Love is a Battlefield 

Captain Fox Stoddard didn’t know what to do. This wasn’t particularly unusual for her, as a freelancer in the outer systems of the galaxy she often flew by the seat of her pants, but she had a feeling she shouldn’t take the same approach to her love life. It was Valentine’s Day, but more specifically it was the first Valentine’s Day Fox would be spending with her girlfriend, Ellie. Fox and Ellie had spent years flirting but never doing anything about their feelings until they almost died trying to save the system and finally kissed. 

They shouldn’t have worked, at least on paper. Fox was a cocky, guns-blazing freelancer whose work usually lived in the gray area of the law while Ellie McGarry was a stoic, rules-loving commander in the Zion Fleet, the military force of the outer systems. They shouldn’t have worked, but somehow, they did. They’d been working so well that they had, of course, decided to spend Valentine’s Day together. Which brought Fox to her current dilemma.

Before Ellie it had been a long time since Fox Stoddard had done anything related to romance. Sure, there had been the hook-ups and flings, but nothing serious and not with anyone that Fox cared about as much as she did Ellie. She wasn’t sure what a romantic Valentine’s date would even look like, much less how to pull one off. 

Fox sat in the pilot seat of her ship, Polar Pete, and stared out the window into the vastness of space. There were so many thoughts running through her head. What if she screwed this up? What if she disappointed Ellie and she dumped her? What if she wasn’t fit to be a good girlfriend? She was starting to think she should just call Ellie and cancel when the comm console rang, startling her out of her downward spiral. 

Fox hit a button and a woman’s face popped up on the screen. It was Claire Frazer, a longtime friend of Fox’s who ran a salvage company with her wife. “Frazer, hey. Hi,” Fox said, trying to regain her composure. 

Frazer’s brows furrowed. “Are you okay, Foxy?” She asked.

Fox waved her off. “I’m fine. Are we good to go?”

Frazer didn’t look like she completely believed her but let it go. “We’re good. I’m sending over the landing key you’ll need now. Just park at the pad and Stripes will meet up with you there.”

Fox nodded. “Are you sure she needs us on this one? Seems like a pretty cut and dry retrieval. And it’s not even illegal.”

“I know and I know she can handle herself but Jacoby’s antiquity collection wasn’t exactly a secret. Too many not so savory people are going to know about it and show up to this funeral hoping to get a piece and I’d like my wife back unscathed for Valentine’s Day.”

“Fair enough,” Fox said. “I’ve got Stripes’s back.”

“Thanks,” Frazer replied. “You should have the key now. See you later.”

“Later,” Fox said. 

“Are we good?” A voice said from the doorway to the cockpit. Fox turned to see her engineer and best friend, Jade Valdez, standing there in a black dress that fit her perfectly. Jade was a knock-out even in her grease covered coveralls and when she actually put some effort in, she could light a whole room on fire. 

Fox let out a whistle. “Whoa, you got a date tonight, Valdez?”

“Yes, but also we’re going to a funeral, dingus,” Jade said. She gave Fox a once over. “Is that what you’re wearing?”

Fox shrugged. “Sure. I mean, we’re not really attending the funeral, right? Just giving Stripes some back up.”

“We’re still going to be at the service. Show some respect. Go change and I’ll land the ship.”

Fox knew she wasn’t going to win this argument so she begrudgingly got up and let Jade have the pilot’s seat. By the time the ship was on the ground, Fox had changed out of her usual cargo pants, t-shirt, boots, and beaten up old flight jacket and into some black pants, black and white checkered button down shirt, skinny black tie, and gray blazer that she’d rolled the sleeves up on. She had, of course, still strapped a knife above her ankle and her trusty blaster at her back under her jacket. She wasn’t about to go into this unarmed. 

When she met up with Jade at the door, she held her arms out to her sides. “Better?”

Jade gave her an exaggeratedly sweet smile. “Much. And now you’ll be ready for your date with McGarry afterwards.”

Fox moved past her to open the door. “Yeah. My date with Ellie. Not sure about that.” 

She stepped out the door and Jade was immediately at her side. “What do you mean you’re not sure about it? You’ve been all swoony about McGarry since you two finally got together and now, on the most romantic day of the year, you’re not sure? What’s going on, Cap? Did she do something? Because I will literally take on the whole damn Zion Fleet if she hurt you.”

“No, calm down, Jade,” Fox said, closing the door and stepping down. “We’re fine. I’m just not sure I know how to do this whole Valentine’s thing and I don’t want to disappoint her.”

Jade rolled her eyes. “Fox, you couldn’t disappoint Ellie if you tried. That woman looks at you like you hung every moon in the whole galaxy. Whatever you plan, she’ll be happy.”

“But it’s our first Valentine’s together. Shouldn’t it be special?” Fox asked, running a hand through her short, messy red hair as they made their way off the landing pad.

“You’re overthinking this as usual, Cap,” Jade said. “It’ll be special because you’re together. That’s it. It’s not hard.”

Fox wasn’t convinced but she wanted out of the conversation so she said, “Yeah, I guess.” 

Just off the landing pad, Fox spotted Bonnie “Stripes” Robinson, a tall Black woman with broad shoulders. She was a mercenary turned muscle for her and Frazer’s business and sometimes came along with Fox and Jade on jobs that were a little more risky than usual. Stripes gave them a wave as they approached. She had opted for black slacks and a black sleeveless blouse that showed off her muscles. “Hey,” she said when they reached her. 

“Hey,” Fox said.

Jade put on her best flirty smile. “Stripesy, I love this look on you.”

Stripes ignored her, knowing she was just doing it to annoy her. “Ready?”

Fox nodded and followed her towards a mansion a short distance away. Once inside, they found the memorial service set up in the ballroom just off the main entrance. Fox looked around at the extravagance in awe. She let out a low whistle. “Frazer wasn’t wrong, this guy had quite the collection.”

Stripes nodded as they took seats in the back. “Yeah, he was one of our best customers. Collected artifacts and art from all over the system.”

Fox looked around and saw that the other guests were exactly the types of people she’d expect at a rich guy’s funeral, all in crisp expensive suits or dresses with plenty of flashy jewelry. Fox figured she could fuel her ship for a month with just one of their watches alone. The casket was up front and running around making sure everything was just right, was a woman Fox could only assume was the mortician. Soon, she took a seat off to the side of the room and a man in a black suit stepped up in front of the casket. He cleared his throat and said in a deep voice, “Good afternoon, family, friends, and colleagues. We’re here today to honor the late, great, Sir Landon Jacoby. Before we get started, though, where is Kit Marshall?”

The mortician raised her hand. “Uh, I’m Kit Marshall,” she said in a small voice. 

The man grinned and six men that had been sitting in the front row all stood up and pulled out blaster rifles and pointed them at her. “We have some questions for you, Ms. Marshall. We’ve heard you’re in charge of doling out the bequeathals which means you have access to Jacoby’s safe.”

Kit Marshall shook her head so hard her glasses almost fell off. “I don’t. I just have data sticks for the people he wanted to leave things to. I don’t know anything about the safe.”

The man continued to grin. “We’ll see about that.” He turned to the men with the guns. “Three of you, bring her. The rest of you, make sure no one leaves this room.”

Fox watched as three of the men grabbed the mortician and led her out the side door with the man that had been on the stage. One of the other men shut the main door and took up a post in front of it while the other two stood in front, rifles at the ready. 

The room burst into nervous murmurs, all the guests looking around, trying to figure out what was going on. Fox turned to Stripes. “Think we’re going to have to do something about this?”

Stripes scanned the room. “I think we’re the only ones who can. What’s the play?”

Fox looked around, taking everything in. “We’re going to have to Die Hard this.”

Stripes nodded. “Copy.”

“What does that even mean?” Jade questioned. “I swear, you two have a different language sometimes.”

“I really have to show you more old movies from Earth,” Fox commented. “Basically, we’re going to have to sneak our way down to the safe. We’ll have to do it quietly so they don’t hurt that mortician or anyone else in here. We can’t go in guns blazing.”

Jade raised her eyebrows. “You’re not partially good at stealth, Cap.”

“I know but luckily we’ve got Stripes here. We can do this, we just have to figure out how to get through the side door.” 

“We just need a distraction,” Stripes said and she and Fox both looked at Jade.

“What? Why me? Why am I always the distraction?” Jade protested. 

“You’re terrible in a firefight,” Fox pointed out. “Plus Stripes and I are the ones with guns.” She turned to Stripes. “You did come armed, I assume?”

Stripes nodded with a grin. “Always.”

Jade sighed. “Fine. What should I do?”

Fox noticed the sound system up at the front of the room. “You got a data pad?” Jade nodded. “Hack into the sound system and…” Fox pulled a data stick from her pocket. “Karaoke.”

Jade pulled a small data pad out of her purse and took the data stick from Fox. “This isn’t going to be one of your dinosaur bands, is it?” Fox just grinned and Jade plugged the stick into the pad and heaved a big sigh. “Of course it is. Your Love by The Outfield.”

“It is Valentine’s Day, after all,” Stripes commented. 

Jade glared at them. “I hate you both. But let’s do this I guess.” She tapped for a few moments and then said, “I’m in. You two ready?” Stripes and Fox nodded and Jade said, “Alright, here we go.”

She stood up and walked into the aisle and hit play. The opening notes blasted through the speakers and Jade belted out, “Josie’s on a vacation far away…”

That got the attention of the three guards and gave Fox and Stripes the chance to sneak over to the side and slip out. Once they were out in the hallway, Stripes asked, “Is Valdez going to be okay?”

“Yeah, I’ve seen her charm her way out of much worse. She’ll have them wrapped around her finger in no time,” Fox said looking around. They seemed to be in a side hallway. “Any idea how we get to the safe?” 

Stripes nodded. “Yeah, Jacoby showed us once. It’s in the basement. We just have to go down.” She pointed to the staircase. 

They took the stairs and at the bottom, Fox peeked around the corner. Much to her surprise there were now twice as many guys with rifles, plus the ringleader. They had Kit strapped to a chair outside the safe door while the man in the suit interrogated her. Fox turned back Stripes and whispered, “So we’ve got a problem.” 

Stripes took a turn peeking around the corner and agreed. “There’s probably more guys outside too,” Fox said. “You stay here and keep an eye on our mortician friend. I’m going to call in some back up. Be right back.”

Fox headed back up the stairs and tapped on her wrist communicator. A moment later, Ellie’s voice said, “Hey, Fox, I wasn’t expecting to hear from you until later tonight.”

“I know,” Fox said quietly. “Listen, El, I’m in a bit of a pickle and I could use your help.”

Ellie’s tone immediately changed and she said, “What’s going on?”

Fox explained and Ellie said, “I’ve got your back. I’m not too far, give me fifteen minutes and wait for my signal.”

“What the signal?”

“You’ll know it when you hear it,” Ellie said and ended the call. 

Fox made her way back to Stripes and gave her the update. “We might not have fifteen minutes,” Stripes said, pointing around the corner. 

The man in the suit was getting in Kit’s face. “Tell me the code!” He grabbed her glasses and threw them on the ground, stomping on them and shattering the lenses. 

Kit cowered in her chair. “I told you, I don’t know!”

“You do and you’ll tell me!” The man grabbed the nearest rifle and fired off a shot just above her head. “Now will you tell me?”

Fox looked at Stripes. “You’re right. Ready to do something stupid?”

Stripes pulled out a pair of blasters that had been hiding in her boots. “Yippee-ki-yay.” 

Fox grabbed her own blaster and jumped off the stairs. She fired a shot at the guard nearest Kit and he went down. The other half dozen guards all turned and raised their weapons. 

“Who the hell are you?” The suit man asked. 

“Just a couple of cowboys,” Fox said. “I’m Roy and this is Rogers.” She fired at him, just missing.

“Get them!” He screamed and the guards started firing. 

Lucky for Fox and Stripes, they were both experienced in this kind of fight and they managed to stay up right and take out the guards. Fox took a shot to the shoulder but it wasn't critical and she was able to shoot back. 

Once they had disposed of the guards, Fox realized they still had a problem. The man in the suit had picked up one of the guns and was holding it against Kit’s head. “Don’t move or she gets it. Drop your weapons.” 

Stripes and Fox looked at each and the man cocked the rifle. “Do it,” he growled. They did and raised their hands. “First, I’m going to kill you two idiots, then I’m going to get the safe code, and then…”

They never got to hear the rest because there was a huge explosion upstairs that shook the floor. The man faltered which gave Fox just enough time to grab her knife and throw it, hitting him in the shoulder. He dropped his gun and Stripes ran forward and punched him in the jaw, taking him down. Fox retrieved her knife and used it to free Kit. 

“The hell was that?” Stripes asked as Fox pulled Kit up. 

“Ellie,” Fox replied with a smile. 

They grabbed their guns and made their way back to the ballroom where they found a dozen men on one side of the room firing at an upended table behind which were Jade and Ellie firing back at them. Fox picked up a discarded rifle and handed it to Kit. “Ever fire one of these?”

Kit took it and shook her head. “No.”

“Pretty easy, just point it at the bad guys and pull the trigger.”

Kit looked unsure. “What if I’m a bad shot?”

“Quantity over quality,” Stripes said. “You’re bound to hit someone.”

The three of them ran and slid behind the table with Jade and Ellie. 

“Welcome to the party, pal,” quipped Fox, happy as ever to see her girlfriend with her royal blue Zion Fleet uniform and short sandy hair swept to one side.

“Good to see you,” Ellie said with a grin. “How about we take these guys out?”

“On three,” Fox said and everyone nodded. “One, two…three.”

At that, they all popped up and started shooting. Fox, Ellie, and Stripes were taking out guys with accuracy while Jade and Kit provided cover with their wild shots. Jade nearly got hit and Stripes had to duck out of the way of a close shot but after a couple minutes, there was only one guy left and Stripes vaulted over the table and took him out with a few choice punches. 

Once everything was over, Stripes and Jade went with Kit to collect the data stick that was owed to Stripes and Frazer which left Fox alone with Ellie. Fox rubbed the back of her neck and looking down said, “So, uh, sorry I kind of ruined our first Valentine’s together with my hijinks.”

“Hey, don’t be sorry,” Ellie said. “There’s nothing I’d rather do than take out bad guys with you. This was a perfect Valentine’s Day.”

Fox looked up and saw Ellie smiling. “Really?”

Ellie took her hands. “Of course. Our first kiss was while we were pinned down during a firefight after all.”

Fox laughed. “We sure have a weird sense of romance. Happy Valentine’s Day, Ellie.”

“Happy Valentine’s Day, Fox,” Ellie replied. She pulled Fox closer to kiss her but as she did, pain shot down Fox’s arm from the gunshot wound in her shoulder.

“Ow, shit, sorry.” Fox said, letting go of Ellie to inspect her shoulder. 

Ellie shook her head with a smile. “Let’s go get you patched up and then I’ll buy you a drink.”

“I need like five drinks after all that.”

After saying their goodbyes to Kit Marshall who thanked them profusely, Fox and company made their way back to the landing pad. Jade and Stripes were giving each other play-by-plays of what had happened and Fox walked with Ellie, holding hands. “Man, I guess I’ll have to top that next Valentine’s,” Fox commented.

Ellie smiled and squeezed her hand. “I can’t wait to see what you come up with.”