A Forest of Stars - Kevin J. Anderson [219]
Her brow furrowed with obvious annoyance. “I’d always heard how rude Eddies could be, and you’re a prime example. Anyone with common manners would thank me for saving them.”
“Depends on what you’re going to do to me,” he said.
“First things first. Repeat after me: ‘Thank you, Zhett, for saving my life.’ ”
“Is that your name? Zhett?”
She put her hands on her hips, trying to keep an amused expression from her face. “For a military officer, you don’t take orders well. As I said, ‘Thank you, Zhett, for rescuing me.’ ”
“Thanks,” he said.
“Now tell me how much you appreciate our hospitality.”
“Stop pushing me.”
“Then stop resenting us. You’ve been through quite an ordeal, so I’ll cut you a bit of slack. I can tell you’re confused and disoriented.”
“I am not.”
“All right. Then you’re something of a jerk, and it just comes naturally to you.”
Taken aback, he glared at her. “Look, my Manta was destroyed by the drogues. I don’t know how many ships we lost, how many men, but we damn sure got our asses kicked. I need to get back to Earth and report what happened here.”
“Trust me, they already know,” Zhett said. “A substantial portion of your force escaped. They ran and left all their wounded behind, didn’t even try to rescue the lifetubes. It was up to Roamers to collect you all and nurse you back to health.” Zhett tossed her dark hair over her shoulders, meeting his gaze with her own flashing eyes. “You’re damn lucky we found you.”
Fitzpatrick narrowed his eyes. “And why exactly were you at Osquivel? According to our records, this was an uninhabited system. The drogues that attacked Boone’s Crossing went to ground here.”
“Sorry, but I can’t tell you anything,” Zhett said. “The Big Goose causes us enough problems. Given half a chance, they’d try to steal our products, or crush us with unreasonable tariffs, or send in the Eddies to install their own military governors. No thanks.” She stepped back toward the door. “I think it’s best that you just lie down and rest some more.”
“Wait!” Fitzpatrick was obviously hungry for news. “How many other soldiers were rescued?”
“A handful,” she said. “Trust me, we’re taking care of them as best we can. They couldn’t ask for better medical care.”
Fitzpatrick frowned in resignation. “Well, I admit EDF doctors aren’t known for their bedside manner.”
“You’ll find a lot of surprising and likable things here among us,” Zhett said. “Just give it time.”
“I don’t want to give it time. I need to return to Earth.”
“Commander Patrick Fitzpatrick III, your ship was destroyed, your crew lost, and you yourself were left for dead. The EDF fled Osquivel with their tails between their legs. Nobody’s expecting you to come back. Not ever.”
Zhett walked off, covering her smile at his spluttering astonishment. She would let the recovering young officer chew on that for a while. Eventually, she might even be able to teach him a useful Roamer skill.
114
KOTTO OKIAH
Stressed beyond all tolerance points, the ceramic-lined tunnels on Isperos finally shuddered and failed. The settlement’s life-support systems melted under an onslaught of lava.
Kotto Okiah could not wait for rescue any longer. The underground base would fail catastrophically within hours. Unfortunately, the people didn’t have a much better chance for survival out on the surface.
The Roamer miners had already moved their supplies and equipment into the few still-intact rooms, but now the heat had become too intense. The uncontrollable thermal plumes ate upward from the lower catacombs. Crews had no choice but to suit up and flee out onto the cracked landscape and hope they could reach the shadows in time.
The upper tunnel compartments were already sweltering. The metal walls were blistering hot to the touch, the temperature rising every few seconds. The workers tugged on their mirrored suits and life-support packs, sealing gaskets so that no secret fingernail of fire could reach inside.
“Hurry it up, or we’ll be oven-roasted here,” Kotto said, then more gently, “Don’t worry. The rescue ships will come. Count on it.”
“Have we