“I didn’t pick him.”
Finn smirked.“No, he chose you.”
“What are Bez and the others up to?”Kira asked.
“Bez is sparring with Maksym in the hallway.”
“How’s he doing?”Raider asked.
“Holding his own.”
Raider pursed his lips and looked at the hatchway as if he wished he was out there to witness it.“Impressive.”
“Bez’s pod may not be as socially accepted among the Tuann, but they have the skills to back up their position,” Finn said.
That was no idle compliment since Maksym was in the top ten percent of Roake’s fighters.
“Has Pye woken up?”Kira asked.
Finn shook his head.“He’s the same as before.”
Hanging on, but barely.With every hour that passed, his prognosis became increasingly grim.
“Maybe the station will have something to help him,” Kira said, not holding out much hope.
Tuann healing was much different than a human’s.They required access to plants and nature.A healer versed in the application ofkiwould be ideal.Neither of which was likely to be present on a human run station.
Kira rose to stretch out the kinks from sleeping on an uncomfortable pallet.“I’m going to check in with Jin.”
Raider claimed her spot, settling onto his back with a sigh.“Since we don’t know what we’ll face when we arrive, I’m going to get some shut eye while I still can.Wake me when we’re an hour out.”
“Will do,” Kira said, leaving the cargo bay.
Finn accompanied her as she made her way into the hallway.
“I guess I don’t have to ask where Jin is,” Kira observed, seeing Dylan standing outside the ship’s command room.His presence as good as a proclamation of Jin’s whereabouts.
“Stop bothering him and get in here” Jin called.
Kira ducked into the tiny nook that served as the ship’s command room.“What’s got you in such a tizzy?”
The nook was cramped.Painfully so.Monitors and control panels encroached on what little room there was.If Jin hadn’t been the size of a child, she wasn’t sure they’d both fit.
As it was, Finn was forced to remain outside with Dylan.
Jin twisted the pilot seat to face her.“I’m assuming you don’t want to set foot on that station without at least some kind of plan.”
“You’ve got that right.Any of our old contacts still in the area?”Kira asked.
Humans changed so quickly.There and gone like a fleeting dream.Especially the people they knew.Salvagers and those on the less savory side of the law.None of whom had particularly great life expectancies.
“The Beckers moved their operation a few months ago.They’re now out of O’Riley.”
“That’s surprising,” Kira said.
The Beckers were a father/son duo who operated a repair and supply shop on Titan.They were a slimy pair known for cutting corners.Once, they’d sold Kira a faulty oxygen valve that would have killed her if Jin hadn’t discovered the leak in time.
“O’Riley is a lot more stringent regarding its quality control.If they try some of the crap they pulled on Titan, they’ll end up in a brig.Permanently.”Kira glanced over Jin’s shoulder.“Anyone else?”
