The Commander's Lieutenant

Part 13

She barely reached his shoulder when he met her, and she hadn't changed. Up turned to Taz, sending her a little nod. She limped over to his side, her sneer never fading.

'Now, ladies.' He put his elbow on her shoulder, Taz shooting him a glare. 'This here is Taz.'

A collective gasp surrounded the twenty-odd privates in the line before them. 'And I'm Commander Up. You may have heard of us, and if you haven't, you will know us pretty soon.'

There were gulps all around the room, but then Taz's eyes rested on a private wearing his cap backwards and a stupid sneer on his face- he was imitating her. A trouble-maker- Justo lo que necesito.

'Hey you.' Up's hand flew to where Taz was looking- he saw it too. 'Come here a minute, son.'

He reluctantly stepped forward, eyeing the two officers with now terrified eyes. 'Put your hand on that wall.'

Up smiled at Taz, and she looked down to her knife.

After another hour of scaring and teaching the new cadets a few moves to dodge zapper fire (with many screaming examples), Taz and Up were watching the now sweaty cadets sulk off towards the cafeteria for lunch. She hadn't smiled the whole class, but now that no one could catch her, a large grin crossed her face.

'Shame we have to leave tomorrow, Taz. That was fun!' Up clapped his hand on her back, gently knocking her forward.

He looked down at her with wide eyes- Oops. Taz turned to him with a sneer and crossed arms. Thrusting out her arm, she threw a right-hook his way and he narrowly dodged it, grabbing her wrist. She struggled against it, kicking his legs out from under him. Up fell onto his back, and Taz jumped forward- her hands on his shoulders and knee on his chest. He took a few deep breaths and relaxed a little, and Taz let her guard down the slightest bit.

Then, he lifted his knee behind her and hit her in the butt. She did a somersault over his head, landing on her back. She jumped to her feet, and they circled each other with huge smiles. Taz waited for Up to dive forward, slipping out of the way and sticking out her leg. He rolled onto his back and flipped up, grabbing her arm and spinning her around. Slightly disoriented, Up used this to his advantage and grabbed Taz's shoulders, sending her to the ground. She tried to roll out of the way before Up could get down and pin her, but she was one second too late. He had her pinned, a large smile on his face.

'I win.' He breathed.

Taz fell back in defeat, flopping onto the floor. 'Cállate.' She replied, punching his arm.

Up jumped off her, holding out his hand. She raised her eyebrow at the gesture, and gently took his hand. He pulled her to her feet a little too hard, and she bumped into him. Taz stepped back with her lips pressed tightly together. She walked over to her bag, slinging it (and her zapper) over her shoulder. Her and Up walked back to the weapons room, leaving their zappers for the final time. The next time they collected their weapons, they would be about to board the Starship 15-A2 and take off into Space. Taz wouldn't admit it, but she was both excited and scared.

Up had been into space a few times as a lieutenant, but always felt sick during the take off. He and the rest of the crew had been on two missions in the one year they were together, both involving destroying hostile alien civilisations.

The pair made their way to Up's room, deciding to relax with a few movies before dinner. Taz sat crookedly on the couch, crossing her legs in front of her. In her hand was a piece of black material, scrunched up in her fingers to hide it. She seemed nervous, and Up had definitely noticed. Since the last time she was in his room, he had hidden the Spanish/English book in a small crack under his bed. He hadn't meant to embarrass her, and only thought she meant as a brother. He secretly hoped for more, but didn't know how much those words meant to her. After losing her brother, Up was the closest thing she had to family and he almost destroyed that.