Page 33 of Relyn
A few moments later, Nora’s voice answered.
“Who’s me?”
“Me, me.”
“Is that Bright me? Or Gale me?” Nora asked calmly.
“Wendy’s here too,” she said.
There was an audible sigh before the door slid open. The four of them entered. Relyn closed the hatch behind them.
“Let’s get the fuck out of here before he changes his mind,” Wendy said. “Then we can talk.”
“Agreed,” Gale or Bright said, whatever her name.
Relyn went to Nora’s cabin to drop his weapons, not realizing that Grom had followed him. He wasn’t sure what to do with the young Georgun. Perhaps he’d follow his own advice and set him down on the first planet with good farmland that he could find, though, getting himself back in Rutra’s good graces without his nephew in tow would be more difficult.
Then there was the question of whether he wanted to go back to Alana’s Mercy. No, he threw that thought away. If he did not go back, then it would be up to some other Mahdfel to finish his mission. Relyn was already in and trusted, while multiple previous attempts had failed. It would mean parting with Nora, even for a brief time, but surely once their relationship was fully in place, it would become easier to leave her someplace safe, like Sangrin or Terra.
“There are some crew cabins to the left. I suggest you take one of those,” Relyn said.
“Rutra said-”
“Listen kid, if you want to stay alive, you’re going to forget everything that Rutra said. You’re going to shut up and you’re going to listen. Rutra sent you because you’re expendable. Hehalf expects Gale to shove you out an airlock the minute we get underway.”
“No, he said-”
“I just told you to forget Rutra. Now make yourself scarce, because I need to convince them that you’re harmless and worth keeping around. Otherwise, they will end up shoving you out an airlock.”
Grom just stood there, his mouth hole quivering for a good long moment.
“I said go. Out and to the left.”
The kid did leave, but it was clear he was confused as hell. He hadn’t figured out how his uncle would have sent him on such a dangerous mission.
Relyn found the three women in the cockpit. They’d released the docking ramps and cleared the hull of the Misery.
“Now,” Nora said. “Let’s talk.”
Chapter 15
Nora
“We’re back on course,” Bright said. She sat back in her chair and refused to make eye contact with Nora.
“I think the most pressing issue is the ‘if versus when’ of encountering pirates,” Nora said.
“I told you it was a possibility,” Bright began.
“Oh, yes, especially when one drives the ship directly into their path and asks to dock,” Nora said.
“You fly a ship. You don’t drive it,” Wendy inserted.
“You are not being helpful,” Nora said, going into teacher mode. Catching teenagers in a lie was her specialty. Hopefully her current target would be just as easy. “Is your name Bright, or is it Gale? Because he seems to think it’s Gale,” she said, pointing at Relyn who seemed content to let her lead.
“I have never met him before,” Bright said.
“You are not answering the question,” Nora said.
