"Thanks, Tuvia," Tawny said quietly as she got out of his sports car. He draped his arm over the passenger seat and leaned over.
"Hey, it's ok," he said.
"I come back and ghosts start haunting me already. Now I see why I left this place. Well, thanks for taking me home." She closed the car door and, fishing around for the house key in her little handbag, she fumbled with the lock. She wasn't used to keys and locks.
After she had changed out of her dress and into pants and tank top she poured a little iced tea she had made earlier into a glass and sat down on her couch. She stared at the family pictures that covered the wall, faithfully dusted by her friend. Circling her finger on the bottom of the glass she looked at her mom, then her dad, then her brother. Her stomach constricted with sadness and she got up quickly, wandering around the house aimlessly, memories drifting around with her.
Going out into the little garage, she sat down hard on the steps as she remembered the hot rod under the tan canvas she and her dad had been working on before he died. It was a candy apple red Diamond, a little powerful thing. It was halfway finished when she left; she didn't know if it was still fixable by now.
Setting the glass down back inside the house she got up and pulled the canvas off. It glittered in the harsh white light, as if it was happy to see her. She patted it with a little smile. She could smell Dad's cologne mixed with oil and gasoline and grease. And the smell of her cigarettes. Daddy hated her cigarettes, but he tolerated them because they had had too many fights over them, and his little girl was old enough to choose for herself.
She hadn't had a cigarette since she had boarded the Titanium. But she wanted one now. Maybe it would drown out Daddy's scent, and his memory too. It was too painful.

She pushed the garage door button as she flicked the wheel on her new cigarette lighter, lighting the cigarette between her lips. It was a nice night, and Daddy and her liked to work with the garage door open at nights. She popped the hood of the Diamond and looked down into the little engine, trying to remember where they had been working on on that last night.
Slowly she reached down, then pulled back and grabbed a tool from her back pocket and went to work.
Slowly she became aware of a presence behind her, and finally she straightened, wiped off her hands and turned around.
A shepherd dog sat in the center of the open garage door, panting quietly. He wagged his tail as he saw her eyes, and the corners of his mouth pulled back and he smiled at her.
She leaned against the Diamond, cocking her head and looking at the dog. "Are you lost?"
The dog didn't move.
"Are you visiting? Do you live nearby?"
The dog kept on smiling and wagging.
"Are you homeless? Do you want a home?"
After a pause the dog got up and trotted to her feet, then sat down again and looked up at her, still smiling.
"Hey, you," she said, reaching down and petting his head. "Stay right here."
She went inside and got two bowls, putting some chicken she had gotten from the deli for lunch in one and water in the other. Going back outside, she found the dog lying under the car. She put the bowls by the metal support pole and beckoned to the dog. He lifted his head, his nose quivering as he smelled the chicken. He crawled out from under the car and trotted to the bowls and buried his nose in the chicken, his tail wagging.

She laughed as she looked around at the buildings. "You know," she said, "I don't remember how to get back to my house."
"You have a house?"
"Yeah, a friend has been staying in it. I don't even know where I am."
"What street are you on?"
"Uhh...." She was surprised that she had to stop and think. "Tanga...yeah, Tanga 1454."
"That's on the east side of the city, right?"
"It was, I don't know if the city's spread. I've never been to this dock before. It's new." She stopped and turned in a circle. "Kind of sad that I'm lost in my own town, huh?"
"Yeah, kind of...."
"Well," she said, pulling her cell phone out, "I'm calling a taxi."
"Ok."
As she waited for the taxi company to pick up she looked at him. "Don't wait for me."
He shrugged. "It's fine. I'm trying to find a good time to ask you to meet us at the Navy bar tonight."
"Yes, hello, please send a taxi to the Navy yard, Dock 12. Thank you." She closed her cell phone and looked at him. "I'd like to know your name first."
"Yeah I'd guess you'd want that, huh? Tuvia Lova." He offered his hand.
"Hey there, Tuvia Lova." She took his hand. "Tawny McCallen."
"I like it." He smiled. "Are you coming?"
"Why not? When?"
"Two hours, at the Yatea Bar."
"Coming, then."

Tawny felt oddly female as she got out of the taxi in her black halter top satin dress. Her lips curved upwards as she drew stares. She pulled out her military ID from her small handbag and the bouncer did a double take--evidently he didn't see a mechanic in a sexy dress every day.
She saw Tuvia at the bar, and she sidled her way to the bar. Sitting down on the bar stool next to him, she put her handbag on the bar.
"Whoa!" he said with a grin. "Nice!"
Tawny laughed. Crossing her legs, she rested her elbow on the bar. "I'm glad y'all like it," she chuckled, looking around at his friends.
Tuvia flicked her knee with his finger and slammed his hand down on the counter. "Hey, John, get this hottie a soda, huh?"
She spun to face the counter. "No achohol?"
"It's banned in Gracian now."
"Good," she said. "I got beat up by a drunk, once." She looked sideways at him. "He paid for his sin, believe me."
He grinned back. "I have a feeling you are a blazer."
"I might burn," she said back.
"Hello, Tawny! I haven't seen you in forever! And who is this?"
Tawny almost turned around, but she saw the reflection of the girl behind her in the mirror. She didn't bother to face her, just raked her fingers through her hair. "Brittany."
"So, what number is he? I mean, in eight years with like what three thousand guys on one ship you can't have not hooked up!"
"Brittany, leave us alone...please."
"What? It's just a simple question. I mean, when you lived here I always thought you were an easy one. You always said no but I read people. You're so easy."
"Shut up..."
"Come on, tell me! How many guys did you hook up with?"
"I said shut up, you-!" In one, catlike movement Tawny turned and threw out her fist, connecting solidly with Brittany's jaw. The blonde screamed as she hit the ground, blood flowing down her perfect chin. Tuvia grabbed Tawny's arms as she lunged again, blindly wanting to hear Brittany scream. The bar had gone silent, everyone holding their breath. Brittany was the resident queen of the Yatea.
Brittany got up slowly, wiping the blood away. Tawny cocked her head, daring her to try something.
Everyone was watching Brittany now, and she could feel the stares. Finally, after a short staredown with Tawny, she backed up. "You're going to regret this," she snapped.
Tawny gave a patient smile, as if she was talking to a five year old. "Whatever, Brittany, whatever."
Walking backwards as quickly as she could in her short skirt, Brittany turned tail and disappeared through the door.
No one said anything, then Tuvia quickly let go as Tawny looked up at him. "You pack a punch, girl," he said as he sat back down.

Chap. 1

Blue flame shot out of the engine, heating the air into waves. The steam hissed from the catapult system and the control officer gave the signal. The pilot hit the afterburners, and the S-24 Chimera shot down the short runway, the catapult launching it into the air. The plane's chrome exterior flashed in the sun as it rocketed into the sky, banking hard to starboard to replace a damaged plane limping back to recovery.
The damaged S-17 Puma headed down at breakneck speed towards the deck; too fast for a recovery. Several firefighting teams were waiting with their gear, but the Puma never made it to the deck. The pilot blasted out of the cockpit moments before the wounded Puma smashed into the back of the carrier, exploding in a brilliant roiling red cloud. Teams rushed to put out fires and rescue the pilot, the alarm still blaring through the on-deck speakers.
Tawny stood motionless, watching the smoke drift up into the sky, thick ear protectors shielding her from the ear-splitting sounds of the aircraft carrier. Other mechanics stood around her, watching the hurry. Tawny could hear the dogfight four klicks south. Her eye could catch a faint flash off the chrome of a Chimera once in a while, too.
Three quarters of an hour later the warriors flew back in, stacking up in a holding pattern to wait for recovery. They came in low and fast, catching the wire and slowing to a stop in a second. Tawny took a ladder to a Chimera and climbed up to the cockpit. Unbuckling the pilot, she helped him out of the small cockpit. He took her shoulder and yelled into her ear to be heard. "The left aileron is sluggish. I got a bullet near it, and I think it hit something."
"Thanks," she yelled back.
For the next forty-five minutes Tawny crawled over that Chimera and three more. Slowly the cacophony of the gigantic ship quieted down; the planes were shut down, and the adrenaline from landing seven planes one after another had drained from the crew's blood. Tawny pulled her heavy helmet off and ran her fingers through her soaking wet hair, sitting down in the shade under a Chimera. She could feel the heat of the tarmac coming up through her clothes. She watched as the shores of Graician slowly appeared--first the bare smudge on the horizon, then faint outlines of the skyscrapers.
It would be the first time she had been in Graician for eight years. Even though she was a civilian, the Navy had asked her to stay on the Titanium for an extended period of time, and she had accepted. She had needed to get away from Graician when her parents died in a car crash, and the Titanium had been her ticket out. The ship was so big it felt like she was on solid ground, and the breeze of saltwater was readily available. It was her work, where she worked, where she lived. It was her life. And they were kicking her off. "A vacation," they said. This had been her vacation, for the last eight years. She loved this ship.

There were crowds and crowds of people on the piers, screaming, yelling, laughing and crying as the carrier was towed in. Confetti showered the people as the sailors disembarked with their luggage. Tawny waited until she was the last off, then wandered down the gangplank, her backpack over her shoulder. She dragged her boots through the ticker tape covering the asphalt.
"Hey."
Tawny looked behind her. A sailor was trotting down the gangplank with his bag.
"I thought everyone was off," she said.
"Evidently you were wrong," he said, coming up beside her. He was tall, with slicked brown hair bleached blonde by the sun, and his eyes were a sea green. "You did a good job with my plane. Thanks."
"What did I do?"
"I was the first one you had. The one with the bullet in the aileron."
"Oh, I do remember you. You were the only one who told me what was wrong with your plane."
"You're welcome."
She laughed and rolled her eyes. "Thank you."
"Are you from around here?"
"Ummmm...I guess not..."
"'I guess not?'"
"I haven't been in Graician for eight years. I was born here, but everything's changed a lot. Where are you from?"
"About fifty miles from Graician. My parents are farmers."
"Interesting."
"No," he said, laughing. "No, no. Very boring."
"Not a farmer boy?"
"No. Not in the least."

Hey anybody who reads this! This is my new story! Hope y'all like it! If you try to plagiarize it I will sue you.