Drifters' Alliance, Book 3 (12 page)

Baebong holds out a hand warily. “Nice to meet you. I’m Baebong, lieutenant on the DS Anarchy.” I can tell by his stance that he’s worried about getting one of those hugs.

Kaiholo envelopes Baebong’s hand in his, making it disappear completely inside his giant paw. Baebong winces as the handshake becomes a test of strength. “Nice to meet you, slant-eye.” He points at his wife with his free hand. “My wife Kimo is seeking a slant-eye husband for one of our daughters. Are you in the market?”

Baebong’s eyes go wide, and I’m not sure if it’s in surprise or if he’s trying to act like he’s not what they’re looking for. “Uhhhh … I’m single if that’s what you mean.” His hand falls to his side and he shakes it out, probably to get the circulation going again.

“Kai, leave him alone,” his wife says, slapping him gently on the arm. “Ignore my husband,” she says, looking mostly at me. “He’s anxious for little feet to be running the corridors again.” She smiles warmly at Baebong. “But feel free to go introduce yourself to our daughters. They’re very shy, so it’s the only way you’ll meet them.” She sighs, the sound of a frustrated mother coming out loud and clear.

I’m almost glad that my mother isn’t around anymore to try and push me into relationships with strangers roaming the Dark. When and if I ever hook up with someone, it’ll be on my terms and not something arranged by other people in my life.
Gah. No thank you.
I drink the last of my brew in one big gulp, letting the cup dangle down at my side when I’m done.

“So, you have full MI capabilities on your ship, huh?” I rush to put my hand over my mouth to stifle the burp that’s about to burst out of me. I blink really hard with the effort of keeping control of myself, and my eyes respond by watering a little.

“Yes. Most major traumas and some cosmetic as well.” Kaiholo leans in close. “I could take care of those spots for you.” He points at my nose.

I go cross-eyed trying to see what he’s talking about.
Pimples? I have pimples?

His wife grabs his hand and pulls it back. “Kai, no! Those are freckles. They’re cute, not something to erase.” She rolls her eyes. “Men. They have no idea what women want, do they?”

I just shake my head, because I don’t have enough experience in that area to share any thoughts. But I feel like I need to say something, so I open my mouth and let words fall out. “I’m good with freckles, actually.” I frown.
Freckles? What was it about freckles I was supposed to remember? Oh, yeah!
“Speaking of which, I have a crewmember who got hit with some acid when he was deactivating a bomb, so I was hoping we could work a little trade. Some of our foodstuffs for some of your MI for my engineer.” I point with my cup across the room at Gus.

Gus is gesturing wildly in front of Kimo and Kaiholo’s girls, probably telling them a story about how he single-handedly saved the entire crew from death’s grip just hours ago.

“A bomb?” Kimo asks.

It’s frustrating to me that she clued in on the wrong part of the story. “Yeah, but it’s no big deal. Gus’s face is the important part. He had lots of freckles before he got burned, but they’re all gone now. Can you bring them back? Fix him up? Make him less … ugly?”

Kaiholo and Kimo share a look. “I guess she does like the freckles,” he says, shrugging.

“But the bomb … what was that all about?” Kimo is moving closer to me, forcing me to back up. She’s too focused, too intense. She looks worried.

“It’s no big deal, really. It’s deactivated. The other one should be soon, too.” I look around the room. “I need to talk to Beltz about that, as a matter of fact.”
Maybe punch him in the face as a thank you.

“Two bombs?” Kimo looks up at her husband. “Should we be concerned about this?”

His sunny expression has turned decidedly dark, and he’s puffed himself up to an even bigger size than he was before. “I think we have some talking to do.” He looks around the room, his gaze nailing each of the captains in turn. “Kimo, call a meeting.”

She glances at me furtively before leaving us alone.

I burp again, but this time don’t get my hand up in time to stop it from filling the space between us.
Whoops. Oh well. It’s not like he hasn’t heard one of those before.
“What’s the big deal?” I ask, trying to distract him from my lack of self-control. “Beltz is the one who put one of the bombs on my hull and a listening device in my ship, too. I assumed it was something sanctioned by the whole group.”

“We’ll discuss it in private.” He looks to his right and eyes one of the ladies from the Osiris who’s approaching. It’s clear he doesn’t want her getting involved, probably because she’s not the captain.

I sigh heavily and really loudly, knowing I’m about to get roped into another meeting where big decisions have to be made and people are going to get all up in my face about what they think I should be doing and whatever, whatever. All I know is, I need another drink before I can put up with any more of that. I walk off to fetch another one before the meeting can begin in earnest.

Chapter Eighteen

I GUZZLE DOWN MY SECOND drink as I’m herded with the other DS captains into a conference room. As I walk through the portal, my mouth drops open. The place is all official and everything, with a big table and chairs for everyone, but it could also double as a great orgy spot. All they’d need to do is shove the table to the side and throw a few cushions on it, because over on the rounded side of the room, there are several couch beds covered in silks and blankets of every color, with curtains hanging down that can be moved and slid around on tracks in the ceiling to create little, semi-private love nests. I’m afraid to make eye contact with anyone, lest they think I’m inviting them to sit over there with me instead of at the table.

“Please take your seats,” Alana says, selecting the chair at the far end. “I’d like to get back to the party as soon as possible.”

I sit down at the opposite end of the table from Alana. When she winks at me looking amused, I hold up my empty cup in salute. Her eyes are practically sparkling now, and I’m tempted to look down at myself to see if I have something open that shouldn’t be, like a zipper or a button. Then I realize I don’t have any buttons on my flightsuit. And
then
I realize I’m probably too dizzy to be attending, let alone participating, in this meeting.
Why did I drink so much?

Everyone has found a seat while I was busy suffering my personal crisis, and now all eyes are on Alana.

“You are our hostess,” Beltz says in a serious tone, “so it is only correct that you begin.”

Alana nods once at him and scans the group. I’m relieved that her gaze doesn’t rest any longer on me than it does on anyone else.

“Thank you for coming. I would have preferred to wait until the end of our evening for this, but according to Kimo, some things are better dealt with now rather than later.” She looks at Kimo’s husband and nods.

Kimo and the other seconds in command were not invited to this meeting, and even though I have every right to be here as a captain, I feel out of place. I know these people are supposed to be on my side, but we’re here because of trouble with my ship and everyone knows it. Like Alana said, I’m kind of ruining the party. I hold up a finger. “Sorry about being a party pooper.”

Several heads turn to look at me, but Alana’s expression is blank and no one says a word. My finger slowly fades down, and I sit farther back in my seat, trying to square my shoulders and appear as unaffected as she does. It’s pretty much impossible since I feel like a complete gloob right now.

Alana clears her throat. “It has been brought to our attention that your ship, Captain Cass, has some devices onboard that might be a problem for the rest of us. Would you care to elucidate?”

I nod at her awesome vocabulary. “I’d be happy to elucidate.” I tried really hard not to mess that word up, but I’m afraid my drunk tongue had a problem with it. Not that I heard anything wrong with my performance, but Beltz and the guy who must be Romulus, head of the Arcadia clan, are trying to hide smiles.

Ignoring them, I continue. “I probably should have done a sweep while I was still at the Centurion 4 Station where I took ownership, but I was in a hurry to get out of there, and then I ran into these guys … ” I gesture at Beltz. “Anyway, long story short, I did a sweep and found all kinds of crap on my ship that shouldn’t be there.”

Someone starts to laugh and then stops immediately, but I can’t pinpoint who it was.

“Care to clarify what you mean by ‘crap’?” Alana says with exaggerated patience.

I’m both embarrassed and pissed. She’s acting like she’s my parent or trainer or something. I know I’m young, but that doesn’t make me stupid. Okay, so I am a little drunk, but still. I deserve some respect.
I’m flying a DS, aren’t I?

“Crap? Hmmm, let’s see.” I put my finger to my lip and look up at the corner of the room. “Two bombs, three listening devices, and one tracker.” I look back down at the group, no longer messing around. “That’s what I call crap. And for the record, at least two of those devices were planted by that guy.” I point at Beltz. “And his little cousin, who, by the way, is going to get jacked up by yours truly after this party is over.”

“Ssssshh … daaaamn,” mumbles Kaiholo. “Somebody put a bee in somebody’s flightsuit today.”

He’s not wrong about that, so I don’t respond. I just wait for Queen Bossy Pants Alana to pass judgment on me. I’m trying really hard not to scowl too, because captains should play their emotions closer to the chest. I think I read that somewhere.

Alana looks at Beltz, her brows drawn together in anger. “Is this true? Did you put devices on her ship?”

My eyes go wide at this new development. Here I thought she was going to tell me I deserved it, but no; she’s pissed, and it’s not at me.
Hooray! Girl power!

“Maybe,” Beltz says.

“There’s no ‘maybe’ about it,” Romulus says. “Either you did or you didn’t.”

That’s two on my side! Booyah!

Beltz shrugs. “So, I did. Kill me for it. I was looking out for the Alliance. It was all under control.”

Alana shakes her head. “No. Not acceptable.” She turns her attention to me. “As a member of the Alliance, you are entitled to your privacy at all times. It’s key to our relationship being one of trust and open-mindedness.” She gestures at the people around the table. “We are free to be who we are without fear of oversight or reprisal from our friends, an ideal which can only be secured by the privacy afforded one another.” She’s back to glaring at Beltz. “So what Beltz has done is a direct violation of our tenets.”

Beltz stands, a vein in his neck starting to bulge out. My jaw just kind of falls open and stays that way as I take in his power. He is pretty damn big and amazing when viewed from this angle, I have to say.
He’d probably squash me in bed, though. That wouldn’t be good.

I have to blink several times and look away to get my brain back to the meeting and out of his pants. This is so not like me to imagine myself with men I work with.
It’s got to be that fruity stuff I drank.

“Now, you listen to me, Alana. And you people here too.” Beltz points around the room before his finger lands on me. “This girl was not yet a part of the Alliance when we began to surveil her. It was the smart thing to do, to watch her and make sure she was not sent here as a spy.” He pauses, but he’s not done yet. The sweat has just started to bead up on his forehead. “As you know, we had a device stolen from us not long ago. Who took it exactly, we did not know. We had our suspicions, but until we found it and the person possessing it, we did not know who to blame or who to trust. I do not apologize for doing what we did, because it was necessary for the safety of our people and our group.
 
For the Alliance. So you try to float me now.” He folds his arms across his chest and lifts his chin at us. “I would like to see you try, anyway.”

I stand and hold out my arms, partially to silence the shouting I suspect is coming and partially to keep myself from falling over, because getting on my feet and staying there is a lot more challenging than I expected it to be. That drink is really doing a number on me. “Hey!”

All the heads swivel in my direction.

“Hey! Everyone! Hello!” Now that I’m steady and have everyone’s attention, I’m not sure why I even called out. But when I see Beltz standing there looking all badass, and then that worried tic at the corner of his eye, I remember. I have to save my big, scary-hot friend — the dumbass who was thinking about maybe blowing me up.
 
Ha, ha! Ain’t life grand?

Chapter Nineteen

“I’M HERE TO … UH … VOUCH for Beltz.” I wait for a response, but get none, so I continue. “He’s right about a lot of things.” I point at him and glare. “Not everything! But
some
things.”

A tiny smile comes out on his face and his arms drop to his sides, his fingers loosening from the fists they were in.

I look at the others. “I showed up out of nowhere with the OSG on my ass. Romulus probably told you I was trying to get water and they were demanding that I pay some stupid tax, which no way in the Dark is that ever going to happen.” I snort, just thinking about their utter gall. “Anyway,” I jerk myself back to the present, “we got to talking, Beltz and me, and he figured out that the missing slaphammer …”

“Schlafhammer!” Beltz roars. “Why can’t any of you remember that? It is not for slapping, it is for sleeping. That is why we call it the
schlaf
hammer.” He falls into his seat, disgusted with all of us for some stupid reason.

I point at him and frown, looking at the others for answers. “Did he, or did he
not
, just say
schlaf
and not
sleep
?”

Kaiholo nods. “He did.”

I shrug because Beltz is the dummy, not me. “Should’ve called it the sleephammer if you wanted people to remember it.” I wave my hand in front of my face to move that subject away. “Whatever. Who cares. We’ll call it the chicken guts. Since people like listening to me without my knowledge, it’s probably better if we use a code word anyway.” I huff out some air and try again. I’m feeling a little sick to my stomach, but I have to ignore it and get this stuff out before I explode with frustration. “Anyway, we had a conversation about the chicken guts, which I didn’t even realize I had, seeing as how I told my lieutenant to throw the chicken itself into the incinerator, and …
blah
! I’m sure you know the rest.” I wave my hand around again, trying to clear my head and the conversation up a little. “So, anyway, we have the … guts. He gave us another chicken to cover its effects, and it’s in the freezer.”