Page 28 of Galactic Search and Rescue
One of the knots in Taz’s stomach untwisted when she saw Rylando, a little worse for wear, emerge and cross to her. Mariposa and the kinkajou riding on his shoulders gave his GSAR uniform an eccentric flair.
His eyes flicked to the new dents and scratches on her suit before meeting her gaze. “You okay?”
“Green go. My suit took the damage. You?”
He touched the swollen red mark on the side of his face. “Nothing a burn patch and a couple of bruise washers can’t fix.” His head circled in a quick neck stretch. That familiar gesture told her he’d been under a lot of stress.
Hatya used the ship-loader assist frame’s forks to lift Pelvannor. “Want me to take the kid’s pet to her?”
Rylando nodded and walked closer to her, arm extended up to Hatya’s shoulder height. “Go on. She’s only scary on the outside.”
The little brown creature obligingly crawled onto Hatya’s shoulder and burrowed itself under her hair and wrapped its long tail around her neck.
A delighted smile lit Hatya’s face. “Don’t tell any other Jumpers about this, or I’ll never live it down.” She turned to leave. “Keep in touch.”
A pang of loss went through Taz. She’d probably never see either Hatya or Rylando again after the GSAR reorganization.
Rylando squared his shoulders. “Where is Po taking Stramlo?”
She ordered herself to focus on the here and now. “Probably closer to the hypercube facility below. I’m guessing he needs Stramlo, or at least his biometrics, to operate the detonator.” She pointed to his team. “Want me to carry the crate, or are they walking with us?”
He looked at them for a long moment. “Shen and Moyo want to walk. Lerox and the cats will ride.”
“Copy that.” She sank to one knee to give him easier access to the back of her suit. “Hook it up.”
He rapped his knuckles twice on her shoulder plate when he was done. “Thank you for not asking me to leave them.”
The implications of his words sank in as she rose to her feet. “Captain Bhayrip is a platinum-plated asshole.” Jutting her chin forward unrepentantly, she added, “And I’ll say it again for the official record if you want, Field Commander, sir.”
Hands on his hips, he gave her a mock glare. “Just for that, I’m promoting you to Field Co-Commander as of right now. Let’s go after those lifesigns.”
Amusement relaxed some of her tension as she turned toward and started on the path Po had taken. “The scanners say they’re still on the move.” She held out her arm to show him the holo map and the realtime scanner trace.
Rylando walked beside her. “I’m assuming the detonator won’t work.” His tone held a note of uncertainty.
“I disabled the timers.” She’d wait to tell him how many there had been. He might not appreciate how she’d used his team to help. “Damn, I wish we had our flying camera set.”
“We have the next best thing.” Mariposa launched herself from his shoulder and flew ahead of them. He slid the medical pack around so he could wear it as a backpack. “Po sure was talkative all of a sudden.”
Taz appreciated his circumspect phrasing. “I asked the ERC if they had any sifters who might help make him more tractable.” She’d gotten the idea from the instructor they’d rescued that morning. “Probably needed more time.”
She glanced at Rylando but couldn’t tell if he was upset. GSAR rescuers weren’t supposed to use their talents that way. Asking a civilian to do it was a gray area headed toward black.
“Oh, so that’s how you knew he was lying. And that he’s a ramper.”
Oops. That had been her. “Sifter talents are interesting, aren’t they?”
“Yeah, they’re ace. Wish I knew...” His feet slowed. “Mariposa found them. Po isn’t dragging Stramlo anymore, but he’s still holding the beamer on him. They’re stopping. Po is telling Stramlo to set the countdown. Stramlo is shaking his head.”
Taz held up her scanning holo map again. “They’re in this short hallway. If I distract Po, you and the dogs can streak by and pull Stramlo around the corner.”
He stopped and frowned at her. “He’s fast. Your suit is not beamer proof.”
She slowed and turned to face him as she walked backward. “Yeah, but it’s beamer-resistant.” When his frown deepened, she stopped. “I think this ends in tragedy if we wait for law enforcement. But I know it’s stretching ‘rescue’ to the breaking point, and maybe I’m thinking with adrenalin instead of brain cells. Your call, Subcaptain. What do you want to do?”
Emotions flickered across his face too fast for her to interpret. “I want you safe.” He blew out a heavy breath. “But we’re in the rescue business, and I can’t think of a better way to save Stramlo.”
Of course her stupid heart would pick that completely inappropriate moment to urge her to ask him what else he wanted, and tell him what she wanted, too. She shook it off. “Ready-set, then. You might need room to run. Scans aren’t definitive. Can Mariposa tell us if that far hall is clear?”
