Sagitta’s eyes flared briefly as he jerked his head around to look at her, and Katie shifted uneasily from foot to foot, afraid she’d be the reason for an argument between them as well as Zakota getting in trouble.
But Tala completely ignored his indignant look. After a second, the captain got his emotions under control—or he at least hid them better.
“Are you certified to fly?” Katie asked, trying to keep her tone innocent and curious rather than accusatory, though she would very much like to catch Sagitta being hypocritical.
“Yes,” he said, giving her a flat look.
Oops. She should have kept her mouth shut.
“See the doctor when she has time for you, Zakota,” Sagitta said, “but don’t dawdle. We’re leaving the system as soon as Hierax says both ships are fit for battle.”
“Battle, sir? Does that mean we’re sure the Zi’i are in Dethocolean space?”
“They’re there,” Sagitta said grimly. “I just got done questioning the prisoner. His people were paid to delay us. Several people were, apparently. He didn’t know anything about the freighter, but he was part of a two-person team. It sounds like whoever set the explosives in the shuttle bay got away. Station Security is looking for him now.”
“Station Security couldn’t find their dicks in the dark,” Zakota said.
Sagitta looked at Katie, then frowned at Zakota, as if to suggest such language wasn’t appropriate. As if Katie hadn’t heard much, much worse. Before she was eight.
“I know what dicks are,” Katie offered. “We have them on Earth too.”
Dr. Tala must have been between patients because she looked over as she washed her hands, smirking at Katie. Or maybe that smirk was for Sagitta. He did gaze back at her with a what-am-I-supposed-to-do-with-you-Gaian-women look.
“Any other useful intel, sir?” Zakota asked.
Sagitta’s lips thinned. “Not from the prisoner, but I talked to a contact on the station who confirmed that the Zi’i warships sailed through the Ios System. Nobody tried to stop them. The station dwellers held their collective breath as the fleet sailed past. And then something else came out of the far gate and passed them by, too, heading to Dethocoles. He said it looked like a disassembled station or something similar, the pieces small enough to fly through the gate. The caravan was escorted by four more warships.”
“A station? Are the Zi’i planning to set up camp in your system?”
Katie imagined a huge space station with weapons being built by the gate to shoot at anybody who came through, before they even knew what was going on.
“Our contact didn’t know. Apparently, nobody’s come out of the Dethocoles gate for a full day, which does not bode well for us. It’s usually a busy gate.”
Katie watched the men’s faces, the grim concern in both of their eyes. Was it possible it was too late to help?
“Zakota,” Sagitta said, “see to it that the remaining Gaian women are taken to the station before Hierax finishes up. We don’t need to worry about civilian casualties. This is not going to be an easy battle.”
“Er, all of the women?” Zakota glanced at Tala.
“All of them. Eridanus will have to finish here.”
“What?” Dr. Tala dropped her towel. “I thought I was your chief surgeon now.”
“You are.”
“You’re going into battle. People will be injured. Hell, people were injured here, floating outside a space station.” Tala flung an arm toward the wall, though sickbay was in the center of the ship, and there weren’t any portholes offering a view of the station.
“Injuries are likely,” Sagitta said, “but you’re not military. You’re not trained for—”
“That’s bullshit, and you know it.” Tala pointed a finger at his chest. “We’ve been through all kinds of stupid battles and craziness since I got here, and I’ve done a good job keeping your people alive. I know I have.”
“I’m not disputing that.” Sagitta looked around and saw all the people pretending not to watch the argument. “Your office,” he said tightly, and jerked his head toward it.
“Was that an order?” she asked as he strode toward the doorway. “Without a please or a thank you? You know how I feel about that.”
Without looking back, Sagitta disappeared into the office, the door sliding shut behind him.
Tala propped her fist on her waist, glared at the door, then looked at Katie. “How long do you think he’ll stay in there by himself if I don’t follow him in?”
“I don’t know him well enough to guess how much he enjoys his alone time,” Katie said.
Tala looked around the sickbay at the observers, sighed, and walked to the office.
Katie had the feeling she would have kept Sagitta waiting a lot longer if they had been alone. She probably hadn’t wanted to question his authority in front of his men. Though she looked like she might chew him a new one once they were behind closed doors.
“We could use a doctor if we’re going into battle,” Zakota said, rubbing his shaven head. Actually, it wasn’t quite so shaven anymore. It must have been a day or two since he’d had time to visit a razor, for black fuzz was growing.
“And an extra pilot,” Katie said.
“I understand his point of view. We’re all… We knew the risks when we signed on. We get paid to risk our lives. You women, you never asked to be here. If you were to be killed in our battle, he wouldn’t forgive himself. Neither would I.”
“Look, I know the deal. I was in the military once too. This is your battle, but wouldn’t my people be in danger if the Zi’i took over your system?”
“Possibly. At some future date. But they’re not going to take over our system.” His dark eyes blazed with conviction. “And after we defeat their furry asses, I’ll come back to the station, even if I have to cash in on all my leave, and I’ll give you piloting lessons on any ship you want.”
Katie sighed, but she had to admit that she couldn’t blame the captain for not wanting civilians on his ship as they went into battle. And if she was honest with herself, she might admit that the trained helmsmen on this ship were more experienced with their vessels and better prepared to fly them. It wasn’t as if those Zi’i shuttlecraft would be trotted out in combat. She’d been lucky they hadn’t been annihilated in that skirmish outside the station.
The door to Tala’s office opened. Katie expected one or both of its occupants to storm out in a huff.
Instead, she got a glimpse of Sagitta and Tala standing together, her leaning against his chest, and him resting his chin on her head. They broke the embrace, and Tala walked out with tears filming her eyes. She didn’t let them fall, however. She gave a couple of commands to the ship’s AI, who was currently communicating via one of the medical robots, then walked toward the exit where Katie and Zakota still stood.
“I need to get a couple of things,” Tala said, meeting their eyes, “and I’ll head over to the warship. I’ve never been to the shuttle bay, so I’ll need someone to give me directions.”
Zakota nodded. “We’ll be there to escort you.”
“Good.”
As Tala headed out the door, she and Sagitta shared long looks, and Katie was surprised to see a glint of moisture in his eyes too.
Then she was gone, and his face closed up, impossible to read.
“Make sure Orion and Miss Juanita are taken over too,” Sagitta told Zakota as he walked out.
“Yes, sir.”
Katie sighed again. Even though she reluctantly agreed with the logic of his decision, she wasn’t looking forward to twiddling her thumbs on the station while the Star Guardians went off to battle.
9
In the shuttle bay of the warship, Zakota helped Hierax carry his tools and new materials toward the corridor. Hierax had been banging away inside one of the Zi’i shuttles when Zakota had returned from sickbay. His entire body ached and his head throbbed despite the antiponos he’d taken. Apparently, being electrocuted called for more than
painkillers. But after seeing more injured people there, and watching the doctor walk out, Zakota had decided he didn’t need a checkup. Just some rest. When that rest would come, he had no idea.
Orion, Juanita, Katie, and Dr. Tala had already loaded themselves into the less damaged of the two shuttles, the one that hadn’t been fired on by bribed aliens.
“Didn’t know you’d be leaving again,” Hierax grumbled, his arms full. He’d been working on his weapons in the bay, and he wasn’t happy about moving everything while he was in the middle of the project.
His two assistants, Woo and Nax, were replacing hull plating on the damaged shuttle, a job Hierax had delegated. His vast intellect had to go toward building warheads, of course.
In this case, Zakota couldn’t complain about that. Any advantage they could find going in to face the Zi’i was a good thing.
“I don’t know why you didn’t carry everything to the torpedo bays to start with,” Zakota said, aware of time ticking past.
He’d told the captain he was about to pilot Katie, Tala, and Juanita over to the station fifteen minutes ago. That had been before he’d seen Hierax’s mess. Everything was a mess. Getting attacked hadn’t helped anything. Zakota wondered what the captain had done with the sniper after questioning him.
He also wondered if Sagitta thought it was odd that Zakota kept volunteering for shuttle duty. This was something Asan or even Arkyn could handle. But he found himself wanting to spend more time with Katie before leaving. Would they have a chance to say goodbye? He thought of the teary-eyed goodbye Sagitta and Dr. Tala had shared. He couldn’t imagine Katie shedding a tear for him. He wasn’t sure if he would be teary-eyed, either—after all, they had just met. He supposed it was the possibility of knowing her better that he was already missing. And of having her close to him. All right, more than close.
Walking side by side with her to sickbay, her arm around his waist, the heat of her body palpable through their clothing… It had made him forget he was recovering from being electrocuted. His nerves had certainly been working fine as he’d felt her hair brushing his bare arm as he’d rested it around her shoulders. A strange thing to be aroused by, but little tingles had danced through his body every time her head had moved, stirring the strands of hair trailing across his skin. He’d kept having thoughts of stopping, pushing her against the closest bulkhead, and kissing her until she begged him for more.
“Because some of the weapons I designed aren’t going to fit in the torpedo tubes,” Hierax said. “They’ll have to be deployed through other means.”
It took a moment for Zakota to bring his mind back to the conversation. “What other means?” he asked, imagining opening an airlock hatch and tipping a warhead out into space.
Hierax glanced toward the shuttles as they left the bay. “We’ll see how the battle goes.”
Zakota’s logostec beeped at the same time as Hierax’s.
“Uh oh,” Zakota said. It was the captain. He would want to know why there was another delay. “You answer him.”
“My hands are full.”
“I can hold things for you.”
“As if I’d let you touch my tools. Just answer the comm.”
“Here, sir,” Zakota said, ready to cringe. The captain never yelled, but there was never any question about whether he was displeased or not.
“Change of plans,” Sagitta said. He did sound displeased, but maybe it wasn’t with them. “The station has been closed. Nobody else is being allowed in or out.”
“Is everyone all right?” Hierax asked. “Indi? And the other ones?”
Zakota wagered he didn’t know the names of many of the “other ones” and didn’t particularly care about them.
“I’ve checked with them,” Sagitta said. “They’re fine. Station Security has decided to quarantine the station until they’re certain all the people associated with the explosion in the shuttle bay are captured and that there’s no further threat.”
“Uh, do they know that one of the associated people got away?” Zakota asked.
“I’m not sure being locked in our brig counts as away,” Hierax whispered.
“They know we have him,” Sagitta said, and his tone turned dry as he added, “despite certain people neglecting to inform the authorities that they were taking him.”
“This means we can’t take the rest of the women over, sir?” Zakota asked, hoping to head off accusations that he’d participated in absconding with the criminal. “You couldn’t use your reputation or the Star Guardians’ reputation to convince them to make an exception?”
“Perhaps in time, I could, but we don’t have time. Not for bureaucratic nonsense that could delay us for hours. We’re heading for the gate now. Send non-essential personnel back to the Falcon, and tell Hierax to finish up over there. I want him here when we fly through the gate. We may not have time to tether once we’re in Dethocolean space, so figure out now whether you’re piloting the warship or if Asan is. I’m going to send over a combat team to help defend it against boarding. We have to assume we’ll need to take both vessels into battle.” Sagitta’s voice lowered, and Zakota barely heard his added, “And then some.”
“Walk and talk,” Hierax whispered, nudging him from behind with the crate in his hands. “I don’t have much time to get these weapons together if we’re going straight to the gate now.”
“Understood, sir,” Zakota told the captain as he walked toward the lift with Hierax treading on his heels. He switched channels. “Asan? Did you hear the captain’s comm?”
“Yeah. Do I get a vote in what I fly?”
“You’ve spent more time at the helm of the warship than anyone else has.” Zakota had a hard time imagining himself sailing into battle in some alien barge of a ship instead of the sleek fire falcon. The Zi’i craft had great shields and powerful weapons, but it wasn’t his ship.
When Asan took a while to respond, Zakota had a feeling he wasn’t going to like his answer. He stepped into the lift with Hierax.
“I wasn’t very effective against the Scyllans when they came after us,” Asan said. “The warship is clunky, alien, and it’s harder to maneuver than a boulder rolling down a mountain. I would prefer to pilot the Falcon.”
Yeah, who wouldn’t?
Zakota had seniority over Asan and could order him to fly the warship—as primary helm officer, it was his right to fly the Falcon 8 into battle—but the captain hadn’t said he had a preference. And if Asan truly wasn’t comfortable flying the warship… Well, Zakota figured he could fly anything.
“All right,” Zakota said. “I’ll do it. Maybe the Zi’i will be less likely to shoot at one of their own ships.”
“Right, you could get out of the battle unscathed,” Asan said, sounding relieved—and like he was trying to make Zakota feel better about volunteering.
“Report back to the Falcon. I’ll be up shortly to take the helm.”
“That mean you’re not going to carry any more loads for me?” Hierax asked as they walked toward the weapons stations at the front of the ship.
“Get a hand lifter, Chief.”
“Not nearly as satisfying as having minions tote my things along.”
“I thought you didn’t like minions touching your tools.”
“My tools, no, but I’m perfectly willing to let them carry metal ingots.”
“You’re a generous officer.”
“Yes.”
• • • • •
Katie stood with her hands in her pockets, watching Dr. Tala’s back as she strode through the airlock tube on her way back to the fire falcon. Her mutters of “time wasted” and “that man” floated back, just audible over the clanks and thuds of six men checking their weapons and combat armor nearby. A team had been sent over with all their gear, Star Guardians who would defend the warship from forced boardings. There were several dark-haired men that Katie recognized but couldn’t name, along with the green-haired Ensign Bystrom and a blond man with long hair and a trimmed b
lond beard who looked like a Norse Viking as he walked around with a bolt bow slung over his shoulder. Arkyn, that was his name. She only remembered it because he was one of the backup pilots, someone who could fly around in-system but couldn’t navigate wormholes. If he was staying, Katie supposed her odds of getting to pilot anything were unlikely, not that it sounded like anyone had plans to use the little shuttles in battle.
It looked like Orion was staying aboard the warship too—he stood with the men, trying on extra armor someone had brought for him. Apparently, it was all right for male civilians to go into battle with the Star Guardians.
“We’re going with her, right?” Juanita asked, coming to stand next to Katie and waving in the direction Tala had gone.
“I’m not sure.” Katie glanced at the men, who were completely ignoring both of them. “I think we’ve been forgotten.”
“Tala said sickbay on the Star Guardian ship would be the safest place to be.”
“That didn’t prove to be true when those aliens invaded the ship.”
“Just because they came to get us there doesn’t mean it wasn’t the most protected place on the ship. Look at how many dents they had to put in the door to get in.”
Orion appeared at Juanita’s shoulder, and Katie swallowed her sarcastic reply. He nodded at her, then wrapped an arm around Juanita’s shoulder and drew her aside. No, he was drawing her toward the airlock tube. His head bent toward hers, and he murmured something as they walked slowly toward it. Juanita must not have objected too much, because she slid her own arm around his waist.
Katie felt a twinge of emotion as she watched them. She wasn’t sure exactly which emotion. It was almost like nostalgia or regret as she wondered what it would be like to have someone to lean against and murmur to. Someone who cared if she lived or died.
Oh, she had friends back home, but they had no idea where she was. Maybe they presumed her dead in some mountain ravine. Had anyone called her mother and sister? Probably. The guys at work would have checked around when Katie and Indi hadn’t come in on that first Monday morning. Would she have just been listed as missing? Or would her mother have had a funeral by now? Not that she had much family that would have gone to it. Mom, Mick, and maybe some old Navy buddies, but most of the friends she’d made in the military were still serving and were scattered around the world.
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