Chapter 47 Dax
Dax
“Kottke Tower to incoming craft. Identify yourself.”
“This is it,” I said to Burn. “Kottke Tower, this is Fortuna. Permission to land?”
“State your business, Fortuna.”
Burn rolled her eyes. “Gee, they’re friendly.”
I was glad the outgoing comms were off. “Real welcoming.” Toggling the comms back on, I said, “Got some livestock feed from Justin to deliver. Then top up on fuel, check for any outgoing cargo, and get a cold drink, not necessarily in that order.”
The pause on the other end was long. Too long?
“Thought that feed wasn’t getting here for a few days,” the suspicious voice in the tower said.
“We’re just passin’ through, checked in with the cargo master on Justin to see if there were any short-hop jobs. He had this one.” My palms were sweaty and I wiped them on my jumpsuit one at a time and wished Lacy was up here on the bridge with us.
Since the bridge couldn’t hold all of us comfortably, I’d made the executive decision that only Burn and I would be here for the landing. Lacy was in engineering, while Mercer and Orion were in the jump seats in the cargo hold.
“Someone will meet you at the landing zone for the cargo.”
“How about that drink? And the fuel?”
There was a laugh on the other end. “The drinks’ll be a lot cheaper than the fuel. But if you need it, you can fill up at the port.”
“Got any recommendations for where to get that drink?” I asked.
The voices on the other end quieted. “Go to Greenfield. Any other place, well, that’ll cost ya.”
Sure, that wasn’t suspicious. “Copy, thanks.”
Back in their professional but unfriendly tone, the tower personnel said, “Fortuna, you’re cleared for landing. Look for the big red lights. You can’t miss ’em. And if you do . . . well, you won’t be leaving here any time soon.”
“Roger. Thanks. See you boys on the ground.”
“Kottke Tower out.”
I toggled off the external comms and flipped on the internal ones. “We’re cleared for landing. They definitely warned us away from landing anywhere but the official zone.”
The others acknowledged that.
“They also directed us to a specific bar and indicated that going anywhere else would cause problems for us.”
Mercer spoke up. “So, we go to one of the other ones?”
That wasn’t my take, but I was new to all this. “Lacy, what do you think?”
“I think we go where they tell us. We don’t want to draw attention to ourselves, at least not yet.”
“They didn’t bat an eye when I said we were looking for some cargo. That might also be why they pointed us to that bar.”
Burn spoke. “We’ve got the big red lights, kids. Hold on to your asses, everybody, cuz we’re about to land.”
I flipped off the comms and took control.
The cargo master on Justin was right. The landing zone on Kottke looked like crap, but the landing went better than I’d expected. After securing the ship, Burn and I hustled to the cargo hold to join the others. We met Lacy on the way.
“Why aren’t you in the body armor?” I said, studying her outfit with a frown.
She was wearing a flight suit that looked like a cross between her coveralls and a spacesuit.
It had obviously seen better days. Grease streaked across the front and over most limbs.
How the hell did she think that was going to provide any protection?
“It didn’t fit. You’re all taller than me. And wider.”
Burn sniggered and Lacy glared at her. “Shut up.”
“You think that will protect you?” I wouldn’t hesitate to leave her on the ship, rather than risk her out on this backwater planet.
“It’ll be fine, Dax.” She rolled her eyes. Then she tugged at the zipper at her neck, slowly undoing it a few inches.
“Whoa, now.” Burn threw a hand up to cover her eyes. “No one said anything about a strip show.”
“I think I liked you better when you didn’t like me,” Lacy said. She tugged the zipper down a few more inches and rolled the fabric out.
“What am I supposed to be looking at?” The outside of the suit was gray, while the inside was black.
“None of your gear fit me, but this flight suit does. I lined it with the material from a couple of your gear bags.”
Burn dropped her hand and reached out to touch the material. “Smart. How did you get it to stay in place? Do you sew?”
Lacy looked horrified. “No. No sewing. I used a bonding agent we use for short-term ship repairs. We’ll have to get more when we’re someplace that isn’t here.”
I still wasn’t happy that Lacy didn’t have a full set of body armor—I’d rectify that as soon as possible—but it was a clever solution.
The gear bags were made of heavy-duty ballistic material.
It wasn’t battle-rated fabric, but it was tough enough to handle transport, which had been known to include crashes and accidental weapons fire.
It would stop energy weapons and knives and if she was very, very lucky, it might stop a projectile weapon.
“Do you remember that guy in our company who could not fucking keep his laser from firing prematurely? His gear bag was beat to shit, but those shots never caused any harm.” Burn paused, then added, “I always felt bad for his girlfriend.”
I closed my eyes and gave a quiet laugh. That damn guy had been the laughingstock of the entire platoon until he got on the battlefield. There he’d been a fucking deadeye. But he wasn’t safe to be around when we were training.
“What about your head?”
“I lined a hat with the material, too. It’s in my bag.”
“You should be wearing it.” My drill sergeant voice slipped out.
“Easy there, Sarge.” Burn put her hand on my arm. “Lacy is perfectly safe while she’s on the ship.”
“Are you sure you don’t want to stay onboard?”
She tugged the zipper back up to her neck and glared at me. “We’re not having this conversation again.”
The cargo door opened, and Mercer popped his head out. “You guys comin’ or what? Got some guy outside who says he’s here for the cargo. Got a hover cart and everything.”
“On our way.” Burn hurried toward the door.
When Lacy turned to follow her, I put my hand on her arm to slow her down. “I just want you safe,” I said quietly.
Her hand covered mine. “I know that, Dax. But I can’t sit here and worry about my sister and you. I have to be out there looking for her.”
“Fine. At least tell me why you’re covered with grease.” The ballistic material, once she’d explained it, made perfect sense. The dirt and grime didn’t.
Her smile was bright. “Hiding in plain sight.” I held the door to the cargo hold open for her. “You guys scream ex-military, even with the too-long hair and the personal gear.”
I ran my hand through the offending extra length.
“I don’t look like that,” she said, like it explained everything.
“So?”
“If I look like a regular person, but I’m hanging around with a bunch of mercenaries—”
“We’re not mercenaries,” I interjected with a frown.
“—they’re going to wonder who I am. Am I someone who might be worth money? I don’t want to become another kidnapping victim. So, I look like a mechanic.” She shrugged.
“And?” I still wasn’t sure what she was getting at.
“A bunch of mercs are going to need a mechanic, right? Tada. Here I am.” She raised her hands. “The really brilliant part, I think, is that we’re on such a backwater planet, that they probably think that if you had to hire a girl mechanic, you’re a crappy bunch of mercs.”
Burn looked up from the floor of the cargo hold and laughed. “That’s pretty damn brilliant.”
Lacy beamed a smile at her. “I know, right?”
“You can’t know that they’re going to think that,” I argued.
Lacy smirked at me. “Uh, yeah, I can.”
Burn nodded.
“What are you arguing about?” Orion asked.
I scowled at the two women and shook my head. “Lacy thinks that anyone seeing that we have a female mechanic will think that we’re a really crappy mercenary team. Burn agrees with her. I said they’re wrong. No one is going to think that.”
Orion was still pondering his response when Mercer stepped out from behind him. “That’s probably the first smart thing your girl has said since I met her.”
She scowled at him.
“I don’t like that assumption, but if we can use that to our advantage, fine.” I descended the steps, Lacy behind me.
“Where’s the bag?” Mercer asked her.
“Bonded to the clothes.” She didn’t explain further.
He nodded.
I was surprised, but thankful. Maybe he was warming to her.
“Burn and I should be in charge of the cargo,” Lacy said. “Lull them into a false sense of security. You guys go and melt into the shadows or something.”
I looked down at my khaki cargo pants and lighter shirt. They weren’t quite desert camo, but there wasn’t going to be much fading into the darkness.
There weren’t many places to hide in the cargo hold. I stationed Mercer back in the hall outside of the hold. No single team member was more important than the others, but we’d just gotten the medic on board so I wanted to keep him safe and healthy for the moment. We might need him for Layla.
Orion, the man mountain, crept as far as he could into an alcove on the far side of the hold. He wasn’t hidden by a longshot, but you’d also have to look right at him to really see him.
As requested, I found a shadow near the external door, so I positioned myself there, ready to protect Lacy if there was trouble.
She glared at me and tried to shoo me back. I shook my head.
Lips pressed together, she finally nodded, then turned her back on me with a flounce. I stifled a laugh.
After one last look around the hold to ensure everyone was in place, she said, “Show time!”
Burn opened the external cargo hold door, and then, with slow and steady steps, she descended the steps and crossed to the stacks of feed bags.
“Hi. Are you here for the cargo?” Lacy said brightly.
There was a long pause. I imagined whoever was at the door was ogling her. My jaw clenched.
Burn took a step closer to Lacy, which didn’t reassure me.
I wished I’d considered a spot with a direct line of sight to the door. Knowing Lacy wasn’t fully protected, I’d rather be the one dealing with the cargo. Why had I gone along with this?
Oh, right, because she had the most experience.
I hated that.
“Yup,” a deep voice said.
“Great,” she said with far more cheer than necessary. “It’s right over there.”
“You ladies alone?” The second voice was even sleazier than the first.
I was hating this plan more by the second.
“Captain’s busy. You need any help with that cargo?” Burn asked in a flat voice.
“Just being friendly. Don’t get your knickers in a twist.” A hearty laugh.
I clenched my hand around the butt of my blaster.
“Oh, don’t you worry, boys. It’s not my panties in a twist. It’s my trigger finger with an itch.”
My jaw dropped at Burn’s response.
“You don’t have to be such a bitch about it,” the second guy said. “We were just bein’ friendly.”
“I don’t get paid to be friendly,” Burn said. “Load your hover cart and give her the tablet to confirm payment.” She gestured toward Lacy with her chin.
If Burn wasn’t careful, she’d blow the whole “bad mercenary” charade.
Lacy counted off the bags of feed as they loaded them. “Fifty-nine on the cart, fifty-nine on the invoice. Just need your signature to complete the transaction, gentlemen.”
“How about you let me buy you a drink instead?”
“Time is money, gentlemen,” Burn said and took another step closer. “And I don’t want to waste any more time waiting for my money.”
I blinked in surprise. Burn had always been a badass, but this was next level. The mercenary queen.
I’d buy her a drink myself to thank her for protecting Lacy like this.
Lacy made a small sound of pain as the tablet was wrenched out of her hands. I assume the asshole signed it, because then he said, “See? Happy now?”
“Perfect,” Burn said. “Now get off my ship.”
“Thought you said the captain was busy.”
She raised a brow. “Mmhmm. Busy watching you two.”
Weapon held casually in her hand, she stared at them. Finally, after some grumbling, the hover cart and the two men tromped down the ship.
Lacy was quick to close the ramp. “Burn, you were amazing.”
“I really was, wasn’t I?” A wide smile broke across her dark face. “That was so fun.”
Applause echoed around the cargo hold. Orion stepped out from his alcove, clapping. “You’re a bad bitch, Burn.”
Burn holstered her weapon and practically skipped across the now-empty cargo hold. “Damn, Orion, I’ve missed you.” She launched into his arms.
He caught her easily and swung her around. “Missed you too, squirt.”
Orion gently set Burn back on her feet and she leaned into him. “Now do we get to go fuck some shit up?”
“I think we’ve created a monster,” I said with a smile. Burn had always been an adrenaline junkie. Stirring those guys up had probably been a rush. “But to answer your question, yes. Now we go fuck some shit up.”