As he strode toward the battered and begrimed airsled, he stripped off his mask and hooked it to his belt. Raising his talent, he asked Otak and Mariposa to meet him. The little owl swooped off the top and landed on his shoulder pad. Otak soon appeared in the open doorway, nose working and whiskers quivering. Rylando quickly scooped the rat up and into his chest pocket. “You’ve both been very brave. Triple treats when we get back.”
More carefully this time, he extended his mental invitation to the little kinkajou and held out his forearm as a perch. After a few hesitant steps, the little animal made an astonishing leap from the far corner of the sled onto his arm, then ran up to sit on his other shoulder and cling to his collar. He sensed Jhidelle’s presence encouraging the animal to trust him.
He stepped up into the sled and grabbed the face masks for the animals and the last filter mask. On his way out, he picked up the medical kit and carried it by the strap.
When he joined Hatya at the exit, he handed her the filter mask. “Just in case. The dust is bad.”
Hatya took it and led the way out.
Taz tried to split her focus as she tracked Po on her scanner while watching Moyo and Shen greet Lerox and the cats in their shared crate.
Hatya emerged from the lift lobby and went straight to Pelvannor’s unconscious form.
One of the knots in Taz’s stomach untwisted when she saw Rylando, a little worse for wear, emerge and cross to her. Mariposa and the kinkajou riding on his shoulders gave his GSAR uniform an eccentric flair.
His eyes flicked to the new dents and scratches on her suit before meeting her gaze. “You okay?”
“Green go. My suit took the damage. You?”
He touched the swollen red mark on the side of his face. “Nothing a burn patch and a couple of bruise washers can’t fix.” His head circled in a quick neck stretch. That familiar gesture told her he’d been under a lot of stress.
Hatya used the ship-loader assist frame’s forks to lift Pelvannor. “Want me to take the kid’s pet to her?”
Rylando nodded and walked closer to her, arm extended up to Hatya’s shoulder height. “Go on. She’s only scary on the outside.”
The little brown creature obligingly crawled onto Hatya’s shoulder and burrowed itself under her hair and wrapped its long tail around her neck.
A delighted smile lit Hatya’s face. “Don’t tell any other Jumpers about this, or I’ll never live it down.” She turned to leave. “Keep in touch.”
A pang of loss went through Taz. She’d probably never see either Hatya or Rylando again after the GSAR reorganization.
Rylando squared his shoulders. “Where is Po taking Stramlo?”
She ordered herself to focus on the here and now. “Probably closer to the hypercube facility below. I’m guessing he needs Stramlo, or at least his biometrics, to operate the detonator.” She pointed to his team. “Want me to carry the crate, or are they walking with us?”
He looked at them for a long moment. “Shen and Moyo want to walk. Lerox and the cats will ride.”
“Copy that.” She sank to one knee to give him easier access to the back of her suit. “Hook it up.”
He rapped his knuckles twice on her shoulder plate when he was done. “Thank you for not asking me to leave them.”
The implications of his words sank in as she rose to her feet. “Captain Bhayrip is a platinum-plated asshole.” Jutting her chin forward unrepentantly, she added, “And I’ll say it again for the official record if you want, Field Commander, sir.”
Hands on his hips, he gave her a mock glare. “Just for that, I’m promoting you to Field Co-Commander as of right now. Let’s go after those lifesigns.”
Amusement relaxed some of her tension as she turned toward and started on the path Po had taken. “The scanners say they’re still on the move.” She held out her arm to show him the holo map and the realtime scanner trace.
Rylando walked beside her. “I’m assuming the detonator won’t work.” His tone held a note of uncertainty.
“I disabled the timers.” She’d wait to tell him how many there had been. He might not appreciate how she’d used his team to help. “Damn, I wish we had our flying camera set.”
“We have the next best thing.” Mariposa launched herself from his shoulder and flew ahead of them. He slid the medical pack around so he could wear it as a backpack. “Po sure was talkative all of a sudden.”
Taz appreciated his circumspect phrasing. “I asked the ERC if they had any sifters who might help make him more tractable.” She’d gotten the idea from the instructor they’d rescued that morning. “Probably needed more time.”
She glanced at Rylando but couldn’t tell if he was upset. GSAR rescuers weren’t supposed to use their talents that way. Asking a civilian to do it was a gray area headed toward black.
“Oh, so that’s how you knew he was lying. And that he’s a ramper.”
Oops. That had been her. “Sifter talents are interesting, aren’t they?”
“Yeah, they’re ace. Wish I knew...” His feet slowed. “Mariposa found them. Po isn’t dragging Stramlo anymore, but he’s still holding the beamer on him. They’re stopping. Po is telling Stramlo to set the countdown. Stramlo is shaking his head.”
Taz held up her scanning holo map again. “They’re in this short hallway. If I distract Po, you and the dogs can streak by and pull Stramlo around the corner.”
He stopped and frowned at her. “He’s fast. Your suit is not beamer proof.”
She slowed and turned to face him as she walked backward. “Yeah, but it’s beamer-resistant.” When his frown deepened, she stopped. “I think this ends in tragedy if we wait for law enforcement. But I know it’s stretching ‘rescue’ to the breaking point, and maybe I’m thinking with adrenalin instead of brain cells. Your call, Subcaptain. What do you want to do?”
Emotions flickered across his face too fast for her to interpret. “I want you safe.” He blew out a heavy breath. “But we’re in the rescue business, and I can’t think of a better way to save Stramlo.”
Of course her stupid heart would pick that completely inappropriate moment to urge her to ask him what else he wanted, and tell him what she wanted, too. She shook it off. “Ready-set, then. You might need room to run. Scans aren’t definitive. Can Mariposa tell us if that far hall is clear?”
He snorted. “Only if Po is blind to an owl flying past him.”
“Good point. Okay, new gambit. I’ll cover our retreat while you jet out with our prize.”
Hatya’s tone sounded in her earwire. “You GSAR people sure have interesting conversations. If Po needs to hear an explosion, we can give him one.”
Taz had forgotten Rylando’s earwire was on broadcast. She hoped she hadn’t said anything that required an apology later. “I’ll keep that in mind.”
“Out of time,” said Rylando. “Stramlo’s opening his bag.”
This would probably top her list of career-ending maneuvers, but she had to try. “Green go.” As she walked, she deployed her suit’s helmet. Better a communication barrier than a beamer to the face.
She rounded the corner into a long hallway that her scanner told her made a U-turn at the end. Deliberately clomping so her footsteps would echo, she let her suit amplify her voice. “Hello. Galactic Search and Rescue. Do you need assistance?”
“Yeah, sure. This building stinks.” shouted Po. Her suit’s audio easily picked up his hissed whisper to Stramlo. “Send the code now or I’m telling them you self-terminated.”
Taz increased her volume. “How about you, Engineer Stramlo?”
In her earwire, she heard Rylando tell Hatya to ready her explosion.
“Er,” replied Stramlo. “Yes. I’d very much like to leave.”
“Now,” said Rylando.
A second later, the floor vibrated with a satisfying whump. Taz eyed the ceiling, hoping her scans were right about it holding in this part of the building.
She added concern to her voice. “Might be an after
shock. Everyone all right?”
“Help! Get us out of here.” Stramlo sounded panicked.
“Almost there.” With one backward glance to make sure Rylando and the animals were ready, she turned the corner at the end of the hall. “There you are. No need for the weapon, sir. The path is clear from here to the exit.”
“Of course.” Po looked considerably more relaxed than before as he pocketed the beamer. “Let’s go.”
Stramlo, clutching a thick, dull-gray tablet to his chest. He lurched forward and picked up speed, almost running toward her.
Po scooped up Stramlo’s fallen bag and followed at a more leisurely pace.
Taz fired up her sifter talent and tried to get a reading on Po. No violence haze for now. She really needed to learn how to use her talent better.
Stramlo rounded the corner, then stumbled to a halt when he saw Rylando and the dogs. “Where is my daughter?”
Rylando motioned him forward. “I’ll take you to her.” He turned to lead with a brisk walk that Stramlo emulated.
Taz tracked Po, timing her move so she stepped in front of him at the last second. He bounced back off her suit. “Sorry, sir.” She grabbed both of his upper arms to steady him, then let go. She started a countdown on her display. 15, 14...
“Ow!” He grabbed his left arm and rubbed it. “What was that?”
She stepped back. “My apologies, sir. I must have grabbed you too hard. It’s sometimes a problem with mechanized suits.” ...9, 8...
“Something poked me!” He glared suspiciously at her hand. The activation of his ramper talent felt like pinpricks on her sifter senses.
She raised her hands in front of her chest, one slightly higher and in front of the other, facing her gloved palms toward him. “Do you see anything that could have done that?” ...6, 5, 4...
He looked, then shook his head, then again. His ramper talent blazed as his hands reached for his pockets.
Taz grabbed his arms, harder this time, pinching into his biceps. “Careful, there, sir. Looks like you’re feeling dizzy.” With the drug she gave him, he should have been halfway to oblivion by now, not still standing. Damnit.
He snarled and pulled back with a jerk, freeing his arms. Before she could react, he jumped and launched himself off her chest, sending her back a step as he flipped in the air. By the time he landed, his hand held the beamer. “Step out of your suit or you’re dead. And so are those stinking animals on your fucking back.” A cruel smile played across his lips. “Maybe I’ll shoot them first.”
The anger she’d been bottling up all day broke through her controls. “Thank you for saying that, sir. Per Regulation 79-A”—she grabbed his neck with her teke talent—”I get to leave your worthless waste of perfectly good carbon and water right here.” She tightened the pressure on his throat. “Be a bloody fucking shame if something catastrophic was about to happen to this building, say, in the basement.” She took satisfaction in seeing the panic in his eyes as he lost consciousness. When she released his neck, he collapsed to the floor. Finally!
Rylando spoke through her earwire. “Make sure he’s really down before you transport him. He’s a twisty little shit.” His voice took on a teasing note. “And if I’m ever foolish enough to make you mad, oh respected Field Co-Commander, please consider this an advance apology. Sir.”
She took a deep breath and let it out slowly, imagining she was exhaling the anger out with the air. “Noted, Field Co-Commander.”
Chaos, but she was going to miss him. “See you in ten.”
9
Salamaray Township, Perlarossa • GDAT 3242.334
Rylando stood at the top of the shuttle’s ramp, watching the sturdy maple trees and admiring the red half-moon shaped seed pods. Their distinctive leaves danced in the hot summer afternoon breeze and cast dappled shadows. It had been more than a decade since he’d even been stationed on a planet, much less on a base with natural greenery. The unpredictable air currents that tickled the bare skin of his bare chest reminded him how much he’d gone without over the years.
The usual adrenaline drop-off effect at the end of a rescue he could handle. He didn’t know how to handle the end of friendships. Of partnerships. Maybe of his career.
He had zero doubts that the CPS would be willing to sacrifice the entire GSAR branch to keep the galactic peace. Or more likely, to keep their budget from bleeding out. But he couldn’t imagine what other use the regular CPS Minder Corps had for trained and experienced rescuers, much less a mid-level animal-affinity minder with a knack for training animals and their human handlers.
Moyo pushed her big head into his hand and drooled on his shorts. Which reminded him that if GSAR dissolved, he’d have to do something about his team. GSAR rules would no longer protect them from being separated. The regular military hated animals on their bases, stations, and ships. He rubbed Moyo’s ears and raised his talent to check on the well fed, sleepy animals who were resting in their nest or surface of choice. Even Shen dozed. “We’ll manage.”
“Manage what?” asked Taz.
He turned around to look at her. The first thing they’d done when Hatya sent them to wait in the shuttle was grab quick water-based showers from the shuttle’s full tank. Her sleeveless top and exercise pants highlighted her sexy curves and muscular strength. With a colorful towel wrapped around her head and piled high, she looked like a pre-flight Egyptian queen.
“Just wondering about the future.” He patted Moyo’s rump and gave her permission to investigate the interesting smells under the trees. She gleefully bounded down the ramp like a puppy.
“Me, too,” she said. “Any predictions?”
He sighed. “The CPS won’t know what to do with any of us, but they won’t let us go, either.” Shen’s brindle-coated form caught his eye. “We’re kind of like her. The controller gives her enhanced abilities to work with humans, but it’s wasted on owners who just want a pet.” He looked back at Taz. “Were you able to connect with her using the codes I sent?”
“No.” Her lips tightened. “I didn’t want to form a bond with her, then be forced to abandon her a few days later. It seems bloody unlikely that we’ll be assigned to the same unit again. I’m going to miss your team a lot.”
“They’ll miss you, too.” He’d wasted so much time pushing her away instead of inviting her closer. And now it was too late to change that.
Her gaze dropped to her toes. “If it’s none of my business, just say so, but do you have an emergency-shelter plan for your team? In case the CPS forces you to retire them?” She rocked back and forward on her heels and gave him a sideways look. “I don’t have much in savings, but I’d help you pay for long-term boarding. They saved a lot of lives today.”
The usual evasions stuck in his throat. She deserved to know the truth. “I know a place. All I have to do is get them there. It’s a charity for animals that GSAR thinks are missing in action.”
“Oh?” Her eyes widened in dawning comprehension. “Oh.” The corners of her mouth tilted upward. “Very clever. Much better than letting GSAR bureaucrats decide what to do with ‘retired’ animals.”
Before he lost his courage, he added, “It’s my life-after-GSAR plan, too. They’re a privately funded sanctuary on a donated chunk of land. They can use my talents. Maybe you could come visit, after we both term out.”
She stilled, then studied his face, her expression serious. “Do you like me? I mean, not just professionally?”
“Yes.” He tightened his fists in his pockets. “To be honest, I’m crazy about you. I dream about you. Very nonprofessional, nova-hot dreams.” The air froze in his chest as he waited for her reaction.
“Oh.” She blew out a loud breath. “I dream about you, too. Especially when you’re gone. You make me laugh. You make me feel safe.” She opened her mouth to speak, then stopped herself and shook her head. “And don’t we have the lousiest damn timing in the universe?”
A rueful chuckle escaped him. “Yeah, we do.”
&n
bsp; She put her fists on her hips and looked down. “In the spirit of full disclosure, I’m no prize. I have a history of epically bad choices in lovers. The last one set me up as the scapegoat for a massive heist. It made me so mad that I put in for a transfer to Unit 1051, then sent the damning evidence to everyone in his command structure right before the ship went transit. When he finally gets out of military detention, he might want to settle the score.” She ended with a forceful sigh.
Since she’d been so candid, he could be no less. “I’m no prize, either. I nearly killed a previous teammate when I discovered he’d been torturing Moyo for weeks. Hatya had to pull me off him. The only reason I’m not in long-term military detention with your ex is because I gave the asshole a concussion that erased his memory of that afternoon. He had a long record of instigating violence, and Hatya swore on her oath that I’d acted in self-defense.” He wasn’t proud of what he’d done, but knew he’d do it again in a nanosecond.
“Sounds like we both have a temper when provoked. I knew there was a reason I liked you right from the start.” She held out her hands to him. “When does your contract terminate?”
He took her hands and stepped closer. “Three years, two days. What about yours?” She edged closer, only centimeters away.
Her warm breath on his chest raised goosebumps. “Almost the same. A little under three years.”
“That seems like forever right now.” She looked up at him with her gorgeous emerald green eyes. “In the meantime, would you be interested in a kiss?”
“Hell, yes.” He slowly lowered his mouth to hers, savoring the anticipation.
A loud series of tones sounded in the shuttle. “Damnit, Silver Team, would one of you put on your damn earwire? I’m at the edge of the grove. I’ll be peeved if one of you shoots me.”
Taz pulled back from him with a laugh. “See what I mean about the lousiest timing ever?” She fished in her pocket. “Maybe we can revisit this later.”
“I’d like that.” He kept his smile, but he could already feel her slipping away. Crossing to the worktable where he’d left his clothes, he put on his earwire, then pulled on his pants over his shorts. Pain hollowed his chest and made the air seem too thin to breathe.
Galactic Search and Rescue: A Scifi Space Opera with Adventure, Romance, and Pets: A Central Galactic Concordance Novella Page 10