A Pale Light in the Black by K. B. Wagers

Author:K. B. Wagers
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: HarperCollins
Published: 2020-03-03T00:00:00+00:00

“Jenks.”

Jenks stopped prowling the captain’s ready room at Rosa’s quiet call, settling against the wall and crossing her arms over her chest. She wasn’t built for this cloak-and-dagger bullshit. She just wanted them to point her at a target and tell her to beat the shit out of it.

Captain Vaughn frowned and rubbed a hand over his smooth chin. “The ship should be fine, but we’ve got an extra field up and I’ve cleared the bay to be safe. If it blows or something goes wrong, though, we’re still going to be in for a hell of a ride.”

The door slid open and Vaughn’s XO stuck her head in. “Sorry, Captain. I’ve got a Commander Yevchenko on the coms from NeoG Intel. He’s wanting to know if we’ve got Zuma. I guessed Commander Martín might want to speak to him directly.”

“Thanks, Bea, put him through here.” Vaughn nodded.

The screen lit up in the center of the table, revealing Stephan. Jenks spotted Luis just behind him. Their eyes met and she forced a quick smile.

“Everyone okay, Rosa?”

“Intact. Ready for a nap, though.”

Stephan’s chuckle had zero humor in it. “Got your message. We’re looking into it.” His eyes flicked to Captain Vaughn. “Appreciate you picking up our folks, Captain, and I’d hate it to seem like we’re kicking you out of your own ready room—”

“But you’re kicking me out.” Vaughn grinned and held up a hand. “No worries, Commander, I know how things go. I’m going to go make sure Zuma’s Ghost has a place to sleep for the next day.”

Jenks tracked the captain as he left the room. He seemed very nice, for a naval type, but her nerves were screaming and her already fragile trust in people had been blown out of the water in much the same way she should have been. Right now, she trusted the people in this room and the two men on the screen and that was it.

Full fucking day on a Navy ship. I am going to get demoted again.

“Dai?”

It took several seconds for Luis’s voice to filter in and she blinked, realizing everyone was looking at her. “Sorry, what?”

“You okay?”

“I’m pissed and I need something to hit.” She closed her eyes. “Sorry, Commander.”

“Don’t be,” Rosa replied.

“We’re going over the hangar footage, Rosa,” Stephan said after a nod in Jenks’s direction. “If someone got in there, we’ll find them.”

“What do you mean ‘if’? We saw the tampering with our own eyes.” Jenks knew the snap in her voice was earning her a look from Rosa, but she couldn’t stop herself.

Stephan held up a hand before Rosa could say something. “Sorry, Jenks, just habit. It’s not that I don’t trust you. Did you take the EMUs out of the ship, or are they still on Zuma?”

“They’re still on the ship,” Rosa said. “I know there’s a risk they could blow, Stephan, but Max took thorough photos. On our ship it’s slightly more controlled access than on a ship where I don’t know anyone. I’m not a complete newbie at this, you know.

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