That was a good thing. A-Levels were not ship-safe weapons, and I didn’t want to try breathing vacuum. Although, given what we were sharing our air with, that was starting to look mighty tempting. Mack’s voice in my head carried through to the crew.
We all had implants, and the internal net cut down on chatter.
“All hands to lock down. We have been boarded.”
Across the counter, the arach smirked. Behind him, his team drew their weapons. Three covered the door; four covered us. It was like they knew we were talking—and what the response would be…
“No, can do, captain. They have the bridge.”
Fear became a solid ball in my chest, and I wanted to be sick. Mack’s arm kept me at his front.
“We’ve hacked your net, too,” the arach said, inside our heads—inside all our heads—and I felt Mack tense.
He had good reason, too. If the arach had hacked our net, and held our ship—and they’d definitely hacked our security if they’d been able to teleport aboard—they really did have us. Tens sure as shit had some explaining to do—and then a ton of work to find out how they’d managed it and make sure they couldn’t manage it again.
And me. Cos I sure as shit had a bullet in this shooting match, and then Tens was goin’ to want another round on the mats. I wondered if he’d let me live, this time.
If we lived, at all.
Mack started to holster his blaster, but the arach raised their weapons, and I saw their safeties flicked off. The arach leader gestured to the counter. Still as tense as hell, Mack carefully put the A-Level on the counter-top. And I found I’d stopped shaking.
Funny thing about terror. You can only be terrified for so long. After that, it settles down to a manageable level. Mack knew this, and knew I’d been put through part of an arach desensitization program on the last mission. He was probably hoping it would be enough.
Enough for what, I sure as shit didn’t know, but I found I could stand on my own again. Discovered, too, that I preferred to stay just where I was. Mack was warm. He was shelter. And I wanted his arm around me, dammit!
The arach leader watched us, and, if I hadn’t known better, I woulda thought he was reading my mind. Now, there was a thought that didn’t bear considering, but it got me thinking about implants, and what could be accessed through them, and it turned out I did know better.
Oh, Hell no.
I looked at the arach, really looked at him, met his eyes. And I saw he knew exactly what had been on my mind. That smirk widened into a smile and a wink, and then all humor left his face.
“You know where the meeting room is,” he said, and turned away.
Mack and I watched him walk back through his team, and out the canteen door. We watched as the first three members of his team preceded him into the corridor, and two followed. The last two kept their weapons on us, and then gestured we should follow.
“Don’t keep me waiting,” echoed in our heads.
I studied the communications, and saw it was set for us alone.
“You mobile?” Mack asked, and I nodded. “Can you talk?”
I tried. “Yeah.”
“Good.”
He unwound his arm from my chest, but kept it draped across my shoulders. Either he didn’t want me leaving all of a sudden, or he’d caught that thought about me wanting his arm around me. I was betting on the former. I’d wanted his arms around me before, and he hadn’t obliged.
2—Dealing with the Devil
We got to the meeting room without any trouble, Mack keeping me tucked against him the whole way. Like I said, he either knew I wanted that arm around me, or he was just making damn sure I didn’t bolt… or both. It coulda been both.
Either way, we made it to the meeting room, our tiny escort of two not enough to have held us, if we’d tried to run. But Mack had a ship to think of, and a crew he really wanted to have make it through each and every mission, and I… I didn’t want to lose what I had.
Whatever that was.
The gloves came off when we were both sitting opposite the arach leader. There was no preamble. The damn thing just shifted. Got out of his seat while his skin was changing, and went from man to arachnoid in twenty seconds flat—which might have been impressive if I hadn’t been trying to get as far away from him as I could.
Without leaving my chair.
Completely forgetting the spiders in human form behind me…who changed as I untangled myself from the chair, and ran backwards into them.
Ever been trapped in an arach’s grasp? Had four arms wrap around you, and a set of pedipalps settle over your shoulders. Never?
Tell you what. I missed having Mack’s arm around me, right then. Really missed it as I curled up on myself, not caring that my feet couldn’t touch the ground.
And Mack? He just sat there, watching the show. His gaze flicking between the arach leader, the arach guards, and me. When I stopped screaming, and just stayed as still as I could, he spoke.
“Can I have her back?”
The arach leader surveyed him from a multitude of eyes.
“Do you need her?”
“Always.”
Always? That was news to me.
“Truly?” That damned arach was laughing at us; I was sure of it. “She seems more trouble than she’s worth.”
“She’s mine.”
I can’t read arach expression. Not when they’re in that shape, but, if I didn’t know any better, I’da said the spider didn’t believe Mack, not one little bit.
“Are you sure?”
And Mack pushed
