Robots vs. Fairies(51)

The haptic sensors on the console suddenly froze. Jela tried to turn her head, but the view in her eyepiece stayed resolutely the same. Tentacles writhed around her.

She pushed clear of the goggles and staggered backward as her view returned to her own body.

A hundred meters away, Okeke and Sal had opened fire on the squid-thing. It abandoned the giant robot, which tumbled to the ground like a giant broken doll, and turned toward her crewmates.

Jela ran for the shuttle, drawing her own weapon. “Fall back! Fall back!”

Okeke and Sal didn’t waste any time. They sprinted for the shuttle as Jela did her best to cover their retreat. In a frantic jumble, they scrambled through the hatch. Sal threw herself into the pilot chair and didn’t wait for them to buckle in before beginning the power-up sequence.

A meaty slap sounded against the outside of the shuttle.

“Damn it.” Maybe Jela should have tried to kill the thing. She just thought it would play with the robot longer. “Can you hit it with the thrusters?”

The shuttle engine roared into life and the acceleration made Jela stumble. Okeke had fallen to her knees, blood dripping from vicious perfect circles where her uniform had torn on her arms and torso. Crawling to get to her, Jela eased her assistant onto her back. “Hold on. We’ll get you patched up. Just hold on.”

*

The shuttle door opened and the captain was waiting in the shuttle bay, with Diplomat Foenicul. And a full security detail. Jela stopped in the door so suddenly that Sal ran into her back. What the heck?

“We need a medic.” She pointed toward the inside of the shuttle. “I have a crew member down.”

Captain Afaeaki stepped forward, opening her mouth to speak. Before she could finish drawing breath, Diplomat Foenicul swooped forward, fluttering her wings to rise above the small group. “Chief Engineer Dedearian, your actions have jeopardized the Consortium’s interests in unforgivable ways.”

“You mean that goddamn squid-thing did.” If she was going down, she would speak her mind. Finally. “And why the hell wasn’t that thing in our briefings?”

The diplomat dipped a little in the air, a line appearing between her delicate brows. “It is not your place to question.”

“And I never have. Not until one of my crewmates was almost killed.” She shook her head. “Doesn’t matter. We need a medic and we need one stat.”

The captain turned to the medical team standing by behind security. “Doctor. Go.”

The diplomat fluttered higher. “I must insist that they are all arrested.”

“I . . . I what?” No. No, that had not been the plan. If there was one. “I was the only one who used the gi—the Personal Diplomatic Surrogate.”

“Yes, but when your shuttle took off, it engulfed the creature in flames. Though not intentional, it still had the effect of making the natives believe that we had defeated their god.”

“Their god? So you knew about the giant squid-thing before we went down? That—that’s why you wouldn’t go down to the surface. That’s why we had a giant fucking robot!” After seeing the sucker wounds on Okeke’s arms and torso, Jela was almost vibrating with anger. If it weren’t her own ship, she’d spit on the floor. “You put them in direct danger, because you inadequately briefed us for the mission.”

Behind the diplomat’s back, the captain suddenly broke into a huge grin like she’d just won a hand of poker. “Oh dear. Regulations require me to report irregular briefings to the Consortium representatives.”

“What?” Diplomat Foenicul spun in the air, but by the time she’d completed the turn, Captain Afaeaki had again resumed a solemn glare.

The captain spread her hands as if she were helpless. “I wish I did not have to, but the trip will come under such scrutiny with the arrest of my officer. You understand, of course.”

For long moments, Diplomat Foenicul hovered in the air, the only sound the hiss of air circulators. She snapped her wings, once and then twice. “Punishment must occur. This cannot go unremarked.”

“Of course.” Captain Afaeaki bowed her head. “Security, confine Chief Engineer Dedearian to quarters.”

And this was why Jela loved her captain. Confined to quarters? If she’d been really angry, it would have been the brig. But this? This wasn’t a punishment. It was a reward.

Jela strode down the ramp and was kind of glad that she reeked of sweat. Diplomat Foenicul fluttered back, wrinkling her nose, and gave Jela ample space to approach the captain. “Permission to see to my wounded teammate, before reporting to my quarters.”

“Granted.”

She left Diplomat Foenicul fluttering in the middle of the shuttle bay and went back into the shuttle. The doctor had Okeke propped up against the side of the shuttle and was talking on her comm. She looked up when Jela came in, Sal close on her heels.

“She’ll be fine. Gonna have a heck of a scar, if she wants to keep it, but she’ll be fine.” The doctor kept her hand on Okeke’s wrist, measuring her pulse. “Got a team coming to take her to sick bay.”

Jela settled onto the floor next to the junior engineer. “Sorry about this.”

“No worries.” Okeke tried to smile, but pain made it into more of a grimace. “My son’s going to be upset that I didn’t bring a rock back.”