“That’s… I don’t mind… I… uh… thank you, ma’am.”
Nobody seeing her now would have recognized her as the mouthy, sassy ensign she had been yesterday. She was lost for words, overawed and overwhelmed. And still feeling the occasional ache from Atlas’s good right palm.
“Come here,” Janus beckoned. “It’s time we replaced that ensign’s seal.”
Jerri took a stunned step forward and stood to attention as the bronze ensign’s seal was removed by the captain, and a new badge pinned on her chest, this one a silver version of the Authority insignia, a large A superimposed over a smaller version of the planet Earth.
“There,” Captain Janus said. “I will be taking a personal interest in your career from here on out. After all, you not only saved my ship and my crew last night. You also saved my life.”
“It was an honor and a privilege.”
“Dismissed, Lieutenant Tessil.”
Lieutenant Tessil. That sounded so fucking good.
Jerri left the captain’s ready room with the biggest smile on her face she’d ever had.
She’d earned a promotion. And right from the captain herself, not in a form letter with a new badge as sometimes happened. She kept replaying the conversation over in her head, trying to remember every bit of how the captain was. She was a handsome woman, at least, the half of her face that could be seen was. The other was a testament to her strength and will to survive. Jerri found herself feeling oddly and uncharacteristically motivated by the whole encounter. And now, as a lieutenant, she’d earn more credits, which could be poured into any number of things. Maybe one day she’d be able to buy a little house on an outlying colony somewhere…
“Lieutenant Tessil!”
A rough male voice spoke her new rank along with her name and made her freeze mid-step.
When she turned, she saw Commander Atlas leaning against the wall, his arms folded over his chest, and something dangerously approximating a smile on his lips. It didn’t reach his demon red eyes.
“Yes. Sir?” The two words came as two separate thoughts.
“It suits you,” he said, nodding toward her new badge.
Jerri owed him thanks. If not for Atlas, she’d still be an ensign. She really didn’t know what to make of that. Did he have some kind of angle? Did he feel guilty? Was he trying to fuck with her?
“The captain said you recommended me for promotion.”
“I did. After I left your quarters last night, I did a deep search of your records. You’ve been serving on this ship since you were commissioned, and by my records, you have been responsible for saving it on nine separate occasions. That should be rewarded.”
“I don’t understand you,” she said, utterly confused and shaking her head. “You… what you did to me yesterday… and then today.”
“You deserved punishment. But you also deserved promotion. I like to think I’m fair.”
She didn’t know what to say to him. She could barely meet his eyes. He might have liked to think that he was fair, but he wasn’t fair. What he’d done to her last night wasn’t fair, and it wasn’t protocol. In the dark of her chambers, the energy between them had not felt like commander and ensign. It had felt much more personal.
“Well,” she said. “Thanks.”
“A promotion!” Lara was beaming. “Finally. If anybody deserves it, it’s you.”
Jerri smiled. “It’s about time. Don’t think I would have gotten it if not for Commander Atlas, though. He recommended me to Captain Janus.”
“That was nice of him.”
“Yes. It was,” Jerri said. The last thing she was going to tell Lara was what Atlas had done to her in her quarters. It wasn’t just that she was embarrassed. She didn’t even know how to put words to it.
“You know I can tell when you’re thinking heavy thoughts,” Lara smiled gently, giving Jerri a nudge. “Why aren’t you happier about this?”
“I don’t know. I can’t help feeling like there’s some kind of a catch.”
“You’re too suspicious,” Lara laughed. “Can’t you accept that the ship has a wonderful new commander who is making a difference for many of us, and in this case, for you?”
“No,” Jerri said, pushing her hair back behind her ears. “I’m not able to accept that, because it is not true. He’s got an agenda. He’s not helping me. He’s more like stalking me.”
“Stalking you!” Lara laughed again.
Jerri smirked and changed the subject. There was no chance of explaining any of this to Lara. Lara’s sunny disposition and cosmic wisdom made it impossible for her to understand this kind of angst, the kind where you were sure you hated someone, but you also couldn’t wait to see them again. Jerri felt herself becoming entangled with Atlas in a way that probably wasn’t healthy.
“I’ve got to go,” Lara said suddenly, melting through the nearby wall in that impeccably rude way she had of ending conversations. A moment later, Jerri no longer wondered why. She felt why. Heard why. And she realized, smelled why.