Page 274 of Reaper Said Mine

Dane points. “There.”

He lunges for the red cylinder clipped near the hatch, but the ship banks hard. He slams into the wall, swears, and grabs the cylinder on the rebound.

Rana tears open the panel with a tool that looks illegal in several jurisdictions. “Ursa, the secondary comm junction runs through this wall. If the main array is down, we might punch a burst through the emergency beacon, but I need power stabilized first.”

“We’re still being fired on?”

“Do you hear the horrible noises?”

“Yes.”

“That’s the sound of yes.”

Dane sprays suppressant into the hatchway. White foam blasts over the flames, hissing as it hits hot metal. The smoke thins slightly, then thickens again when another conduit sparks.

Sera’s voice comes from the cabin. “There’s another ship on starboard!”

I crawl back far enough to see through the viewport.

The unmarked vessel slides into view against the stars, darker than the space around it, its hull lights dimmed. It is larger than the inspection cutter and uglier, built for function rather than permission. A weapons port glows along its flank.

My stomach drops.

“They’re not trying to destroy us,” Rana says behind me.

A shot slams into the transport’s underside, and the whole cabin bucks upward.

I slam one hand against the deck to catch myself. “Could’ve fooled me.”

“They’re disabling us. Engines, comms, control. They want us alive enough to board.”

The medical courier lets out a small, horrified sound.

Dane lowers the extinguisher. “That is somehow worse.”

“Yes,” Rana says. “Thank you for following.”

The pilot’s voice returns through broken speakers. “We are losing port stabilizer. Emergency beacon damaged. Unidentified vessel demands power-down and boarding compliance.”

Rana looks at me. “They’ll dock in under five minutes.”

“Can we jump?”

“Not unless you’ve got a superluminal drive in your boot.”

“I used that space for evidence.”

“Priorities.”

I grab the toolkit from beneath Sera’s seat and open it. The fake medical cartridge sits inside, intact. Relief hits so hard my hands almost shake again. I remove the cartridge, then peel back the casing to check the internal drive. A hairline crack runs across the outer shell.

No.

My breath catches.

Rana sees my face.

“How bad?”