Ana-Zhi took over piloting, and Narcissa quietly said goodbye to her men. If all went well, she’d never see them again.
And then we were off, dropping through the cold damp air of the lava tube. A few minutes later the Vostok was in sight, its exterior lights casting the cave in a soft glow.
Narcissa said, “Thank the maker. You weren’t lying.”
“Why would I lie?”
“Nothing personal, Beck. It’s just that I wasn’t sure I should get my hopes up.”
“Well, we’re not out of this yet.”
As we got closer to the Vostok, I tried to contact Chiraine again, but there was no answer—which was weird. Ana-Zhi maneuvered the sled right up to the sealed cargo bay doors.
The Inspector swam about in its containment field, looking a bit agitated by the sight of the Vostok.
“Nice-looking ship,” Narcissa said. “Looks like a Barnes LV, but I haven’t seen this hull design before.”
“It’s a 900,” Ana-Zhi said. “Lamprey-class. Fairly new. We’re still trying to get familiar with it.”
“I thought you said you had a crew member inside,” Narcissa said.
“We do,” Ana-Zhi said. “Jannigan, she still not answering?”
“No.”
“Would it help if you knocked?” Narcissa asked.
“It might.”
But before I could, the doors opened.
“Finally,” Ana-Zhi said and eased the sled inside the air lock. The doors sealed in back of us and the air exchangers kicked on.
“You know,” Ana-Zhi said. “It just dawned on me that we never ended up testing that piece of statue.”
I had completely forgotten about that. “You still have it, right?”
“Of course, but if it doesn’t contain mimonite we’re back to square one.”
“Don’t even say that.”
The doors to the hold whooshed open, and Chiraine was standing there. But she wasn’t alone.
6
“Well, hello, hello, hello.” Agon Qualt stood beside Chiraine with a big grin on his face and a K-45 Shard Slinger jammed into her side.
Shit. How the hell did he get out of the brig?
“Good to see you, young master Beck. And A.Z., you look like you got into a bit of a scrape topside. Come on in, one and all. I see you brought some new friends.”
His eyes alighted on the Rhya in the containment field.
“Well, if that don’t beat all,” Qualt said. “You got a goddamn pet wrigglie. And just when I thought they had gone extinct.” He chortled to himself and then motioned to Narcissa with his pistol.
“And who do we have here? I don’t believe we’ve been introduced, ma’am. I’m Agon Qualt, captain of the Vostok. And who might you be?”
“What’s going on here?” Narcissa’s voice was hard and low.
“Well, that’s a bit of a long story. If you all will just slowly place your weapons at your feet and step inside, we can start trading tall tales.”
“Let Chiraine go,” I said.
“And what? Get thrown back in the brig? I don’t think so, kid. In fact, I think things will go a lot smoother if you all park yourselves in the brig instead.” He moved Chiraine in front of him like a human shield.
“That’s not going to happen, Qualt,” Ana-Zhi said.
“Why, sure it is, sweet cheeks. That’s exactly what’s going to happen. Ain’t no other way this can go down.”
“Whatever you’re thinking, Qualt,” she said, “it’s not going to work. This whole thing’s gone too far. The Mayir think you fucked up. They’re not happy with you.”
“I doubt that. And I would have cleared the whole thing up already if little ladybug here hadn’t trashed the Vostok’s comm unit. But into every life a little rain must fall. Am I right?”
I looked Chiraine in the eyes, grateful that she had been able to take care of the ship’s communication system. She matched my gaze, and didn’t look scared at all.
“But enough of this dick swinging. I’m all about second chances.” He turned to Narcissa. “Did they tell you what a sweetheart I am, new girl?”
“No,” Narcissa said. “But from where I’m standing there are three of us and one of you. Sweetheart.”
Qualt laughed loudly. “I like this chick.”
And then, without warning, he fired.
Right at Ana-Zhi.
He hit her point-blank in the chest and she went down, convulsing in pain. Thank Dynark it was just a trembler she was hit with. Tremble rounds were non-fatal, usually. Except when they triggered a heart attack.
Narcissa crouched down beside Ana-Zhi and held her shoulders, trying to calm her still-thrashing body.
“What the fuck, Qualt? You shot her!” I took a step towards him, my blood boiling.
“Easy there, sport. You folks have got to know that I mean business.” He took a step closer to me, trained his K-45 on my chest, and loudly flipped the round selector. “The next person I have to shoot won’t get off as easy. Now drop your blaster and whatever other goodies you’re armed with and move away from the hover-sled.”
From behind me I heard Narcissa begin to sob. “You fucking killed her!”
A shock of horror tore through me. No. It couldn’t be.
As I turned, a blaster bolt crackled in front of my face and Qualt cried out in pain.
I whipped around to see him stumble back and clutch his burned hand, cursing.
“Get him!” Narcissa yelled. She jumped to her feet with her RB in her hand.
Qualt’s eyes were wild as he searched for the pistol that Narcissa had shot out of his hand. I leapt forward and tackle him. Both of us landed in a heap on the ground.
The rigidity of my exosuit slowed me down a bit, but I pummeled the shit out of Qualt. It wasn’t a fair fight. I was fueled by rage and he was down a hand, but I didn’t care. I kept hitting him until Narcissa pulled me off.
I dragged Qualt’s ass back to the brig and dumped him unceremoniously in
