Learning to Dance

get going.”
She returned the salute each ensign gave as they left,
casting troubled looks back at her. Pedro didn’t move.
“Ensign-”
“I can’t just walk away from you,” he said. “I can’t let
you do this.”
“It’s me or the whole damn fleet, Pedro,” she said,
feeling more certain with each syllable.
He was still shaking his head. She grabbed him by the
shoulders.
“This is what we trained for, Pedro. This is it, hombre!
I’ve got a job to do, that’s all. And so do you. You need to
get the hell out of here. Go! Tell Up-” but there she stopped,
because she didn’t know what she could possibly say.
His hands were on her elbows, and his face scrunched as
if in pain. It was a long moment before he spoke, and when
he did, his voice was dark, determined.
“Tell him yourself.”
His grip tightened on her arms, and before Taz could
react he pushed her backwards several feet, forcefully, until
finally he released her and the momentum propelled her to
the deck. She scrambled up in time to see Pedro punch a
code in the wall and the separation forcefield spring up
between them, hot and electric blue.
“Pedro!”
She slammed her hands into the forcefield, ignoring the
searing burn as sparks flew.
They looked at each other through the barrier, only
inches apart but it was worlds too far.
“Pedro,” she whispered this time. “Don’t-”
There were tears on his face, and on hers too. Their
wetness felt alien on her cheeks.
“It has been an honour, Taz,” he said, his voice distorted
by the forcefield. “All of it.”