Page 30 of Galactic Search and Rescue
The anger she’d been bottling up all day broke through her controls. “Thank you for saying that, sir. Per Regulation 79-A”—she grabbed his neck with her teke talent—”I get to leave your worthless waste of perfectly good carbon and water right here.” She tightened the pressure on his throat. “Be a bloody fucking shame if something catastrophic was about to happen to this building, say, in the basement.” She took satisfaction in seeing the panic in his eyes as he lost consciousness. When she released his neck, he collapsed to the floor. Finally!
Rylando spoke through her earwire. “Make sure he’s really down before you transport him. He’s a twisty little shit.” His voice took on a teasing note. “And if I’m ever foolish enough to make you mad, oh respected Field Co-Commander, please consider this an advance apology. Sir.”
She took a deep breath and let it out slowly, imagining she was exhaling the anger out with the air. “Noted, Field Co-Commander.”
Chaos, but she was going to miss him. “See you in ten.”
9
Salamaray Township, Perlarossa • GDAT 3242.334
Rylando stood at the top of the shuttle’s ramp, watching the sturdy maple trees and admiring the red half-moon shaped seed pods. Their distinctive leaves danced in the hot summer afternoon breeze and cast dappled shadows. It had been more than a decade since he’d even been stationed on a planet, much less on a base with natural greenery. The unpredictable air currents that tickled the bare skin of his bare chest reminded him how much he’d gone without over the years.
The usual adrenaline drop-off effect at the end of a rescue he could handle. He didn’t know how to handle the end of friendships. Of partnerships. Maybe of his career.
He had zero doubts that the CPS would be willing to sacrifice the entire GSAR branch to keep the galactic peace. Or more likely, to keep their budget from bleeding out. But he couldn’t imagine what other use the regular CPS Minder Corps had for trained and experienced rescuers, much less a mid-level animal-affinity minder with a knack for training animals and their human handlers.
Moyo pushed her big head into his hand and drooled on his shorts. Which reminded him that if GSAR dissolved, he’d have to do something about his team. GSAR rules would no longer protect them from being separated. The regular military hated animals on their bases, stations, and ships. He rubbed Moyo’s ears and raised his talent to check on the well fed, sleepy animals who were resting in their nest or surface of choice. Even Shen dozed. “We’ll manage.”
“Manage what?” asked Taz.
He turned around to look at her. The first thing they’d done when Hatya sent them to wait in the shuttle was grab quick water-based showers from the shuttle’s full tank. Her sleeveless top and exercise pants highlighted her sexy curves and muscular strength. With a colorful towel wrapped around her head and piled high, she looked like a pre-flight Egyptian queen.
“Just wondering about the future.” He patted Moyo’s rump and gave her permission to investigate the interesting smells under the trees. She gleefully bounded down the ramp like a puppy.
“Me, too,” she said. “Any predictions?”
He sighed. “The CPS won’t know what to do with any of us, but they won’t let us go, either.” Shen’s brindle-coated form caught his eye. “We’re kind of like her. The controller gives her enhanced abilities to work with humans, but it’s wasted on owners who just want a pet.” He looked back at Taz. “Were you able to connect with her using the codes I sent?”
“No.” Her lips tightened. “I didn’t want to form a bond with her, then be forced to abandon her a few days later. It seems bloody unlikely that we’ll be assigned to the same unit again. I’m going to miss your team a lot.”
“They’ll miss you, too.” He’d wasted so much time pushing her away instead of inviting her closer. And now it was too late to change that.
Her gaze dropped to her toes. “If it’s none of my business, just say so, but do you have an emergency-shelter plan for your team? In case the CPS forces you to retire them?” She rocked back and forward on her heels and gave him a sideways look. “I don’t have much in savings, but I’d help you pay for long-term boarding. They saved a lot of lives today.”
The usual evasions stuck in his throat. She deserved to know the truth. “I know a place. All I have to do is get them there. It’s a charity for animals that GSAR thinks are missing in action.”
“Oh?” Her eyes widened in dawning comprehension. “Oh.” The corners of her mouth tilted upward. “Very clever. Much better than letting GSAR bureaucrats decide what to do with ‘retired’ animals.”
Before he lost his courage, he added, “It’s my life-after-GSAR plan, too. They’re a privately funded sanctuary on a donated chunk of land. They can use my talents. Maybe you could come visit, after we both term out.”
She stilled, then studied his face, her expression serious. “Do you like me? I mean, not just professionally?”
“Yes.” He tightened his fists in his pockets. “To be honest, I’m crazy about you. I dream about you. Very nonprofessional, nova-hot dreams.” The air froze in his chest as he waited for her reaction.
“Oh.” She blew out a loud breath. “I dream about you, too. Especially when you’re gone. You make me laugh. You make me feel safe.” She opened her mouth to speak, then stopped herself and shook her head. “And don’t we have the lousiest damn timing in the universe?”
A rueful chuckle escaped him. “Yeah, we do.”
She put her fists on her hips and looked down. “In the spirit of full disclosure, I’m no prize. I have a history of epically bad choices in lovers. The last one set me up as the scapegoat for a massive heist. It made me so mad that I put in for a transfer to Unit 1051, then sent the damning evidence to everyone in his command structure right before the ship went transit. When he finally gets out of military detention, he might want to settle the score.” She ended with a forceful sigh.
Since she’d been so candid, he could be no less. “I’m no prize, either. I nearly killed a previous teammate when I discovered he’d been torturing Moyo for weeks. Hatya had to pull me off him. The only reason I’m not in long-term military detention with your ex is because I gave the asshole a concussion that erased his memory of that afternoon. He had a long record of instigating violence, and Hatya swore on her oath that I’d acted in self-defense.” He wasn’t proud of what he’d done, but knew he’d do it again in a nanosecond.
“Sounds like we both have a temper when provoked. I knew there was a reason I liked you right from the start.” She held out her hands to him. “When does your contract terminate?”
He took her hands and stepped closer. “Three years, two days. What about yours?” She edged closer, only centimeters away.
Her warm breath on his chest raised goosebumps. “Almost the same. A little under three years.”
