The Commander's Lieutenant

Part 33

She crossed her arms, still lying on the floor.

'You sleepwalked, Taz. Don't try and turn this around on me.'

Taz sneered at him, but was glad to at least have had a good sleep. They had a lot to do that day, and coffee plus a good sleep were definitely pluses.

Taz tilted her head a little as she sat up, still sneering at Up. 'Jou gonna tell me dat story now?'

Up thought it over, but gave up and nodded. 'Uh, yeah. I guess.'

Taz listened intently as Up finished his story, her chin sitting in the palm of her upturned hands.

'I sent Ally here, to live with Amanda. She had a little trouble letting me go, and she threw a tantrum. She still shouted those damn words Taz- but she slipped on somethin' in the yard and hit her head. She didn't react to me leavin' her for those three years, Taz. She was fine, but she snapped and... When she hit her head, she lost her memory. She forgot all about me, and no matter what they did, she couldn't remember anything. My aunt called and asked me what to do, so I begged her to take Ally in. Amanda changed her name to February, and called Ally her own. Lucy took it pretty well, already havin' loved Ally like a sister.'

Taz looked down sheepishly. 'February is jour sister?'

Up nodded. 'She knows she's stupid, Taz. She doesn't care. Even before her accident, when she was Ally, everyone called her stupid. She just got so used to it, it didn't bother her anymore.'

Taz felt as though she was about to cry. 'So, why did February join de Starship Rangers?'

'She wanted to follow Lucy's footsteps. I never thought Amanda woulda let her, but I was wrong. That day she came up and said hello to you- on your birthday- was the first time I'd seen her in three years. She looked so different, I barely recognised her. Her hair was always short, she always had dirt on her face...'

The memories flowed through Up's brain, but he had to stop. Two things in the world made him go weak, soft- Taz, and Ally. He blamed himself for everything to do with either getting hurt, and nothing was ever gonna change that. He snapped out of his state when he felt Taz's arms around his middle. She couldn't quite stretch around his shoulders, so it would have to do.

'Thank jou for telling me, Up.' She whispered, then pulled back. 'And, uh, lo siento- gotta run!'

She grabbed her bag and rushed to the bathroom, and Up realised she probably had to pee. Her red face was clearly from something else, and Up remembered he didn't have a shirt on.

He laughed to himself and dragged a t-shirt down over his head and went downstairs to breakfast- he had a lot of catching up to do.

'Lucy's crew's last co-ordinates were right about there.' Up pointed to a small red dot on the screen. 'It's been about two days, so we need to map out a possible search area.'

'Already done, Up. What did jou think I was doing on de floor? And why are we searching for dem if dey are hostages?'

He looked at her out of the corner of his eyes. 'In case they got free. Lucy's pretty strong minded, dunno about her crew though.'

The drop-pod rumbled closer to the red dot, and Taz's mouth dropped open. She scrambled to the window, face pressed up against it. The glass fogged up, and Taz furiously wiped it away. Up stepped behind her, looking through the window to the mountain of junk in front of them. Several heavily armed men aimed guns at the drop-pod, large grins on their faces. A large blue stripe ran down each of their faces, and lessened their menacing glares. The drop-pod stopped, and Taz felt a shiver go down her spine. She clutched her gun close to her chest, Up doing the same.

The ramp lowered, and Taz and Up slowly exited the drop-pod. A man with bright blue hair walked forward, holding out his arms. 'Hello. I am Marit. Who might you be?'

'I'm Commander Up, and this is my Lieutenant-'

'Taz.' She finished confidently.

'Ah, I was wondering when you would arrive. I believe you have come to negotiate for the hostages.' Marit turned and walked towards a large metal chair, spikes sticking up in every direction. He took a seat, and grinned at the newcomers. 'Well, negotiate.'

'We'd love to, but first we need to know what jou want from dese people.' Taz snarled.

He stroked his chin thoughtfully. I never thought I'd get this far. Hmm... 'How about, a hundred years supply of food from this planet!'

His men cheered, whooping and hollering. Taz almost burst out laughing, but restricted herself. Up bit his upper lip, and nodded.

'Wait really?'

'Uh, yeah! They woulda done it without you takin' hostages!' Up growled, sending a chill down everyone's spines.

'Oh. Well this is embarrassing... come on, I'll take you to the kids.' He started walking down a narrow hallway, Up and Taz not fully trusting him just yet.

They reached a barred room, and Up dropped to his knees beside Lucy. He reached through and grabbed her hand- she was cold, unconscious, and barely breathing. 'Hey, cuz.'

'Up...' She mumbled, squeezing his hand softly.

The crew behind her all cowered in the corner, waiting for Up to scream or yell at them- they would have preferred that to his silence.

Marit opened the gate, and the soldiers spilled onto the ground. Taz had her zapper aimed at Marit's back, just in case he decided to double-cross them. They thanked Up and Taz, and followed Marit to the front entrance. Up had asked one of the privates to help get Lucy onto his back, but she kept slipping. He gave up, and carried her in his arms instead. Her face was scrunched up in pain, and several large wounds covered her stomach.

Up leaned down and whispered into Lucy's ear, trying to comfort her. 'I got ya, Luce. We'll get ya back to Aunty Mandy, and she'll have you fixed up in no time.'

Lucy's crew was much larger than any Taz had seen before- she had two Science Officers, three ensigns and a tech, plus herself. They managed to squeeze into the ship, and Up laid Lucy down on the couches. Lucy's crew huddled together, groaning and covered in Dead God knows what.

'Where's jour teniente?' Taz asked, eyeing the Rangers as they flew the pod back to Amanda's home.

A high British voice piped up from the corner. 'Dead. That damn Marit blew his head apart before he could swear- and boy, could Capri swear.'

Taz felt bad for the girl- her unusually light brown hair was streaked with mud and pieces of metal- clearly, she had put up a fight. The remainder of the crew were boys, and only had a few scrapes to their cheeks. But each one also had a red mark on the right side of their face, slightly resembling a hand. Taz snickered and went back to piloting the drop-pod as Up took care of Lucy. He had fixed a few wounds, but she was bleeding rapidly.

'Thirty seconds to drop-down, Commander.' Taz informed Up, hoping that Lucy could hold on just a little longer.