Chapter 43
CHAPTER FORTY-THREE
The ship stopped spinning long before Pearl’s stomach caught up to the stillness. Feeling the ship lurch out of its steady trek was one thing, but being an unwilling participant in its impression of a giant top was not an experience she wanted to repeat.
What the fuck did that?
She released the iron grip she had on the controls and turned to Ivan, who seemed just as composed as normal.
Few things shook him from his icy equanimity.
The large view screen displayed ship’s diagnostics as they trickled in.
He met her gaze, giving her a once over.
They were both satisfied she wasn’t actually going to vomit.
“New weapon?” Ivan asked. He leaned back and cradled his neck in his hands as he stretched his legs out. “Have they upgraded their systems so radically since you were last onboard?”
Pearl shook her head. “If there was a weapons system that could do that on the market, we would have one. Anika would’ve installed it in all her shuttles. Not what. Who,” Pearl said.
She rolled her shoulders as she examined the evidence before them.
The display of power they’d just been victim to showed that the Alpertti princess was far more than met the eye.
She’d been sold to them as a weak, idealistic pacifist. A woman with her nose perpetually in a book, too naive to know not to take candy from a stranger.
The lingering flip in her stomach proved that their intel was incomplete at best.
Their boss would love if she could ram through a penalty on this contract. Every detail the client held back was another line item on their invoice.
At least she’ll be pleased with this turn of events.
“We need to comb through those files you extracted from the medivessel. Emil has left out information pertinent to asset retrieval.”
Ivan snorted. “To say the least.”
Pearl programmed a quick jump to a nearby spaceport.
The diagnostic results said the ship was fine, but she would breathe easier knowing that they had been given a thorough once-over by a human mechanic.
The spaceport was one the crew of the Dawn was known to frequent; maybe they could pick up a lead while the ship was looked over.
Though she wasn’t sure she actually wanted to find a lead on this job at all.
“That was hard for you.” Ivan’s voice was soft, unexpected. He was closer than he had been a minute ago, standing behind her. He was a jungle cat when he moved, quiet and lethal.
Pearl nodded. Her heart had broken a little more every time she’d pressed the command to fire. She’d done her job anyway. Messy emotions didn’t live on the bridge.
“Just because it wouldn’t have been hard for me doesn’t mean I don’t see you suffering, Pearl.” He gave her shoulder a firm squeeze and sighed as he left the bridge, having found the limits of his empathy for the day.
She kept her eyes on the view screen, toggling menus. She’d known the minute the comm call to Tariel had connected that she was taking one more step down a path of no return. Pearl just wasn’t sure why the hell she hadn’t started running in reverse yet.