Page 31 of Galactic Search and Rescue
“That seems like forever right now.” She looked up at him with her gorgeous emerald green eyes. “In the meantime, would you be interested in a kiss?”
“Hell, yes.” He slowly lowered his mouth to hers, savoring the anticipation.
A loud series of tones sounded in the shuttle.“Damnit, Silver Team, would one of you put on your damn earwire? I’m at the edge of the grove. I’ll be peeved if one of you shoots me.”
Taz pulled back from him with a laugh. “See what I mean about the lousiest timing ever?” She fished in her pocket. “Maybe we can revisit this later.”
“I’d like that.” He kept his smile, but he could already feel her slipping away. Crossing to the worktable where he’d left his clothes, he put on his earwire, then pulled on his pants over his shorts. Pain hollowed his chest and made the air seem too thin to breathe.
A minute later, Hatya walked up the ramp, still wearing the ship-loader assist frame. Her hair was back to its more normal top braids. Moyo followed her into the shuttle and headed toward the back.
Hatya gave them a weary smile as she stepped out of the frame, then lifted it like it weighed one kilo instead of fifty and pushed it into the shuttle’s holdfasts. “I’m planting my ass in the pilot seat. We need to talk.”
Taz followed Hatya up front. Unease tightened his shoulders. He grabbed his boots and tunic, then joined them.
“I’ll cut to the core. Your orders from Bhayrip are to get to the space station. Regular pilot orders are to make sure you get there by any means necessary. After you all transit out to the reassignment base, Jumpers have secret orders to secure or space any GSAR equipment left behind. Which tells me GSAR is being zeroed.” She pulled a water pouch from the floor bin and took a long draught.
The ice of adrenaline seeped into Rylando’s lungs, stealing his breath. He’d thought he’d have more time to make arrangements for his team.
“This debacle is a colossal cluster, so I have a proposition for you. I take you and the animals to this continent’s commercial spaceport. I’ll use my Jumper credentials to arrange commercial transport formy family, since military ships won’t let you bring your menagerie of household pets. You pick the destination. You’re on your own after that. The town gets what’s left of your gear. Yanoshi gets your airsled for his farm and the chance to screw the CPS by confirming my story that you died when more of the CAC’s first floor collapsed. Which it did, by the way. Oh, and seeing as how it houses a previously unsuspected galactic node that you miraculously saved with your last brave act, the town will probably build a memorial to GSAR. If Bhayrip gives me shit about any of this, I’ll remind him he sent two humans and a few animals on a high-profile rescue instead of the full team he promised. But he won’t have time to investigate.”
The possibilities intrigued Rylando, but he saw multiple problems to solve. “How much trouble will you be in for doing this?”
“Little to none. Bhayrip’s world is crashing. My nearest chain of command is five transit days away and has no idea what I do. Besides, with GSAR zeroed, I’m out of a job. I’m retiring.”
Taz cleared her throat. “Not to be ungrateful or anything, but why are you doing this?”
“Told ya, this is a cluster.” Her chin jutted out pugnaciously.
Taz raised a skeptical eyebrow as she met and held Hatya’s gaze.
Hatya fought it for a second, then made a sour face. “Okay, fine. Bhayrip is going to force Unit 1051 to leaveallthe animals behind as one final ‘fuck you’ to Rylando. No way am I destroying good and loyal dogs because the CPS wants a clean slate.”
Taz shook her head in shocked disgust, then looked away, blinking fast. “Damnit.” The word sounded watery.
Rylando wished he could say Bhayrip’s revenge and the CPS’s orders surprised him, but he’d spent too many years in Unit 1051. “We’ll need funds. If you declare us dead, they’ll freeze our accounts. My family doesn’t need the money, so my estate and the on-duty death payout are willed to charity.”
“Mine, too,” said Taz. “I don’t have much cash, but GSAR will owe my estate for two thousand-plus hours’ worth of leave along with the death payout. It all goes to a search-and-rescue charity. My family refuses to admit to having any minders in their gene pool, so they don’t need my money, either.”
An idea bubbled up into Rylando’s thoughts. “I remember a story where the character embezzled from herself by creating bogus certified debts. If we make backdated debts to Hatya for buying something, or maybe losing a bet, she could file claims against our estates and send us the proceeds.” He looked to Hatya. “That is, if you’re willing. It’ll probably be a bureaucratic pain in the ass.”
“Sure, why not? Retirees have all the time in the galaxy on their hands. Better make a few of those debts to my brother, though. Wouldn’t want a CPS payout officer getting any sharp ideas. You’ll have to keep in touch and tell me where you each end up.” She cast glances at them both. “So, are we doing this?”
“Yes,” said Taz. Her jaw tightened.
He nodded. “Yes.”
“Good.” Hatya made shooing motions with her hands. “Go arrange your pets for a fast trip to the spaceport. Pack everything from the shuttle you think you’ll need or could sell. If Bhayrip asks, I’ll tell him I got a head start on decommissioning GSAR equipment.” She turned away to trigger the controls to retract the ramp.
Taz tilted her head in tacit invitation. He nodded and followed her to the back of the shuttle. In the confines of the storage area, she reeled him in for a long embrace that he hadn’t known he’d needed. Their bodies fit together like perfect puzzle pieces. He longed to melt into her warmth.
She loosened her hold to look up at him with a serious expression. “That place you invited me to visit. Can they take you now? Would they want someone like me?”
“Yes, and yes,” he said. “They don’t know it yet, but they desperately need a telekinetic tech genius.”
“Good to know.” Her head drifted back to his shoulder. “This is all… a lot to take in.”
He nuzzled his nose into her hair and took in the intriguing scent of her. “Second thoughts?”
