Treasured By the Alien Pirate by Celia Kyle Page 0,34
thank you for your kind appraisal of my abilities, but those who know battle best are those who wish for it the least. In other words, I always hope for the best outcome. Experience, however, has taught me to prepare for the worst.”
“Fair enough.” Solair crosses his arms over his chest and glowers at the image on the screen. “If only we had more recent intel. We don’t even know what we’re looking for.”
“Some form of facility. Even if it’s underground, our scans should be able to detect it.” I shake my head and sigh. “I wish we had more to go on as well. I also wish we had more crew with military experience.”
Solair spreads his hands out, his tone neutral even though I can tell I’ve offended him a bit. “Grantian, each and every member of this crew will leap into the fray without question if they think it’s what needs to be done. I wouldn’t let them on the Queen if they didn’t.”
“I know, old friend. I know they’re willing to fight, but the chaos of battle often breeds an intense confusion in those not seasoned. I just don’t want our men to be as much a danger to themselves as the enemy.”
“The enemy.” Solair shakes his head sadly. “I’m a privateer captain, Grantian. I’m not supposed to have enemies. That’s the whole point of the League. Isn’t it? As in, we don’t want any part of war.”
“We don’t want any part of it, but I fear it is coming to us nonetheless.”
What I’m not saying out loud is that I agree with him. Everyone will be willing to fight. Everyone, even Lamira. I would do anything to keep her out of the conflict, which is why I plan to make sure she stays out of the thick of it.
But what if things go south? I don’t trust myself to keep my focus with Lamira nearby. My duty is to the crew as a whole, not an individual. But I know in my heart that protecting Lamira is going to be my priority whether I want it that way or not.
Solair’s voice draws me out of my reverie. “Don’t you have a contact on Glimner? An old unit buddy of yours?”
I arch my eyebrows and meet his gaze. “You mean Zarp?” I chuckle. “He’s been semi-retired for years. Got himself a cushy job as a security consultant for one of the Glimner casinos. Since those places are more fortified than Holdfast, his job is pretty easy.”
“Do you think he can still be of help to us, in his semi-retired state?”
I nod, my lips stretching in a smile. “Absolutely. Zarp’s not the type to let his contacts dry up and expire. I’m willing to bet he still dabbles with side gigs when it’s not peak season on Glimner. If nothing else, he’ll be able to point us toward someone who can help us.”
Our conversation turns to more practical matters, mostly having to do with our equipment. “Solair, we have over one hundred and fifty crew, and not nearly enough armor to go around.”
“It’s not as if all of the men are going to be fighting. Plus you’ll have to take into account the Frontier women. At least some of them are going to want to be in the thick of things. Particularly Varia.”
“I see. Unfortunately, most of our gear is sized to Kilgari standard. I don’t see any of them being able to move wearing anything higher grade than class-two hard armor.”
“Did Montier ever get those suits of class four working?”
I grin and spread my hands widely. “With the assistance of the one called Fiona, he did. We have three working units, four if you count the one without an operational environmental suit.”
“Let’s pencil in me, you, and Kintar for the class four. Dispense the class one and two to the Frontier women, and we’ll make do with the rest.”
“Very well.” I make some notes on my datapad before continuing. “Our next subject is weaponry. Much of our firearms are slugthrower units, which is fine since we don’t expect to be fighting on board a ship. I would recommend that all of the crew, new and old, start drilling with blank rounds.”
“I trust your judgement.” Solair rises from his seat and stretches his back before heading over to his command console. “We’ll be arriving at Glimner soon.”
“Then I’ll attend to a few matters and rejoin you shortly.” I rise from my seat as well, turning off the holographic