Page 15 of Relyn
Three little stalks of ooze peered up from the puddle and rotated around, checking for danger. Grom slowly grew back into his bipedal shape and walked toward the ship.
Relyn headed to the hatch ramp and let Grom pass by him. Then he crossed over to the wreckage to examine the crate. It had survived unscathed. He activated the hover controls and navigated it around the smoking metal and guided it into their new ship.
Next, Relyn scooped up Lysh’s body and carried it into the ship as well. He had died trying to defend his crewmates and deserved an honorable burial. The Adrastians could rot for whatever carrion prey existed on this forlorn rock.
By this time, Ketle had calmed down somewhat, and after kicking the Adrastian corpses more than once, he stormed up the ramp and began poking into corners of the ship, looking for whatever treasures he could find. Relyn left him to it.
He joined Grom in the cockpit as they worked quickly to lift off and fly back to the ship.
“Rutra’s going to be mad at me,” Grom finally said after they were nearly in range of the Misery.
“Maybe. But think about it. This ship? Worth a couple of million,” Relyn said. “A hell of a lot more than 50 thousand credits. And they weren’t going to give it to you, no matter what you said. You came out ahead, and in the end, that’s all that matters.”
The rest of the trip was silent, except for some suspicious smashing noises coming from Ketle in the back of the ship. There was barely enough space to squeeze the new ship into the cargo hold. Rutra was there to meet them as they exited the hatch.
“This. This is not fifty thousand credits,” Rutra said as he put his hand on the side of the ship.
“It’s worth at least a couple of million,” Grom said coolly. “The bastards had no intention of ever paying us. They killed Lysh and blew the shuttle to pieces. The cargo is intact, though.”
Rutra seemed impressed with the news. A few other crew had begun to gather. “Tonight we drink in honor of Lysh, our fallen comrade!”
They cheered loudly. Honestly, they would have cheered any excuse to drink. It was one of their favorite activities, especially if someone else was providing the alcohol.
“I claim half the ship as my bounty,” Ketle announced. He glared at Grom, daring him to comment. “Minus the fifty thousand due the captain.”
“Half?” Rutra said, giving him the eye so hard it stuck out nearly three inches from his face area.
“The Sangrin killed two, I killed two, and Lysh killed one. Lysh is dead. I get half,” Ketle said. “That one-”
Relyn interrupted. “I’m afraid our friend is mistaken. He was hanging back in the cargo ship while we were negotiating. Lysh’s gun backfired. I killed one, and Grom killed two.”
“The fuck he did!”
“He went in to secure the ship. I went to secure the cargo, and you, my friend, beat the two Adrastians that you had already killed.”
“Is that true?” Rutra asked Grom. He nodded slowly, still confused at why he was getting credit for something he didn’t actually do.
“Then it’s settled. Fifty thousand credits for each kill. That means one hundred thousand credits to you, and as leader, Grom gets to divide the ship as he pleases.”
It was way more than Ketle could have expected if the mission had gone as planned, and he looked angrily between Grom, Relyn and the captain, before grunting and stomping off.Crossing the captain, once he’d made a decision, was a good way to get pushed out an airlock.
Hopefully Relyn’s calculated move had earned him a number of points with the captain. He’d only come away with fifty thousand credits, but money had never been anything but a means to an end with him. It would allow him to play Xeron and Threds for information, or it could even earn him a seat at the captain's table. Time would tell.
Chapter 7
Nora
It had only been three days, but Nora was beginning to suspect that Marco had not dialed in a number at random. Etlon 2 was more of a vacation planet than a dump site. Once you were out of the jungle and into the city, the humidity dropped and the temperature seemed to hover between seventy five and eighty five for most of the day.
And everything here was new, like brand new. The city was less than a year old. Coming from a city where most of the new stuff was built around 1950, all the shiny and the newness made it feel like a trip to Disneyland or a tropical resort. There were robots to clean, and food came prepared at the push of the button. Dishes were magicked away and every fucking wall was a giant seamless vid screen.
The streets were full of women carrying around bouncing green babies and everyone, and she meant everyone, was suspiciously friendlier than any logical person could expect. Perhaps that was her Philly talking, but even the tall muscle bound hotties wandering around in their tight biker shorts nodded in hello as she passed. Meadow had set her up with a room right next to hers. Room was not the right word. The suite was nearly as big as her whole house.
As far as activities went, Nora had already been invited to daily yoga classes, swimming classes, quilting, crochet and knitting circles and two different book clubs. There were only about fifty women in the city so far, but they were good at keeping busy.
Nora declined all the offers as politely as she could. It wouldn’t do to get involved. As nice as it was here, one did not stay permanently on vacation. For one thing, there were no schools here. All the children seemed to be under the age of two. Nora didn’t do little kids. She did mouthy street teens that could give as good as they got. Meadow had said they were expecting more Mahdfel, many of which would bring their families. But Mahdfel were trained at a young age and as teenagers were already fighting and studying like proper little soldiers. Honestly, there was nothing little about them. They seemed to go from ten to prime male meat overnight. Either way, no self respecting Mahdfel would allow a single woman to teach their teenage warrior literature from some backward planet on the fringe of the galaxy.
She’d worked her whole life knowing that there was a slight chance that one birthday she’d be shipped out to be a baby maker for some alien husband, but she’d never really contemplated the day to day aspect of being uprooted and going from sole provider to having practically everything she could need or want at her fingertips. There were teachers at her school that would be in heaven right now, settling in and leaving the world behind them. Nora couldn’t do that. She was needed back at home.
