Leslie Kline was brushing her hair out as she sat in front of the mirror in the ready room adjacent to the loading area. Phil came in and set his weather-immersion suit cap down on a nearby table. "Hey."
Leslie turned. "Hey."
"Pretty crazy stuff, huh?"
Leslie nodded. "I'm a little nervous."
The telepath smiled. "I'd be lying if I said I wasn't. But I'm not too worried." He put a hand on her shoulder. "I've got someone coming along to take care of me." Phil bent down and kissed Leslie's cheek. "I wish there were some way to make up for all that lost time."
Leslie smiled at him. "Maybe later." She gave him a mischievous wink. "Right now, I'm gonna need your help getting adjusted to all these people."
Phil chuckled. "I'm still trying to catch up with all these newbies. I'm planning on concentrating more on the objectives - especially this connection between Naecken and Velo."
Leslie frowned. "You can do it, right?
"It's not that." Phil looked down, lost in thought. "I'm not sure if my own defenses would be adequate to handle a being like Naecken."
"You fought the Jabberwock," Leslie insisted.
Phil nodded. "The Jabberwock was powerful, and it took a lot to beat him, but as twisted and bizarre and meta-enhanced as he was, he was still human, or at least not far removed from it. Naecken - he's, well, supernatural. I'm just not sure if I can handle a mind on that level."
Leslie ran a hand through Phil's close-cropped hair. "You just do your best," she replied. "And if you get in over your head, at any time, just call me."
"I'll do that," Phil said with a smile. He leaned over and kissed her gently.
The two were interrupted by a lightly-accented voice. "Mister Smith? Miss Kline?"
The pair turned to see a nondescript man in the dove-grey uniform of a former Soviet submariner. "I am Lieutenant Kozlov of the submarine Korystnyj."
Leslie stood up, alarmed. "I remember you."
The Russian held up one hand. "No, Miss Kline, I am not here to apprehend either of you. The terms of that contract expired some time ago. We had heard of the situation in the Antarctic, and Captain Tsulygin felt obligated to offer whatever assistance we can." He paused. "I hope forty-two KGB-trained commandos and an armed nuclear submarine can be of use to you."
Phil nodded, speechless. "That'd... that'd be fine," Phil stammered.
The Russian nodded, turned on his heel, and left the room, presumably to notify his superiors.
Phil and Leslie looked at each other.
"Do you think I should tell Grimm?" Phil asked.
Leslie pulled the ready room door shut. "He'll find out," she said coyly. "But we've got some spare time. Show me if you can use that mouth of yours for something other than strategic planning."
The hell with strategic planning Phil mused as he kissed Leslie passionately.
The two of them would be in harm's way soon enough. This might be the last time they could enjoy each other's company. Although with a team like this, and with this many allies, there was always a reason to hope.
