Brie stopped next to someone seated in a chair, bending over to give her report in a low voice.
The man leaned around Brie to shoot a surprised look at Kira. "As I live and breathe. Look who decided to grace us with her presence."
Kira blinked. "Diesel?"
A loud guffaw came from the man. "In the flesh." His lips quirked as he looked down at his lap. "What's left of it anyway."
Kira took in the empty place where his legs should have been. Everything from slightly above his knees on down was gone. A pair of robotic legs were propped up against his chair.
"Like my new legs?" Diesel patted the metal limbs. "At least the Consortium did one thing right for those who fought in that war. An artificially grown bio limb would have been better, but these aren't bad." He winked at Kira. "I made a few modifications, if you know what I'm saying. The only problem I have with them is that the cold can interfere with the bio feedback connections and cause frostbite where they connect to my body if I'm not careful."
"I thought you were dead. Reports said you were dead."
"I almost was."
Diesel settled himself more deeply into what Kira now realized was a makeshift hover chair. Those were anti gravs on the bottom. The buttons on the arm rests were what allowed him to drive it.
"I lost my legs in the process of abandoning ship. My transport was hit by debris. Ripped the back half right off. Luckily, the collision threw me into the forward section. Rapid decompression triggered the emergency hatch. Unfortunately, not all of my body was on the right side when that happened. The door severed everything from an inch above my knees."
Guilt choked Kira. "If I'd known—"
Diesel waved a hand, cutting her off. "It was touch and go for a while. It's no surprise I was reported deceased by mistake. The response team was overwhelmed. They did the best they could."
"Still—" Kira shook her head.
She should have been there.
Diesel was a friend every bit as important to her as the Curs. He'd been there that time she'd gotten demoted for punching a Consortium senator in the face for interfering in a mission. He'd been the first to shake her hand and tell her how satisfying it was to see her put that idiot in his place. There had been no recrimination. No talk of keeping her military bearing. Just acceptance and understanding.
He was the one who’d helped her come up with a protocol for if her primus ever escaped her control while on the ship.
Although he'd never been on a mission with them, she'd always considered him a Cur. Part of their family.
She'd mourned his loss when the Vega went down, and she still raised a toast to him every year on the date of his death.
"You had a war to win. Truthfully, I wasn't good company those first few years afterward anyway."
Kira's smile was self-deprecating. "I wasn't either."
Diesel let out a low laugh. "You made the entire galaxy aware of that fact, Nixxy. Everyone heard about what you did. It was what gave me the much needed kick in the ass to finally get over my self-pity."
While Diesel was speaking, he jerked his chin in dismissal at the handful of humans seated around the bonfire. They dispersed but not before shooting curious looks in Kira's direction that she pretended not to see.
When they were gone, Diesel beckoned her to take a seat next to him. Graydon hung back as Kira crossed the short distance and lowering herself into the camp chair.
Time had carved grooves into the deep brown of Diesel’s skin. The stubble on his chin and jaw had stray pieces of gray in them. He was only three years older than Raider, but it looked closer to a decade.
Diesel was studying her in the same fashion she was him. "Damn, it's good to see you, Nixxy. I had a feeling you'd come back here."
"Better late than never, I guess."
"Yes, I suppose it is," Diesel agreed softly.
Kira cleared her throat. "Your companion informed me of the memorial."
"It's nice. I think the rest would have approved."
Kira had no doubt about that. They'd have gotten a laugh at the idea of something being erected in their honor. There would have been teasing regarding how very sentimental everyone was being. Then they would have thanked those involved with a sincerity that would have made things very awkward for a couple of minutes.
