Surefoot 59: The Burning World

She pointed her fork at him, eyes brightening. "Excellent idea, Scrappy! You know any?"

Kit wheezed with laughter as he tucked into his bowl of crickets. "Do you see, Best Friend Jonas? Your wife is hinting that you are not gifted!"

Opposite him, Eydiir glared at him. "Are those insects intoxicating, Kit?"

"Only in their savouriness, Best Friend Eydiir."

Beside him, Giles smiled wistfully. "This is gonna be weird, with three of us going away and three of us staying... and teaching a new generation of Squabs."

"Hardly Squabs now," Eydiir pointed out. "They've been through too much."

"And they're pretty good," Jonas added. "Zir handled herself with distinction on the planet, supervising the medical and rescue teams when one of the flyers crashed. The others acquitted themselves just as well, I heard."

Giles nodded appreciatively. "Astrid is certainly a pretty talented pilot."

"When she has her hands on the controls and not on you," Neraxis quipped.

"She's not like that," he corrected, clarifying, "She's evolving. We all are."

Then Sasha entered the Mess Hall, sitting down backwards on a chair and looking to them, breathing out before speaking. "Sorry I'm late; Dad was chewing my ass off."

"That explains the length of time of your absence," Eydiir joked.

Sasha offered her friend her middle finger, before taking the remains of her nachos and chilli beef, picking at it without really eating anything, looking thoroughly deflated. "I thought I knew what I was doing out there. That I was experienced enough to handle anything. I was wrong. We were lucky." She scooped up some chilli on a nacho, ate it and licked her lips, pushing the bowl back to Eydiir. "I'm sorry, guys."

"You don't have to apologise, Sash," Jonas told her. "We all went into it, eyes open."

"And it all worked out for the best," Neraxis added. "Yeah, our shore leave was shit, but we saved that kid, and most of Gault and its people."

"And no one's expecting you to be all-knowing," Giles reminded her, smirking now. "We're not James Kirk, after all."

"Kirk!" Kit raised his head. "As we do not know when we will next be together, perhaps we could indulge in another round of-"

"Kirk: Bullshit or Not?" Giles prompted, chuckling. "Well, one more for old time's sake." He paused in thought, before offering, "Bullshit or Not: Captain Kirk once met Abe Lincoln."

Sasha rolled her eyes. "Aww man, you're not even trying now, are you?"

"Completely ridiculous," Jonas shook his head. "Lincoln..."

"Who the frick is Abe Lincoln?" Neraxis asked.

The Mess Hall doors parted, as Zir and the rest of her Alpha Squad, Zir stepping forward. "Lt Hrelle? I'm sorry to bother all of you..."

Sasha rose to her feet to face them. "No bother, Ensign. What can we do for you?"

The Orion woman looked to the others as she replied. "I know we'll all be returning to active duty shortly, but before that I wanted to offer our appreciation for all your help."

Peter beamed. "Yes, thank you! Abby will be staying onboard permanently with me; the Counselor and First Officer are arranging our quarters now. I.. I owe you."

"We all owe you," Zir corrected.

Sasha smiled back. "We're all Surefooters... and we're all Alpha Squad. We don't owe each other anything. Some of us are going off to our new postings, but we're having a last meal together before that. Care to join us?"

Zir smiled. "Don't mind if we do."

THE ADVENTURES OF THE SUREFOOT WILL CONTINUE...