Page 8 of Escape from Nova Nine
Lhap Cho shook his head. “We don’t have time–”
Dajoya overrode him with forceful volume. “Yes, we do. Shitting griffins got into the staff food storeroom again. Warden wants them eradicated.”
Lhap Cho waved an arm dismissively. “Have at it, then.” He didn’t bother to hide his exasperation.
Julke waved to the noob. “Lunaso. Come stand next to me.” She edged left to give him room.
He glanced briefly at the guards, then walked to where she pointed to her right. He was taller than she’d thought, and wide-shouldered. At least he seemed comfortable moving in an exosuit.
Lantham and Sutrio moved to stand next to the noob.
Dajoya climbed up to look inside the hopper control cab and poke around in the tool compartment. She jumped down, generating a cloud of dust as her heavy gravity boots landed.
Her expression became more irritable as she waved the dust away and glared at Julke. “You, pirate-clan puke. Turn up the mister.”
Julke blanked her expression as she crossed to the enviro unit and did as ordered. If they ran out of water before the end of the shift, Dajoya and Lhap Cho would be the ones bringing them another tank.
Dajoya climbed up and into the jig’s cab, then leaned out to try the handle of the jig’s toolbox. “Why won’t this open?”
Julke’s heart sank. The little griffin Moonlet had nowhere to hide if Dajoya got the door open.
Sutrio clasped her hands behind her back. “It’s jammed.”
Dajoya jumped down and pulled out one of her favorite energy weapons, a high-res beamer. “Then I’ll un-jam it.”
“No!” The word was out before Julke could censor herself.
“Stop!” Lhap Cho lunged at Dajoya to clamp his gloved hand tightly onto her arm. “Why are you always shooting shit?”
Dajoya pulled herself away from his grip, but re-holstered her beamer. “Touch me again and I’ll kill you.”
The heated menace in her tone didn’t seem to faze Lhap Cho. “Hit a pure chofi deposit with a beamer and you won’t have to because we’llallbe dead.”
“Workgroup 17-C. Resume operations. Guards Lhap Cho and Dajoya, report to Security Operations Center immediately. Acknowledge and report.”The tone brooked no argument.
Lhap Cho stalked away from Dajoya stiffly, his expression hard. When she turned his direction, he gave her the universal gesture for “fuck you.”
Suddenly, the noob Lunaso stepped out of line, in front of Julke, facing the guards. “Am I supposed to stay here or come with you?”
Before Julke could react, he stiffened, then crumpled to the ground, twitching. His fall revealed that Dajoya now held a stunner.
Dajoya bent over to sneer at Lunaso. “Don’t speak unless you’re spoken to. I’m betting you won’t last a ten-day.” She straightened, then pointed the stunner at Julke and pressed the trigger.
Familiar fire lit up Julke’s body. Her knees collapsed, taking her down to lie twitching next to the enviro unit. Even after taking hundreds of stuns, it never got any easier to ride out the pain and disorientation.
“That’s for insubordination, pirate filth. Even the five of you left is too many–” Dajoya’s triumphant gloat was cut short by Lhap Cho forcefully pulling her away.
Through the brain fog caused by the stunner, she thought she heard Lhap Cho hissing at Dajoya as he forced her through the room’s temporary doorway. “You willnotcut into my bonus or get me killed when I only have twenty-eight more days in this hellhole!”
* * *
Thirty minutes later, all of Julke’s limbs belonged to her again. She’d spent the last ten minutes of conscious recovery time realizing that Lunaso had somehow known what Dajoya intended.
Like all guards, she was a shielder, but the hot-tempered woman was also a ramper who could draw a weapon faster than anyone else in the mine, even the warden’s red-armored guardians. If Zade was a ramper, too, able to use his minder talent to improve his speed and strength, he still couldn’t have blocked the shot in time, much less gotten a full question out.
That pointed to him being a sifter, able to detect impending violence. However, unless Dajoya had dropped her shield, he’d have to be high level to have felt it coming. If so, he’d have to be an expert at hiding the strength of his minder talent. Otherwise, he’d have been sent to the warden. Kanogan kept high-level talents for his own staff, willing or not. He had ugly ways of making them comply.
Since it took a minimum of three people to work the seam, Dajoya’s impulsive act gave Lantham and Sutrio an unexpected rest period, too. Julke took satisfaction in knowing both guards likely got reamed for impacting mine productivity.
