The Ruins of Karzelek (The Mandrake Company series Book 4) (30 page)

Sedge’s cheeks grew pink. As if she did not know by now that he was a snoop. Why be embarrassed?

“
Yes,” he admitted, “but he didn’t put much in there. Most of the original crew files are like that. I may have dug elsewhere too, though.”

“
I thought so,” she said, still smiling. “Tick did say that it was odd that you weren’t shot over the incident with your commanding officer. Is that because it was known what kind of things he was up to? It’s shameful to think that the military that’s tasked with protecting GalCon citizens would allow such crimes.”

“
I heard my name back there,” Tick called back over his shoulder. “You better be saying nice things.”

“
We were talking about the insect, not the tracker,” Sedge called back over the seats, but frowned at his shoulder, his movement sending a flash of pain across his face.

He must be enduring much pain simply because he wanted to be here with her, to have this time together, instead of letting himself give in to unconsciousness. Kalish reached across his legs to pick up the injector full of sedative.

“
Ah, carry on then,” Tick said.

“
Works every time,” Sedge said. “As to the rest, an organization is only as good as the people in it. Yes, I believe a lot of the higher ups knew about the captain, but sometimes those from the right families or who know the right people have more power than they should for their rank. It takes some dumb lieutenant too naive to know better than to try and make things right. When I joined Mandrake Company, part of it was because there weren’t many people who would hire a dishonorably discharged officer, not to do the work I enjoy and that I was trained to do. But also, part of it was because I knew there were people who would think twice about taking on the whole mercenary company to get to me. I’ve tried to keep minimal contact with my family as well for the last couple of years, hoping that the brash choice I made won’t harm them in any way.” He looked down at his lap. “It’s been a lonely couple of years,” he added quietly.

“
I’m sorry,” Kalish said.

“
You shouldn’t be. I’m the snoop, remember?”

“
A snoop that needs some rest.” She squeezed his hand and held up the injector. “Ready for a nap?”

He hesitated, frowning at his shoulder, and she thought he might object. But he shyly asked, “Will you hold my hand again when I wake up?”

She kissed him on the cheek. “I might even do more than that.”

The speculation in his eyes made her smile again. She delivered the dose of sedative and waited for him to doze off before getting up to check on the others.

“
We’re through,” Thatcher said before she had walked halfway up the aisle.

“
Bless the Buddha,” Tick said, sagging back in his seat.

“
Can’t believe all that effort, and I scarcely got any gold,” Striker mumbled.

“
Scarcely any?” Tick said. “At least you got some. I didn’t get anything except bruises, gashes, welts, and some kind of rash from sliding down those ore piles on my butt. I hope there’s a cream in the first-aid kit for this.”

“
Not my fault you didn’t take an opportunity to scrounge for goodies,” Striker said. “Thatcher did. He got a plate.”

Tick snorted.

“
I believe it’s a lid,” Thatcher said. “And there’s a map on the back. It may prove valuable.”

“
I didn’t realize that,” Kalish said, though she was more concerned about her family at the moment. “Commander Thatcher, how’s the
Divining Rod
doing?”

“
Checking on the other ships now.” Thatcher tapped the comm panel. “Lieutenant Calendula?”

“
That disk shaved the hair off my legs,” came Val’s voice over the comm, “but yes, I’m through.”

“
Excellent.”

“
Guess Thatcher’s not into leg hair,” Striker said. “I don’t mind. I like natural women.”

“
Is that what you’re going to request when you order up your six from whatever space dock that was?” Tick asked.

“
I might. You better stop being sarcastic to me. Maybe I’ll let you come along, share one with me.”

“
If I can think of something more horrifying than sharing a woman with you, I’ll let you know,” Tick said.

“
Getting blown up by a ten-thousand-year-old robot?” Striker suggested. “Or chewed on by a giant, winged monster? Or getting cut in half by a spinning saw blade?”

“
Nah, none of those qualify. Sorry.”

Striker snorted, then flung himself across a row of seats. “I’m taking a nap. Let me know when the Chief of Boom is needed again.”

Thatcher waved the men to silence. “Ms. Blackwell, did the program I send work sufficiently?”

“
We’re through,” Tia said. “Is Kay all right? She left her winch and rope dangling from the ramp, and it got sliced off.”

“
I’m fine, Tia,” Kalish said, relieved their clunky ship had survived another pass through that gauntlet. “Got that hole fixed yet?”

“
Judging by the cursing and complaining come from the cargo hold, Mom is working on it.”

“
Good.”

“
We’re going to put some distance between us and that platform before we search for a place to rest for the night,” Thatcher said.

Striker’s snores almost overrode his words.

Unfazed, Thatcher continued on. “It looks like that flying creature came down through a chute in the ceiling, and thus didn’t have to brave the booby traps, but I would like to leave the area, nonetheless.”

“
Sounds agreeable,” Tick said.

Now that she knew Tia and her mother were all right, Kalish headed for the rear of the shuttle to sit with Sedge. After all, she had promised him she would hold his hand again.

* * *

Sedge awoke, still leaning against the hull by the hatch, the sound of Striker’s snores reverberating through the shuttle. Thatcher and Tick were sitting up front, guiding the craft through dark caverns again. Sedge could not see much of the view screen from his spot on the deck, but neither man seemed tense, so they must not have found any more trouble in the time he had been out.

Aware of the aching and itching in his shoulder, Sedge risked investigating his wound. The repair kits Tick had affixed to both sides of his shoulder hummed softly as they worked.

He grew aware of the warmth of a body pressed against his other side. His soul lightened as he remembered his conversation with Kalish. And that she wasn’t mad at him. She might not have been tickled when he had admitted to sharing the contents of her files with the captain, but she had listened without judgment when he had explained how he had truly come to be discharged from the Fleet. She had even held his hand. Such a simple action, but it made him grin.

She looked like she might have been holding his hand while he was unconscious, but she had fallen asleep, her head against his shoulder, her hand falling open. Sedge did not want to disturb her, but he must have moved, because she stirred and looked up at him. Something about her comfortable, drowsy smile made his throat tighten with emotion. Or maybe it was the fact that she had passed up padded seats to sit on the deck back here with him.

“
Thank you for staying with me,” he whispered.

“
You’re welcome. How’s your shoulder?”

“
Itchy and numb.”

“
It’s too bad those kits are on it.” She smiled, flashing dimples. “Or I could kiss it and see if that would help.”

Sedge raised his brows, intrigued by the idea that she might want to kiss any part of him. Perhaps she had found his honesty appealing? Or had she simply forgiven him for being a prying snoop? Either way, he found himself thinking of their aborted kiss on the bridge, of how much he would like to continue where they left off. Her face was only a few inches from his now. If they had been alone in the shuttle, he would have lowered his head, touched his lips to hers, and let her know exactly how much he appreciated having her by his side. Maybe he would do so anyway. Striker was snoring, and the others were busy. Maybe—

“
Lieutenant Thomlin,” came Thatcher’s voice from the front of the shuttle.

Sedge lifted his head, only then realizing how close his lips had been to Kalish’s. Thatcher had turned in his seat to look back at them, and any smooching would have been visible over the seat backs.

“
Yes, sir?” Sedge said, trying not to sound guilty. Even Thatcher could not begrudge a wounded man a kiss from a woman, could he?

But Thatcher did not seem to have noticed. He tapped a few buttons on the control panel, then unfastened his safety harness and walked down the aisle toward them. He carried an oval metal disk in his hand. It had runes etched on one side and an image on the other. Or was that the map he had mentioned earlier? When Sedge had been in too much pain for his curiosity to be aroused?

“
If my memory is correct, you studied alien philology in school, did you not, Thomlin?”

“
Just for a semester, sir.” Sedge did not know if that semester would be useful out in the field, but he held his hand out, certain Kalish would want to examine the artifact, even if he couldn’t make anything of it.

“
See if anything can be ascertained from this.” Thatcher handed it to him. “I have set course for the next dot on your map, but if you discover anything useful on the artifact, tell me, and I can alter it.”

“
Yes, sir.” Sedge accepted the object.

Thatcher had compared it to a lid earlier, hadn’t he? The oval disk
did
remind Sedge of one, thanks to the way the edges curled down. He smirked, imagining those aliens getting a big tin of cookies delivered to their underground outpost long ago. Kalish leaned her head against his shoulder again, gazing at the artifact too.

Having her so close distracted Sedge, but he would not consider asking her to leave. He was still enjoying her new warmth toward him. If his hand had not been busy holding the disk, he might have rested it on her thigh. Maybe he could convince her to crawl into his lap, so they could resume what they had started on her bridge. Wishful thinking. Logically, he knew that would need to wait until he had both hands working again—and three other men were not in the area with them—but that did not keep his trousers from tightening across his groin. He glowered down at the area with a firm thought of,
Not now.

Thatcher wanted the runes translated. Nothing else was going to happen back here. Besides, Sedge caught his reflection in the lid’s shiny surface and noted the stubble that needed shaving, the hair that needed washing and combing, and decided he looked tired. Hardly a sexy find for Kalish. He was lucky she was still sitting beside him. He shifted the lid so that it covered his lap and resolved to focus on the work.

“
That’s the symbol for power, isn’t it?” Kalish tapped a small engraving in a cluster of similarly sized symbols. Evidence of multiple alien languages had been found, but the predominate one, the one that had been used on this lid, used symbols rather than an alphabet.

“
Yes, and given the context—” Sedge touched the circle of runes around it, “—I believe it’s talking about power sources or perhaps batteries.”

He tried to move his right arm to dig his tablet out of his pocket, but it still felt like a lead weight, his fingers numb. Shifting made the repair kit poke into his shoulder blade, too, and he grunted at the discomfort. “Or maybe I’ll get that out later,” he muttered.

“
What? Your tablet?”

“
Yes.” Sedge debated whether he could reach across with his other hand without disturbing Kalish. It might not help his brain work better, but he was enjoying having her close.

“
I’ll get it.” She winked and reached across him.

He shifted the lid, but not so much that other things would be revealed. As it was, having her leaning across him and rooting around in his pocket made him insanely aware of her. She might not use a scented shampoo, but her head and neck were close enough that he could smell the scent of
her
, of woman, warm and sweet and touching his thigh. He gulped, not sure whether he felt relieved or tormented when she had the tablet in hand and settled down next to him again.