“Well don’t. You are making unhealthy noises.”
Regi hadn’t thought he’d made any sound at all, but he trusted Vk’s ears more than his own. “Apologies.”
She blew air out of her nose fast enough to make it vibrate.
Regi went back to his slow examination of the ship under his fingers. He started with the decking he had just moved off. Nothing. He then focused on the wall. Almost immediately, he found a divot, nothing bigger than an ogur. He explored the oval shape before sending a prayer to Poque and pressing it. Time must have distorted, but Regi would’ve sworn that a dozen things happened at once. A pirate rushed him, but expecting Regi to be upright, tripped over Regi’s prone body. Regi lifted his weapon to defend himself, and it discharged. Only instead of sending a focused burst forward, a concussive force blasted the whole corridor.
Regi’s ribs protested vehemently, and he saw the pirate sliding down the wall into an inelegant heap just as Regi fell unconscious. Gods’ blessings indeed.
Chapter Three
Regi felt as thoughhis head might explode, but he groaned his way to consciousness. He didn’t have time to wallow in oblivion. “What happened?”
Bevit appeared above him, her wrinkled face showing concern until she scanned the medical readouts. Then her features transformed into something more amused. “Are you unclear on the part where you broke your own bones trying to walk or are you misremembering firing a damaged weapon in an enclosed place?”
That was brutally accurate. “I checked that weapon. The computer reported it was functioning within parameters.”
“The computer was the part of the weapon that was broken.” She clucked at him. “How are you feeling?”
“Like I fired a concussive weapon in an enclosed space.” Regi ran his fingers through his hair. At least he hadn’t cracked his skull. Poque had left him on the game board, so he still had a job to complete. Now if he could only discover that job, he would be halfway through to surviving this blessing.
“That's fair.” Bevit smoothed the edge of his blanket. “Other than a headache, I don't think you're going to have any side effects.”
“Side effects... those aren’t my first concern. Are we in immediate danger of being crushed by black hole?”
Bevit’s wrinkles grew deeper. “Ter is still cursing at anyone who will come near him, but the pirate ship is holding position and we are stuck to their hull.”
That sounded promising. At the very least, they weren’t going to die in the next few hours, not unless Poque gave them more blessings. “Do we have control of the pirate ship?”
She gave a dismissive jerk of her head. “I am entirely too busy with people suffering stress-related headaches and self-induced idiocy to go to briefings about the size and shape of our latest disaster.” Her voice suggested she was far too lofty and dignified to care about a small issue like a black hole.
Regi wasn't buying it. “You're avoiding the captain, aren't you?”
She leaned close and whispered. “To the ends of the universe. Unless I am forced to deal with them professionally, I am avoiding both Cota and Ter. They're idiots. I have raised four idiots and I know the misery they can inflict on sapient creatures who try to mitigate their inanity.”
“I dare you to say that again in front of Ter and Cota.”
