Page 41 of Her Cyborg Commander
Phylomenia waved her hand. “Don’t listen to him. Scotty isn’t a colonel anymore. He retired, so he couldn’t arrest you even if he wanted to.” She turned to glare at the former colonel. “And we don’t want to do that.”
Edge relaxed a little. Whatever was going on, Archer wasn’t the one he needed to worry about.
Phylomenia turned to the screen again and smiled. “We’re here because Chance sent us to find you. She said we were your best shot at getting clear of whatever mess you’re in. So, where’s the asshole hunting you?”
“Dead,” River said without a hint of remorse.
“Good. So, if he’s dealt with, why are you here instead of on you way back to Haven?” Phylomenia asked.
“Because he was working with the Shadows. The ship Jens was on is still chasing us. It’s a Viper class warship registered to a corporation that has to be a shell company. When we first saw it, it showed as a commercial freighter named theMaggie-May-Dance. It only dropped the fake transponder once we made it off the planet and it gave chase.”
“I told you they wouldn’t give up easily!” a third voice called from somewhere off screen.
Phylomenia shook her head. “Yes. Yes. You’re brilliant. You’ll get a cookie later.”
“That’s not what I want, and you know it, Mena.”
The woman smirked. “Fine. Orgasms later instead of cookies.”
“Who was that?” River asked.
“Garrett Michaels.” Phylomenia held up her left hand. “I got married. That’s husband number two.”
Archer buried his face in his hands. “This is why I wanted to have this conversation without the two of you on the bridge.”
Edge burst out laughing. “I wasn’t sure at first, but I think I’m going to like you all.”
Eddi interrupted again, though this time it kept the alarms at a reasonable noise level.
On the other ship’s bridge, red lights flashed, indicating they were getting the same warning.
“Warning. Jump point detected. Another ship is about to transit into normal space.”
Scott Archer scowled. “Friends of yours?”
“The only friends we have out here is you,” River said.
Archer nodded. “Then I think it’s time we said hello. Get that little ship of yours tucked in behind theBat. I’ll extend the shields to protect you. We’ll talk soon.”
As the message ended, Phylomenia called out “Enjoy the show!”
Once he was sure the connection was severed, Edge moved deeper into the cockpit, already looking for the newly arrived ship. “Well, that was interesting.”
River nodded, her eyes on the same screen as his. “Phylomenia is something else. She’s the reason we knew about Liberty at all. She’s friends with a lot of people, including the princess, Sevda, and Zura. You remember her?”
“Zura? Yeah, I do. She came to visit the colony after Astek Station was decommissioned. She’s married to a pair of cyborgs. Good males. Solid fighters.”
“That’s her.”
“You know a lot more humans than I do,” he commented.
“We can change that.”
While they talked, Eddi positioned them exactly where Archer had instructed.
“Do you think they’re talking to the other ship?” Edge asked.
Pulse cannon fire slammed into the shield protecting them. “I think they’re done talking,” River said.
