Zero's Heart - Mina Carter Page 0,46

attention was hijacked by the dust-sheet-covered form by the back wall. It was a familiar height and shape.

“Is that?”

“Uh-huh. Go ahead,” Red motioned her forward. “She’s a lovely bit of kit. It took me a while to figure out some of the systems but… color me impressed. You humans have some solid engineering kudos under your belt.”

Eris reached out for the sheet, butterflies in her stomach as she pulled it clear. Now she was back on her feet, her attention, like any good soldier’s, had turned to her equipment and weaponry. She might not be in the military anymore but that didn’t make her any less of a soldier.

But… she forced back her wince as the sheet started to slide. She hadn’t been kind to the old girl. It was old tech and hadn’t seen action for well over a decade. There was no way she should have taken her into combat, and she wouldn’t have if those SO13 assholes hadn’t declared war on her.

The suit had dealt with it like a champ, though. She’d been just as smooth to pilot as Eris remembered, responsive as hell, but she’d taken a battering. The armoring Eris had used to replace what was missing hadn’t been the heavy-duty level that was on it originally, so she’d taken hits. Too many. The damage reports on her visual display when she’d finally made it to the Aegis airlock had been damning.

The sheet hit the floor and she slowly lifted her gaze, bracing herself for the sight of all the damage. But instead of the bullet-holed panels and busted servos she’d expected, the suit gleamed. Her panels were straight and true, though not unmarked. She could see where repairs had been made, the bullet holes still decorating the suit’s hide, but they’d been filled somehow.

“What the…” she breathed, reaching out to run her hand over the metal skin. It was smooth. She couldn’t feel the difference between the old metal and the new. Her gaze clashed with Red’s in curiosity.

“We got a few tricks up our sleeves humans don’t. We got all the internal and external damage fixed. And gave her an extra layer of armor.” She tapped one of the filled bullet holes.

“Nano-molecular tri-chromidium,” the alien engineer said as if that should mean something to Eris.

“The who what now?”

Red gave an apologetic grin. “Sorry, forgot most people don’t speak engineering nerd. Basically, your suit now has a thin layer of stretchy metal armor as well. If it takes a hit, the nanolayer registers the shock of the impact and reinforces itself at that point for a millisecond. It flows to where it’s needed and then resets itself. Kind of like when you punch sand, it hardens for a moment?”

Eris nodded. She’d never been near sand nor felt any desire to punch it, but the explanation made sense.

“Thank you so much. You have no idea how much this means to me. So… when can I take her for a test drive?” she asked, itching to get behind the “wheel” again.

Red chuckled. “You sound like you’re Warborne born and bred. As soon as Tal signs you off, she’s all yours. Promise.”

The trade outpost on Praxis-Four was quite possibly the shittiest location Eris had ever seen. And that was with a career filled with being stationed in shitty places. Hell, she’d even take the ice-moons in the Trinaxis system over this place, which was saying something.

Praxis-Four was a desert planet, but not the nice type filled with picturesque golden sand dunes and sparkling oases. No, it had the honey-badger version of sand. Sand that got all up into everyone’s nooks and crannies and totally didn’t give a shit. It was the kind of sand that only needed a little encouragement and a slight breeze to shot-blast flesh from bones. Which was the reason she and the rest of the Warborne landing party had every square inch of skin covered.

Each of them wore a heavy coat over their ship suits, which, she was amused to discover, bore the logo of an outer system gas haulage company. Pant legs were tucked into boots and sleeves into gauntlets to cut down any access the sand might find on the walk from where they’d hidden the shuttle out in the dunes to the outpost. Scarves and goggles covered their heads and eyes, all their features hidden. They blended in with the other inhabitants of the outpost, and she breathed a sigh of relief. She’d been worried she’d be spotted and recognized

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