Page 64 of The Captain's Bounty
“They’re planning something,” Cory said.
“Or they just don’t want us to be able to plan something for them,” Denim reassured her. “We Me’Kavians get our reputation as warriors for our skill at sizing up an enemy and hitting weak points fast, first and fierce. They can’t see us, so they don’t want us to be able to see them. It doesn’t necessarily mean they’re about to lob in a concussion grenade or, oh I don’t know…a fumer loaded with tranqs…or a shrapnel bomb…”
“Open up,” Bruwes said grimly. “If they throw something in, kick it out and close the hatch on them. If they don’t, stick with the plan.”
“What plan?” Vullum met his harsh stare with one of his own. “Don’t lie to me. You’re making this up as you go along.”
Three steady knocks rapped the outside of the hatch.
Lissa had never wanted to run more strongly than she did right now, and considering the week she’d had, that was saying something. The longer they delayed, the more suspicious this would look. She caught herself rising to panic and forced her breathing to slow.Scavs didn’t panic. Or maybe they did? What did she know about the lives of worldless scavs? What did she know about anything that wasn’t thousands of years old?
What was she doing here?
Cory hit the latch, unlocking the door.
Bruwes had braced her for the trick, but it didn’t come. The door opened with a hiss of exchanging air, but no toxic fumes or grenades.
She wasn’t good at lying. Standing in front of the three tall males that loomed beyond the threshold, Lissa struggled to hold herself steady, gripping her rifle tightly to prevent her hands from shaking. She had never felt so vulnerable, but she had to remind herself that they could only see their reflections when they stared into her helmet’s mirrored face. Even if they had her bounty dossier in hand, they’d never know they were looking at her. Not unless they took her helmet off. As far as they knew, she was a scav, and a member of this ship’s original crew. What would a scav do in her place?
Without thinking things through, Lissa put her hand on the butt of the pistol she had holstered at her waist in a kind of hopefully intimidating gesture, then quickly took it off again before her bluster triggered an explosive response, only to realize that they hadn’t noticed. After the most cursory of glances her way, all three of the strangers fixed their attention elsewhere.
“Bruwes,”the forward most of them said somberly.
Bruwes tipped his head. “Javan.”
“I regret having to do this.”
“Not half as much as I.”
Javan took a step forward into the hatch, but Bruwes had prepared her for that. When Javan moved, so did her feet, mirroring every step. She stopped in front of him, blocking his access.
He towered over her, and never was that as apparent as when they were damn near toe to toe and he bent his dark head to look down at her. The hair-like quills on his head puffed slightly. Shecouldn’t tell if he was annoyed or not, but she didn’t care. She didn’t have enough presence of thought to care anything about this man. She shifted. With her other hand, she held out her tablet.
“Ah yes.” Javan sighed. “The payment.”
“I’ve been telling them they’re far more likely to be collected than paid,” Bruwes intoned.
“Have you?” Javan sounded bored. Taking the tablet, he tapped at the screen with his thumbs. “What else have you told them?”
“Everything. Which is exactly what I’ve told everyone else.”
Javan sighed, handed the tablet back to her, with the funds he’d just transferred showing as completed in the new ship’s account. “Exactly who is everyone else?”
“Literally,” Bruwes smiled, “everyone else.”
Pulling her pistol, Lissa jumped backwards out of the doorway as Aldar leapt out of his corner, rifle against his shoulder and pointed at the three. So did Cory, and Demin had the business end of his rifle sticking out at them through the cracked vent in the ceiling above.
Over the loudspeakers, Bruwes’s own voice began to speak. “Congratulations. At the same time you’re hearing this, this message is being transmitted across all channels in all known languages. Feel free to rebroadcast. I would like every inhabitant of every world, satellite and ship to hear my confession.”
Javan’s darkening gaze snapped from the guns to Bruwes, who in a twist of his wrists unfastened his link cuffs. “What have you done?”
Smirking, Bruwes pointed to the ceiling where his voice continued to drone, “My name is Bruwes, son of Mayzon, son of Ahbel, once a prince of my people. Now my home world has put a bounty on my head, supposedly because I, ha, pose a threat to Me’Kavian peace.’ Me’Kava isn’t interested in peace. Ourdiplomats make alliances while our hunters prey on your people. From the moment we were brought into your alliance of space-faring civilizations, we have hunted you. “
All three men stared at Bruwes.
“What have you done?” Javan demanded.
“What should have been done a year ago,” Bruwes bluntly told him.
