None of this was right.
She scowled at him, her hands crumbling the rest of her biscuit.
His smile dimmed, and his brow dipped in question, but she brushed by him and all but sprinted from the common room to the shop.
She banged on the door until Walt opened it.
“Marguerite said you’ve a list of repairs for me?” she asked without preamble. “Let’s get on with it. I’d like to get that communication funnel up to date so we can find out how much longer these storms are going to last.”
If her words troubled Walt, he didn’t say so. He simply nodded and led her to the electrical closet—the heart of the station. She crawled into the opening, dropping to the metal walkway inside. She punched on the lights, stared around her and let out a deep breath.
At least she’d have plenty to do through the storms. From where she stood she could see at least two bypass jobs on the verge of meltdown and one entire row of flickering connect spindles. Once those went, whatever they were charging would start to leak radiation. Radiation on a station could lead to all kinds of trouble.
“How long ago did Vy cross over?” she asked as she pulled herself back out of the electrical closet.
“Die?” Walt asked.
Iggy looked up, concentrating. “More than a year, I know. Rex has only been back to his cheerful self for the last six months or so...”
She nodded. “I’m going to need parts.” She walked over to the table where Iggy was working. “Flip those cords or you’ll get a nasty power surge.”
He glared at her. “What do you think I’m trying to do?”
She laughed. “I’m not really sure, Iggy.”
He chuckled. “Smart ass. You do it, then.”
“Uh-uh. I’ve got plenty to keep me busy in there.” She pointed to the electrical closet. “Just tell me you didn’t get in there first.”
Iggy sighed heavily. “No. It wasn’t a problem for Vy to get in and work. But I knew I’d never fit.”
She paused. “Vy was small?”
“Vy was a tugger.” Walt spoke as he unlocked a metal grate door.
“A tugger? He couldn’t have been a tugger if he lived on Galileo.”
“He was,” Iggy filled in. “His ship got shot down here about ten years back.”
“And he met Peach.” Walt smiled. “You know Peach?”
Riley had a vague recollection of the woman. She was at least six feet tall...
“And he didn’t feel the need to go back to tugging.” Walt smiled.
“He was no natural electrician, no tech, like you, Riley. He read and posted and disassembled and reassembled until his fingers bled. But he never let us down. Not once. “Walt pointed inside the supply closet. “All of our extra supplies are in here. I don’t know if we have everything you need...”
“I’ll bet you do.” She smiled at the array of materials the supply room offered. She let her hands slide over the metal fastenings and plates, the notched belts, sanded gears and pots of lubricant. Surely everything she could ever need was right here, at her fingertips.
“I’m going to turn on your post console and tweak the radar, see if I can pick up anything.” She clamped a tracking port on, hoping she might hear something from the black.
And once she had the station’s core and electrical closet in tip-top shape, she was going to set up the cleanest communication funnel she’d ever built. Not just for her, but for these people. If they’d had a better post system, if their beacon had a farther reach, would they have been able to save Vy? For Peach? And their station? These people needed to have help more readily available.
They didn’t even have a screen post, no way to see those they were communicating with? She’d have to see if she could build one...once the rest of her list was done.
In two hours she’d stripped down to her thermal leggings and cold gear tank. The internal core gave off a toasty sizzle to the air, letting her work free of gloves or hand pads. She was humming, halfway through the second bypass job, digging in deep to the task before her. It was as if she were in her tug, not in the midst of some throw back station that had real food and ridiculously happy people—even when man-eating monsters roamed the earth beneath them.
She swung over the wide walkway, hanging by one arm to attach the new clasping mechanism she’d built. It slid easily into place. She reached back, ignoring the shift and sway of the walkway. She peered down at the massive spinning generator. It clicked along, rotating smoothly. At least that was running well. She didn’t feel as confident when it came to generator repairs.
Her hand flailed about on the walkway behind her, but she didn’t feel the tool she needed. She glanced back over her shoulder.
“Iggy,” she called out. “I need that double clamp and solder shot. Can you hand it down?”
She waited, wiping the back of her hand across her dewy forehead.
“Here.” Leo leaned into the hole, peering at the thin sheet of metal she leaned against. “You want the socket driver too?”
“Socket driver?” she asked, swinging back onto the walkway and putting her hands on her hips to glare up at him. “You know your way around an electrical closet, or are you spouting off tools to sound like you do?”
He shook his head, smiling. “I know enough to keep things tacked together until someone who knows better can fix it up right.”
She held her hand up. “You going to give me the clamp and solder shot, or smile at me some more?”
“I was kind of enjoying the view.”
Chapter Five: Raiders
“I’ve got grease all over me.” She held up her hands. The black was a stark contrast to the blue-white cast of her skin.
“I like it.”
“Can I have the tools?” She was having a hard time holding back her smile.
“No. Lunchtime.” He held his hand out. “You can’t miss a meal, it wouldn’t be...right.”
She climbed up the rungs of the ladder and took his hand, letting him pull her out of the cabinet.
Cold air greeted her.
He was staring at her chest. “You need to put on more clothes.”
She stared down at her chest, the taut tips of her nipples clearly visible. She wrapped her arms around herself. “It’s cold, Leo.”
He pulled her against him, rubbing his hands up and down her arms. “I can fix that.”
She tilted her head back, way back, and sighed against the weight of his mouth. It shouldn’t feel like this. She knew it. But it did.
And it felt right.
She wrapped her arms about his neck, murmuring. “I’m going to get grease in your hair.”
“Uh-huh.” His words were a whisper on her neck.
“Oh, for crying out loud.” Rex was laughing. “Give it a rest. Food’s waiting.”
She felt Leo laugh, his arms heavy about her waist. Looking at him, seeing his smile—she didn’t want to give it a rest. She didn’t even want food, not right now, anyway.
“We’ll be along in a bit, Rex.” She didn’t look at Rex.
Rex chuckled. “Alrighty.”
Leo watched her closely, but didn’t say anything.
Once Rex’s footfalls were only a faint echo on the metal stairs, she spoke. “Leo. I need you to know that I don’t like this.” Her hands tightened on the back of his neck, savoring the warmth and feel of him. “You make me feel things I don’t want to feel.”
“Oh?” His brown eyes flashed.
“No.” She shook her head. “But I know things will get back to normal when the storms move on. You’ll go back to running meds, or whatever it is you do, and I’ll figure something out. You’ll go one way, and I’ll go the other.” She stood on tiptoe, her heart in her throat at the hard line of his jaw. “And then I won’t h
ave to worry about feeling anything anymore. Until then...”
He picked her up, gripping her hips as he set her on the edge of a worktable. His hand cupped her cheek, and his lips brushed hers. “We’d better make the best of it, for now.”
She nodded, gripping his shoulders as the air escaped from her lungs and he pushed between her legs.
She didn’t mind that breathing was difficult, or that her heart was thundering. She didn’t care that her back would be black and filthy as he bent over her. His mouth breathed for her. His hands cradled her back. His eyes bore into hers... And she gave in to him gladly.
“...storm break...” Static bounced off the metal walls.
Her lips pulled at his, sucking his lower lip with enthusiasm.
“... land at Galileo for meds...” The signal surged, the voice clear as a bell.
Their eyes met, her hands grasping him as the communication continued.
“Is it worth the risk, Drian?” A different voice.
“To get my hands on Leo and the meds?” There was laughter in the voice. “Oh yea.”
“Galileo’s settlers?”
“Will give him up, or there’s a terrible accident...” Drian continued. “Easy.”
“...Leo’s got it coming...”
There was more static. Riley pushed out from under Leo, tuning the radar one click at a time. There was a sharp tone, several metallic pings and static. The light on her tuner flickered then faded until it was dark. She cursed, fiddling with the switches and adjusting the tuner with steady, deliberate movements.
“I lost them.” She turned to Leo. “What do we do?”
Iggy and Walt stood in the door, looking worried. She’d been too busy worrying over the tuner to hear them. “The speakers were on... The whole station heard,” Walt offered.
“What are you thinking?” Iggy asked. “What’s the plan?”
Leo rubbed a hand over his face. “I go with them.”
She shook her head. “No...”
Leo grinned at her.
“You know them?” Iggy asked.
“Knew them.” He nodded. “I raided with them for years. Half of their crew spent time on Penal Station because of me.”
“Why?” she asked.
“We had a fundamental disagreement.” He seemed to shake himself. “Rather a series of disagreements. I don’t take women against their will. I don’t take food from people that are starving. And I won’t stand by and let someone else do those things.”
“They want the vaccinations?” The words seemed to stick in her throat.
“Meds, vaccinations, are worth a lot, Riley. Drian wants them, he’s not going to stop until he gets them. We need to swap out the real meds. If we fill the vaccination box with something that looks like the real thing, the real stuff might get to Digges.” Leo was moving to the door. “When you get the chance, you get it to my crew...”
“Leo.” She grabbed his arm, unable to stop herself. She couldn’t bear to see him go.
Iggy crossed his arms over his chest, shaking his head as he blocked the door. “Your crew won’t come for meds if Drian’s got you, Leo. The only reason they stay on the straight path is because you make them.”
Walt nodded. “He’s right. If you go with these raiders, your crew’s going after you.”
“So the meds won’t get to Digges?” She knew she was clinging to him, stalling him. But she didn’t care. She couldn’t let him go. There had to be another way. “And that’s the whole point of this, right? Helping those people, preventing that station from turning into another floating contaminant in the black—you can’t give up on that.”
“Here I thought you were worrying about me.” He laughed, his brown gaze searching her face.
She bit her lip. She hated that her eyes were burning, that her felt lungs tight. “It doesn’t matter if I’m worried about you.” She tried to fight the quaver in her voice.
It didn’t help that he moved to her and pulled her against him. “It doesn’t?” He stared down at her, that smile of his crinkling his sparkling eyes.
She shook her head, burying her face in his chest and breathing deeply. He smelled so good, even with the hint of grease that now clung to his shirt.
She whispered, “Worrying doesn’t do anything. And we need to do something. Because you can’t go... You can’t... You have too much to do, Leo.”
His hands tipped her head back.
Iggy said, “I can tell you right now, we’re not handing you over.”
Walt was pacing. “You’re right about switching out the meds, though.”
Leo sighed. “Thanks.”
She wrapped her arms about his waist, her mind racing. “And you have to disappear.”
His hands moved up and down her back. “It’s hard to disappear on a station, Riley.”
Iggy pushed off the door frame. “You won’t be in the station... Go get suited up in your cold gear.” He added, glancing over his shoulder as he left, “I’ll have Rex get the lookout harness ready.”
“Where’s the medicine chest, Leo?” Walt asked.
“Under my bunk... Riley’s bunk.”
Walt nodded. “We’ll fill it with replacements.”
Riley let go, slipping from his arms. She returned to the tuner. “I’m going to see what I can do to ratchet up the pickup range. If we can get an idea of how much time we have...”
“We don’t have much time.” Walt shrugged. “After you live here for a while, you can start to see patterns in the clouds. There will be a break, a very short break, before the blasts come back. They’ll have to move quickly if they plan on leaving quickly.”
“And where will I be?” Leo asked.
“On the roof.” Walt looked at him.
“No. I got that part.” Leo came to stand by her, pulling the lamp closer and illuminating the inner workings of the tuner. “What are you going to tell Drian?”
Riley glanced up, seeing the indecision on Walt’s face. “You were eaten...by cryptids.”
Walt nodded “Yes, good.”
“You got this covered?” Leo asked her, touching her cheek.
She didn’t cover his hand with hers, no matter how much she wanted to. She didn’t ask him to stay or find some reason to keep him at her side. Instead, she cocked an eyebrow. “Of course.”
He winked, pressed a kiss to her forehead and followed Walt from the room.
She waited until she was sure her legs would hold her before she ventured into the supply closet and started rummaging for pieces. If she could find enough copper conduits, she could replace the old system network and extend the radar to the next ring.
She thanked Marguerite when she brought her a bowl of stew, eating between trips in and out of the electrical cabinet.
“Need anything?” Marguerite asked.
“Another set of hands?” Riley said with a smile, twisting the tuner dial now that the replacement was mostly done.
Marguerite held her hands up.
“I can’t see through the snow. Why would anyone live here?” The voice was so clear it made the women jump. Riley recognized it instantly. “How much time before we need to leave?”
“Station radar shows a forty-minute break, that’s it.” Another voice spoke, sounding angry. “We’re even now, Drian. I don’t want to see a post or wave from you.”
The signal went dead.
The women ran from the shop, up the metal stairs and down the twisting corridor into the common room. Everyone was there, everyone but Leo and Rex.
“You heard?” Marguerite asked.
Walt nodded.
Riley sat at the bar, peering out the dark windows in vain.
“What do we do?” one of the women asked, holding a little girl in her lap.
<
br /> “We wait, Peach.” Walt smiled. “You and Jynx take the children to their practice room.”
“I bet Riley would be happy to help me find a special treat for them?” Marguerite offered.
Riley stared at Peach. This woman had taken a tugger for her mate? She turned her attention to the child. She was beautiful, with huge blue tugger eyes and pale hair. But she wasn’t tiny, like Riley. There was the promise of rosy skin and long, graceful limbs about the girl.
The girl looked at her and smiled.
Riley smiled back.
Peach and the heavyset woman, Jynx, led the children away from the common room while Marguerite motioned Riley into the kitchen.
Riley froze. On the table in the kitchen sat her booster.
“Leo thought you might want to hide it? He had Iggy bring it up.” Marguerite shrugged. “Said it was important to you.”
Riley felt her throat tighten. He should be worrying about hiding, about saving his skin. Instead, he was worrying about her booster?
The cold metal gleamed under the bright lights of the kitchen. It was a good booster, new and shiny. Something that would earn her a fair price... Or help Leo...
Her hands fell to her waist, flipping open pockets with quick fingers.
Marguerite watched. She didn’t say a word as Riley opened the booster plating, removed the coil casing and investigated the firing mechanism.
“Marguerite, can you ask Iggy to bring me the small welder?” She didn’t look up from her work, but Iggy appeared with the small welder minutes later.
He didn’t stay anything, just stood there watching.
“I’ll go take these to the children now,” Marguerite offered as she left Riley alone with the booster.
Riley plucked an old-timer from her array of parts, chipping off the thin backing to expose the battery compartment. She swallowed, hoping a detonator wasn’t all that different from a portable communication unit. In theory, there wasn’t much difference. One transmitted sound, the other a charge... She set the timer for an hour.
Iggy offered her a tiny spring, a perfect conduit.
“You know what I’m doing?” she asked.
A Galactic Holiday Page 18
