There was a special kind of purgatory that accompanied doing nothing while so much was happening around them outside of their control. In no uncertain terms, Sheriff Thompson forbade Whisper or Lieutenant Heart from going anywhere without an escort, just like the rest of their comrades in the aft medbay, or still at the airlock that Whisper’s ship was docked to.

  Whisper took some kind of solace in the fact that Commander Price was doing something close to a good job. She would have noticed if a missile or some other weapon system had struck Grimoire. However, the lack of explosions didn't tell her anything about how ARC 5 was faring. For all she knew, while she sat here twiddling her thumbs for over an hour, her comrades could be dead in space on the brink of annihilation while they tried to defend this ship. She didn't dare contact them. They had enough on their plates without having to give a play-by-play.

  Whisper tried to shift her focus from her thoughts elsewhere. Canine was mildly calm, talking to Lieutenant Heart, and she didn't want to interrupt the tenuous tranquility the two men had found reminiscing about food, of all things.

  Her eyes drifted to the bed next to them. The poor girl had passed out against the wall opposite Canine's bed. With the help of one of the nurses, the sheriff had carefully moved Sara to the bed. Whisper now knew her to be Canine's childhood friend, but had intentionally neglected to mention her state of shock or even her presence in the medbay to Canine. She knew he would worry or possibly get worked up again. More importantly, she had seen a mile away the signs of shock written all over Sara earlier, and had expected this might happen. She had seen this kind of thing before. The best thing for her was to rest. Canine and her could fuss over each other later.

  Even when they moved her, she had barely woken up in a nonlucid, confused state before quickly succumbing to her overwhelmed mental exhaustion. Sara was completely passed out now, so deeply that she could have been mistaken for being in a coma. Her body was just regulating itself. As much as the events that led to Sara's trauma were so uncommon as to be considered abnormal, her body's coping mechanisms were completely natural.

  Whisper had heard lots about Sara, as did most of the original Wojtek crew. It wasn't necessarily that Canine gushed about her every time he got a chance, more that he rarely talked about himself or his personal life. So the few times he did talk about it, the stories stuck out more. Any stories from childhood, he would talk about Mr. and Mrs Michalson and Sara as if they were his family. Almost everything involving his childhood involved Sara. Even after some teasing and even wagers regarding their relationship started it didn't deter him from still talking fondly of his childhood with her and her parents. This unassuming girl was littered in every part of his life he had ever shared with Whisper and the others.

  Whisper examined Sara more closely. Her face was smudged and dirty, as was the rest of her, from the smoke and destruction on their bridge. She noted the flecks of blood on her uniform, surely not her own. Whisper made another silent prayer for the deceased woman they had helped to remove from Grimoire's bridge in a body bag. It didn't make sense to her why Grimoire was so far out of the way and had gone off the grid. She wanted to talk to Lieutenant Heart to see what he had found out from the sheriff, or investigate further around the ship unhindered by the sheriff. On all accounts, Grimoire had been reported missing for over a week. But the brief info packet Maria had shared with Whisper indicated that Grimoire was flying under the assumption that they were just on their way to a job. A job that certainly Grimoire had been going through the process of refitting and preparing for, but had never followed its original expected route. Just disappearing.

  Sara stirred in her sleep, the first movement from her in almost 2 hours. Whisper watched as her eyes flitted open. They were a brilliant gray that caught the light, reflecting a faint blue hue. She was pretty cute, Whisper realized. Her blond hair and caramel skin, dirtied with soot, didn't hide her natural beauty. Whisper actively ignored that realization because one, Sara was Canine’s childhood friend, and the bro code forbade anything before at least talking to Canine. Two, that this was a horrible situation to flirt in, and three, poor Sara was incredibly vulnerable after going through such an ordeal.

  Despite all that, Whisper smiled at seeing Sara exhibit more lucid wakefulness. She still looked tired and mildly confused, but the shock on her face when Whisper had first met her was dramatically subdued. Whisper stood up and drew the curtain to separate Canine's bed from Saras's.

  “How do you feel?” Whisper asked as she propped her elbows up on Sara’s bed, giving a reassuring, warm smile. Sara blinked, her drooping eyelids and expression spoke louder to how she felt than anything Sara could muster to say.

  “I don't know, feel kind of… I don't know. How did I end up in a hospital bed?”

  Whisper tentatively put her hand reassuringly on Sara’s shoulder. Watching for a reaction from Sara to see if she was okay with the physical contact or not. Sara didn't seem to care either way.

  “You kind of curled up against the wall and passed out. You've been through a lot. It's completely understandable. I'm sure…it was hard for you.”

  Whispered almost said it must have been hard watching Canine freak out like that, or two random people she never knew before wrestling with him until he calmed down.

  “Is Grimoire okay? How many casualties do we have?” Sara asked. She still seemed pretty out of it.

  “Grimoire is pretty much okay, although your bridge is out of commission and inaccessible from that explosion. I don't know about casualties, but um… I made sure your executive officer was properly taken care of and is in the hands of your captain. I'm sorry for your loss.”

  Sara's lips curled, and her nose scrunched up, the beginning of tears forming in her eyes. She grabbed Whisper's hand, still resting on her shoulder, and squeezed. Tentatively, Whisper reached out with her other hand and gingerly hugged the girl struggling with her emotions. The damn broken Sara began to sob, hot rivulets of tears and snot running down her face. Whisperful handed Sara a tissue from a box strategically placed on the side of every hospital bed.

  “Who's crying?” Whisper could hear Canine quietly asking Lieutenant Heart. There was a garbled response that Whisper couldn't make out, too focused on Sara anyway. When Lieutenant Heart poked his head around the curtain, Whisper made a distinct “fuck off, not now” silent gesture.

  “That bastard who shot Jean rode the elevator with me to the bridge. I should have noticed he was out of place or the gun strapped to his leg. I should have called maintenance. I should have checked.” Sara berated herself and surely would have continued with the shoulda could've of self-blaming if not for Whisper.

  “You can only shoud’ve, could’ve, would’ve only now because you know what you didn’t then. It's not your fault what happened to your XO or your bridge or anything. Don't put any of that on yourself.”

  Sara blew her nose, considering Whisper's words. A light dawning in her eyes as she finally made eye contact with Whisper. Her brilliant gray eyes reflected hues of blue.

  "Who are you people?” Sara asked.

  “Me, I'm a licensed search and rescue full-fledged Valkyrie. Um, as for the ship that blew up the Enigma ship, which I'm all but certain was affiliated with your gunman that tried to take over your ship. Uh, I'll let Lieutenant Heart explain that.”

  The soft curse and thunk from bumping into Canine's bed timed well with the metaphorical bus Whisperer had just thrown Lieutenant Heart under.

  Whisper pulled the curtain back, revealing The Lieutenant standing between her and Canine's bed. Canine himself has his eyes closed, head tilted back in a resigned expression. His eyes had been cleaned, but he still looked like a mess. His usual bright, darkish tan skin was paler and marked by smudges of grime. His hair was unkempt and even dirtier.

  “Hey, Canine, your friend Sara's here.” Lieutenant Heart said.

  Sara looked frozen, unsure of what to say or do. Whisper leaned closer to Sara's ear and spoke quieter than her already quiet voice.

  “He's going to make a full recovery, even his eyes.”

  Sara visibly relaxed a bit, but her face stayed wrought with concern and hesitation.

  “You all know each other?” Sara asked.

  “Some of us longer than others, but yeah. We all know each other from before the Remnant coalition formed. Uh, I don't know how much of that you've heard of.” Lieutenant Heart said. Sara shook her head, not recognizing the name.

  “I should explain. I promised I would tell her about a lot of things, and this is one of them. Although I kinda hoped she would share some of the snacks I bought her when I did.” Canine smiled, but his humor fell flat. Before the moment grew awkward, Sara got out of bed and cautiously walked to the far side of Nick's bed. Whisper gestured to the vacant seat Sara was eyeballing. Whisper didn't need it. She was perfectly content staying where she was. Lieutenant Heart was the only one left standing as Sara settled in beside Canine.

  “I'm sorry, is that you, Whisper, or Sara that just sat down on my right?” Canine reached his hand out curiously, questing for Sara. Hesitantly, Sara reached out and brushed her hand against his wrist.

  “It's me, how do you feel?”

  His arm twisted to return her touch in kind, pulling away to pat her hand reassuringly.

  “I've had worse,” Canine said with a smile, but only he missed the sharp look of disheartened frustration on Sara's face. “They say I'll be back to normal. My sight might be blurry initially, but I'll have full sight back eventually.” The good news did little to cut the tension in the room. The awkward silence phased Canine finally.

  “Uh, Sara, these are my friends. Whisper, I met a few years ago, right before you went on your pilgrimage. Scott Heart, I met on the Wojtek, before he was a Lieutenant. Uh… I don't know where to start. Whisper, Scott, this is my friend Sara. I've known her since I was a baby and–”

  “Her Mom and Dad raised you like a second child.” Both Whisper and Lieutenant Heart chorused.

  “I may have mentioned you a few times.” Canine said, pulling away from Sara to awkwardly scratch his face.

  “Not really, though you barely ever talked about your time outside of HDF. So it was more memorable hearing you talk so fondly about your childhood playmate.” Lieutenant Heart said with a hint of teasing when he referred to Canine and Sara as playmates.

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  “You never told them about that one thing, did you?” Sara smiled, reaching out and squeezing his leg conspiratorially. Canine tilted his head back, catching on to her line of joke.

  “No, I never told anyone about the thing.” Canine started.

  “Good, can't have anyone learning about that one time either.” Sara kept it going.

  “No, never shared anything about that one time, or that other time.” Nick winked.

  “Oh geeze, that other time, pray the light of stars never shines on that,” Sara chuckled, her smile poorly hiding the sarcastic jovialness of her little fiction with Canine. His straight face would have fooled anyone.

  The sad smile Sara had on her face from their little misleading game made it worth Whisper holding her tongue.

  The anxiety and tension that had done nothing but tighten over Canine's demeanor for more than an hour or so with her and Lieutenant Heart was now dissipating the more Canine sat with Sara. His childhood friend's presence was like a knife cutting through the rigid shell he always wore. Whisper feared she had been one of the few people to see him open up. This childhood friend of Canines was practically melting through the heavy weight of everything that made up his mask.

  “So, how do you know Nick? Are all of you just friends, or does he have some kind of fan club with their own ships and uniforms?” Sara said sarcastically.

  “Well, I am just a Search and Rescue Valkyrie. I got my wings, same as Canine, through the Defense Flight Academy. Later qualified as Valkyrie in the Ring system, I just haven't had much HDF oversight after going independent. Back when The Den and The Roost were regularly making trips back and forth to the dust systems, I was stationed on them. After I served my stint in HDF, I fell in with Wojtek and other trade ships that docked or were leaving The Roost.” Whisper explained, still avoiding the earlier question about the Remnant Coalition. Just mentioning The Roost still hurts, memories of her old home, and lost love, painful but more bearable now. Thankfully, her fellow survivors knew enough about her to bail her out.

  “After the uh, well, before the Freebird event, as most are calling it, a lot happened leading up to The Den’s reappearance. Lots of ships of different factions, nationalities, and species all got stuck together. The 404s that had collected over the years on The Den found themselves suddenly in the majority when currency and federal oversight and government benefits didnt mean anything while we were stuck in the 4th dimension. Obviously, that didnt end well between the rebels, those that fled The Den and those that stayed. Regardless, I'm surmising a lot of it, but essentially, the aftermath of so many groups being stuck together and then separating formed a sort of alliance or coalition. Most of us started calling the members and organization that even remotely helped keep the den alive all this time, the Remnants. Just like Free Bird, the name stuck. So when a formal coalition was formed, you got us. The Remnant Marines. Hence the fancy HDF title I have, Sinni Jerik.” Lieutenant Heart playfully punched Canine's arm.

  “I'm sure that makes you feel better to have those bars, Thegn Heart.“ Canine smiled.

  “You know that I was made Housecarl before we made it out of the Rift, I outrank you in the clan as well as military now.”

  “You're not an HDF Lieutenant, and I distinctly remember being offered Major or whatever it is y'all decided on calling that grade higher than you,” Canine replied. Lieutenant Heart grinned back at him.

  “I'm still in charge of you if it comes to clan matters.”

  “Your clan isn't footing my medical bill, so this isn't a clan matter. Even then, by definition, I'm not part of the clan as a Sinni. So, anyone would have authority over me if I'm working with the clan again. Besides, what's the difference between a Thegan and a Housecarl? Aren’t they mostly the same?” Canine asked with a snarky grin. Lieutenant Heart opened his mouth to reply, but never got a chance.

  “Boys, boys, you're both big and strong. Now stop measuring your dicks, ladies are watching.” Whisper said, smiling along with Sara at the boy's banter. She gestured to the medical room and Sara as she spoke. There was a healthy laugh shared around the bed.

  Surprising everyone. Sara’s comm caught up with the conversation, translating some of the foreign words.

  “Sinni, meaning unclear. Far gone earth language matches 1, Old Norse, meaning follower or companion. 2, In some dialects, "sinni" means stubbornness, perseverance, or doggedness, often used negatively.” Sara slapped her comm to skip. “Jerik, meaning crater on Luna, Earth's moon.” She slapped it harder. “Scandinavian variant of the name Jeremiah.” Panicked, settling in, she hapazordly started keying buttons and smashing the screen interface

  “Thegan and Housecarl show multiple results for Old Norse hierarchy. Would you like to know more?” Sara fumbled with her comm, falling out of her chair, disappearing below the bed, only returning after violently finding the auto translate settings.

  The others around the bed looked at Sara, stunned. Nick's eyes cracked open, listlessly looking around the room, still unseeing. The three still had a blank look until Nick quirked a smile, snickering. His laugh was hoarse but merry. Lieutenant Heart bellowed a hearty, deep laugh. Sara's face reddened in embarrassment, strangely mixed with relief as the atmosphere in the room changed to something resembling normal.

  “I wish I could see whatever that was just now? Did you fall?” Canine laughed.

  “Yes,” Whisper said, wiping a tear from her eye.

  “I’ve had a hard day, leave me alone.” Sara Said, laughing with everyone else, just as they had at Canine and Lieutenant Heart.

  The laughter died off more quickly, however, Lieutenant Heart and Whisper, noticing Sara’s reproachful gaze towards the partially blinded Canine. He was the only one laughing now, as if he were oblivious to how critically injured he was. Flight defender gene modification or not, Whisper always thought he was far too casual with how much bodily harm he sustained over the years.

  “Canine, how are you feeling, bud?” Whisper asked to reassure Sara.

  “I have laughed more this last week than all of last year. I'm so glad you guys are here, and Sara, I probably still would be a miserable mess if you hadn't stayed on Grimoire.” Canine said with a broad grin on his face as he slapped Lieutenant Heart awkwardly and aimlessly searched for Sara with his other hand.

  Whisper leaned over and grabbed Sara and Canine's hands, bringing all three of them together. Sara smiled gently, and her regret melted away. Her eyes lingered on Canine, full of concern that ate away at her. Sara dropped her head down on Canine's leg.

  “I'm so glad you're okay. And thank you for getting me and the others off the bridge. The damage control team would still be trying to get us, and I'd still be stuck up there.” Sara said.

  “It's my job, and I was lucky to be tagging along with these Remnant brutes. Do you mind if I take Lieutenant Heart to talk? Leave you two here.” Whisper asked. Sarah murmured an affirmation, and Canine just shrugged. Lieutenant Heart had a knowing look.

  When they got to the hallway and checked that they were alone, the first thing that came out of Whisper’s mouth was a pent-up breath that sounded like a steam engine letting off too much built-up hot air.

  “Oh yeah? Tell me how you really feel,” Lieutenant Heart said.

  “Starting with the first thing. I got the distinct impression that Canine and everybody else on this ship think they're going to help search for the wreckage of The Den.” Whisper said.

  “According to the sheriff, it sounded like that's exactly why they were contracted to take her more to the Rift.”

  “I get that there's this information and science out there suppressing a lot of this shit, but how does no one know The Den is out there? Waitek and the rest of the remnant fleet have been going back and forth delivering food and resources for almost an entire year now. How is everybody we've traded with and every ship we have told to spread the news not change this?”

  “Feels more than just a psyop, somebody's actively suppressing information along with the other shit that has made it to the ring's government desks.”

  Even A.J. didn't know until a few weeks ago. I mean, he and Canine assumed The Den survived, but this has been going on for so long without any updates, and everyone is still thinking it blew up. I'm surprised Canine hasn't started fearing the worst.”

  “Yeah, about that. There's nothing to say he hasn't been thinking the worst might have befallen everyone after all this time. I didn't even want to touch that subject with him after how badly he freaked out earlier.”

  “Well, we need to make sure he knows. He probably considers it his home, or at least the crew and the refugees' his families. I don't understand how HDF just dropped the ball so much, even before they lost an entire spaceship.”

  “Grimoire doesn't seem to think that they're lost.”

  “This is so fucked up, I don't even know where to begin. What else did you find out from the sheriff?”

  “First off, I let him know everything I could, including about The Den. He should be talking to the captain or someone about it by now.” Lieutenant Heart said and continued to discuss the incongruencies of information with what Sheriff Thompson had shared with them.

  ***

  Back at Canine's bed, Sara and he sat oblivious to the conversation in the hallway. Sara had not lifted her head from her leg pillow. She felt that weariness and the stale air of numbness settling over her again. Not as bad as earlier, but still, she didn't want to move. She barely even wanted to think.

  “You smell really bad!” Sara said.

  “It's your fault for pressing your face up against my leg,” Canine responded by patting her head. His touch felt soothing, even as clumsy as it was.

  Sara raised her head and looked at her friend Nick. Objectively, he looked the same as he did when she first walked in, but now he seemed more normal. Maybe the fear and agony and pain were all in her head. Thinking back to his struggle earlier dissuaded her from the thought. She settled on her perception and his panic, both attributed to the frigid disposition she had shown him earlier. Maybe it wasn't even a frigid disposition, more that she didn't know what to do. She didn't know what to do on the bridge. She didn't know what to do when bullets started tearing up her bridge or when the explosion started going off. Sure, she had done her job and fell into default routines and completed her job. But everything about the last couple of hours seemed weirdly distant and intangible. Until now, until she was able to laugh and talk with her friend and maybe with her new friends. Whisper seemed kind, and she was happy that Nick had friends like that all this time.

  “Nick, I'm sorry you don't have to, but do you think you could open your eyes a little bit, let me see them?” She asked.

  Nick waggled his eyebrows playfully before so leave opening his eyes. They were that weird teal color, but still held the same shape and intricate details she was used to. They were his eyes, not dead, but alive as they always were. Even without his ability to see her, they shimmered playfully. He successfully winked at her before smiling.

  “Are they really teal now?” He asked her.

  “Yeah, it's kind of uncanny.”

  They said my eyes would go back to normal, but it'd be kind of cool if I could keep the teal color. Well, I still don't know what they look like, maybe I want them back to normal.”

  “Just focus on getting better so you can see again. You can worry about how your eyes look once you can view them yourself.”

  Sara tried not to think about his eyes changing color permanently. So much that she was used to about him had already changed. Ever since he arrived on Grimoire, he barely laughed, even when he made everyone else laugh. His face looked sadly thoughtful most days, not to mention all the Revelations about his PTSD and his struggles. Every day she was around him, she saw parts of the boy she grew up with, but struggled with the reality of the man and the life that had molded him.

  She put her head back down, weariness overcoming her, not fighting the sleep that was trying to overtake her.

  “Do you mind if I rest here? As much as it stinks, I don't mind the smell that bad.” She said. His only reply was to reach his hand up to rub her head and back gently. Touching her as much for his reassurance as hers. Part of her felt kind of stupid at her annoyance at the acrid stench of smoking grime that covered his natural smell. Another thing that had changed about him, he smelled like home comfort and rain. She was still self-conscious about her weird perception of his scent. No matter what, every time she smelled him, it was all it took to start making her feel safe. And that's how she fell asleep, safe and at home.”