Honor Among Thieves (The Honors #1)(93)

“It taps your star energy,” I said. “So try not to use it, okay?” Last thing we needed was to get into a running gunfight and have our ship fall asleep in the middle of it. “Maybe I can find something else we can use.”

“Zara,” his voice said. I drifted back toward the opening in his skin, trailing my fingers along the thick, resilient flesh of it, and I realized that when I touched him, patterns of light followed. “It’s time to install the alarm too. It can help keep me awake even if I run low on power.”

“I’ll keep you awake. I can be super annoying.”

“You don’t like it. I know. I don’t either, but this is why I asked for the device. I need it.”

“It’s going to hurt you.”

“If it preserves your life, and Beatriz’s, then it is worth the discomfort it might cause me. Please, Zara. Do this for me.” My H2 chimed where it was strapped to my arm. I tilted it and found that the instructions for installation were right there. Unlike the cannon, this would be different. It would have to be buried deep inside him, near a nerve cluster.

I was going to have to cut into him. Again. Much deeper this time.

“I can’t,” I said quietly.

“I can’t do it to myself,” he said. “It’s necessary. Like—the DNA you had spliced in to repair your own damage.”

“That’s not fair.”

“No. But it’s true. Please. Do this.”

I hesitated, surrounded by the stark beauty of the universe. My touch sparked glowing comets on Nadim’s skin.

We listened to the stars sing. Just for a moment.

I found Beatriz deep in the supply deck, rummaging through boxes of spare parts.

“We don’t have anything that we could use to build more weaponry, so we’re limited to the one gun,” she complained.

“Okay, time to pivot.” This was where I shone, no false modesty. I’d spent my life jury-rigging tech out in the Zone. “If we can’t build additional guns, what about a shield?”

Bea stared at me like I was out of my mind. Or a genius. Quite possibly, the two shared common ground. “Are you serious?”

“When I was on board Typhon, they locked me up with some kind of energy field for a wall, right? Nadim should have the same basic tech. And if we can generate a small version inside, theoretically, we’d just need parts and power to replicate the effect externally.”

“Damn, Z. You sound so pro right now.”

I grinned and pretended to dust off my shoulders. “I wasn’t asleep when you were talking all that science, okay? And making something out of nothing is where I live.”

Nadim weighed in for the first time. “I’m not sure how well it would work against rail guns or lasers, but it would help with ramming attacks and defend against ballistic projectiles.”

“That includes debris, like passing through an asteroid field,” I added.

“If we can do it, it would be a choice upgrade.” Bea wore a pensive expression, studying the inventory list. “But . . . there’s no way to avoid a lengthy, external installation. That may be dangerous.”

“I’ll do it,” I said straightaway. We needed to cannibalize some of the sensors and cabling, and while we were about that task, I added, “You know, I’ve been wondering. . . .”

“That never goes anywhere good,” she mumbled.

“For real, Bea.”

“Okay, let me hear it.”

“Why did Typhon have all those internal defenses he sprang on me when I was on the way out? I mean, drones? Traps? He’s strapped to the gills. But—”

“The only reason he’d be so prepared otherwise is if there was a chance he might be boarded by hostile forces,” she finished.

“So we’re definitely not looking at another race of sentient ships,” I mused. “It’s probably something . . . what, smaller, right?”

“I agree with your curiosity, but we should get busy, don’t you think? Typhon’s still out there. We’d better get this done as soon as we can.”

If it delayed the surgery to implant Nadim’s internal taser, I was all for that.

With the help of more automated dolleys, we hauled parts Bea selected to the nearest hatch. Bots could help me with the installation to some degree; she was busy programming the cleaning units to assist. Meanwhile, I suited up again and fed the oxygenated umbilical back into my mask.

Despite the gravity of the situation, I couldn’t stifle repeated frissons of excitement at the thought of my next spacewalk.

Half an hour later, Bea left the pressure chamber so I could open the outer door. It was awkward dragging the dolley out with me, but once I stepped out, gravity ceased to be a factor and it grew exponentially easier to guide.

After that, it was monotonous but not difficult. Since I was still touching Nadim, feet to hull, I felt him following my progress.

Zara . . .

You’re not using the comms. Why not?

I was testing. The abashed tenor of his thoughts made me smile.

To see if I’d answer?

No. If we could still touch—with you beyond my walls. That’s good. It means our bond is deep and strong.

You got that right. Now stop distracting me or this will take forever.

My hands felt clumsy as I installed the hardware and inched along his skin. The power units needed to fire at regular intervals so the force field could spread to cover his whole body. In theory, it had sounded easy. In practice, I would need to make multiple trips out here, working each time in eight-hour shifts.