A Spaceman

Chapter 8--Several hours later...

"Stay behind me," I say, pushing Tony back behind me as I punch the controls on the computer. We are overcome, I know that already. And I do exactly what I told Titus I would. What would he or I do in an impossible situation? Throw ourselves upon our swords. Julius Caesar. Never so many good death scenes in one play again.

"What are you doing?" he asked, his voice coming fast through the comm. We used to be connected to ten in our unit. He and I are the only ones standing. "If I blow up the reactors, then every Isylgyn on this ship dies," I say.

"But we die," Tony whispers.

"We're going to die anyway," I say, heavily.

"Giving up so soon Quinn?" Major Card asks, his familiar voice coming into my ear. He floats into the room and seals the door behind himself. He is splattered with black Isylgyn blood, the stars on his shoulder nearly blotted out by it. there are acid marks in his uniform, but nothing serious. He seals the door just as there is a splatter-like bang, of something squishy with tentacles hitting the door with its four hundred pound mass of alien flesh. I wince. I didn't want to die this way. I wanted to die flying. Funny that I should think that now. Where's Terrance. Already dead, all of them are. No. Others could be alive you are. But you know he's not. Damn it Quinn think. Think.

"We are probably the only three left alive," I say, annoyed. Why won't the codes work? My emergency access code, Terrance issued it to me and all other officers so that we could---Terrance. No don't. not now. you're going to see him soon anyway damn it just end this right.

"No, actually, Thorn was alive," Major Card says, coming over to the computer, so calm. His voice is always so calm, when we were flying, now when we're dying his voice is so calm, so soothing, "They captured him. I would have shot one of them but we're having a problem with these." He releases his gun, letting it float into the air. There are the bodies of dead Spacemen already floating around us.

"Oh, well then, let's not give up," I growled, sarcastically.

"All right, I admit, it is a pretty good time to give up," Major Card says, shrugging, "Looks like we're about to die." The door began to sizzle, they were burning through.

"If I stand at the door, they'll have to get through me, that'll give you more time with the computers," Tony says, softly.

"Just stay here, we've got five minutes at least for Quinn to sort things out," Major Card says.

"You might help, do you know how to get in?" I ask.

"No," he says, looking at the computers, "Shame, it would have been a good way to die. As it is, I suggest a murder suicide."

"What?" Tony asks.

"It's better than being kidnapped and brainwashed," Major Card says, shrugging. Still so calm. I thought it was a façade. It's not. this is really him. a spaceman to the end.

"He is right," I say, looking up at Tony. I can't let him be captured. I said I would protect him. I can't let this happen to him. The computer buzzes, asking me for another pass code.

"Keep trying, maybe you'll get lucky," Major Card says.

**

"What happened to your parents?" Quentin asks, as he and I unravel one of the tubes we need for the ship. Soren is sitting happily with Cinder, watching a live stream of a concert Quentin has, probably illegally, on the viewing screen.

"I only ever had a father," I say, "He died."

"Funny, last I heard Titus Card was alive and well," Quentin grunts.