Dark Matters - Michelle Diener Page 0,75

thinking was as finely honed as any Battle Center officer's.

“What did you do on Earth? What was your job?”

“I'm a . . .” She frowned as she glanced at him over her shoulder. Shrugged. “I don't know the Tecran word for it and no one ever asked me that question at the facility.” She waved a hand. “I help people work through their problems.”

“They don't have anyone to do that job on Tecra,” Bane told her. “So they don't have a word for it.”

“They should.” She cocked a hip. “Some of these guys need some serious help.”

Bane laughed, really laughed.

Dray lifted his gaze to where the lens was usually attached, remembered there wasn't one, and felt a strange sense of disorientation at dealing with someone so real who didn't have a physical body.

“I had to deal with them for years, so I concur,” Bane said.

“You turned out pretty well given your role models,” Lucy said. “You can give yourself credit.”

There was a moment of startled silence.

“I thank you, Lucy.”

Dray saw her stiffen, and then caught the gleam of moisture in her eye. She swallowed.

“No need. It's only the truth.” She rubbed under her eyes. “So what's the deal? We're not letting them get away with this, are we?”

“No. My initial idea to leave them to it changed when I saw how suspiciously they were behaving. I would not like to let them have a victory.”

“I can't leave.” Dray leaned forward, elbows on his knees, as he watched the covert team slip through the crowd. “My people are down there, and it's my job to rein the Tecran military in. They shouldn't be anywhere near the levers of power.”

“No, they shouldn't.” Bane's tone was short.

“So.” Lucy flopped back down beside him on the couch. “What's the plan?”

Chapter 34

“I meant to say, thanks for the clothes.” Lucy plucked at the fitted tunic that hit her upper thighs, a perfect match for the leggings that had come with the outfit. It had been waiting on the bed for her after her shower with Dray, and had come with socks and boots that felt amazing to walk in.

She'd more or less bounced her way to the part of the ship Bane had asked her to go to while Dray spoke to his team below in Fa'allen and went through an armory Bane had opened up to him.

“You're welcome. The fabric will keep your body temperature regulated and it will also deflect any shockgun fire.” Bane sounded as if he were standing right next to her, and Lucy turned her head, saw a small silver cylinder hovering just above her shoulder.

She turned fully to study it. It had a lens embedded in it, and what she guessed were speakers. It was sleek and beautiful.

“Are you in there, Bane?” She looked right at the lens. “How are you hovering so silently?”

The cylinder moved back a little, rose a little higher. “I brought you here because I want to give you some extra protection.”

He wasn't going to answer her question, but that was answer enough. She couldn't blame him for it, either.

“Extra protection?” They'd already spoken about shockguns, but she wasn't familiar with them, besides firing one a few times at the nynt, so she'd told Dray she'd rather go without. She'd been second-guessing herself about her decision ever since.

She didn't want to be helpless again.

She fingered the soft fabric of the tunic. “I feel like you already did. If this stuff is capable of deflecting shockgun fire, I feel a lot better.”

“The Tecran took me deep into the galaxy, and wherever they went, they stole whatever looked like it might be useful, or something they could weaponize later. Some of it is in the store, or in the armory, but the most unique and unusual things are here.” As he spoke, two panels set in the wall of the corridor slid back and she found herself looking into a recessed space that contained shelves with various sized boxes.

“The scientists on board worked out what a lot of these do, but not all of them. They didn't ask me for my opinion, so I didn't have to tell them that I had worked out the rest.”

Lucy leaned in, curious, and flipped open a lid. Frowned.

“What on earth?” She didn't reach in. It looked like the blades inside had no handle. No safe way to lift them.

“Not suitable for you,” Bane agreed. The cylinder darted past her into the space and touched down on a box on the