Page 43 of Tattle Tail
Despite being unfamiliar with the ship’s particular make and model, most spacefaring vessels fell within a standard design. Most components were interchangeable from one manufacturer to another. Filters were filters. Gaskets and seals, circuits and switches were all the same. It only made sense. A ship could travel across the galaxy and back again. Short of carrying years’ worth of replacement parts, a crew needed to know that if the phase emitter experienced fluctuations, the faulty parts could be swapped out. Unique components were more trouble than they were worth.
Peaceable might not understand the specifics, but she felt confident in her ability to spot a bomb.
As it was, Nettle was the one who discovered the bomb.
Buried underneath the cargo hold’s floor, the engine room wasn’t so much of a room as a crawl space with bad lighting. Cramped and hot, Peaceable shuffled forward on her hands and knees to peer at the engines, dragging a tool kit along with her. All lights were green, the Interstellar Union standard color for nothing in danger of exploding at the moment.
Nettle shoved her way between Peaceable’s arms and circled, tail whacking her face.
“Not right now, troublemaker,” she said.
Nettle purred, then tensed. Her fur puffed, the sulfurous lighting casting a noxious tint, turning the rich green and blue a sickly yellow. She made a clicking noise, then darted into the inner workings of the engine compartment.
“No, do not.” Peaceable reached to grab Nettle, but the wuap was too quick and vanished.
She sat up, hitting her head on a conduit. Sweating and feeling grimy from the cramped space, she rubbed the tender spot. “I should have left you in the carrier with Joseph,” she grumbled.
Being useful was a good way to distract herself from worry, but she’d have rather stayed with Joseph. He radiated calmness. Perhaps it was a skill learned from a lifetime of meditation and aura cleansing, or just confidence in his ability to pilot the ship. A few days ago, she would have thought it was cocky arrogance and nothing more.
She frowned. When had her opinion of Joseph shifted from arrogant to trustworthy? Because shedidtrust him.
Except when it came to what was an acceptable beverage and what was a vile slurry of partially dissolved granules in water. The male had no palate.
Nettle squeezed her way out, carrying a small device of patched-together metal in her mouth. She dropped it at Peaceable’s feet, tail proudly fanned and mewling in triumph. The device’s legs squirmed like a spider’s.
Peaceable recognized the device, though she had never seen one outside of a history vid.
A disruptor.
She picked it up carefully, her finger squeezing the hourglass-shaped center. Legs wiggled as it attempted to break free.
Disgusting thing.
Peaceable picked up the entire tool kit and crushed the disruptor.
A speaker—how old-fashioned, though Joseph would call it vintage—burst to life with static. “Three-minute warning,” he said.
“Good. I have something to show you.”
Joseph
“How many of those things are on my ship?”
“Unknown,” Peaceable answered.
The device appeared to be a patchwork of metal scraps and wire. It had six legs, vicious and sharp.
He prodded at one of the feet, testing the razor-sharp edge. “Nasty thing.”
“And highly illegal. Disruptors were favored by those who cared little for civilian life in the civil war on Talmar. A handful can disappear into the bowels of a ship and bring it down. Or a power station. Or a mass transit system.”
“I get the idea,” he said, holding up a hand to stop her from listing atrocities. The idea was horrible, but he got it. That thing fucked up his ship. Once they landed—if the landing gear wasn’t ruined—he’d give the entire ship a thorough inspection.
The proximity alarm went off.
“Strap in. We’re heading into the asteroid field,” he said, turning his attention to the screen.
Peaceable strapped herself into the chair, holding Nettle in her carrier on her lap. The go-suit created an iridescent shimmer over her body and the carrier. Nettle complained loudly about being unjustly imprisoned in her carrier.
