asked a question, Max ignored the comment. “When we were boarded by Hunters, the ship had no internal sensors to warn us. Do you have internal alarms?”
She turned so fast that Max nearly lost his balance trying to brake fast enough to avoid running into her back. “Why would we require internal alarms? Do not external alarms provide more effective defenses?”
“Assuming they work,” Max said.
“Would not a captain immediately land a ship with defective proximity alarms?” Carrington asked, her voice higher and faster now. Tribes aliens were the only ones who had any passing resemblance to humans, so Max’s brain told him that meant she was panicking, but his common sense warned him not to apply human assumptions.
“If I were a Hunter, I would do something to trigger your proximity alarms over and over, particularly at a time when you were not near a place to land.”
“And how would that provide you access to my ship?”
Max smiled. “I don’t know your people well, but is it possible that an individual might get so tired of having to check a seemingly faulty alarm that he might turn the alarm off?” Max didn’t know if that was what the Hunters had done to Rick or if Rick’s ship had malfunctioned so the alarm sounded often enough to annoy Rick into deactivating it. Their translator wasn’t nuanced enough to ask, and Max wasn’t sure he wanted the answer.
“An individual would have to suffer a lack of logic to make such a mistake,” Carrington said.
Max didn’t say it, but he agreed. Rick was brilliant, but not necessarily smart. “And would any of your crew be tempted to turn off an alarm if it annoyed them?”
Carrington didn’t answer for a long time. Eventually, she turned her back on him and started walking. “Would the installation of internal alarms negate the danger?”
“Possibly. I would like to look at the ship’s schematics to consider weak points in your security. If I get a sense of where someone might want to breach your ship, we can work on sensors. And who would be responsible for security inside the ship? Do your people fight or hire fighters for your ship?”
“Your people think like Hunters,” Carrington said.
“I’m not sure if I should be offended.”
She turned. “You should only take offense if I describe you inaccurately.”
“I am trained to hunt.” That was a slight distortion since hunting people was generally off limits, but he hunted targets in his jet, so close enough. “However, it is not in the nature of my people to steal. Many of my people will steal, but the rest of us consider that unacceptable behavior and we will punish it.”
She studied him. “The initial assessment of human nature was critically flawed.”
“Yes, it was. So, do you want a security assessment of your ship, or did you invite me here because you hoped to do your own assessment of my nature?”
“I purchased your weapon design. Does that not imply my respect for judgment?”
“You haven’t answered my question about whether your ship has fighters on it,” Max said. “If you don’t give me information, I can’t assess your security.” Max looked at Xander. “I get the feeling she doesn’t trust us.”
Xander made a spitty sound, which usually meant amusement, but his tentacles were a little stiff and jerky. Max wasn’t sure how to read that.
“You ask for sensitive information,” Carrington said.
“You asked me to assess your security.”
Her neck gills fluttered.
“And this ship is not comfortable for me. It’s far too warm and there is too much humidity in the air, so it makes me cranky.”
“Cranky Max Father says things he regrets later,” Xander said.
Max laughed. “That I do, kiddo. So, what do you say?” he asked Carrington. “If you want me to assess your security, I can. If you wanted a chance to talk to me privately and see if I was as stupid as the government computer said, then I’m happy to leave. No charge.”
The silence went on so long that at least three sweat drops rolled down Max’s spine. “I will introduce you to Tribes fighter,” Carrington said. “You can talk to her about new weapon design and internal security.”
“That sounds like a deal.” Relief washed through Max, but so did a sense of direction and purpose. Sure, Rick and the kids saw him as a warrior, but the rest of the universe had taken the darkest point of Max’s life and judged him on it. They’d labeled him an idiot because he’d had too many moments