Page 134 of Gladiators of the Vagabond Boxset

Thorin

I was furious, seething with anger and self-recrimination as I stalked down the alley.

Camila was keeping up behind me, the clunk of her metal-plated boots sounding loudly against the grating that made up the floors here.

I expected her to ask questions, to demand to know why they called me a pariah.

I half expected her to turn from me, even though I knew that wasn’t in her; she wouldn’t do that.

She never said a word, just kept a tight vigilance as we made our way back to Jim’s hideout.

Enough time had passed that it was worth the risk of scoping it out, but I took us down a long, circuitous route that led us past the docking area where the Vagabond should be.

Returning there hadn’t been an option before; no way was I leading the mercenaries straight to their door.

But we weren’t being followed. It was safe to at least check, and I’d feel better if I knew they were alright.

The dock was crowded and busy. We were catching some stares, but with Camila covered by the large cloak and her helmet, it was not nearly as obvious that she was female.

Now, they were mostly just looking and then looking away in that typical “something bigger and badder than me, don’t look again” fashion that I loved.

I pulled my mouth into a grin, making sure my sharp canines were on display—a sure sign of aggression for most of these species—then watched them scuttle out of our path like the space roaches they were.

There was a ship in the berth that the Vagabond had been assigned when we arrived, but it wasn’t our Star Class cruiser—just some old, rusted small Long Hauler rushing to unload goods and load new ones in turn.

Camila and I shared a look and turned to wind our way back into Yengar Station.

The fact that they weren’t there could be a good sign, the mercenaries weren’t after the ship but us gladiators.

If they’d taken my brothers, they would have cleaned out the ship and left it; some lucky bastard would be here now, claiming it as his own.

They’d gotten away, flown off to hide out while the Varakartoom was sniffing about. Chloe and Kitan had outflown those fast bastards on two occasions now. They’d do it again. At least, that’s what I told myself.

“You think they are safe?” Camila asked by the time we were nearly back at the Information Broker’s hideout. I shrugged, trying to act as nonchalant as possible, so she would think I was sure of myself.

“Yes, definitely. Chloe and Kitan can outfly anyone. They are safe, just lying low somewhere. I’m sure they’ll be back to pick us up.

” Then I bit my tongue in frustration. No, when we got done with this damn broker, I was using the extra credits we’d taken to get her passage on a ship toward the Alpha Quadrant so she could get home. These were my last hours with her.

“Hand me the credits,” I ordered, my tone harsh and angry, already at the thought of the lonely road ahead of me again.

I didn’t want her to leave me, and I hated with a passion that she’d managed to get me this attached to her.

If only she weren’t so damn sexy and fierce.

Case in point, she shot me a glare as she stuck her hand in her pocket and pulled out the money.

“And then? You going to leave me stranded here and run off with the spoils?”

My hackles went up at the accusation. Why was she suddenly so distrustful?

Was it because of the pariah thing—now that she’d found out?

“No,” I snarled angrily, “I was going to count out what goes to Jim and what goes to paying passage home for you!” I should just leave her stranded here!

No, I couldn’t do that. She deserved to go home to the family that loved and wanted her.

I couldn’t. Mine had kicked me to the curb, washed their hands of me.

But hers… she deserved that, whether she liked my methods or not.

Of course, Camila being Camila, she dropped her angry look and apologized.

“Oh… I could get a ride home from here?” she said, sounding more confused and derailed than excited by the thought.

She wasn’t looking at me now, just handed over the credits and quietly stared ahead for the rest of our walk.

She was so lost in thought that she’d even lost all of that ready alertness she used to watch our surroundings with before.

I tried not to hope that she was thinking about staying; I hadn’t given her any reasons to want to stay. I was better at pushing people away.

I did my best to ensure that no one was watching the corridor to Jim’s hideout, and while I could say with some certainty that no one was physically watching, that still left many other options.

They could have left cameras behind, or a simple sensor on the door to warn them when someone returned.

We had to risk it, though, getting that data to Jim was Camila’s best chance at getting home, and probably our best shot at freeing all those people trapped unawares aboard that ship.

We discussed the odds quietly between us, but since Camila absolutely wouldn’t hear of it when I suggested she hide out of sight, we headed in together. This time, she kept her rifle in front of her body and at the ready. Neither of us was taking any chances.

The door opened the moment I knocked, and as we huddled inside the airlock during its decontamination cycle, I took that as a good sign.

The door swung open again, revealing the stark interior with its many screens.

The strange alien Praxidar was in his chair, tapping away with his many, many translucent tentacles.

The wide dome of his head was purplish-blue, with visible veins and a huge, pink brain.

It was extremely disconcerting to look at, but it was obvious Camila had seen one of his kind before; she seemed to know just how to interact with him.

“Jim! Good to see you safe and sound,” she said warmly as she trotted around me and into the room.

She wasn’t a dummy, though, her head cranking this way and that to assure herself there was no one with us.

She nodded in approval when I kicked aside the padded bed/bench that hid the escape hatch in the center.

I swung it open and peered down, seeing no one, so I closed it again.

Camila was already deep in conversation with the Praxidar, outlining her message for her family and handing over the data chip with the footage of the stasis pods aboard the UAR Battleship.

I pulled out the right amount of credits and tossed them on the desk next to one of the alien’s tentacles, and watched how they picked them up and slipped them into the coiling mass of other tentacles.

I couldn’t follow what happened to them after that.

Hating the weakness, I chose to sit down on the bench and stretch out my leg.

I’d managed to push away the pain I’d been feeling over the past few hours, having been on it so much that I knew I was going to pay for it.

If I wavered even a little in my determination not to notice it, the burning agony shooting up my muscles and deep into my bones would cripple me.

“Thank you, Jim,” Camila said. “How soon is this going to reach those news stations? Did you send them that footage from that outer planet too?” She was bouncing on the toes of her boots, all excited now, her helmet clipped to her belt while she gestured with her hands.

She was so damn beautiful, I wanted to keep looking at her, but a soft sound pulled my attention back to the airlock.

I spun to look at it, unsure if I’d actually heard something or not. Behind me, Camila had fallen silent, and then she whooped, “Okay, you’re sure it’s been sent? Thank you!”

The Praxidar spoke in a lower, more mechanical mumble in turn. From the corner of my eye, I could suddenly see several of his tentacles go stiff, and then he spoke more loudly. “Oh boy, I do believe we have company coming.”

Camila was cursing, but I remained calm as I faced the doorway.

“Is everything sent? Are we okay to evacuate this place? Or do you need more time?” I approached the airlock and used the viewing panel on the side to assure myself there was nobody there yet.

I had heard a sound, though, so I returned to check the damn escape hatch again.

It was far less secure than it should be, in my opinion.

I feared that what I was hearing was coming from there, those mercenaries would know it was the weakest point into this place.

“I’ve gotten Camila’s personal message through, but the video files take longer to upload,” the Praxidar murmured.

“There are half a dozen people in suits like Camila’s in the corridor,” he said, jabbing a tentacle at the airlock entrance.

Then he made a moaning sound and shivered.

“No! I think they are jamming my signals from getting out!”

Camila’s rifle made a soft clicking sound as she took it off safety.

“Can you get around it? How long do you need?” She had a resigned look on her face as she gave me a nod.

“I’ll watch the airlock, you watch the hatch?

” Agreeing to the division, I kicked off the pillows and drew both my blades from the small of my back, swishing them through the air in anticipation.

We both knew that suits like Camila’s meant something other than mercenaries.

It meant the UAR. How had they found us?

I could only guess. Maybe the mercs had sniffed out Camila’s connection with them and called them in.

But we had to stall for time so the message could get out, and then I had to stall some more so that Camila and the Praxidar could escape.

Doable. I’d seen the camera shot of the marines ready to breach this place.

Coming through the airlock or the hatch, they’d be bottlenecked in here, I could take care of them one by one.