Page 27 of Subchief Flander

"I know," Hel admitted.

“That's the problem, isn't it? You're already missing the squad. Why don't you consider this an opportunity to advance your medical career?”

She knew she should, but she balanced both choices even if the squad had gotten a little extra time. The medical career just didn't seem as important to her, given the excitement of being on the squad and the difference that it made in others' lives. Warriors, in general, didn't need so much medical care unless they were in battle, and sometimes, there was little you could do for them.

“I know you're right, but it doesn't make any difference. Not that it matters anyway because the choice has been made.”

“Maybe once you get back into your medical studies, it won't seem to matter as much," Jeeter advised.

“I never left my medical studies. I just divided the time, and the squad got slightly more.”

Jeeter looked at her knowingly and said nothing more. Hel left the healer’s area and returned to Flander’s quarters, where she messed around and did not get anything done. Flanderreturned to his quarters around lunchtime and brought a tray for them.

“What are you doing back here?” Hel asked.

“I hoped you'd give me some news, and I wanted to spend lunch with the prettiest girl on the ship.”

“I'm sure you checked, and you know what the news is. We're expecting.”

“Why do you say that like life is over? You will bring a new life into the world, and we will have a complete family," Flander observed.

“Your life will hardly change, but mine will be turned upside down.?

“That's true that I have found an area that you might find interesting, although I'm reluctant to offer it to you.”

That immediately caught her interest. Why would he not want to offer it to her? That had to mean it was dangerous, so why would he offer it to her at all? The danger must not be physical.

“It's in surveillance, and that is a particularly tricky area. We are trying to determine our next steps as far as the surface goes. There are a large number of screens that review the activities on Purgatory. The destruction of the Blues’ headquarters has left chaos in its wake. Ortegas are being hunted, and their numbers are too low for them to take over as the dominant group. At this point, there seems to be no dominant group on the planet. Ortegas hunted the Blues, and now their numbers are too low to do much with. At least six other groups are on the surface, but none have large numbers. If you manage to get on ships and leave. We need someone to review the activities and recommend what we can do toeliminate the last of the gangs. One problem is that no one reviewing the screens has determined where the headquarters of any other gangs are.”

“I can do that. I know what you will do with the headquarters if you find them, but the planet needs to be returned to some semblance of what it once was.” Hel declared.

She knew it meant death and destruction, but that was all the gangs had been dealing with in the time that they had been down there. Hel wanted things back the way they were, and she was sure they could have a home down there, at least for vacations. It had been home to her, and it could be to some extent again. This would be where she could hide out when she had to deal with the issues of the Majuri world. Not only was this what she wanted, but it was also what her sister and brother wanted.

The job would be exciting, but the only risk would be if word got out of something she saw, and they felt she was the one who did it. That would be dealt with harshly because that was the Majuri. Hel knew how to keep her mouth shut, so she was willing to take the chance. Anything to move forward to her dream of the old Purgatory. She would do this and hoped that if the others had failed, she would find something they could work with.

It was the next morning, and she was starting her new job. She had a bank of screens in front of her, and she watched them intently. It didn't take long for her to pick up some patterns, and she quickly found the headquarters of the Ninjas. Hel also noted that all these gangs seemed to have human origins. That meant warriors would not have as much luck watching the screens as a human might. She thought that it took a human to catch the patterns humans followed. To a warrior, their behavior wouldmake no sense. Hel forwarded the information she had found and turned her attention to one of the other gangs.

A little while later, Kasey showed up to verify the information that Hel had sent in. The warriors working in the surveillance room still hadn't come up with anything. It wasn't their fault because their logic was different, and most considered humans crazy. Crazy was hard for anyone to understand. The warriors seemed to realize a breakthrough had been made and cast glances at her and Kasey. She heard a comment about awful humans.

"Hey, you," Kasey yelled. "I can see you mated to one of us awful humans. Then what will you do?"

The warrior who had made the comment turned red with embarrassment and said something that sounded like "I'm sorry." It reminded Hel of a comment her father often made about thinking first and speaking later. Shortly after that, Ranni and Flander came into the room, wanting to know exactly where that particular gang headquarters was.

“How can it be there?” Ranni asked. “There is nothing but rubble.”

“On top, but two stories made a warehouse if you go down below. It's the perfect place because everyone discounts it as not being usable. Since they aren't looking for a place perfect to live like the other gang did, they are fine camping out here because there's plenty of room and storage. Ninjas were warriors on earth that were stealthy and almost invisible," Kasey explained. “Once you know where they are, you can watch and see an enormous number of people moving in and out of this spot.”

It was true that once you knew what something was, it was easy to see the patterns that verified it. Ranni watched, and she could see when they nodded at each other, agreeing about whathad been found. Now, they would have to plan what to do about it. Hel stayed and kept documenting information until she found the next headquarters for a gang. If you knew what to look for, it would take about an hour to determine where they were, and which gang was hiding there. She finished her day finding one more headquarters for the Cobras.

They would never tell her what happened, but she worked it out herself. The next day, Flander gave her the day off. There were reports of bomb blasts on the surface, and apparently, they had decided to take out both gang headquarters. Many gang members who had access to ships took off. Others did nothing, seeing how hopeless it was to carry out what they had been sent there for. She was sure they would surrender and take whatever punishment was doled out. Some would probably be executed; others would be sent to one of the prisons that had been compared to an early Earth chain gang. A few, those with the talent needed by the Majuri, would be given a chance to work off a sentence, and if they did, eventually, they would be freed.

Hel tried not to feel bad because this would move them toward reclaiming the old Purgatory of her past. The people that had been taken out were killers, some of them sadistic in the extreme. She had only done what she had to do. Her problem was she had a conscious, and it was a very active one. That was going to make this harder. It would be on her mind no matter what she did. Hel needed to find a way to settle her mind and deal with her guilt. That wouldn't happen today. It would take time. Flander seemed quiet when she got back to his apartment. She suspected he was dealing with a little guilt of his own.

They had supper together and went to bed, and neither of them felt like doing anything besides trying to sleep. Both wrapped their arms around each other and eventually managed to sleep. In the morning, she wasn't sure what to do with herselfbecause she had the day off and had nothing to do with it. It was better to work so she wouldn't have to think too much. Hel wondered if she could work surveillance again or if this was a one-time thing. She decided to find Kasey because she might need help.

“Get bored?” Kasey asked.

“You could say that. I have a day off with nothing to do.”

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