Page 59 of Alien Mercenary's Wife
"Speak for yourself," Sparky grinned. "I still want to know if he can set my ma up with the Emperor. She's good-looking for her age, and she makes amazing pie."
Despite everything, T'Raal smiled. "I'll mention it next time we talk."
"Really?"
"No."
Sparky's face fell. "Spoilsport."
T'Raal snorted. "I've met your mother, remember? I might dislike my father for everything my--" He cut himself off there. They didn't need to know the grim details of why his mother had left the empire. "But seriously, your ma would eat the Emperor for breakfast and then start three wars, no doubt."
"Yeah, true." Sparky snorted. "My ma is one tough bird."
"The real question," Fin said, bringing the conversation back to serious territory, "is what this means for the crew. Are we still Warborne? Or are we something else now?"
T'Raal looked around the galley, taking in the faces of the people who'd become his family over the years. Warriors and outcasts, every one of them. People who'd chosen to follow him not because of his bloodline, but because of his choices.
"We're still Warborne." He looked around, meeting their gazes. "That hasn't and will not change."
"Even if daddy calls?" Red winked.
"Especially then." He met her gaze directly. "I chose this life. I chose all of you. That's not going to change because of some genetic accident a hundred and fifty years ago."
Eris blinked. "You're a hundred and fifty years old?"
He shrugged. "Next Friday I am."
Red grinned, slapping a towel in his hand as she passed. "Oh, you are so going to regret telling us that, Dad."
"Partaaay!"Sparky carolled.
The tension in the room eased, and conversation gradually returned to normal. But T'Raal didn't move for a second, still stood in the middle of the galley, broken coffee mug at his feet.
Draanth.What fresh hell had he gotten himself into?
15
The galley was empty and quiet except for the soft hum of the coffee maker and the distant sounds of ship operations. Reese poured herself a mug of the strong brew T'Raal's crew favored, noting how her left hand barely trembled as she lifted it.
"Captain Payne to the communications room," A deep voice rumbled through the ship's intercom. Skinny, she thought, although she wasn't sure. She hadn't been aboard long enough to recognise all the crew by their voices yet. "You have an incoming message."
"Thank you," she answered, looking up to the corner of the room where she thought the voice had come from. "I'll head down there now."
Mug in hand, she made her way through the corridors to the communications room. There was no one in there, so she settled in the chair, a frown on her face as she glanced at the console. Okay, she was going to have to call Eris to help her figure this out.
Before she could stand up again, though, the display flickered to life as the encrypted connection was established.Hughes appeared, and he looked like hell. His hands trembled as he adjusted his screen.
"Captain," he said, relief in his voice. "How are you holding up?"
"I'm good, thanks." She kept her voice level, though seeing his deterioration hit harder than she'd expected. "How about you?"
"Same shit, different day. Some mornings I can't feel my left side at all." He managed a weak smile. "But I'm still here to cause trouble for the corporate bastards, so there's that."
Mason appeared on a second screen, looking pissed as usual. The scar cutting across her left cheek stood out starkly against her pale skin.
"Captain," she said by way of greeting. "We've got problems."
"When don't we?" Reese took a sip of coffee, bracing herself for whatever fresh hell she was about to hear. "What kind of problems?"
