I swear... When this was over, me and someone were going to have serious words...on the mat...with my fist...and their head...and my foot...and their knee...
As I thought it, my body went through the motions—except it was more my sword and someone’s snout...and my blaster and someone’s throat...and a kick off the floor using a wolf as a step up because one of the little brats in the circle had worked out how to pull the trigger.
“Fuck me! You. Me. Firing Range. You little Sonuvabitch!”
The fact the child was a girl, and my words were likely to insult ally and enemy alike never even crossed my mind. Four wolves reached for me as I flipped away from the She’s line of fire.
Little brat! Someone needed to put her over their knee...and...
“Rennet’s World wolves!” Mack reminded me.
Like I needed to be reminded...
I landed in a crouch with two angry wolves leveling their blasters at me.
Well. Fuck.
I hit the floor and solids chewed chunks out of the wall. Problem was, I had nowhere to roll, and I couldn’t get to my feet. All these bastards had to do was lower their aim, and my goose was well and truly cooked.
One of the bastards lost the top of his head and the helmet, and the other shuddered under the impact of more rounds than I cared to think about.
Just who, in all the stars had thought it was a good idea to put fully automatic blasters anywhere near where the little ferals could get a hold of them. There was no way in all the worlds I wanted to be getting to my feet in these circumstances.
I did it anyway, Mack’s response an unwelcome noise in my head.
“You, Cutter, when you dropped several fully-armed Rennet’s World wolves right at their feet.”
Like that was my fault. I mean, where the fuck else was I supposed to drop them?
“Out an airlock would have been wiser.”
Smart arse!
He snickered. “I’m on my way.”
“Have we nearly cleared the ship?”
“Our wolfish friend took a squad through the bits the rest of us couldn’t cover,” Mack told me.
“And Doc and Tens?”
Mack’s “They’re fine,” formed a chorus with “Right here, kid,” and “We’re fine.”
There was also another “We’re fine,” from Case, but this one was attached to a “thanks for asking,” and I rolled my eyes.
Whatever, right?
I scrambled to my feet, and hit the floor again, just as fast.
“I’m a friend, you little shits!”
“Not sure you should be cussing out the children,” Mack said from the doorway.
I noticed he didn’t come into the room, the coward.
He snickered, and did a quick peek and duck. It was a good thing, too. The cub’s She was quick on the draw and getting more accurate by the second.
I lost my temper...or maybe it was just the fright of seeing Mack nearly lose his head.
“Will you stop shooting your fucking friends, you total shit-for-brains menace!”
She snarled at me, and the blaster swung in my direction.
I’d had enough, and coiled my legs under me, getting ready to cover the distance between us in a single leap. This juiced, the distance was nothing.
“Cutter, down!” Mack roared, just as I started to launch.
The result must have been spectacularly comical because I went from going vertical and long, to going horizontal in a damned hurry. The She tracked every movement with the blaster, but she didn’t fire.
I was considering cussing every single one of them out, when the captain’s cub gently pushed the blaster’s muzzle down, and Mack called out, again.
“Can I come in, now?”
The cub exchanged glances with his She, and she ducked her head, clearly giving in to an unspoken demand. He patted her on the shoulder, and replied.
“Yes, Captain Star, and you may collect your She from the floor.”
‘That means stay down until I get there,” Mack told me, as if I couldn’t have worked it out for myself.
“You could,” he acknowledged, ‘but this way I know you’ll stay down’.
“Stay down,” the words echoed through my limbs like a program for obedience, and I groaned.
I couldn’t even lift my head until his boots stopped beside me. I felt his hand curl over the collar of my armor, just before he hauled me to my feet.
“We’ve got in-coming,” he informed me, and I saw the cub’s ears prick.
Mack caught the movement and turned his attention to the youngster. “Your father is taking the Rennet’s World ship. He wishes to see you on my command deck, when he returns.”
Mack set me on my feet, but the stims had worn off and I was wilting. The second his hand wasn’t holding me up, my knees started to fold. His grip tightened and he pulled me under the curve of his arm and tight against his side before shifting his grip and sliding his arm across my back and around my waist.
“You right, girl? Not going to fall over on me?”
“Can’t... promise,” I managed, fighting an overwhelming need to sleep.
“Do your best,” he told me, and I wrapped an arm around his waist, wedging my hand in between his belt and his side.
It was gonna be harder to fall over that way.
The cub watched me, his ears cocked in puzzlement. “What is wrong with her?”
“The stim pack’s wearing off,” Mack told him, and the kid jerked his head in a single nod.
“Is that what makes her such a warrior?” he asked, admiration making his She frown.
“No. She is already that. The stims just make her faster and stronger for a little while.” Mack grunted as he pulled me more upright and closer to his side. “But they take a toll.”
“So, I see,” the cub observed.
His She wound her arm through his and leant into him. “Can I have some?” she whispered, her eyes alight with curiosity.
“No,” Mack told her, and she curled her lip at him, frowning as
