Separation

Mildred followed and was astounded to see J.B., supported by Ryan and Krysty, hobbling across the main square, his wound still bleeding, while the growing crowd stared at their captive fellow Pilatan, with Elias holding the Glock steadily trained on him.

“Mildred, J.B. really needs some attention,” Ryan yelled as he caught sight of her.

“And I have something that I think, equally, is in need of your attention,” Elias added, gesturing with the Glock.

Chapter Nine

“Millie, where are you going?”

Mildred turned at the sound of J.B.’s voice. It was the afternoon following the blaster incident by the river, and after she had dressed his wound and shot him full of painkiller, it was decided that he would be unable to return to tree felling until it had healed. In fact, with the time scale under which they were now operating, it was likely that J.B. wouldn’t be able to take part in the evacuation procedures.

It was Mildred’s suggestion that he remain in the ville, where he could make himself useful by utilizing his skills to supervise the cleaning and packaging of the Pilatan armory. It would also give him a chance to restore to full working order the companions’ own blasters, which were currently lying idle. Markos had bristled when she outlined the plan, but as the Pilatan armorer, a man named Simeon who was known to be sympathetic to integration, had raised no objection, Sineta had overruled the sec boss’s objections.

Mildred had just left Sineta’s quarters on her way to a meeting with Barras. She was spotted by J.B. as he left the armory to fetch more packing cases while Simeon went through the spare H&Ks.

“John, I can’t stop right now. I’ve got to see Barras.” she said in a bright tone, one that sounded false to her as soon as the words left her mouth. From the change in the Armorer’s normally taciturn expression, she could see that it was equally obvious to him.

“Guess if it’s that important,” he replied, not even bothering to keep the sarcasm out of his voice.

She changed direction and walked toward him. “It’s not like that, John, and you know it. But I’m under a lot of pressure here.”

“We’re all under pressure,” J.B. answered quietly. “You’re not alone. How do you think it is for the rest of us, being in such a minority?”

“You know my views on that,” she snapped, then sighed as she realized how it had to have sounded. “Shit, you know that’s not what I mean. Look, if this is going to come off, then I’ve got a thin line to walk, as Sineta has left it all to me while she looks after her father.”

“Quite convenient for her,” J.B. mused. “If it turns to shit, then who’ll get the blame?”

Mildred shrugged. “Yeah, I know it looks that way, but trust me when I say that it isn’t.”

J.B. mirrored her shrug. “Whatever you say, Millie. Point is, we don’t actually see enough of you to actually be kept in the picture.”

“It’s hard, John. There’s so much to attend to.” As she spoke, she looked around the square and could see Markos talking to a sec guard outside the baron’s quarters. His eyes kept flicking across to her and she became acutely aware that she was being watched. “Look, I can’t stop to talk now. I really have to be getting on with things. After all, he is still baron, and I can’t afford to piss him off…for all our sakes.”

“I guess not,” J.B. said, sounding far from convinced. “I suppose I have my own work to do.”

There was an awkward pause and finally Mildred said, “Look, I’ll tell you what we can do. Meet me here at about nine tonight. I’ll fill you in on what’s been going down, and you can let the others know what plans have been made.” There was also the unspoken subtext that she would be seeing J.B. on his own. Right now, she wasn’t sure how she felt about that, but she didn’t want to hurt the Armorer at a time when they all had to pull together.

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