Since she’d been so candid, he could do no less. “I’m no prize, either. I nearly killed a previous teammate when I discovered he’d been torturing Moyo for weeks. Hatya had to pull me off him. The only reason I’m not in long-term military detention with your ex is because I gave the asshole a concussion that erased his memory of that afternoon. He had a long record of instigating violence, and Hatya swore on her oath that I’d acted in self-defense.” He wasn’t proud of what he’d done but also knew he’d do it again in a nanosecond.
“Sounds like we both have a temper when provoked. I knew there was a reason I liked you right from the start.” She held out her hands to him. “When does your contract terminate?”
He took her hands and stepped closer. “Two years, two days. What about yours?” She edged closer, only centimeters away.
Her warm breath on his chest raised goosebumps. “A little under three years.”
“That seems like forever right now.” She looked up at him with her gorgeous emerald green eyes. “In the meantime, would you be interested in a kiss?”
“Hell, yes.” He slowly lowered his mouth to hers, savoring the anticipation.
A loud series of tones sounded in the shuttle. “Damnit, Silver Team, would one of you put on your damn earwire? I’m at the edge of the grove, and I don’t want you to shoot me.”
Taz pulled back from him with a laugh. “See what I mean about lousiest timing ever?” She fished in her pocket. “Maybe we can revisit this later.”
“I’d like that,” he replied, but he could already feel her slipping away. Crossing to the worktable where he’d left his clothes, he put on his earwire, then pulled on his pants over his shorts.
A minute later, Hatya walked up the ramp, still wearing the ship-loader assist frame. Her hair was back to its more normal top braids. Moyo followed her into the shuttle and headed toward the back.
Hatya gave them a weary smile as she stepped out of the frame, then lifted it like it weighed one kilo instead of fifty and pushed it into the shuttle’s holdfasts. “I’m planting my ass in the pilot seat. We need to talk.”
Taz followed Hatya up front. Unease curled into his chest. He grabbed his boots and tunic, then joined them.
“I’ll cut to the core. Your orders from Bhayrip are to get to the space station. Pilot orders are to make sure you get there by any means necessary. After you all ship out to the reassignment base, Jumpers have secret orders to sabotage any GSAR equipment left behind. Which tells me GSAR is being zeroed.” She pulled a water pouch from the floor bin and took a long draught.
Cold seeped into Rylando’s lungs, stealing his breath. He’d thought he’d have more time to make arrangements for his team.
“I think this is complete and utter yak shit, so I have a proposition for you. I take you and the animals to this continent’s commercial spaceport and use my Jumper credentials to arrange commercial transport for my family, since military ships won’t let you bring your menagerie of pets. You pick the destination, but you’re on your own after that. Yanoshi gets your airsled for his farm and the chance to screw the CPS by confirming my story that you all died when more of the CAC’s first floor caved in. Which it did, by the way. Oh, and seeing as how it houses a previously unsuspected galactic node, the Salamaray will get priority for reconstruction funds. If Bhayrip gives me shit about any of this, I’ll remind him he sent two humans and a few animals on a high-profile rescue instead of the full team he promised. Besides, he won’t have time to investigate.”
The possibilities intrigued Rylando, but he saw a lot of problems to solve. “How much trouble will you be in for doing this?”
“Little to none. Bhayrip’s world is crashing. My nearest chain of command is five transit days away and has no idea what I do. Besides, with GSAR zeroed, I’m out of a job, so I’m retiring.”
Taz cleared her throat. “Not to be ungrateful or anything, but why are you doing this?”
“Told ya, this is yak shit.”
Taz raised a skeptical eyebrow as she met and held Hatya’s gaze.
Hatya fought it for a second, then made a sour face. “Okay, fine. Bhayrip is going to force Unit 1051 to leave all the animals behind as one last ‘fuck you’ to Rylando. No way am I destroying good and loyal animals because the CPS wants a clean slate.”
Taz shook her head in shocked disgust, then looked away, blinking fast. “Damnit.” The word sounded watery.
Rylando wished he could say Bhayrip’s revenge and the CPS’s orders surprised him, but he’d spent too many years in Unit 1051. “We’ll need funds. If you declare us dead, they’ll freeze our accounts. My family doesn’t need the money, so my whole estate is willed to a rescue charity.”
“Mine, too,” said Taz. “Even my accidental death bonus goes to a search-and-rescue charity. My family refuses to admit to having any minders in their gene pool, so they don’t need my money, either.”
An idea bubbled up into Rylando’s mind. “I remember a story where the character embezzled from herself by creating bogus certified debts. If we make backdated debts to Hatya for buying something, or maybe losing a bet, she could file claims against our estates and send us the proceeds.” He looked to Hatya. “That is, if you’re willing. It might be a bureaucratic pain in the ass.”
“Sure, why not? Retirees have lots of time on their hands. Better make one of those debts to my brother, though. Wouldn’t want some CPS payout officer getting any funny ideas. You’ll have to keep in touch and tell me where you each end up.” She cast glances at them both. “So, are we doing this?”
“Yes,” said Taz.
He nodded. “Yes.”
“Good.” Hatya made shooing motions with her hands. “Go arrange your pets for a fast trip to the space station. Pack everything from the shuttle you think you’ll need or could sell. If Bhayrip asks, I’ll tell him I got a head start on decommissioning GSAR equipment.”
Taz tilted her head in tacit invitation to go to the back of the shuttle while Hatya retracted the ramp and prepared for takeoff. She reeled him in for a long embrace that he hadn’t known he’d needed. Their bodies fit together like perfect puzzle pieces.
She loosened her hold to look up at him with a serious expression. “That place you invited me to visit. Would they want someone like me?”
“Yes,” he said. “They don’t know it yet, but they desperately need a telekinetic tech genius.”
“Good to know.” Her head drifted back to his shoulder. “This is all… a lot to take in.”
He nuzzled his nose into her hair and enjoyed the scent of her. “Second thoughts?”
“No. Naughty thoughts, though. And again, my timing is lousy. Would it scare you if I told you I love you?”
“No. Do you?”
“Yes. I fought it from practically the first day I met you, but your animal magnetism was just too much for me.” She lifted her head to give him an impish grin. “Field Commander, sir.”
He palmed the side of her face. “I love you, too, Field Commander. Shocking breach of protocol, I know.”
“Kiss me again, and I’ll forgive you.”