Chapter 4: Hostile Diplomacy

                                    

                                          



Jacob remained silent as he started towards the nearest shelf. Out of the corner of his eye he saw Liana wearily tread towards the opposite shelf and begin to collect various arms and ammunition. Jacob turned back towards his own gear, still annoyed with Liana's brutal yet efficient methods.
                          
"You're upset, aren't you?" Liana voiced, in a somewhat irritated tone.
                          
Jacob took a deep breath and turned to face Liana to confront her but was instantly taken aback. 
                          
Liana had started undressing in Jacob's presence and had already removed the top half of her armour and was pulling her sleek linen tank top over her head. The shirt slid off of her firm figure and left her chest bare apart from her bra. Jacob's face flushed read as he stared into Liana's amber eyes. He turned his head away and composed himself before replying.
                          
"It's not that I'm upset, its just that-"
                          
"The hostage's unfortunate demise bugs you..." Liana interrupted.
                          
Jacob was startled, he turned back towards Liana who had made no effort to cover herself and staring directly at him.
                          
"You knew?" he said in an angered tone.
                          
"Yes." Liana stated blankly, refusing to break Jacob's intensifying glare. "When I scouted ahead I noticed him, I calculated the costs and found it to still be more beneficial to have carried out the plan the way it was despite the casualties."
                          
"Cut the crap!" Jacob shouted. "There was an innocent man that died because you were reckless! Now his family have nothing but a burnt corpse left to grieve over!"
                          
Liana's expression darkened as she walked up to Jacob, so close he could feel her warm breath on his face. 
                          
"You think I don't know that?" She said coldly, her voice cracking with anger. 
                          
"It was him, or this entire goddamned ship."she spat. "I calculated the cost and did what had to be done." 
                          
With that, Liana turned and marched back to her side of the armory and began to remove the rest of her armour and clothing.
                          
"It's not about what has to be done." Jacob muttered. "It's about what's right..."
                          
Liana twitched but said nothing. Jacob turned back to his station and began to undress and then dress into his own armour in silence, the cluttering of the armored greaves being the only noise audible. The armour available was a lightweight fireteam close quarters design, which had been dyed a pearly white shade. The armour was a tight fit, hence the removal of all but the bare essentials in clothing. The helmet contained a visor with minimum interface but could still identify hostiles with weapons, which is all Jacob needed. Once he had finished suiting up, Jacob turned towards Liana who had gone with the same armour, with the only change being the hue of the suit. Her's was a crimson red and bore shadowy black streaks down the center of the chest and the arms. She fitted on the last of her apparel and looked up at him.
                          
"Ready?"
                          
Jacob nodded and started towards the weapons rack. Liana stood up from the bench she was sitting on and followed behind him, quickening her pace so that she could grab his arm. Jacob stopped and turned to face her. For a moment, the pair did nothing, Liana stared into Jacob's eyes and he wondered if he was going to receive another lecture.
                          
"I'm sorry." she whispered, at a barely audible tone. Jacob was surprised but said nothing.
                          
"I should have told you about the hostage and we should have worked together to find another plan but we didn't-" 
                          
"It's okay." Jacob interrupted,"What's done is done Lee, lets just focus on securing the vessel"
                          
With that Jacob turned and reached for a pair of plasma revolvers, sheathed them and proceeded to then equip himself with an standard 36. plasma rifle . Liana still hadn't moved. Sensing Liana's hesitation, Jacob placed his rifle down and reached for another rifle off of the rack. Doing a quick check, he made sure it was functional and turned to hand it to his squadmate. Liana seemed to have drifted into another world because she made no effort to take the weapon. After a moment, Jacob nudged her shoulder with the tip of the rifle to snap her back to reality. She looked at the rifle and then looked up at Jacob.