“I let him bear the brunt of their displeasure.Don’t worry.I was prepared to step in if needed.”
Kira hummed, uncertain of how much of Maksym’s words to believe.The oshota was a brilliant warrior.Though a tad lazy on occasion.He might have intervened eventually but only in terms of how much trouble he could stir up.
“Are you able to get a message out to Harlow?”Kira asked, lowering her voice.
Her uncle wouldn’t have sent her on a mission like this without some means of keeping tabs.She was betting Maksym was his eyes and ears.
Maksym gave her a closemouthed smile that would have felt threatening coming from anyone else.“Already sent.It’ll take a few days before it arrives.”
Kira released a shaky breath.“That’s good.”
That way if they really did die in a fiery explosion, Harlow would at least have all the information Kira and the others had gathered.
“You’re doing a good job, little heir.Don’t let them make you doubt that,” Maksym assured her.
He fell back, leaving her to continue toward the ship with Finn.
“He’s right.You’re doing well,” Finn volunteered.
He knew she had some hangups when it came to command.She’d prefer to only be in charge of herself and Jin, but fate kept pushing her in a different direction.
“I just hope I don’t get us all killed,” Kira said, staring at the ship.
Having the deaths of one set of friends on her hands was more than enough.
Silver lining—at least this time, it was unlikely she’d survive if the ship actually exploded.
“How did they live like this?”Kira muttered to herself as she walked through the ship’s cramped and narrow corridors.
There was an underlying odor of unwashed bodies and a smell that was very close to sewage.The floor was tacky under Kira’s boots as she followed the sound of clanging.
“Nasty,” she spat, examining the suspicious stains on a couple of the walls.
She didn’t get claustrophobic easily, but this ship had her feeling like the walls were closing in around her.
Everything needed to be sanitized.Unfortunately, she doubted there was enough water in its tanks to make even a dent.
Dylan nodded a greeting as Kira approached.
She acknowledged his welcome before directing her gaze to the hole in the floor.Raider stood hip deep in it, looking down at something Kira couldn’t see.
“How’s it going?”Kira asked.
Raider dodged the wrench thrust at him from below and set it into the confusing mess of a toolbox next to him.“Did you know that this ship’s engine room is a crawl space?”
“I can’t say that I’m familiar with this class of ship.”
“Blow torch,” Jin called from below.
“Too bad.We don’t have one of those.”Raider looked back up at Kira, opening his mouth to address her before he frowned and seemed to think about what Jin said.“Why do you need a blow torch?You told me you were just rewiring a couple of the engine systems.”
“Just a little house keeping.Nothing to worry about.”
“Tin Can,” Raider growled.
“A patch here.A patch there.We’ll be fine.”
“No!No patching!”
