The Fight for Britannia Read online

  Taffy turned and jogged toward the ship. Grady wondered how she had the energy to do it; he was exhausted. What was she doing? Taffy jogged out of the ship holding the first tee-shirt she had taken off, “I don’t want to leave this behind to stink up the kitchen.” Grady was too tired to think about it. He waved her to follow him and led her to a door in the back of the cavern. He opened it and stepped aside. Taffy walked in and saw a large bedroom. It was impeccably clean and organized; Grady pointed toward the bathroom, “Go and clean up.”

  “Why don’t you go first?”

  Grady sat down on the floor, “I don’t have the energy to walk that far much less stand in the shower! I need a moment to recover. And how are you able to walk after all you’ve done?”

  Taffy shrugged, “My second job was teaching an advanced two-hour aerobics class six-days a week. Between what I made at the market and the gym, I was able to live comfortably.”

  Grady looked up at her from the floor, “Aerobic instructor you say?” Taffy nodded. Grady lowered his head and put it in his hands, “Go and clean up; leave your dirty clothes in the bathroom.”

  “Are you ok?” Taffy asked.

  “NO, I’M NOT OK!” Grady blew out a breath and said in a softer tone, “But we’ve made the transfers and you were right about getting it done before we did anything else. That’s a good thing.” Taffy nodded and headed toward the bathroom carrying the dirty tee-shirt in her left hand. She stripped the one she was wearing off and went through the bathroom door. Grady sat on the floor and fell back rolling his eyes. An aerobics instructor!? He closed his eyes and began taking deep breaths.

  • • •

  Thirty-minutes later, Taffy came out of the bathroom with a towel wrapped around her. She went to Grady and helped pull him to his feet. He walked over to the chest-of-drawers and opened two drawers. He took out a clean pair of cotton gym shorts and a clean tee-shirt. He turned to her, “You need to find something to wear. Look through these drawers and see if you can’t find something to fit you. You’re right about the tee-shirts, they pretty much don’t hide anything.”

  “But you’ve been nice enough to not be looking at me,” Taffy replied.

  “You just haven’t caught me doing it,” Grady responded. “You need your privacy; find something to wear.”

  Taffy glanced in the open top drawers and asked, “Do you have a pair of scissors?”

  “Come with me.” She followed Grady into the bathroom, where he opened a drawer and took out a pair of scissors. He handed them to her and closed the door behind her. Taffy walked out and looked at herself in the dresser’s mirror as she walked by it; she saw that the military issue shampoo had washed all the dye out of her hair and eyebrows. The dark makeup around her eyes was also gone and she took a breath. Her hair had grown out a lot over the last year and the hair on the right side of her face was long enough to cover her ears. The hair on the left side of her face was much longer. She stared at herself and looked around. She saw a small trashcan in the corner and picked it up. She sat down on the chair in front of the mirror, put the trashcan in her lap, and lifted the scissors. She evened the hair on the two-sides out and decided that she looked…forgettable, but for the first time in years, normal. She decided forgettable was better than freaky. The Hermit might accept a plain appearance.

  She moved over to the chest-of-drawers and began looking through it. She lifted a pair of the Hermit’s briefs, size thirty-four, and sighed. She cut through the middle of the crotch and stopped a few inches from the waistband in the back. She dropped the towel and pushed her head through the hole she cut and stuck her arms through the leg holes. She pulled the waistband under her breasts and went to the mirror. There was still a lot of her to see but the center was covered. The waistband was tight, but maybe it would stretch out; it was better than nothing. She sighed and wondered where she had gotten her boobs. Her mother was small and so were her grandmothers. She shook her head and went back to the drawers.

  Taffy looked in the next drawer and saw a stack of tee-shirts. She took them out of the drawer and saw some of them had long sleeves. She put one on and saw that it was bulky, and the arms were too long. But she pushed the arms up and they remained in place. The shirt hung down to her knees and she decided that wouldn’t work. She took the scissors and made a cut just above her hips. She took the shirt off and laid it out on the floor. She made a straight cut across the body of the shirt and put it back on. It hung away from her body but came down to just below her naval.

  All right, her upper torso was covered, well, as much as possible. She opened the next drawer and saw cotton shorts and sweat pants. The shorts could be tightened enough to stay above her hips, but the sweatpants were impossible; they kept falling down no matter how hard she pulled on the drawstring. She opened the next drawer and smiled; there were two stacks of spandex running pants. She had no idea the hermit was a runner. She pulled out a pair, pulled them on, and tightened the drawstring, and they remained in place at her waist. The legs were loose but not such that they got in the way of movement. However, the legs were too long. She sat down on the floor and she made a cut in the left leg just above her ankle. She took them off and laid them out carefully. She cut both legs carefully and put them back on. Perfect!

  Grady came out of the bathroom wearing a robe and stopped when he saw her. “Does this look OK?”

  Grady walked over and said, “Where did you get the bra?”

  “I made it.”

  “Out of what?”

  “A pair of your briefs,” Taffy answered. Taffy lifted the tee-shirt and showed him her creation.

  He reached forward and slipped a finger in the waistband on her right side, “That’s far too tight to be comfortable!”

  Taffy shrugged, “I have to make do with what’s available.”

  “Turn around,” Grady instructed. Taffy turned, and Grady looked at the tag in the back. He shook his head and walked over to the closet. He opened the accordion doors and reached up. He pulled two clear plastic bags out and tossed them to her, “Try these.” Taffy looked and saw two packs of men’s briefs size thirty-six. She raised her eyes to him and he shrugged, “When I was working an office job in the lab, I gained some weight. These were delivered when I initially arrived here, now they’re too big.”

  Taffy smiled and opened one of the bags. She made the cut and pulled off her tee-shirt. Grady turned around and she slipped the first pair of briefs off and put on the larger pair. What a difference!! She put her tee-shirt back on and smiled, “Thank you! These are much better.”

  Grady turned around and looked at Taffy’s shoes; the soles were burned smooth. He frowned, and she sighed, “If I didn’t have those shoes on inside the insulated uniform, I believe my feet would have been severely burned.”

  Grady nodded, “You’re right, your feet were the last thing through the rollup door.” He glanced in the closet and asked, “What size shoe do you wear?”

  “Six.”

  Grady pulled a pair of boots out and said, “These boots are size seven. If you wear socks, they should fit.”

  “What are you doing with boots this small?”

  Grady pointed into the closet, “The admiral sent them in the last delivery along with those two boxes. He obviously made a mistake sending them. The military often messes up orders.”

  “Did those boxes come with the boots?” Taffy asked.

  “Yes, they did.”

  “Do you mind if I look inside them?”

  “Go ahead.” Grady sat down on the bed and watched her pull a box out and use the scissors to break the seals. She pulled out a stack of flight uniforms and Grady’s eyes narrowed. She held one up to her and said, “This will probably fit me. It might be tight in the chest.”

  Grady looked up, “Go figure.”

  Taffy pulled out the flight uniforms and saw socks in the bottom of the box. She pulled out the other box and looked at him, “Go ahead and open it,” he responded.

  She opened it
and took out a helmet with a coiled cable attached to it, surprising Grady. She looked in the box and said, “There’s an envelope inside.”

  She handed it to Grady and he opened it. He instantly recognized the admiral’s handwriting. He started reading it;

  “Grady, I’m going to order Isobel to join you on your project. The Coalition is starting to act aggressively, and I don’t know how long before they do something dramatic. She has the scientific knowledge to help you get the job done and I need to complete your project as soon as possible. Good luck and let me know if you have any questions.”

  Grady looked at the date on top of the letter and saw it was dated a day before the admiral was executed. He closed his eyes for a moment, and then went over and lifted one of the smaller flight suits; it had captain stars on the collar. He let it fall from his hands and Taffy said, “These uniforms weren’t a mistake, were they?” Grady sat down on the bed and stared at her. She waited for him to speak and then said, “These uniforms didn’t come with your rank on the collar.” Grady nodded. Taffy hesitated and asked, “You’re a Colonel, aren’t you?”

  “How do you know that?” Grady quietly asked.

  “I saw the rank on the collar of the uniform you wore on the ship. One of the customers I made deliveries to was Colonel Tellin; he had the same rank on his uniform.”

  “You’re pretty observant.” Grady added, “Try the helmet on?” Taffy pulled the helmet on and Grady saw it fit. He knew that the admiral must have tried to order Isobel to leave and join him, but Grady knew she probably refused. She was married with three-young children and she would have resigned before leaving them for a secret mission. She made a mistake. The next day every scientist in the building was rounded up and shipped out for the Coalition’s capital; their families were not taken with them. Grady hated the Coalition with a pure hatred that filled him. But…there was no longer a Coalition to hate. The aliens that attacked the planet must have known that the Coalition was going to attack the Union and they waited until the Union’s fleet was destroyed. If the Coalition hadn’t attacked the Union, they wouldn’t have been so heavily outnumbered by the alien warships; they got what they deserved. But everyone else on the planet was punished along with them. He found no satisfaction in their destruction; the price was too high.

  Taffy saw his expression and asked, “Will you tell me your name?” Grady looked up at her and frowned. “You’ve never told me your name.”

  Grady thought about it and couldn’t remember telling her. “What do you call me?”

  Taffy shrugged, “The employees at the store called you the Wolf Man. I thought of you as the Hairy Hermit.”

  Grady chuckled, “That was appropriate. My name is Grady Henricks.”

  “It’s a nice name,” Taffy responded. “Do you have a sewing kit?”

  “Why do you need one?”

  “If I don’t sew seams into the cuts I made in the briefs, shirts, and pants, they’ll start to unravel.” Grady went to the dresser and picked up a wooden box from beside it. He took it to her and put it on the floor. He opened the snaps and lifted the top, exposing an old sewing machine, “Do you know how to use this?”

  Taffy’s smile was soft, “My mother told me when I was a little girl that every woman should learn how to sew. She taught me how to sew and embroider before I ran away.”

  “I thought you hated your parents! That’s what you told me the first time I spoke to you at the market.”

  Taffy’s eyes moistened, “That was an excuse to justify my bad behavior. I loved them very much, but I thought I had to be independent. Now they’re dead and I never got the chance to tell them how much they meant to me. I was so incredibly stupid.”

  Grady took a pair of soft shorts out of the drawer and went to the bathroom. He put them on and came out with a clear hard plastic box, handed it to her, and said, “You’re not the only one that didn’t get the chance to say goodbye. I suspect most of the billions that died would say the same thing.” Taffy looked at the sewing kit and lowered her face. Grady walked away and laid down on the side of the large bed next to the bathroom.

  Taffy took the sewing machine out of the room and set it up on a table in the main cavern. She brought the clothes out she was going to wear and started sewing seams in them, as she made cuts in other clothing. Something was wrong with Grady. She still didn’t know if he was going to leave her on the planet. But…he was at least talking with her.

  Chapter Four

  The next morning, Taffy woke and didn’t see Grady on the bed. She suddenly panicked and jumped off the bed and ran out of the bedroom into the cavern. She ran several steps and saw the ship was still there. She bent over and saw Grady sitting at a table drinking a cup of brew. He stared at her and shook his head, “You would have heard the ship if I had powered it up.” Taffy’s heart had slowed down, and she stood up straight. Grady nodded toward the sewing machine as he said, “I thought all the sewing noise you made last night was to make clothes that covered you.”

  Taffy looked down at the brief-bra and small cotton shorts she was wearing. “I’m sorry; I wasn’t thinking. I thought you might have left me.”

  Grady shrugged, “If I leave you it won’t be here. Pull up a chair.”

  “Do I need to change?”

  “I’ve seen more of you, pull up a chair,” he replied. Taffy pulled up a chair. Grady blew out a breath and looked into her face, “Taking you with me poses an issue. Two of us consuming our food supplies will greatly diminish the time we can survive on the ship. I do appreciate your changing your hair, I see you’re making an honest effort to convince me you’re sincere in wanting to stay on the ship.” Taffy nodded. Grady continued, “I know the effort you put forth yesterday and, though I didn’t want to be impressed, I was. I’ve decided that you can be an asset and I’ve decided that you can stay.” Taffy’s smile was huge as she jumped up, went over, and hugged him. “Hey, hey!”

  Taffy released him and sat back down, “What made you change your mind?”

  “The helmet you found,” Grady replied. Taffy’s eyes narrowed as she tilted her head. “You’ve demonstrated that you’re smart and observant. But my helmet won’t fit you and you’d be no help in operating the ship; that helmet you found changes that.”

  “So, you would force me to leave if I hadn’t found it?” Taffy asked.

  Grady shrugged, “I honestly don’t know. The decision was difficult, but fortunately, I didn’t have to make it. You can connect with the ship’s scanners with the helmet and you’re right about my having to sleep. I can see you now offer benefits that weren’t there before.”

  “Thank you.”

  Grady nodded, “But the decision to bring you along means I am going to have to do something I’d prefer not to do.”

  “What is that?”

  “We’re going to have to go out and collect more food supplies,” Grady answered. Taffy blinked. “I’ve used the satellite to look around the planet’s surface and I’ve found a regional food distribution center out from the city. It’s a huge facility and it wasn’t hit by the alien warships; there’s also no other buildings close to it. I suspect that’s why it wasn’t hit.”

  “What do you intend to do?”

  Grady tilted his head, “Go and make a withdrawal and you are going to have to assist me in doing it.”

  “What do you want me to do?” Taffy asked.

  “I’ll go over that after we eat something. You probably need to go and put on some clothes first. I saw you were sleeping on top of the covers when I woke up this morning.”

  Taffy’s eyebrows went up slightly, “It’s hot in here. I took off my tee-shirt and pants and was still sweating.”

  Grady blew out a breath, stood up, went to the wall behind him, and lifted a plastic cover. He made an adjustment and suddenly, Taffy felt a cool rush of air. Grady turned to her, “This facility is powered by a small underground reactor. I’ve tried to use power sparingly because I didn’t know how long I’d have to
be here; that is no longer an issue.”

  “Why is that?”

  Grady turned his eyes to her, “Because if the aliens come back to remove the survivors, they’ll probably start colonizing and we won’t be able to come back here. If that’s going to happen, it won’t be a long time before they arrive. The reactor is good for twenty-years and I was probably being overly cautious. There’s no reason to be uncomfortable. Can you cook?”

  Taffy smiled, “Of course.”

  “Then get dressed and you should use the food in the freezers. I’ll talk with you about collecting more food after we eat.”

  Taffy dressed and went into the main cavern. She took out the food for breakfast and thought about the helmet. She had read the letter from the admiral when Grady was asleep and knew that if that woman had shown up, she would have been killed by her or forced to leave the ship. Men by nature are protective of women and children, but women aren’t. That woman wouldn’t have hesitated to see her as a rival to her space and would have acted accordingly. She thanked the heavens that she didn’t come. Grady came out of the bedroom and handed her a box that had been opened. She asked, “What is this?”

  “What I originally thought was a mistake,” he answered. “I put it away and forgot about it until I saw you had cut your hair and washed off the makeup around your eyes.” Taffy opened the box and saw a large pouch inside it. She unzipped it and saw a complete woman’s makeup kit. She shook her head and Grady turned away and headed toward the ship. He said over his shoulder, “Try not to go crazy with that!” Taffy laughed, and he added as he walked away, “I’m just saying.”

  Taffy set the timer on the cooker and glanced at the box sitting on the table. She walked over, picked it up, and headed for the dresser in the bedroom. She sat down in front of the mirror and opened the kit. It was an extensive array of make up for women with lighter shades of hair. Taffy looked at her hair. She had kept it dyed black for years but now the real color was showing. It wasn’t really red…it was more of a cinnamon color. She blew out a breath and remembered when her mother showed her how to apply makeup when she turned thirteen-years old. Her eyes moistened, and she picked up an eye brush.