“Captain, I am flying Tek’s team over to the station.”
It was not a request, and Mack turned to the queen.
“You did not ask if you could send the boy into danger.”
The queen was unrepentant
“The boy was available, and there was no time to remove him to safety. He was in the shuttle, and knows how to fly it.”
“He is one of my crew.”
“And, as such, is now contracted to me.”
“But—”
“The boy is more than capable, and has proven he can hold the shuttle against intrusion.”
I wanted to ask when Rohan had ever done that, but then realized a lot of things could have happened while Mack and I were defending the bridge.
“Exactly,” the queen confirmed, and Mack rested his forehead against his hand.
“Understood, Ensign”—and that was new to me, too—“Stay with the ship, or the team, as required.”
That was a lot of latitude, but Rohan’s voice was full of glee, when he replied.
“Aye aye, Captain.”
Mack rolled his eyes.
“They’re all smart-asses,” he muttered. “Every single one.”
The queen ignored him.
“You, Tens, and Cutter will come with us.” She tilted her head towards Delight. “Agent, if you would be so kind.”
“Your Majesty, it would be my pleasure.”
The queen said nothing more, but her gaze swept across her guards as she turned and left the room.
“Gather your weapons, Captain, and meet us in the dock.”
There was only one shuttle bay she could mean. I only hoped Rohan had remembered to close the shuttle bay doors.
“Like I would ever forget!”
Mack was right: the kid was a smart ass.
“I learned from the best.”
“Just focus on flying the damn shuttle.” Tens was clearly not impressed.
We hit the armory, and found Steppy waiting. He didn’t ask questions, just handed each of us a small duffle bag containing our usual load-out. It didn’t take us long to grab our gear and run, but we each thanked him on the way out the door.
There was no telling what he’d do, otherwise—and Steppy’s idea of a lesson in manners could wreck more than your day. A simple thank you was by far the better option. We got to the shuttle bay, and on board with the queen’s team, while the engines were still warming up.
“You flying this thing?” Mack asked, looking at Tens.
“Case is still in stasis,” and we were out of the docking bay and over at the station in very short order.
“Where do you want us to park her?” Tens asked the queen, and she reached over his shoulder and touched a point on the orbital schematics that was nowhere near the docks.
“They won’t see us coming.”
The queen was right. There was no way the arach on board the orbital would see this coming. I was glad the combat armor Steppy had stowed in our duffels was good for a short trip in vacuum, but wondered how the vespis were going to handle it.
“We can manage short sojourns in space,” the queen replied, even though I hadn’t asked the question. “You will need to get that airlock open before we move from the shuttle.”
That airlock wasn’t on the schematics—at least, not the schematics that we had access to. We didn’t see it until we were right underneath it. Tens overflew it, and then rolled the shuttle and flipped so he could come back under the orbital and use belly clamps to fasten the shuttle to the underside of the station.
“No space-walking necessary,” he said. “Cutter, you’re up.”
And so I was. Tens had extended a small skirt-like seal up and over the hidden lock, and I was able to patch right through it.
“Your Majesty, I believe we can help you improve your station security,” Mack said, as I cycled the mechanism, and led the way through the door. Once I’d checked the corridor beyond was clear, I got ready to move ahead.
“Stop,” the queen said, shifting from human to vespis form. “Join the guard. Vespis tradition dictates that I must lead.”
It sounded like a dumb idea to me, since that would leave her the most exposed to booby traps and other attacks, but a firm, clawed grip on my ankle let me know there was no point in arguing. Fine! Who was I to argue against tradition, anyway?
I waited for my assigned guard to join me, and then did my best to keep up. Station gravity kicked in part way up the corridor, and I had to hang onto the rungs making a path up the side of the wall. The vespis quickly outdistanced me, Mack and Tens, something that clearly displeased the queen.
Just when we’d resigned ourselves to climbing the rest of the way on our own, and then sprinting to catch up, three of the vespis bodyguards returned. They stopped, one behind each of us.
“Please, face the wall,” said the one hovering behind me, when I turned to look at it.
I did as it asked, but I’d been helped to catch up before, and was pretty sure what was coming next. Below me, Mack shouted a protest, but mostly because he didn’t know how the vespis carried their human companions. I just let myself hang, as I was lifted up the corridor, far faster than I could have climbed on my own.
Well, okay, I didn’t just let myself hang. I pulled the Blazer 54, and made sure it was ready for firing.
“Where to?” I asked, embarrassed by the fact the queen had waited for us where the corridor entered an unmapped room below the control center. Honestly? That couldn’t be good for station security, either. The queen ignored that thought, although I’m sure she noticed it.
“You and T’Kit go here,” she said, and a section of orbital schematics flashed into my head.
The vespis bodyguard that had lifted me up the corridor, moved as soon as the queen had finished speaking, and I trotted after it. Behind me, I heard the queen repeating her instruction, although the names of the guards varied. Mack and Tens were assigned a guard each,
