The Truth of Valor by Tanya Huff Page B

up from his board to find Huirre watching him. It was too dark to see the Krai’s expression. Hell, it was almost too dark, given the lack of hair, to be positive he was starring at Huirre’s face. “What?”
    “If we want lights back, I’d better help Krisk.”
    “How stable is our orbit?”
    “Doesn’t need watching if that’s what you’re asking.”
    Given Huirre’s careful tone, Cho figured he must smell like he was fukking furious. Good call, given that he was. “Go. Tell Krisk I said you were to concentrate on the lights. If he gives you any shit, I’ll deal with him.”
    “Aye, Captain.”
    They needed the scanners and weapons back on-line. Dysun would need the lights to repair her board. “Oh, and Huiire.” He heard the helmsman pause by the hatch. “You saved our asses. Good work.”
    “I was mostly concerned with saving my own ass, Captain.”
    “I don’t give a flying fuk what your motivation was.”
    He could hear Huirre grin. “Aye, Captain.”
    The ship’s original OS had been sliced and diced when safeties had been removed and new programming added, so it took him longer than he liked to get the external comm patched through. The system was barely up and running when it grabbed an incoming repeat from the Dargonar.
    Cho considered ignoring it. Didn’t.
    “So you’re not dead,” Firrg sounded disappointed. “Your salvage operator is.”
    Somehow, Cho managed to hold his temper. No point in starting something he couldn’t finish with Dysun’s board out. “We’ll find another. They’re like cockroaches.”
    “You’ll find another, not me. Not my problem if you’re incompetent. I did what I said I’d do, and that clears me with Big Bill. You say otherwise, I’ll hunt you down and eat your liver.”
    It sounded more like a statement of fact than a threat.

    “Good news is the armory took no damage.” Nat snorted. “Of course, that’s a little obvious since we’re not a smoking hole in space. Marines are hard on their toys, so the Corps builds those fukkers to last.” She swept her thumb over her slate and scowled down at the data. “Fact is, Cap, the cargo hold came through aces. The galley, not so much. The Susumi energy changed all of the protein strings. Won’t kill us right away, but cumulative effects would be unpleasant. Doc says we should space anything with the new markers. Not even let Huirre and Krisk eat it.”
    “And that’ll leave us with what?” Cho demanded.
    She shook her head. “Not a lot. We can stay out maybe a tenday with supplements, but we’re going to be hungry after a couple of days, very hungry by the end of the tenday, and sharing a ship with very hungry Krai, specially given why those two are out here—well, frankly, Cap, that doesn’t appeal.”
    Krisk had been a Navy engineer. Accelerated promotion to petty officer and moving up fast. Then, during a battle, he’d eaten his lieutenant. Eating her had meant Krisk could stay at his post and make the repairs that saved the ship. It might have been ignored—heat of the battle, circumstances needs must—except that there had been other organics Krisk could have eaten instead. Not to mention that the review board hadn’t been entirely convinced it had been the enemy that killed her.
    Cho glared down at his screen. Krisk had advised against bringing the Susumi engines on-line until he checked them out.
    “Shielding could’ve held. They might be fine. ’Course, we’re toasted if they’re not. Take me some time to make sure.”
    “How much time?”
    “If you trust Lemon-and-Lime-boy to do the external patching, I can run basic tests in three. Results’ll tell me how much longer.”
    “You’ve got two.” Cho indicated that Almon should suit up and join Nadayki outside.
    “Well, that’s fukking great. My jernil always said there’d be no one to eat me after I’m gone.”
    Two days minimum before they could get the Susumi drive back on-line. Five and a half days folded into Susumi