Page 14 of Stellar Drift (Central Galactic Concordance)

He waved a thumb toward his pack and sleep cocoon. “I have a forceblade, plus the phaseknife I’ve been using on the trail. The CPS doesn’t train rangers with energy weapons.” Shrugging apologetically, he added, “Plants don’t usually try to shoot me.”

“I have the same as the Ranger.” Sairy’s expression was hard to read in the twilight.

After a moment, she continued. “I have three flying cameras that are good for surveillance.” There was a reluctance in her tone, like when she actually answered a couple of Koda’s insinuating questions instead of dodging them.

“Plus, we have Kyala. She’s not a fighter, but her senses are better than a scanbot, and tech suppressors can’t stop her. ”

Koda flipped the folded mealpack container between her hands. “The way I see it, we have two objectives. One, divert Brannezzo, and two, find the wuzzy-bug breeding ground.”

“And get samples,” added Phen.

“Getting off the mountain safely with our airsleds would be good,” said Sairy dryly.

“Okay,” Koda replied with a brief smile, “three objectives. I think we need to split up. At first light, Phen and I will go back and handle Brannezzo and his pals while you and the ranger finish the climb and get those samples. If you lend us your cameras, we’ll be able to see Brannezzo before he sees us. ”

Sairy’s shoulders tightened. “Sorry, the cameras only work for me.”

Koda frowned and looked like she was about to argue until Phen nudged her with an elbow. “Skulljack, Koda. Controller’s in her head.”

Under the pressure of Koda’s unspoken but pointed request for confirmation, Sairy let out her breath and nodded.

Koda waved a hand. “Okay, we’ll take a lesson from the elder teaching tales and use what nature provides. If Brannezzo’s pals are Joro’s mercs, they’ll trust their tech too much. And if I get close enough, I can use my talents to see what kinds of things Brannezzo is lying about.”

Houyen blinked. “You’re a sifter?” Good thing he hadn’t been lying about anything. Good sifters could not only detect lies, they could mess with brain chemicals to make people want to trust them with secrets.

“Yep. I’m a late bloomer and low-level, or the military would have caught me and force-transferred me to the fucking CPS.

And I tank at detecting minder talents in others.

But I’m a trained interrogator.” She patted her wife’s thigh.

“Phen’s lucky. She just didn’t tell them about her talent, and it never occurred to them to ask.

” Another brief smile crossed her face. “And if Brannezzo’s guides turn out to be Phen’s cousins who kept me awake nights with their howling, me and the jaguars will finally get our revenge. ”

Houyen turned to Sairy. “I’m seriously out of my starlane here.

To be brutally honest, the Ranger Service on Qal Corona is a hollow shell of what it’s supposed to be, worse than any other duty station I’ve been assigned to.

My coworkers are out for themselves, my boss is a jerk, and I’d sooner trust a busted airlock than the CPS. What do you want to do?”

Sairy’s eyes had rounded in surprise at his words, but her expression smoothed into neutral as she looked at him, then turned her gaze on Koda and Phen. “I know the rainforest way is self-reliance, but could you ask friends for help? Or maybe civilian law enforcement officers?”

Phen shook her head. “The LEOs don’t have jurisdiction. They’d just call the CPS, who might send a military cruiser around in a ten-day or so.” She turned to Koda. “We do have friends, though. Charuuk and Dmytro could bring their dogs.”

Koda frowned. “Or they could also bring flitters and extract us all at daybreak.” Her tone said she didn’t like that option much.

Houyen didn’t either, but Sairy had a vote, too. He turned to her. “What do you think?”

Sairy’s lips thinned. “I’d like to prove one way or the other if the wuzzy bugs are spreading the fever. Who knows if we’ll ever get the chance again? Kyala and I are green-go for the rest of the climb if Houyen wants to continue.”

He nodded. “I do.”

“Okay,” said Koda as she and Phen rose to their feet. “You plan your route up to the top, and we’ll call friends and plan our interception. Let’s debrief tomorrow at first light.”

“Sync that.” Sairy’s response was very military. He again wondered about her background.

Phen and Koda both turned and headed toward the rock where they’d set up their sleep area.

Houyen picked up his empty mealpack and scooped up his collapsible camp stool.

He still felt guilty that he’d dragged them along on a chaos bender of his own making, but they were all competent adults.

He’d been as honest as he could with them.

For the first time in years, he felt like part of a team.

He wanted to do right by them. He worried that he wasn’t.

Unexpectedly, Sairy stood and stepped close enough that her scent tickled his nose. “They’ll be fine. So will we.” She gave him a soft, teasing smile that bypassed his defenses like they weren’t even there. “After all, I’m the Ghost of Jalkapanga.”

He fought the sudden need to fold her into an embrace. She already had a partner. The best he could do was gamely smile back. “They’ll never see us coming.”