Test of Faith - Chapter Eleven
Jezrael City
Pleione
Word of Blake Protectorate
27 July, 3075
Acadia pressed her hands down firmly on Paxton's chest and closed her eyes as she let her breathing slow, still straddling him. She could both feel his chest rising with each breath, and feel his still rapid heartbeat in his chest.
"Not that I'm complaining, but what's gotten into you tonight, anyway, Acadia?" he half chuckled as he spoke. She had dropped in unannounced shortly after sundown, and their lovemaking had commenced almost immediately. Pleione's single large moon was now well overhead in the sky outside the apartment.
She slowly slid off of him, then dropped onto her back beside him. She took a moment before speaking. "I'm leaving after tonight, Pax."
He rolled over onto his side and stared at her. "What? What are you talking about?"
She stared straight up at the ceiling, barely lit by the moonlight shining in the window. "Just what I said. You won't see me again after tonight."
"Is this some kind of joke?"
She ran her hands over her face, letting her fingers run through her hair as she let out a long sigh. After a moment, he rolled further over, swinging one leg over her so he sat astride her, as he gently took her hands in his. "Say something?"
She closed her eyes as she let out her next words. "I haven't been honest with you." His grip loosened, but he did not let go. She opened her eyes to see him staring down at her, confused. "I'm not a student studying here, I'm a mechwarrior in the CCAF. My name isn't Acadia McClellan, it's Acadia McCarron. The Capellan officer you saw the Word capture, her name is Faith McCarron, and she's my mother."
Now it was his turn to fall silent. He slowly let go of her hands and rolled over on the bed. She quickly rolled to face him, and put a hand on his cheek. "I'm sorry I couldn't tell you the truth before. I probably shouldn't even be telling you now, but I couldn't just take off and not say something."
He reached up and took her hand. "So tell me, were you just getting close to me to see what I knew, or what?"
She shook her head. "No, I mean....at first.... Pax she's my mother, I had to do everything I could. But we've spent so much time together, and that doesn't make it any less real. I mean, after a while, I realized....I just...am I making any sense at all? Please say yes."
He pulled her close to him. "Yeah, I understand. I just wish you had said something. I mean, I could have helped, I can still help."
She put a finger to his lips to quiet him. "No. We have a plan, and it's my risk to take."
"Wait a minute, you don't mean....you're going to try to break her out of there yourself? That's crazy, that's a suicide mission."
She nestled her head deep into his chest. "I can do it. I have to do it."
He sighed heavily. "Why now? If you wait, we can maybe come up with a plan and help you."
She lifted her head up and looked into his eyes. "No, it has to be now. Listen to me. Last night, a CCAF task force jumped in system. That means they'll be here tomorrow night. I have to have her out by then."
His eyes lit up. "A task force? So they're finally here to kick the Wobbies out?"
Her head sank for a moment. Then she lifted it again and stared at him with a renewed fire in her green eyes. "No, and that's why you have to listen to me, why I couldn't leave without talking to you. You have to get out of the city and away from any possible Blakist presence."
"I don't understand"
She bit her lip. "They're not here to liberate the planet. They're here to bombard the hell out of the Blakists. They're going to hit the fortress and any other Blakist forces they can with god knows what. Orbital bombardment, maybe even nukes, I don't know."
"There has to be something I can do to help you."
She kissed him gently on the forehead. "I have to go in a couple of hours. Just hold me till then."
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