OLD FRIENDS

As the sounds of the bouncing rocks faded away, the room was left in eerie silence. Nova could hear the remaining marines in the tanks, twitching like landed fish as they died. Some army. Whatever Bennett had intended for them, it had failed utterly, and it was far too late to save them now. She was too tired to be shocked by any of it.

She surveyed the scene. The remains of the stalactite rose six meters from the floor like a small mountain of rubble, obscuring the offices where Tosh had stood, and half blocking the opening to the outside corridor. Most of the equipment in the space had been completely destroyed; what little was left had suffered extensive damage. It looked like a war zone, with weaponry overturned and twisted, and bodies scattered among the wreckage. Half of the huge lights mounted to the ceiling had shattered, and the space was filled with shadows that seemed to writhe like snakes.

She wanted to sink to the floor and rest. A distant rumbling reminded her that there was little time to waste. Spaulding and the Annihilators were still intent on turning Gehenna Station into a pile of rubble, whether they escaped in time or not.

Someone moaned, and she felt Mal’s presence blink back into her mind as he regained consciousness. She climbed over the edge of the rocky pile and saw him lying in the corridor outside the cavern. By the time she reached him he was sitting up and rubbing his face, looking bewildered and wincing as he touched the bloody gash on his temple.

Thank God, she thought. She sensed a strong heartbeat and the buzz of irritation around him. That was a good sign.

“What the flick happened?” he said. “Last thing I remember is you getting in that damn tank.” He touched a damp, slippery leg of her suit, then looked around, his eyes widening as his gaze settled on the stalactite. “You sure do know how to make an exit. Where’s Hauler, or Bennett, or whoever the fekk he is?”

She explained everything, then helped him to his feet and got his arm around her neck. Another rumble shook the floor. They could talk more later, but right now they had to get to the ship, and fast.

* * *

She scanned Gehenna’s plans on her HUD to find the fastest route to the landing bay. They limped along as quickly as they could, not speaking, focused on their destination. She had been unable to raise Spaulding on her comm unit. They had agreed to a strict schedule when they had first made their plans, and she kept watching the time, aware that they had only a few more minutes until he used his nuclear arsenal on Gehenna Station.

As they turned a corner into a new corridor, Nova stopped short. Gabriel Tosh stood facing them about six meters away.

She hadn’t sensed his presence at all, and she had no idea how he’d gotten in front of them. He was covered in white dust, his thick ropes of hair loose and trembling as his entire body shook with emotion. Energy seemed to crackle all around him, and his eyes were wild, his mind in a place she could no longer reach.

“I come back for you,” he said without preamble, his old Hajian accent thicker than before. “There ain’t much time left. Kath’s waiting in the Palatine, but I told her you’d be comin’ along. Lio’s there too. Best move fast.”

A chill ran through Nova’s body, and she felt Mal tense beside her. The threat of violence was coming off of Tosh in waves. She was weakened by the battle with Bennett, and she knew she could not beat him if it came to a fight.

“Team Blue,” she said. “Just like the good old days, right, Gabriel?”

He nodded, and another clear memory came back to her: Gabriel Tosh kissing her on a deserted balcony, before his love affair with Kath. Along with it came a sense of nostalgia and regret that overwhelmed any anger she might have over what he’d done. The man who stood before her now was a shell of his former self, broken, beaten, and retreating back into a dream world that had never really existed in the first place.

You can never go back again, she thought, because the past was never the way you remember it.

“You go ahead,” she said, as gently as she could. “I’ve just got to get this man to the infirmary, but I’ll meet you there soon.”

Tosh nodded. “Don’t be long, Nova. You know Kath don’t like to wait.” Then he turned and disappeared down the corridor, and she was left with a last, ghostly image of someone walking with him, a gnarled old woman who had her hand on his back the way someone might with a small child, guiding him home.