In the nearly twenty-four standard hours following their duel with the Guan Yu, the Talons had finished their intelligence gathering and salvaging mission in the base on Daroon, and the personnel, along with the salvaged supplies, were brought up to the waiting ships. Hawke had sent Gordy on a trip to the planet’s PMC market to see if he could find various odds and ends engineers might need to help them combat the Guan Yu. A few hours later, Gordy had returned wearing a big grin on his face, and with his supply shuttle brimming with missiles. Hawke didn’t ask questions, trusting that Gordy had the problem well in hand. In fact, he was more concerned with taking up pursuit of the Guan Yu, which seemed to be taking a frustrating amount of time.

The Fury, though, was another story.  The initial attack on The Fury had melted away armor and severed a few internal power junctions. The last exchange of weapons fire stressed one of the ship’s dorsal shield generators beyond its limits, causing it to explode. Several crew were lost to the vacuum of space, having been sucked out through the hull breach, and one engineer was killed when the shield generator exploded. In all, they had lost eight, with about twice that number in wounded. Considering that The Fury had a crew of twelve hundred, in addition to its Marine compliment, the casualty rate was less than two percent. To any combat commander, that would have been acceptable, except for the fact that they had not yet succeeded in their mission. After assessing the damage, he had determined that The Fury would have to put in for repairs, which left The Black Wave alone to face the formidable Guan Yu. He only hoped they could track it down before it could repair whatever damage they had caused it, or before they lost it altogether.

Now, Hawke found himself restlessly pacing in his office adjoining this quarters, waiting for Gordy’s engineering team to finish unloading the supply shuttle, and for the last shuttle from the planet to arrive and be secured before getting under way. The waiting was getting to him. He hated the waiting. Outwardly, outside of his office, he would project the calm, collected mannerisms for which he is usually known for, but here in the privacy of his own office, he felt as if he was going crazy with all the waiting!

He knew it was more than that, though. Over the days and weeks since they had left the Jingashi Naval Station, he had caught himself occasionally staring at the newest member of their crew, Lieutenant Commander Tasha Altihkova, much to his embarrassment, for he had strictly disallowed fraternization within the company. He knew that more than a few members of his crew had noticed his looks, and had even caught Nathan hiding a grin when he caught him staring.  He had gotten to know her quite a bit better since they had launched on this mission, and had been continually impressed both with her strength of character and her skill. She was strong, yet not without her womanly graces. He never could have predicted the affect she would have on him personally, for he felt a growing attraction for this green eyed, dusky-haired Multani woman. With a sigh, Hawke flopped in his chair. He would have to do something about this, before it got out of hand. In fact, why wait?  Leaning forward towards the controls on his desk, he opened a channel to the ship’s intercom.

"Lieutenant Commander Tasha Altihkova, please report to the Captain’s office."  Hawke ordered over the intercom, then sat back in his chair. At least he would know.

***

Lieutenant Commander Tasha Altihkova heard the Colonel’s page over the ship’s intercom just as she was about to enter her quarters, and sighed tiredly. She had been on her feet for nearly all of the day and a half she had been on the surface of Daroon, working feverishly to gain every last drop of hard intel off the base’s servers. She was quite ready to just flop in bed for however long she could, clothes and all, before the ship was under way again, and she was required to be at her duty station. She wondered, sometimes, why the Colonel insisted on using her for virtually everything pertaining to communications. Maybe she had somehow made him angry or something, and this was his way of punishing her. But really, she couldn’t complain. At least, not too much. The pay was good, or would be once the company collected, and she loved what she did. Sucking in a deep breath and letting it out again, Tasha turned aside from her quarters and made her way towards the Captain’s office.

When she arrived, her hand paused over the door to knock on it, interrupted by Hawke’s voice telling her to enter. Stepping inside, she noticed Hawke sitting forward in his chair, hands on knees, and one leg nervously bouncing as he stared at her for a moment as she stood in the door, then he grunted and his eyes seemed to get angry as he leaned back and his leg stilled, but only for a moment before it resumed its nervous bouncing. Tasha thought the scene a little strange, given what she knew of Hawke, for normally he was calm, and collected.

"Come in. Sit down." Hawke invited. Tasha stepped inside the office, and closed the door behind her, but intended on remaining standing until Hawke fixed her with a stern gaze and nodded towards the chair across from his desk. Tasha, growing a little nervous, sank slowly in the chair, stifling the grateful groan she felt rising out of her throat at being able to get off her feet. As she waited for Hawke to begin, she noticed the dark shadows under his eyes, and how careworn his features had become since launching on this mission, as if the weight of the world was on his shoulders. In nearly thirty years of service to the Gadari Republic, what had his haunted eyes seen? And they were haunted, Tasha knew. Though Hawke hid it well behind a calm and collected demeanor, and an icy expression, there were flashes of humanity that surfaced briefly from time to time, waves of emotion that sometimes seeped through during day to day operations that informed her of that fact. For whatever reason, he struck her as a drowning man seeking redemption. He looked...tired. Yet, it was this same thing that made Tasha respect Hawke, for though he may lose sleep over his duties, he shouldered those responsibilities without complaint, knowing that it was just something that had to be done. Hawke’s expression now was one of careful consideration and of weighing his next words carefully, something he did often, and then cleared his throat nervously.

"Tasha, I have to admit that you joined this company at a strange time." Hawke began. "As you may or may not know, The Talons have drastically downsized their operations, and were about to transition from being a PMC to being a company of peaceful exploration." Hawke paused again as he looked at Tasha’s expression, which showed a hint of curiosity.

"Well, after this mission, The Talons are going to complete that transition, and so if you are interested in pursuing a career as a PMC contractor, I could refer you to some good companies." Hawke continued, then hesitated as if unsure how to proceed. Tasha waited.

"You have shown that you are good at your job, and there’s no doubt we could use you as well, should you decide you want to continue on with The Talons as we transition into exploring the unknown." Hawke said, then leaned back and sighed as if he had gotten something important off of his chest. Tasha was more than a little confused. Not by the offer, but rather because she had no idea why his offer seemed so significant to him. After her encounter on the Pripyat, the ship she served on as an employee of a newly formed PMC that was quickly destroyed when her ship fell to the Guan Yu, she had long since come to the conclusion that she was not interested in being a Mercenary any longer, which is why this offer really did intrigue her. She was a little surprised, but it was not an unwelcome gesture.

"I...thank you for the offer, Colonel. May I have time to consider the offer?" Tasha asked. Again, Tasha was baffled as a flash of anger distorted Hawke’s face, as if she had just slapped him, but it was quickly replaced with one of resignation, and then replaced yet again with the calm and collected demeanor she had come to recognize as the mask he wore on a day to day basis, showing those he commanded the calm confidence he possessed.

"Of course, Lieutenant Commander." He replied, suddenly formal. "I just wanted to offer you this opportunity. We would be fortunate to have someone of your skill on the crew of The Heaven’s Gaze when she launches." Sensing the sudden change in Hawke’s demeanor, and still quite confused by the whole scenario, Tasha stood up and at attention, to which Hawke waved her away, dismissing her.  With a stiff salute, she did an about face, and quietly left.

Hawke waited until the door had been latched closed before slumping back in his seat with a sad sigh. Well, there you have it, he thought. He had offered her a chance to continue their relationship outside the strict rules and regulations of a PMC, and she had coldly declined. Hawke couldn’t help but feel a little sad. Sure, he had accepted that his lifestyle didn’t lend itself to things like love and family, but that didn’t mean he didn’t ever think about them, or wonder what it would have been like to have a son or a daughter of his own. In fact there were times he had wondered if he had completely wasted his life because he had none of those things, but those moments usually quickly passed. Plus she was young yet, barely forty-two years old. Why would she bother with someone nearly past his middle years?

Hawke stood up and left the office, walking into the next room where his quarters were and shut the door. Moving to his hidden stash of bourbon, Hawke poured himself a small amount in a tumbler full of ice. Just as he was about to take a drink, someone pounded on the door leading to the corridor, though judging by the weight of it, Hawke knew who it was.

"Come in, Nate." Hawke called. A moment later, Nathan stepped in, saw the bourbon in Hawke’s hand, and closed the door.

"No more singing." Nate quipped, "The crew can’t take that kind of stress right now." Hawke couldn’t help but chuckle, then took a sip and sat down. Nathan followed suit, before asking, "So what’s the occasion?"  Hawke shrugged dismissively.

"You didn’t come in here to ask me why I’m having a bit of bourbon." Hawke prompted, trying to avoid the subject. Nathan cocked his head to the side, then shook his head.

"No, but it can wait. You don’t drink much, nor often, so you either think this is a good time to take a moment to yourself and relax a little, or because something is on your mind and maybe eating at you." Nate said with a knowing look on his face. "given the circumstances, I’d have to say it’s the latter." Hawke set down the bourbon, and then stared quietly at the glass, realizing that Nathan was right, then shifted his gaze back to his oldest friend.

"I asked Tasha to stay on after the mission, to join us on The Heaven’s Gaze." Hawke explained in a dead voice. Nathan smiled.

"And she either said ’no’, or ’I’ll think about it,’ didn’t she?" Nathan supplied. Hawke’s startled glance made Nathan chuckle.

"How did you-" Hawke began.

"It’s no secret to me that you seem to like her more than a commander should for a subordinate." Nathan interrupted. Hawke looked uncomfortable as he leaned back in his chair and crossed his arms, his drink forgotten. Nathan snorted and waved a dismissive hand.

"Oh calm down," Nathan said, "I’m the only one who knows." Hawke looked a little relieved, but then seemed to think again on what Nathan had just said.

"The only one?" Hawke asked. Nathan snorted, his version of a chuckle perhaps.

"Of course! You really didn’t think she would understand the simple offer of continued employment, do you?" Nathan asked. Hawke looked surprised, and then guiltily glanced at the half glass of bourbon.

"Exactly." Nathan answered, "Why don’t you try being a little more overt next time, and skip the bourbon altogether?" Nathan asked. Then he stood to leave.

"Oh, and we’re ready to get under way, Captain. Whenever you’re ready."  Nathan added.  Hawke nodded and stood as well.

"Very well. I’m heading to the bridge. You coming?"  Hawke asked, his glass of bourbon forgotten.

"In a few minutes. There’s something I have to do first." Nathan answered slyly. Hawke nodded, then took a moment to gather himself before stepping out of his quarters and into the corridor on his way to the bridge. Nathan waited a full ten seconds after the door had been latched closed before he settled into the chair Hawke had just vacated with a satisfied sigh, and took a sip of the bourbon Hawke had left behind. Everyone knew you didn’t leave a twelve-year bourbon unattended, Amateur!

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