by Melissa Good
“Oh.”
“That’s why those boats were chasing us,” Jess said. “They were his buddies. Pain in the ass part is, I did it by accident. Boat tipped and I went flying into him and he went flying into the water outflow. Ripped him to pieces.”
“Oh.”
“Yeah. So that was a cock up. Didn’t even get to ask him what he was looking for.” Jess sighed. “On the other hand, he was about to blow my head off so I guess it worked out.”
“You guess?”
Jess gave her a wry smile. “He was good. He was kicking my ass. I was flat on my back for too damn long after that last botched cluster.” She rested her elbows on her thighs and rocked her head from side to side to loosen tense muscles there.
Dev glanced at scan, and sure enough the other boats were nothing more than a spot on the horizon, though they were still being chased. “I see. So what is the good part?”
Jess extended her hand and opened it. “Deck’s full of black diamonds,” she said.
Dev took the item and inspected it. A crystal the size of half her hand rested in her palm, glittering and reflecting the light in the control room inside it. “Wow. That is interesting. But why is it good?”
“It’s good because I’m gonna have them cut something pretty from this one,” Jess said. “And because we can use the rest to buy anything we want from those scientists. We’re home free.” She got up and stripped out of her drenched jacket, grimacing a little as it shed water everywhere. “So to speak.”
Dev looked at the floor, then back at her. “I see.”
“So that’s the good thing.” Jess came up next to her and leaned against the console, studying the view out the window. “Good idea to head for the storm line. Once we’re up there, we’ll see if we can find an ice field we can dodge around and maybe we’ll lose ‘em.”
Dev put the pretty rock down and reached over to close her fingers around Jess’s hand, feeling the chill in it. “Should you get dry?” she said. “It will be a while to get to the storm.”
Jess straightened up and nodded. “Yeah and I need some kack. Want some?” She waited for Dev to nod, then stood up and patted her on the shoulder. “Good job, Dev. I wouldn’t have thought to dump the water.”
“Thank you.”
Jess went to the back of the control area, where she’d stored their gear. She unsnapped the catches on her jumpsuit and stripped it down to her waist, picking up a piece of cloth from her pack and drying her skin with it. The rain hadn’t penetrated the fabric, but the thunderous wash of tank water had, and she felt rubbed raw from the power of it.
Too damn close. She examined her shoulder, but it seemed to be healing and by some odd luck she hadn’t taken any more serious damage to anything but her ego when by rights she should have been fish bait herself halfway down to the bottom by now.
She peeled off her jumpsuit and traded it for a dry one, very glad to get out of the half water filled boots she was squishing around in. It felt good to be dry, and the warmth of the control room was slowly seeping into her, their sojourn in the spa already just a half misty memory in her mind.
She went to the portable kack dispenser she’d brought up to the control room and started it brewing, resting her hands on the counter and listening to the drone of the engines. “They gaining on us?”
“No, it doesn’t appear so.”
“Good.” Jess considered their options. They would have to lose the chase boats before she could even think about turning east, maybe in the ice pack. She’d make them think she was on a run home, and then maybe—
“Jess?” Dev called softly. “We’re being hailed.”
Jess rolled her eyes and walked over. “Assholes think we’re going to answer? Give me a break.”
“It’s not them.” Dev handed her the ear cup. “It’s Base Ten. It’s being relayed through the carrier.”
Jess felt a shock jerk through her. She fumbled with the cup and got it set in her ear, then touched the receive node. “Copy. Copy Tac Base Ten?”
“Ops,” the voice answered. “Recall. Urgent. Ack.”
Jess blinked. “Repeat?”
The voice returned, with an edge. “Ack. Recall urgent. Copy acknowledge. Code twelve.”
“Acknowledge, in work,” Jess said, then she released the trigger. “Shit.” She looked at Dev. “Something bad must have happened. They’re recalling us.” She removed the ear cup and handed it back. “Plot a course back to that iceberg, Dev. Looks like this mission’s scrubbed.”
That, at least was easy. Dev pulled the coordinates off her comp and plugged them in, not sure whether she should be disappointed or relieved.
Disappointed, she supposed, for not being able to finish the mission, but also relieved that with the enemy already chasing them that they would not get into more trouble trying to get into the enemy lab. There seemed to be a lot of opportunity for discomfort in that, and she didn’t want to see Jess getting hurt.
Jess set a cup down for her and took her seat on the stool again. “So.”
“What do you think happened?” Dev asked.
“No idea,” Jess said. “Never been recalled like that before. I just know the codes.” She cradled her cup between her hands and took a sip from it. “Now I wish we weren’t so far. Bain wouldn’t have pulled us for something trivial. When we get back to the carrier, you can do an encrypted session and maybe we’ll find out what’s going on.”
The light was fading outside, and the rain was falling harder. Dev propped her scanner up and set it to probe their path, then she took a moment to take a drink from the cup, wishing they’d stopped for a day meal while they were on the island. “Okay, I’ll remember to do that,” she said. “But it’s going to take a long time to get there.”
Jess sighed. “I know.” She put her cup down and got up. “Nothing we can do about that unless we pass those pirates again and steal their carrier.” She rooted in the carry sack and pulled out some fish packets, bringing them back to the console and plopping them down. “Damn it.”
Dev reviewed the rear scanner, noting the ships were still chasing them. But their speed now was enough to keep them ahead, and as they plowed into the increasing swells, she hoped it would stay that way.
So now things were changing again. The big question was, were they running away from trouble, or running to more of it?
To be continued...
About the Author
Melissa Good is an IT professional and network engineer who works and lives in South Florida with a skillion lizards and Mocha the dog.
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Table of Contents
Partners: Book One
Copyright © 2013 by Melissa Good
Author's Notes
Dedication
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Chapter 22
Chapter 23
Chapter 24
Chapter 25
Chapter 26
About the Author
Other Melissa Good Books