“It’s okay, Cutter. You did good. Tens just needs Delight to convince the Odyssey cruiser he’s a friend.”
Oh. Was it bad if it didn’t?
“I like my ship, Cutter. Without holes.”
And his point?
“You are so juiced… I am going to murder Delight.”
I could help him with that.
“Hell, no!”
But…
And T’Kit was back in my head, drawing me away from Mack, and away from Tens and his oh-so-precious security system. I could hear Delight talking to the battle cruiser and telling them to stand down, and get their asses out there after the arach ship trying to leave the system. I couldn’t follow everything she said, but some of it involved her going up there and straightening out some attitudes, and them asking to speak to Pritchard, and then things got nasty… and boooring. It’s not like the battle cruiser had a hope in Hell of catching the arach ship. That thing was hauling ass faster than they were. It would hit the jump point well before it got in range, no matter how fast they chased it. I knew; I’d done the calculations.
See?
And Delight glanced in my direction, snatching the calculations out of my implant.
“Enjoy it while you can, short stuff. You’ll be back to somewhere normal when it wears off,” and I reached out, and took the calculations back, making her come around.
Excellent! Cos, right now, I could kick her ass ten ways to Sunday, and then bounce it back, again. Bring it, Baby!
Okay… Well, I could if she was still here!
“No fair.”
“We’re here,” Mack told me, and I came out of my own skull.
“Where?”
But no-one was listening to me, although Mack had settled his arm around my shoulders, again. Cool, but... My mind stopped spinning long enough to focus on Tens. He was saying…stuff!
“There’s a shuttle coming in, and the orbital reports another ship in-system.”
“We don’t have anything scheduled,” T’Kit noted.
“Let them come in,” the queen ordered. “If they’re traffickers, they are subject to K’Kavoran law.”
“Odyssey will assist,” Delight replied.
Not if I kicked her butt, first.
“Nah, Cutter,” Tens said. “We need you to kick their butts, first.”
I grabbed the schematics he sent me, and followed the security feeds noting where the patrols were, where there was a contingent of men and weapons bunkered down in the room to the entrance of a walled garden. It was easy to see it was just big enough to take the shuttle Tens had noted coming in.
Just.
The fish pond was toast, if it touched down, though.
Damn. I liked fish.
“So?” Tens asked. “What are you going to do about it?”
I could go do something about it?
I felt Mack hesitate. His arm tightened, and he turned his head towards T’Kit. I don’t know what he passed between them, but I did hear what she said to the queen.
“Your Majesty, we will form the vanguard, and clear you a path so you can capture the offenders—and I have tasked Sandoran law enforcement with handling the non-combatants. If you would give me a thirty-second start?”
Thirty seconds didn’t sound like enough time, but T’Kit spoke again, this time to Mack.
“We’ll drop you and Cutter, first. I can direct her, but she won’t be subtle. You will need to protect her as best you can. Don’t get in her way, and don’t try to stop her. We will take out the outer perimeter, and then come and assist you.”
“Done,” Mack said.
And T’Kit was in my head.
“Cutter,” she said, and flashed a huge picture of Mack’s face in my mind. “Not a target. Okay?”
“Not a target,” I repeated, and energy roared through me. “Show me the targets.”
“Here, here, and here,” she said, highlighting a path, through the house.
I thought I saw one that was faster, but a terrible feeling rolled through my stomach, and I decided to follow the wasp’s plan. I ran through Tens’ scans again, noting that some of the targets had shifted position. Well, that wouldn’t help them.
The flyer came in hard and fast behind the walls, but the vespis left us just as it crossed the perimeter, letting go of the hand rails, and leaping into the air with a flick of their wings. I thought about jumping over the side, but the flyer came in hard and low, and I didn’t have to.
It barely slowed as it skimmed the driveway behind the gates, but that was enough for me. I heard an oath, and then gravel crunched as Mack came down behind me. I took the route T’Kit had advised, noting the fleeing shapes of servants. I wondered if they were targets, too, but decided it didn’t matter; T’Kit’s designated targets weren’t far ahead. I could deal with the servants, after.
Mack followed, but he didn’t say anything, and soon faded from my mind.
I moved starshine swift and shadow silent, and realized the Blazer hadn’t been returned. Well, that was going to make things more difficult than they had to be. The extra challenge made me smile, and I slid up to one side of the final doorway, glancing through, and diving momentarily in the security feeds. A few seconds was all it took to pick out where the enemy were.
They were all focused on the front of the house, in particular the portico, before which the driveway curved around an ornate fountain. That was where party guests and any other visitors would be dropped off. There, in the shadows of the columns and ornamental pots and plants. Except for tonight.
Tonight, the queen was leading her team up there, and these folk were setting up to kill her.
I wasn’t going to allow that.
I kicked back into reality, sliding the machete clear of its sheath, and pulling the shorter, curved blade I’d been given on the flight to the fishing village. I could pick up a gun shortly.
It was easier than it should have been, sliding in behind the nearest guard and taking her head from
