There was a moment of calm as the messenger filled Keen in on the situation, and then a cheer broke out, loud enough that it was audible from the bridge of the ship. Nickie couldn’t quite hold in a burst of laughter, and a moment later Keen called her.
“You sly dog!” he crowed, laughter in his words. “How did you manage to get your hands on one of those?”
“Oh, well, you know.” Nickie sighed, playing coy for all of three seconds before her grin stretched even wider. “It’s not like any of the Skaines need that ship anymore, which means the ship doesn’t need any of the generator cells in its core. I just liberated one of them for a better cause.”
Keen laughed incredulously. “We’re going to owe you even more when you get back with the weapons,” he mused, though he didn’t sound bothered about it.
“Consider it a gift,” Nickie assured him primly. “That means you’re obligated to enjoy it.”
Keen snorted, and his voice was distant as he leaned away from his communicator to shout to the crowd, “No work until tomorrow, you hear me? Each and everyone one of you is under orders to relax!”
As the crowd cheered, Nickie quietly disconnected. The ship took off shortly after that, and she watched the crowd wave them on their way until they were all too small to see.
Rebus Quadrant, Aboard the Penitent Granddaughter
“You never do anything small, do you?” Grim observed, his words fond.
Nickie scoffed. “Life is too short as it is. I’m not going to make it seem even shorter by being small about anything,” she insisted, tipping her head back enough that she could get a look at him. “Speaking of small things, will—what’s his name?—Durq be joining us sometime today?”
Grim hummed a negative. “Probably not. For a Skaine, he’s pretty goddamn timid. Honestly, for any species he’s kind of timid.” He shrugged. “Food for thought, I suppose.”
Nickie didn’t say anything, but she did at least grunt in acknowledgment. Grim took it as a prompt to continue.
“About whether all of them are slavers and mercenaries and weapons dealers, I mean,” he added, his tone slightly pointed.
Nickie shrugged one shoulder and mumbled a noncommittal, “I guess.”
Grim wasn’t an idiot. He could recognize that he wasn’t going to get any other reply out of her, so he filed that detail away for later and let the topic drop. At the same time Nickie yawned so widely that her jaw cracked, and she slumped down in her seat.
Grim could see where it was going. She wasn’t going to be a conversationalist for much longer. Wisely he decided it would be better to just throw in the towel early.
“I could go get some dinner ready,” he suggested, heading toward the door before he finished making the suggestion. “After feeding the rioting masses without much of an issue, just feeding a couple people will be a snap. Plus, I found a few steaks in the freezer when I was cleaning up,” he explained, pausing at the door and turning to look back at her. “I could do something with those and a nice Beaujolais?”
Nickie hummed in absentminded agreement, flapping one hand at him in a manner that wasn’t quite dismissive but came very close. “Yeah, sounds great,” she replied. It was unclear as to whether she had registered a word Grim had said to her. She yawned again. “While you’re doing that, you mind if I…” Her voice trailed off, and she tipped her head back to look at him with as little effort as she could get away with.
“You go ahead and put your feet up.” Grim sighed. “I’ll wake you up when there’s food. Sound like a plan?”
She offered him a brief thumbs-up and kicked her feet up, crossing her ankles on top of Brandy’s rounded head. Grim turned away from her to open the door, and by the time he stepped out into the corridor, she was snoring.
He chuckled quietly and took his time getting to the galley and getting everything ready.
Chapter 19
Tabitha
Hlith’ven was late. Rotciv paced up and down, growled slightly to himself, and checked his timepiece.
Hlith’ven would be a good contact. He’d known that at once. The alien clearly thought he was too small to be important. Rotciv smirked.
He rather liked those who didn’t know their importance. It made keeping them under his thumb that much easier.
For years, he’d had designs on Farha Station. It was nicely situated, just at the edge of a major shipping lane. Enough trade already came through there to make the station administrators rich, and any number of accidents could befall ships that would then seek refuge there.
If Rotciv controlled the station, he’d get his hands on a lot of cash and goods, plus he’d have access to the information flowing through this sector.
He’d heard there were good information brokers at Farha Station.
Hlith’ven might be able to give him the station. He was right—as an Ulie, no one took him very seriously, except for that damned militant religious sect. Ulies were delicate and unsuited to fighting for the most part, and Rotciv had always thought weakness in fighting ability made a person weak in every way.
After all, how could you trust someone who wouldn’t swing a punch to defend themselves? Who would bow and scrape and say anything to avoid a fight?
Those were the people who liked to keep secrets and spin schemes.
Of course, those were also the people who kept Rotciv in business, so he couldn’t really complain. Shove a gun in someone’s face and threaten to pull the trigger, and they often fell all over themselves to give you whatever you wanted.
He shrugged. Not his problem. The universe supported those who supported themselves. Those with the bigger guns or bigger threats won.
He was sure that in Hlith’ven he’d picked his target well, but now the Ulie was late.
Rotciv frowned. “Did you grow a spine, you little bug?”
The alien’s fingers twitched near his sidearm. “Or have you turned me in?” If he had, Hlith’ven was going to be very, very sorry. For that matter, his whole family was going to be sorry.
Rotciv never missed an opportunity to make a point.
“There’s a ship coming in,” one of his soldiers called.
Finally! Rotciv grunted and went to stand at the lookout point, his arms crossed. When he saw the ship, though, his scowl turned into a look of disbelief.
This was Hlith’ven’s ship? It was a sleek thing, engines glowing in a way Rotciv had never seen. His face contorted in confusion. What kind of fuel did it use? And what were those weapons there? It had a red band across the nose that he didn’t like much.
Rotciv turned and spat to the side. I can paint over that.
He stomped down to the landing area as the gangway opened, then stopped and gestured to his soldiers not to load up the guns just yet.
The one coming out wasn’t Hlith’ven.
It was a human. Well, five humans, to be exact. The one in the lead was shorter than the others and much curvier under the black clothing. Rotciv guessed that one was female. His eyes narrowed. The others would be males, then.
But none of them were Hlith’ven, and none looked as if they would be easily intimidated.
Meanwhile, the human woman was looking around in increasing disgust. She pointed at Rotciv.
“You. Where’s Rotciv?” she asked.
He pushed his voice lower; low enough to grate on his throat. “I’m Rotciv.”
“No fuckin’ way.” She started to laugh. She looked at one of the men, back at Rotciv, and then back to her man again. “He’s not Skaine. I can’t fucking believe it. I’ll find something else to bet on, though. Quadruple or nothing?”
“No deal,” her companion responded, smiling. “Would you like to start now, Kemosabe? Three thousand.”
She looked affronted. “Three thousand, you ass? It’s fifteen hundred.” She shook her head. “I didn’t just fall off the truck and bump my head.”
Her companion shook his head. “That’s triple the original bet. Triple from the second bet would be three t
housand.”
The other males started laughing as she said something Rotciv couldn’t decipher.
Probably cursing. His implant wasn’t good at rare words like epithets. Although why someone would want to have relations with their…
He shook his head as he struggled to follow their conversation. He pulled his gun out of its holster and cocked it to get their attention.
All of their heads turned, their eyes narrowed and their hands dropped to their guns. Two had them out and aimed at him before he could blink.
Rotciv smiled, uncocked his gun, and let it slide back into the holster before he took his hand off his weapon deliberately.
“Now is not the time for arguing,” he suggested. “Why are you here?”
“Oh, right.” The woman crossed her arms. “We’re here to make sure you and Hlith’ven don’t have any debt between you. We also thought we’d take those weapons.”
The soldiers obligingly picked up the crates, and Rotciv jabbed his hands at them.
“No deal,” he argued. “Hlith’ven’s debt won’t be paid off by just this job. I was thinking of employing him for a long, long time. He needs to run this job himself…and then come back to get the next instructions.”
“I think you’ve misunderstood.” The woman cocked her head to the side. “I said we were here to make sure you and Hlith’ven didn’t have any debt, and to take the weapons. You seem to think I meant that I’d be working for you in Hlith’ven’s place.”
Rotciv frowned. “Isn’t that what you meant?”
“Not exactly, no.” She smiled, and her hand went to her weapon. “You see, I guessed that you’d want Hlith’ven to keep working for you after this. The way I see it, the only way his debt to you is cleared…is if you die.”
“Big mistake.” Rotciv gestured behind his back for his soldiers to arm themselves. She and her men hadn’t gone on the attack yet, and he thought he still had time to show them that they were outnumbered.
Now, if he could just lure them away from the ship, so he could take it…
“Why’s it a mistake?” the human asked, her eyes widening. She crossed her arms and leaned back slightly, deliberately insulting.
Rotciv turned around, pointing to his people. “You see the numbers here?” He gestured as he turned back. “I’m pretty sure you can, right?”
She shrugged. “I see the numbers, but do you see the odds?”
“What does that mean?”
The human raised an eyebrow. “Asswipe. I’m Ranger Two of the Etheric Empire, and you are going to come in and answer for your crimes.” She leaned forward and gave him a feral smile. “I’m doing this one by the book. For Shin.”
He had no idea what that last part meant, but he had no plans to let her take him in anywhere.
“Attack!” he yelled as he jumped for cover.
Tabitha and the Tontos sprinted for cover on the other side of the landing area, dodging as shots rang out.
“Remember not to kill him,” Tabitha yelled, then banged her head on a rock as she scrambled. “Much!” she amended, rubbing her head. “Fuck, that hurts!”
“Remember that we’re hiding behind a crate of what might be ammunition,” Hirotoshi pointed out.
“Well, shit! Let’s look.” Tabitha hauled one of the sides of the crate down and swore as weapons tumbled out. “Dammit, that was my kneecap! Motherfucker. Okay, some ammunition, and… Hey, a rocket launcher!”
“Kemosabe.” Hirotoshi lunged out to fire several shots, then ducked back behind the crate once again. “They’re advancing, and I would like to point out that our cover is now an empty crate.”
Tabitha looked at the crate and flinched when a hole was blown in it, throwing splinters toward her. “Right.” She waved a hand. “Let’s all go behind that concrete barrier when I give the signal.” Tabitha pointed toward a concrete barrier several steps to their right.
She swung the rocket launcher onto her shoulder and lifted herself up from behind cover. “What’s up, jackoffs?” she asked, flicking the cover off the arming switch.
It’s the purple button. Achronyx told her.
Tabitha looked down. She had been going for the red button. I knew that.
She touched the purple button and there was a WHOOMPH as a rocket headed toward those running, who were having issues with the dense jungle.
Dropping her spent rocket launcher, she grabbed weapons on her way to the new cover.
“Okay, new plan.” Tabitha dropped an armful of guns on the ground. “We play with all the fun toys!”
Hirotoshi sighed, but the others were already sorting through the pile of guns.
“Oooh, I like this one,” Tabitha announced. She sighted something through the scope, loaded some ammunition into it, and took a shot at one of the trees behind them to test the accuracy.
“Oh, shit,” she murmured.
A portion of the tree’s trunk exploded into wood chips, and Tabitha hastily pulled Hirotoshi, who was busy looking toward the enemy, out of the way of the falling trunk.
“My bad,” she told him as he looked at the tree and then back at her.
He blinked twice. “Kemosabe, you have Jean Dukes.”
Tabitha shrugged. “They’re not as much fun for midrange stuff. I didn’t know we were going to be having a rifle battle! Next time I’ll come prepared, don’t worry. Let’s go get the asshole, but try not to shoot him.”
“That shouldn’t be hard,” Katsu quipped. “He’s too much of a coward to shoot at us.”
Tabitha lifted her head up long enough to see over the concrete. “Figures, huh? Jackass.”
She took the new gun and crept to the side of the concrete barrier. Taking careful aim at the forest behind the people who were shooting at them, she fired.
With a creak and a BOOM, one of the big branches of a huge tree twisted and fell, slamming against the trunk and then tipping onto the line of soldiers. They scattered, yelling, and Tabitha chuckled.
“Wasn’t that great?” She looked at Hirotoshi. “Got the idea when that tree nearly fell on you.” He eyed her. “What? You always say never to waste any knowledge. I’m just following your dictates.”
He gave her a look.
Tabitha flinched when a couple of rounds impacted near her cover. “Damn, too serious, Big H. I think you should lighten up a bit. Have some laughs!”
Hirotoshi turned to his side. “Why does she find gun battles amusing?” he asked no one in particular.
One of the bigger aliens on Rotciv’s crew gave a war cry and charged, swinging a mace.
Five heads looked over the barrier, all of them watching him run toward them.
“Um,” Tabitha looked around, “anyone?”
Katsu fired some sort of alien shotgun and the blast dropped him in his tracks, but his body nearly flipped from its force and he ended up skidding toward them, bloody and headless.
“Whoa.” Tabitha peered out from behind the concrete but pulled her head back quickly when another soldier shot at her. “That was both cool and disgusting in equal parts.”
“Go back to your ship and get out of this sector,” Rotciv yelled. “Last warning!”
“All right, Tontos.” Tabitha’s eyes began to glow, and her teeth lengthened. “Let’s go show this asshole what’s what. Pull your swords. I bet none of these gutless bastards will even think of coming after us.”
Hirotoshi unsheathed his sword “This does not count against your push-ups, Kemosabe.”
“What kind of plan is that?” Ryu asked.
Tabitha stuck her tongue out at Hirotoshi. “I can always hope I die here and leave you to suck it that I failed to do the push-ups.”
She stood up and charged out into battle, yelling. Her Tontos sprang up and followed her at top speed.
“I hope she’s right!” Katsu yelled to Ryu, jumping over a small boulder.
“This is a terrible plan!” Ryu yelled back. He was laughing, though.
Tabitha was right. The sight of five vampire
s charging at them, four of whom had swords, had a marked effect on Rotciv’s soldiers. Most of them broke and ran, screaming, and those who didn’t at least stopped shooting.
Rotciv took off like a shot, and Tabitha sprinted to close the distance between them.
He dodged around trees and hacked his way through the forest, doubling back sometimes and trying to evade her, but at last Tabitha tackled him into a small clearing.
He struggled, scaly green arms pushing against her. “You are a nasty human!” He slapped her across the face.
She punched the shit out of him, and lights started dancing in front of him.
“Rotciv,” she announced, “you’re under arrest.” She hauled him up and gave Hirotoshi, who had caught up, a look. “Doing it by the book. For Shin.”
Hirotoshi nodded. “For Shin.”
“C’mon, asshole.” Tabitha started dragging Rotciv back toward the main landing area. He was yelling about how he wouldn’t go back to prison, and she just rolled her eyes.
“I assume you have a plan, Kemosabe?” Hirotoshi asked as they ducked under a limb.
“I do, Number One. And it’s a really, really good one,” Tabitha replied.
I’m not going to like this, he thought to himself.
“Let’s go back to Farha Station,” she declared.
Nope. He sighed as he rubbed his jaw. I don’t.
“We’re going back to Farha?” Ryu’s voice came from ahead of them.
“Bet you didn’t think I’d say that, did you?” She watched Katsu and Ryu head into the ship.
“Yeah, we’re going back.” Tabitha grinned. “The rest is a surprise.”
Borven stomped down the hallway to his temporary office on Farha Station.
The past day and a half had been nothing but frustration.
First, that human had outwitted him, which had been embarrassing enough, but then they had managed to override the station controls and leave before he could take them into custody.
Now he couldn’t even find out anything about their ship or last known port of call. All trails began and ended in the Etheric Empire, and they didn’t share data with outsiders.
Deuces Wild Boxed Set: Books 1-4: Beyond the Frontiers, Rampage, Labyrinth, Birthright Page 18