Страница 40 из 81
"I wasn't even here," Big Bill added before Cho could reply.
Nose ridges closed, the Grr brothers followed their boss toward the nearest hatch.
Cho amused himself by thinking of feeding them a missile, launching it, and watching their guts spray paint the outside of the station. "So if Merik are not having what you sent him for, what then?" Presit demanded, as Ceelin ran the brush down the center of her back with long, firm strokes.
"He'll have it," Torin told her, scowling down at the tufts of undercoat on the floor as she did her second set of push-ups.
"Wishing are not making it so."
"If I were wishing for something, I'd wish I was going in as part of a full Marine boarding party with cruiser backup."
"If you are wishing," Presit snorted, "why not be wishing Craig Ryder safe and being here? Never mind," she added, as the five-minute emergent warning sounded and Torin got to her feet. "You are Gu
Torin appreciated the sneer Presit used when referring to the absent salvage operators. "I know."
"So you are pla
"I'm going after Craig."
"Oh, that are being a brilliantly developed plan," she muttered.
Torin ignored her, wiping at her face and arms with a towel as she threw herself down into the chair. "Have you got that packet ready to go to the Wardens?"
"It are going automatically the moment we are being back in real space. You are thinking it'll help?"
"It can't hurt."
"Even given that I are having pulled the information on the pirates into some kind of coherency, they are not likely to be suddenly thinking you are right and they are not actually needing to conduct an investigation before they act. They are not going to be sending the Navy in at the last minute to be saving the day."
"They can't if they don't have the information."
"They won't even if they are having it."
Torin sighed and turned to look at the reporter. "Black."
Muzzle wrinkled, Presit climbed into the other chair. "I are having no idea of what you are talking about."
"Just wanted to see if you'd say white."
Ceelin snickered, tried to turn it into a cough, and all but ran into the other cabin prodded by Presit's glare. "Oh, yes, you are being very fu
They were forty minutes out from Val Doron Station when they got the message from Merik. All three answers to the packet she'd had him send out on the way to the salvage station were positive.
"You are never doubting?" Presit asked, studying her face.
"Not this," Torin told her. "This, I believed in."
She didn't have much beyond belief to keep her going. Belief in her own ability. Belief that Craig would know she was coming and do what he had to in order to stay alive until she got there. Belief that after everything they'd been through, after everything the polynumerous polyhydroxide sons of bitches had put them through, they were not going to have their lives ruined by a group of pissant pirates.
Val Doron Station was one of the larger OutSector stations. Torin had originally chosen it as a meeting place both because it was busy enough that only the station sysop took note of every coming and going and because it was a very short fold from the salvage station.
Merik was waiting on the other side of the air lock when they docked.
"They are not being happy," he said, gri
As Presit pulled him aside to fill him in on their new information-or possibly to complain about how the dry air in the ship had made her fur brittle, it was impossible to tell with Presit-Torin looked past them at Ressk, Werst, and Binti Mashona, all three of them smiling and obviously glad to see her. Her chest hurt. In the months since she'd seen them, in the months since she'd left the Corps, Ressk had slimmed down, Werst had bulked up, and Mashona had added half a dozen small gold rings to the upper curve of her right ear where the light spilling off them painted gleaming highlights against the dark skin. Before she could move, Mashona dragged her into a hug while both Krai charged forward and slapped at her arms. It seemed strange not to be keeping the distance rank and the Corps demanded. Strange, but not unpleasant. "Thank you for coming."
Ressk spread his hands as they separated. It was strange to see him-to see all of them-in civvies. "All you had to do was ask, Gu
"Whatever you need us for," Mashona added. "Merik told us the CSOs won't help. Do we convince them, or…"
Torin opened her mouth, but Werst, eyes locked on her face, spoke before she could. "We're going after Ryder."
The other two looked from him to Torin, who finally nodded. Years of training couldn't keep the anger from leaching into her voice. "Werst's right. We don't have time to convince the salvage operators Craig isn't dead. And they won't put themselves and their families in danger for a dead man."
Metal clanged farther down the docking arm. Someone shouted. Someone else laughed.
Mashona snorted. "You believe he's alive, Gu
"Us," Werst growled, nose ridges flared. "Good enough for us."
"We're it," Torin reminded them. "It's one thing to ask you to help train a sizable fleet, it's another thing entirely to ask you to get involved in a retrieval of perso
"Yes, it is," Ressk allowed. "But Merik told us up front, and we're still here." He gri
Mashona matched the grin. "Who knew I'd miss nearly dying on a regular basis?"
"I," Werst snarled, "am looking forward to kicking the ass of someone who undeniably needs their ass kicked. Since you haven't found those gray plastic fukkers yet, pirates will do."
"They'll do in a pinch," Mashona agreed. "How are we going in?"
They didn't have time-Craig didn't have time-for Torin to tell them what this meant. She suspected they already knew or they wouldn't be standing there.
"We'll go in as pirates. Given what they saw on the vids," Torin expanded, lifting the first case of supplies Merik had also delivered, "no one's going to be at all surprised if the four of us are bitter, twisted, and seriously pissed off."
"Ryder was on those vids, too," Ressk pointed out, heaving a case up onto his shoulder.
"Not too much, he are mostly being behind the camera, and he are hiding most of his face behind a patchy pelt. Besides, he are not being a big hero like you three are being. Hello." Presit smiled up at the ex-Marines. "I'm sure you are remembering me."
"Hard to forget," Werst muttered, a case under each arm. "Is she coming, too?"
"No." Torin nudged Presit away from the Star's air lock.
"Yes," Presit corrected, shoving back.
"Okay, then." Mashona picked up the last case and followed Torin, the two Krai, and all three Katrien onto the ship. "So we're pirates."
"In this?" Werst snorted, setting the case on the floor and tossing his duffel onto the bunk.
Torin turned and looked around the cabin which seemed significantly smaller now it held seven warm bodies, three new duffel bags, and a stack of supplies. "All right, so we're not very successful pirates."