Pinwheel Remastered

***

When we returned to the armory, Vasiliev was waiting for us. His injured shoulder had been bandaged, and there was a medic nearby that was tending to him. The engineer was nowhere to be seen, but after seeing the damage to the torus, he likely had more important places to be. There were Marines milling about now too, returning weapons to the racks on the walls, or making adjustments to their configurations. Some of their armor had battle damage. I could see chest plates that had successfully dissipated the energy of a plasma bolt, leaving a dark smear where the ceramic had partially melted, and there were scratches where Bug daggers had glanced off them.

Vasiliev rose to greet us, giving us a rare smile.

"Welcome back, recruits. I'm glad to see that you're all accounted for, and in one piece."

"Are you alright, sir?" I asked, and he nodded his head.

"My shoulder looks like an overcooked pizza right now, but besides that, I'll be fine. Some of the Marines have been talking, they tell me that you fared well out on the torus."

"We kicked Bug ass, sir," Harry said as his Krell friend gave an appreciative rumble. The medic noticed the reptile now, muttering to himself as he walked over and began to examine his wounds, the recruits parting to let him pass.

"Damned Krell," the medic grumbled as the alien cocked his head at the human curiously. He opened his bag and withdrew what looked like a large tube of toothpaste, squeezing a mound of green-tinted gel into his gloved hand. "There's walking wounded, then there's walking around not even caring that you're wounded. Keep still while I apply the cooling gel, you oversized iguana."

"Sir," I began, getting the Sergeant's attention. "Have you heard back from the other recruits yet? Did they make it to safety after we were separated?"

"Everyone is fine," Vasiliev replied, "the other Staff Sergeants led the recruits back to the barracks and took refuge there until the fighting was over. We were the only group that even attempted to make it to the armory. In hindsight, it would probably have been far safer to just stay where we were..."

"That's a relief," I sighed. Some of my good friends had been separated from me during the chaos, it was good to know that they hadn't been caught in the open. I couldn't wait to relay our story to them, they had missed one hell of a party. "There was something else that I wanted to ask you about, sir," I added. "You said that you'd heard about the role that we played in the battle?"

"Yes, I was made aware of the performance of your mixed squad. I already know what you're going to ask me, Stanley."

"Sir, with all due respect" I continued. "You have to acknowledge how well we fought together. The Krell were like walking pillboxes, we had covering fire no matter where we ended up. Raz and the Borealans are successfully integrated, they worked alongside the other species, they followed orders. They practically won us that fight, our squad would have been overrun by the Bugs if it wasn't for them."

"It's true that your squad saw fewer casualties than most," Vasiliev conceded, "but the decision has been made. The Borealans are being sent home, we've already had this conversation, recruit."

"What?" Harry asked, frowning at the Sergeant. "The cats are being sent home? Why?"

The was a low murmur as more of the recruits mirrored his confusion.

"The Admiralty has already expelled the Borealans from the integration program," Vasiliev explained. "Our orders are to continue to integrate the Krell, but the Borealans are being sent home on the next jump carrier. They've been written off, deemed too antisocial to be of use to the Coalition."

"Sarge," Harry continued, "I get that the cats can be hard to get on with. Hell, we all heard about what happened in the mess hall. But they fought with us today, they pulled our asses out of the fire. If you'd have been there, if you'd have seen how they fight, you-"

"You're wasting your breath, recruit," Vasiliev interrupted. "As I already explained to Stanley, I'm not high enough in the chain of command to overturn the decision. It comes straight from the top. The Admirals have been keeping a close eye on the program, and the conduct of the Borealans has crossed a line."

The other recruits seemed almost as displeased by his words as I was. The Borealans had been disliked initially, everyone had banded together to stand up to them, both in the recreation center and during the mess hall brawl. But Raz and I had solved the puzzle, bringing her pack into line in the process. If we could do it, then so could others.

I looked to Raz, dejected. I had hoped that the decision might have been overturned after word of her pack's exploits had spread, but it seemed that the higher-ups had upheld their decision. Even though we had achieved all the goals of the program, it didn't matter, it was too late.

"It was worth a try," Raz sighed, her smile faltering. I felt guilty for souring her good mood, perhaps it had been futile to press Vasiliev about it.

The Staff Sergeant and the Marines suddenly snapped to attention, saluting us. I was momentarily confused until I realized that they weren't saluting us, they were saluting someone behind us. I turned to see a short man with a greying beard standing in the doorway, his hands clasped behind his back, two Marines flanking him to his left and right. He was wearing a pristine, white uniform in contrast to the blacks and blues of the soldiers, a Navy cap perched upon his head. I recognized the golden wreath that was emblazoned on it, and my eyes wandered down to his breast, which was decorated with numerous colored ribbons and medals. It was an Admiral, I had never seen one in person before.

The recruits and I saluted, the pack of Borealans following suit after a moment, the gesture unfamiliar to them.

"I-I'm sorry sir," I stammered, "we didn't see you."

"At ease," he grumbled, his voice gruff and gravelly. He lifted the rim of his hat with a gloved hand, peering up at Raz from beneath a pair of bushy eyebrows. The Admiral was an older man, hunched with age, and so the alien was close to twice his height.

"You must be Miss Elysiedde," he said. "When I last spoke with your father, he was very interested to know how your training was progressing."

"You...know my father, sir?" Raz asked. I was relieved to see that she remembered the appropriate honorifics.

"Indeed I do," the Admiral replied as he walked into the room, his two bodyguards following after him. The group of trainees parted to let him pass, still standing as straight as boards despite his order for us to be at ease. His presence was commanding, despite his stature. "I'm on friendly terms with the Patriarch, he was very insistent that it be your pack that was sent to Fort Hamilton in order to take part in the integration program. It was one of his conditions during our negotiations. He seems to have placed a great deal of faith in you."

Raz swallowed, the mere mention of her father seemed to have put her on edge. Of course, she had failed the mission that he had assigned her, putting the alliance in jeopardy in the process. At least that was how she saw it, and how her father would probably take it, if it was accurate or not.

I had to wonder what an Admiral was even doing on the torus, shouldn't they be on the central hub?

"I have to say, Miss Elysiedde," the Admiral continued. "The initial performance of the Borealan pack that we agreed to house on the Pinwheel was...discouraging. They seemed confrontational, overly aggressive, antisocial. They were unwilling to integrate, and I began to ask myself what benefit there would be to introducing Borealans into our forces. The report that I sent to the Admiralty was no less scathing."

Raz's ears and tail drooped, her yellow eyes turning to the deck, and she clasped her hands in front of her in a way that I had never seen before. Mere hours ago she had been striding through battle like a fearless Valkyrie, and now she looked almost ready to burst into tears. She must think that the Admiral was chewing her out, but I wasn't getting that impression from his tone of voice or his body language. I wanted to signal to her in some way, to alleviate her distress, but I didn't dare to interrupt someone of such high rank.

"But now it appears," he added, "that you and the other recruits have come to some kind of understanding. Young Stanley was instrumental in socializing you if what Staff Sergeant Vasiliev has been reporting to me is accurate. Would you say that assessment is correct?"

Vasiliev had been reporting directly to an Admiral? He knew my name? I was shocked, but then again, the program was of great importance to the UNN. The Staff Sergeant had always been a bit of a hardass, but I felt like we had developed a rapport, and perhaps that had reflected in his reports. I glanced at him briefly, and he gave a sly grin.

"Yes, sir," Raz replied meekly. There was a glimmer of hope in her eyes now.

"Would you say that your pack has reached an equilibrium with the other recruits and that between you and Stanley, you have a working understanding of both human and Borealan culture?"

She nodded in reply, and then the Admiral turned his attention toward me, my posture stiffening under his scrutinizing gaze.

"Recruit Stanley, to my knowledge, you are the first human to successfully integrate a pack of Borealans into a mixed unit. Our initial efforts were...marred by incompatibilities. Putting Marines and Elysian warriors into a room and expecting everything to just work didn't pan out, their culture was too different, their methods and their chain of command seemingly at odds with ours. We eventually had the idea to take a handful of recruits and to train them side by side, to force them to socialize and to interact in a controlled environment, free from outside influences. The hope was that younger, less stubborn Borealans might be more amenable. I was prepared to write off the experiment as a failure, but you and Miss Elysiedde seem to have developed a kind of...accord with one another. Tell me," he said, pausing to watch one of the Marines as he disassembled his XMR. "How would you rate the combat performance of the Borealans?"

"Outstanding, sir," I replied. Finally, I had an opportunity to make a case for the aliens. "Once we had found an XMR configuration that suited them, they were able to use the weapons very effectively and to work as a fire team. They followed orders and were able to fight alongside the other species without incident. Their strength, speed, and resilience are far beyond that of any human. They're especially suited to CQC, I saw them effectively counter a Betelgeusian charge. Without them, my squad would have certainly been overrun. I believe that they can fill an important niche in the Coalition."

"That's more or less what the Marines who fought alongside you reported to me, yes," the Admiral said with a nod of his head. "So tell me, Stanley, Raz. Could you two work together in order to integrate new Borealan packs, and could you teach others how to do the same?"

I hesitated, looking to Raz for confirmation, and she nodded.

"Yes, sir," I replied. "I think we could do that."

The Admiral clapped his hands together, seemingly satisfied by our answer.

"That is most excellent news. Now, as you know, the Borealan pack has been ordered back to the homeworld. Unfortunately, I am not in a position to countermand the orders of my fellow Admirals. It was a collective decision."

Raz's ears drooped again, and I felt my heart skip a beat.

"Now, now, Miss Elysiedde, don't despair. I was told to send back a Borealan pack on the next available jump carrier, but nobody specified how many Borealans constitute a pack."

Her eyes lit up, and we shared a glance, elation threatening to overpower my austere demeanor.

"I would like to keep Raz on the station, in order to train and socialize the new Borealans who will be joining the program. I'd like you to assist her, Stanley. You would be given your own quarters in the residential district, and you'll be promoted to Junior Officers. You would be expected to begin your duties as soon as the next packs arrive. Do you accept?"

We both tried to answer at the same time, but Raz ceded the floor to me, another demonstration of her newfound understanding of human social norms.

"Thank you, Admiral. It would be an honor."

"Very good. Return to the barracks and pack your belongings, then you'll be assigned to your new quarters. I assume that coed isn't an issue for either of you?"

"Not at all, sir," I replied.

"Good, good. If you'll excuse me, I have much to attend to, I'm afraid that the station is in quite a state. I'll be needing the assistance of your Staff Sergeant if you're quite done with him, and if his wound is not too debilitating."

"Of course, Admiral," Vasiliev said. "Lead the way."

The Admiral tipped his hat to us, then proceeded to the door, flanked by his two silent guards. Vasiliev followed behind him, giving me a knowing smile as he passed by, one that I returned warmly. He had been keeping the Admiral abreast of everything the entire time, it was only thanks to his faith in us than we had achieved this outcome.

I struggled to contain my excitement. When I looked over at Raz, her ears were pricked up, her tail waving back and forth contentedly. We would be able to stay on the Pinwheel indefinitely, we'd be working together, living together. I wouldn't have to say goodbye to her, she wouldn't be shipped light years across space where I'd have no way of ever contacting her again. She met my gaze, giving me a grin, my cheeks warming.

As soon as the Admiral had left the building, the recruits abandoned all pretense of formality, Raz's alarmed pack freezing up in bewilderment as the humans crowded around to congratulate her. They gave her pats on the back, and whatever else they could reach, everyone was happy to have her stay. Even the Krell lumbered over and rubbed his snout in her hair, rumbling affectionately. She laughed heartily, pushing him away with her furry hands as his nostrils blew the orange strands, a wide grin on her face. She seemed overwhelmed by the display, perhaps Borealans didn't express sentiment in the same way. This was what she had wanted, friendship, and now she finally had it. There was nothing like a brawl and a gunfight to build a sense of camaraderie.

The other Borealans merely watched, they were going to be sent home, after all. Somehow, I got the impression that they would be relieved to be back on Borealis, it was only Raz's stern orders that had made them cooperate. Either way, their task had been accomplished, and they could return home with their heads held high.

The recruits eventually went their separate ways, bidding one another goodbye, and I exchanged a few handshakes with my new friends. Harry gave me a one-armed hug, and I suspected that I'd be seeing him around the recreation center sometime soon.

"Come on," Harry said to his Krell buddy, "let's go find Blackjack. You need a nickname too, I'll have to think of something."

The alien rumbled affirmatively, lumbering along behind him, and I watched as his long tail dragged through the doorway.

"I guess we should head back to the barracks and pack our stuff," I said, turning to Raz.

"Admiral's orders," she replied with a grin.

As we left the armory and emerged onto the torus, I noticed that Raz's pack were following a short distance behind us like a trio of lost puppies.

"You are dismissed," Raz told them, and they shared confused glances. "Go entertain yourselves for a while."

"Where shall we go?" one of them asked, her tail flicking back and forth in a display of uncertainty. Raz turned to them, walking backward to keep pace with me as she shrugged her shoulders.

"To the recreation center, or to the mess hall, wherever you like."

They stood around looking indecisive as we walked off toward the barracks, becoming lost in the sea of pedestrians that was starting to repopulate the station. It was like they didn't know what to do without being given instructions by their leader. Once the pack was out of earshot, I glanced up at Raz.

"What was all that about?"

"Packs usually remain together," she explained, "it's a little unusual for the Alpha to go off on their own. I want some quality time with my monkey, though."

Once she was sure that we were out of view behind some surviving trees and shrubs, Raz pounced on me, lifting me off the floor in a tight embrace. She spun me in the air, squeezing me against her soft chest through the tattered fabric of her uniform, then set me down again. She ruffled my hair with her large, orange hand, exposing her sharp teeth in a wide smile.

"Looks like we're in business, tree climber. You won't be getting rid of me for a long time!"

I was elated, happier than I could ever remember being, the adrenaline that still lingered in my veins from the battle on the torus making me feel almost euphoric. However exhilarating our encounter the previous night had been, an air of foreboding had overshadowed our carnal bliss, the knowledge that our time together would be all too brief lurking in the back of our minds like a dark raincloud on the horizon. But now, all of the worries had been lifted from my shoulders, and I felt as if I might explode from the joy of it.

CHAPTER 9: BURNING OFF THE HEAT

When we arrived back at the barracks, we packed up our belongings, then Raz visited the showers to clean off all of the sweat and blood that still coated her skin from the prior battle. She changed into a fresh uniform, as the other one had been stained by Bug juice and shredded by their knives, then we hung out in the mess hall for a while. War was hungry work, and we had worked up quite an appetite.

The trainees had all been reunited again, and our friends were eager to hear about our exploits, crowding around us as we shared the story. Blackjack, Harry, and his other Krell friend showed up too. The two reptiles were covered in adhesive pads where they had absorbed plasma rounds, and Harry was as energetic as ever, standing with one leg on the table as he regaled the audience with his own somewhat embellished account of what had happened.

Raz was now a favorite of the Krell, and the other humans had warmed up to her, even moreso after hearing about how she had led her people in the bayonet charge. She had earned their respect, and they had even come to accept her pack, too. The Borealans seemed eager to get back to their home planet, and Raz explained that being separated from Borealan society for so long might be jarring for them. We would have to keep that in mind when training new packs.

When we were ready to set off to our new quarters in the residential quadrant of the station, we said our farewells to the recruits. We wouldn't be sharing the barracks with them any longer. Blackjack gave me a bone-crushing hug, and Harry insisted that we'd have to visit the recreation center regularly. The fanfare was welcome. Much like Raz, I had lived a rather lonely childhood, and I had been separated from my old friends at boot camp. I wasn't accustomed to being so well-liked by so many people, and it filled me with a strange kind of warmth.

I had never seen the residential area before, we had so far been confined to the military quarter, as recruits were not permitted to wander the rest of the station. After a good fifteen minutes of walking, we arrived, and I saw that the facades of the buildings to either side of the crowded walkway were sculpted to resemble row houses. The engineers couldn't build up, of course, there could be no tower blocks on a space station. Instead, they had filled the quarter with residences that were lined up side to side, made to resemble brick and mortar houses.