Jared stared at him blankly. “When did we begin to have reveille onboard the Salvager?”
“This morning when we were to report for duty … which you did not!”
“I am here, gods damn it! I just do not know what it is that we are supposed to do.”
“Weare removing everything from the shuttles that can be removed,” Sebastian growled. “I do not know what you are doing beyond standing around with your thumb up your ass complaining!”
Still with no clearer idea of what the objective was and what, therefore, would be considered nonessential, Jared finally grabbed up a piece of equipment Sebastian had unbolted and headed down the gang plank with it. Reuel met him at the foot of the gang plank. He had just decided that he had not slipped in without notice as he had thought when Reuel summoned Kane.
Mystified, he followed Reuel across the bay. “I understand that Chloe and her father picked the two of you up on Xeno-12.”
Frowning, Jared flicked a glance at Kane and nodded. “They were collecting salvage, correct?”
Jared flushed. “Correct.”
“Is this some of the salvage that is still in the hold?”
Jared caught the direction of his thoughts. “It is. Most of it is useless, but there may be some weapons that can be repaired.”
Reuel smiled with satisfaction. “Let us see what there is, shall we?” Turning, he summoned three of his own men and followed Kane and Jared to the hold where the salvage was stored. By the time they stopped for the midday meal, they had uncovered two photon cannons and three pulse lasers. Carrying them up to the bay where the men were still working on the shuttles, they left them and headed to the mess.
Jared had managed to, mostly, put Chloe from his mind while they were sifting through the debris from the late war, or at least his dissatisfaction with their parting that morning. The salvage brought back far too many unpleasant memories for that to remain in the forefront of his mind, but it also brought back the memory of when he had been taken aboard the Salvager, the first time that he had seen Chloe.
He had known that he was dying, that he had reached the point where even his nanos could not repair the damage because he had had no food to provide the necessary elements the nanos needed to repair him. And then he had opened his eyes and seen her staring down at him. He had not understood then what that expression on her face and in her eyes had meant. He still was not entirely sure—but pity certainly. He knew that she must also have felt revulsion, but he had not seen that, only the pity and sorrow.
And then she had realized that he was looking at her and she had sucked in her breath and jumped, falling back on her ass in the debris around them. He had expected her to scream. To leap to her feet and run. Instead, she had hesitated and then moved closer. It heartened him enough that he had thought she might help. “Water.”
Her face had crumpled. She had looked like she might cry. “Wait! I’ll be right back.”
Her father had been with her when she had returned, but she had brought water. He could not lift his head and she could not, although she struggled trying to for a moment before she gave up. He had thought that he would not get water, but she had carefully tipped the cup until it dropped onto his lips and he had licked it off until his tongue ceased to feel swollen with dryness.
“He’s a cyborg, pumpkin. Leave him alone. They’re dangerous.”
She glanced at her father with an expression he had not been able to interpret until she spoke—with anger. “He’s hurt! I’m not going to leave him alone! He’s needs help.”
“He’s not a pet, pumpkin! He’s a soldier and he’s dangerous.”
“Go away if you won’t help!”
“He’s gonna die anyway.”
“I can at least make him more comfortable if you’d help me.”
“Damn it, Chloe! He’s a gods damn cyborg! You can’t make him comfortable. He isn’tuncomfortable!”
“He asked for water!”
Her father stared at her for a long moment. “He needs something for energy. He’s starving.” He looked disgusted and worried. “I’ll get something to lift him.”
“Kane,” he had managed to say, remembering his partner. “Kane, too.”
He had worried that she had not understood, but when she straightened, she began to push the debris aside. “He’s here.”
“Alive?”
“There’s another one, Pops! His friend’s over here. We need to move him, too.”
“Gods damn it, Chloe!”
