our repair bill manageable,” Reese said, clenching her teeth as a rock flew past, narrowly missing.
The intercom chimed and Kis’eh’t flicked it on.
“Lowerdeck. Am not getting much done with you sending me shooting across the deck on feathers.”
“Sorry about that,” Kis’eh’t said. “We’re trying to out-fly two raiders they’ve sent for us. I recommend strapping down.”
“Thanks for the not-warning. Will get back to work.” The comm shut down.
“At least he doesn’t have the screaming shakes,” Reese said.
“Kis’eh’t, find me the densest bit of this band.”
“Head further sunward. There’s a pack of asteroids ahead.”
“Thanks.”
Irine sidled over until her side was pressed against Reese’s. For once, Reese didn’t care; usually she discouraged the twins from coming near since their hugs tended to turn into cuddling. It seemed like a crime to die without having a good cuddle though, at least with someone who wasn’t practically a plant, like Allacazam.
“Are we going to die?” Irine whispered.
“Don’t think things like that,” Reese said.
“Seriously,” Irine said. “Because I think I’d rather live as someone’s pleasure slave than die free.”
Reese glanced at her, was just a little surprised to discover the tigraine was serious. Homeworld-bred Harat-Shar could be very strange. From experience, Reese knew better than to try to explain that she and Kis’eh’t and Bryer and certainly Hirianthial would probably have a much more difficult time spending their lives in captivity, so instead she said, “What if you don’t wind up a pleasure slave? What if they put you to work mining ore or something?”
“No one forces slaves to do manual labor,” Irine whispered. “Machines are faster and last longer.”
“What if they send you to the Chatcaavan Empire? I hear they torture their slaves.”
“A little pain is a good thing,” Irine said. Added, “Sometimes a lot of pain.”
Which was more than Reese wanted to know. She winced as an asteroid whacked the side of the ship, sending a quiver through the deck plates. Finally she said, “What if they don’t want another Harat-Shar slave? What if they kill you and use your pelt as a throw rug?”
That paled the skin inside Irine’s ears. “Do you really believe there’s a sapient fur trade?”
“I didn’t believe there was a slave trade either,” Reese said.
Irine wrapped her arms around Reese’s waist and shuddered. “I don’t want to be someone’s rug!”
“And I don’t want to be someone’s harem girl, so let’s just hope your brother knows what he’s doing.”
The ship shivered again. “You’ll want to avoid the rocks, Sascha.”
“That wasn’t a rock,” Kis’eh’t said. “They’re firing at us. Ranging shots, looks like.”
“Let them try to keep a bead on us,” Sascha growled. “Hang on, ariisen .”
The Earthrise banked so sharply to the side an alarm went off. Reese slapped a hand against one ear and crawled to the other side of the bridge to find the source. One of her panels had gone red and was flashing ‘Structural Stress Overload’ and ‘Gantry Separation Imminent.’ “Blood and Freedom, Sascha, there are things threatening to separate from this ship I didn’t even know were on it!”
“Not now, boss,” Sascha said tightly.
Reese chanced a look out the rear windows and froze. She’d spent an appreciable amount of her adulthood in space and was accustomed to the distances—”near” in spacer terms wasn’t eyeshot, which meant she should not, under any circumstances, be able to see that pirate there that was flying around the asteroid that Sascha must have been swerving to miss. Now was not the time to vomit, but her stomach flexed in her middle anyway.
The second raider appeared on the first one’s heels and the Earthrise bucked so violently Reese lost her hold on the board and smacked sideways into a crate.
“They missed us!” Kis’eh’t
The intercom chimed and Kis’eh’t flicked it on.
“Lowerdeck. Am not getting much done with you sending me shooting across the deck on feathers.”
“Sorry about that,” Kis’eh’t said. “We’re trying to out-fly two raiders they’ve sent for us. I recommend strapping down.”
“Thanks for the not-warning. Will get back to work.” The comm shut down.
“At least he doesn’t have the screaming shakes,” Reese said.
“Kis’eh’t, find me the densest bit of this band.”
“Head further sunward. There’s a pack of asteroids ahead.”
“Thanks.”
Irine sidled over until her side was pressed against Reese’s. For once, Reese didn’t care; usually she discouraged the twins from coming near since their hugs tended to turn into cuddling. It seemed like a crime to die without having a good cuddle though, at least with someone who wasn’t practically a plant, like Allacazam.
“Are we going to die?” Irine whispered.
“Don’t think things like that,” Reese said.
“Seriously,” Irine said. “Because I think I’d rather live as someone’s pleasure slave than die free.”
Reese glanced at her, was just a little surprised to discover the tigraine was serious. Homeworld-bred Harat-Shar could be very strange. From experience, Reese knew better than to try to explain that she and Kis’eh’t and Bryer and certainly Hirianthial would probably have a much more difficult time spending their lives in captivity, so instead she said, “What if you don’t wind up a pleasure slave? What if they put you to work mining ore or something?”
“No one forces slaves to do manual labor,” Irine whispered. “Machines are faster and last longer.”
“What if they send you to the Chatcaavan Empire? I hear they torture their slaves.”
“A little pain is a good thing,” Irine said. Added, “Sometimes a lot of pain.”
Which was more than Reese wanted to know. She winced as an asteroid whacked the side of the ship, sending a quiver through the deck plates. Finally she said, “What if they don’t want another Harat-Shar slave? What if they kill you and use your pelt as a throw rug?”
That paled the skin inside Irine’s ears. “Do you really believe there’s a sapient fur trade?”
“I didn’t believe there was a slave trade either,” Reese said.
Irine wrapped her arms around Reese’s waist and shuddered. “I don’t want to be someone’s rug!”
“And I don’t want to be someone’s harem girl, so let’s just hope your brother knows what he’s doing.”
The ship shivered again. “You’ll want to avoid the rocks, Sascha.”
“That wasn’t a rock,” Kis’eh’t said. “They’re firing at us. Ranging shots, looks like.”
“Let them try to keep a bead on us,” Sascha growled. “Hang on, ariisen .”
The Earthrise banked so sharply to the side an alarm went off. Reese slapped a hand against one ear and crawled to the other side of the bridge to find the source. One of her panels had gone red and was flashing ‘Structural Stress Overload’ and ‘Gantry Separation Imminent.’ “Blood and Freedom, Sascha, there are things threatening to separate from this ship I didn’t even know were on it!”
“Not now, boss,” Sascha said tightly.
Reese chanced a look out the rear windows and froze. She’d spent an appreciable amount of her adulthood in space and was accustomed to the distances—”near” in spacer terms wasn’t eyeshot, which meant she should not, under any circumstances, be able to see that pirate there that was flying around the asteroid that Sascha must have been swerving to miss. Now was not the time to vomit, but her stomach flexed in her middle anyway.
The second raider appeared on the first one’s heels and the Earthrise bucked so violently Reese lost her hold on the board and smacked sideways into a crate.
“They missed us!” Kis’eh’t
Similar Books
