Day 5
It had been oddly nice to see the First Officer again. Angel was a bit of a big kid, Eddie thought. Underneath the six foot something of muscle.
He just looked so fucking happy to see Eddie. It was hard not to let it go to his head, even as it wormed its way into his heart against his will.
And Eddie hadn't been lying. His last relationship had ended badly.
Very badly.
Legal-charges-badly.
Eddie had no interest in going through that again even if he ended up alone for the rest of his life.
Angel was the first person that had made Eddie want in a long time. It wasn't the insane, instantaneous want that all the stories talked about, the ridiculous, over the top romances that people loved reading about, but the smart ones never actually wanted to experience.
But it was the promising, what could be, first blush first kiss kind of want that was a thousand times more powerful than anything ever written.
Humankind had chased possibility all the way from the ocean to the stars and now they were on a mission to find the end of the universe.
Possibility had even driven some of them to madness, crossing lines that should never be crossed.
It was an intoxicating beast that took no prisoners, and it had been gnawing at Eddie since Angel had first approached him in the bar.
Who got the nickname 'Sunshine' in the military anyway? He was a soldier. He was supposed to be aggressive and scary and intense.
Except he really wasn't, when Eddie was honest with himself. Soldiers had been shoehorned into a very specific image from the very beginning, because that was what the people who controlled them needed to be seen as, but most of the soldiers Eddie knew were gentle at heart, always willing to help and look after one another.
They were assholes too, but so were most people in his experience.
Even Eddie.
Eddie was definitely an asshole.
Especially now, when he was looking at a bottle pentobarbital and trying to figure what size needle would be the hardest to detect after but wouldn't require him to hold the needle in place so long that he got caught.
Too small and it might even break off before he could finish the dosing.
Sing groaned suddenly, making Eddie jump. The ensign was still asleep and had had a dose of pain medication, but Eddie had been wary of giving him too much with the shape his head was in.
Mbabane had done a number on him despite her own concussion and now both of them were under his care because of one stupid decision.
Why the hell had Sing chosen something so stupid?
Why had Mbabane gotten on the damn elevator when she knew what he was planning?
They were both idiots.
So was Eddie, he realized and put the pentobarbital back in the cabinet and waiting until the lock engaged before turning away.
He knew he hadn't been the only one approached, but Sing was just a baby. He'd only been in for a few years, had barely seen any of the war. Eddie wasn't even sure he was old enough to drink, but someone had talked him into trying to kill the Captain of a warship.
What the fuck was the universe coming to?
And not just any captain, but the woman who was probably the most famous captain to come out of the war.
If the new government wanted her gone so badly, they should have hired a professional and finished her off on Earth. Waiting until she was on the ship, in the environment that had made her famous to begin with, was just stupid.
Eddie didn't two million credits that badly.
No one did.
He knew there'd been attempts already. Everyone knew exactly what had happened when she'd ended up locked in that conference room the other day and no one was stupid enough to think Sing's stunt was really just a prank.
He was sure there'd been other attempts too and the Federals were covering them up.
Why was the big question.
They could drum up a lot of sympathy and support if it came out that everyone was trying to kill Fintan. Even more if they'd figured out the new government had set her up.
It might even be enough to garner her support from the Republicans onboard.
The only reason not to publicize everything was if they had some kind of plan they were working on their side, which was concerning on a whole new level.
Fintan had been most famous during the war for two things: her instincts and her aggression. Together they'd left her undefeated on the battlefield.
If she was planning something involving the attempts, there was a good chance it was going to be very, very bad for the Republicans on the Loss.
Maybe the Republicans everywhere.
Would she go up against the new government?
One against the might of millions?
She was a bold fighter for sure, but that seemed a bit much even for her.
So why hide it? Did she already know who'd been approached? Eddie hadn't been stupid enough to think he was the only one, but the man who'd approached him had made it seem like they were working hard to keep it secret. How many people would they risk approaching?
What if it came out? The new government was still relatively unstable, it wouldn't be able to survive a huge scandal like going back on its word regarding the treatment of the soldiers who'd managed to survive the war. Especially not when failed governments had been such a huge part of the civil war and Fintan was such a well-known figure.
Despite being well known for her viciousness in battle, Fintan was relatively well respected by both sides. There were no known instances of her breaking the Rules of Engagement, targeting or using civilians in battle, or breaking the Intergalactic Law of War.
Even the harshest critics had given credit where credit was due to someone who'd managed to win while following all the rules.
~ tbc