or a city for that matter. It's true Terran architecture was often uniform on idyllic planets, but there was always something new if one knew where to look. "Unless you have some outstanding parking tickets or some jealous ex boyfriends I should know about."

"I can't have too much on my record or they would have arrested me at customs," Junebug snickered, then sat up considering.

"Come to think of it, I though Miranda said I had a warrant out on me for assault," she amended. When she had been home on leave she had beaten a drunken school mate of Miranda's pretty badly when he had grabbed her after a party. Perhaps Miranda had exaggerated, or perhaps the lout had never bothered to make an official complaint. Well it didn't much matter.

"Played alot of sports I see," Neil commented, picking up one of the trophies from the shelf and turning it over. He pushed a button on the side of the award and a younger version of Junebug appeared, holding an odd combination of stick and net, dressed in athletic gear with a numbered bib.

"ZGL," she reported, the sport was played in very low gravity fields and involved a great deal of leaping and bouncing off handholds.

"Were you a captain?" Neil asked. Junebug laughed and picked up an award. She manipulated the simple holographic controls and pulled up a list of statistics. Sayeeda Selene Cyckali - Most penalties blinked at the top of the list.

"Always room on the team for a goon," she snickered and set the award down.

"I never really belonged here," she admitted soberly, looking around the room as though she had never seen it before. Certainly she hadn't belonged here when she came back from five years with the Armored. The other troopers had warned her that it would be like that, but she hadn't really appreciated it until she saw it with her own eyes. She rolled the helmet in her hands, then set it down.

"Booster," she said, triggering the intergral AI inside the unit. "Unit projection, file 224-31-21-Echo." A hologram flashed to life from the helmets projector, the color was a little washed out from the limited ability of the projection heads, meant for squad briefings rather than cinematics. The view was a viewpoint shot, jostling as the viewer rushed down a canted metal hallway. It shook as the viewer threw themselves against a bulkhead, a squat plasma gun coming up and spitting several soundless blasts into a pair of figures in fatigues that were in the process of climbing through a partially opened hatch. The blast threw one man back to his own side, while most of the second body tumbled into the partition with the shooter, uniform tunic blazing.

"Booster, end file," Junebug commanded and the hologram vanished.

"Fine, lets go to the beach and get some ice cream," she declared.

Junebug moved through the pleasantly alcohol-hazed evening. She had spent the day visiting hangouts and haunts of her youth, most of which were now frequented by a much younger crowd. The few acquaintances and friends they met engaged in the same formulaic, empty small talk—chronicling their lives: who married whom, did you hear what so-and-so is doing, etc. Such conversations invariably petered out because Junebug wasn’t adept at concealing her lack of interest. When asked what she had been up to, she could only respond that she was a starship captain now, which was impressive in a way, but follow-up questions tended to lead to awkward silences.

For Sayeeda, this was not unexpected. After her first five years with the Armored, she had been given six months' leave to come home and had felt the same jarring disconnection from everything. After years of artillery strikes, night attacks, street fighting, and every other permutation of killing for profit, it was impossible to muster interest in who had married whom or where so-and-so was working now. It was easier with Neil by her side; he was not only much more charismatic but also gave a familiar shape to her life, at least by their standards. "She has a boyfriend" was much easier to digest than "she used fuel-air explosives to burn a rebel company to death in a tunnel complex."

The beach, at least, had been pleasant, and they had soaked up some radiation while drinking and swimming in the cool, clear waters. Taya had attracted more than her share of admirers, two of whom she had gone off with to find more nocturnal entertainment. Sayeeda was thinking of the same thing as she half-stumbled into the doorway of a bar with Neil in tow.

"ID, please," a gym-muscled bouncer asked, not quite rude but not exactly friendly either. Junebug laughed and pulled out an ID card—an old skimmer license with her picture from a decade before.

"This is out of date," the bouncer stated flatly. Junebug chuckled and began to square up with the man when a sudden voice chimed in her ear.

"Aunty Sayeeda?" Junebug missed a step, surprised beyond words to hear a voice in her mastoid implant.

"Madge?" Sayeeda responded, startled half-sober.

"Ma'am, if you don’t have ID..." the bouncer started, but Junebug held up a finger in a 'wait one' gesture that made the man flush with anger.

"Madge, how did you..."

"There are men here with guns. They are yelling and they grabbed..."

"Don’t stick your finger up at me, bitch, or I’ll..." The bouncer’s eyes bulged as Neil suddenly stood behind him, bending his arm back at an unnatural angle that made the blood drain from the bouncer's ruddy face.

"Maybe shut your fucking mouth for a minute," Neil suggested mildly, twisting the limb even further to emphasize his point.

"Men with guns? Madge, find somewhere to hide, and I'll be right..."

"I’m already under your bed, I’m using your helmet," the girl said, frightened and proud of herself at the same time. And just how in the seven hells had the girl learned to use a commo helmet?

"Good girl, stay there. I’m on my..." The bouncer swung his free hand at Neil. The pilot danced back and drove a beaked fist into the man's kidney. The bouncer roared and tried to spin to kick at Neil, but Junebug drove her foot into his leg just below his right knee. There was a crack of tendons audible even over his scream of pain as he went down, howling and grasping his leg.

"...way," Sayeeda concluded, the alcohol all but burned from her system by the sudden surge of adrenaline. Other patrons were backing away, and another bouncer was on his way forward. A sudden low-key babble of sound filled her ears, and she realized that Madge must have switched the mic in her old helmet to omni-directional. Clever. Very clever. Sayeeda could hear voices raised in anger as well as heavy boots striking the floor.

Neil didn’t bother asking if there was trouble; he just reached down and plucked the bouncer's keys from his pocket and thumbed the fob. A hoverbike a dozen meters away lifted from the pavement, its turbine clicking then spinning up to a low rumbling idle. He leaped onto the bike, and Junebug followed, throwing her arms around his waist as he accelerated away.

"Where to?" he demanded.

"Home, and see if you can find some way to call the police," Sayeeda called, trying to sift through the information she could gather from the broadcast noise.