Corporate Bounty: A Military Sci-Fi Series (Space Hunter War Book 2) by Rick Partlow & Pacey Holden

Author:Rick Partlow & Pacey Holden [Partlow, Rick]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Aethon Books
Published: 2022-12-26T16:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER 13

I caught my breath when I was back on the Anna, almost wishing I didn’t have to breathe at all.

Birdy was covered in a sheen of sweat, his jumpsuit soaked at the pits.

“I’ve never seen a man sweat as much as you, Birdy.”

I cracked the seal on my helmet, left it hanging in the zero G, and strapped into the copilot’s seat. A sharp ping sounded from the seat as the armor plates settled. I ignored it.

“Jack, that was… that was incredible!” He laughed. “I tell you, man, there’s nothing—nothing—better than outmaneuvering someone who fancies themself an ace and,” he added, slapping a fist into his palm, “smashing that ego into bloody smithereens!”

“These are Cultists, Birdy,” I said. “They’re more concerned with the Predecessors than they are with flying starships.”

“What’re you saying, Jack?” he asked in a small voice.

I could tell he was hurt, though I wasn’t sure why. I decided to change the subject.

“Nothing, Birdy. You did good. Now where exactly—”

“Oh, you…” Birdy growled. “You’re just going to piss all over my accomplishments like they’re nothing? No, sir. Absolutely not!”

I froze in place, confused.

“Uh, what?”

Birdy slapped the console and fixed me with a red-faced glare.

“You get into a gunfight, you expect me to be on the sidelines cheering you on, or fly in to your rescue. I destroy two attack cutters—two!—with superior weaponry and maneuverability when I’m kneecapped with these worthless coilguns, and you dare to yank the rug out from under me like that?”

“Birdy, I…” I stammered, not knowing what to say.

“No, it’s fine.” He ripped the ‘face jack links out of his head and stood in a huff. “You fly the old bird then, if that’s nothing to you.”

“Robin,” I said, hoping using his name would pull him out of his anger long enough to listen to me.

It didn’t.

“Oh, Robin, eh?” He floated over to my chair, and for a second I thought he was going to throw a punch. Instead, he grabbed the headrest and squeezed the cushion. “That plump enough for you, Jack?”

I jabbed a finger at him. “Birdy, stop—”

He snatched the helmet out of the air and tossed it onto my lap.

“Make sure to tidy up now, Jack. God knows you’re not going to do any cleaning around here!”

I could do nothing but let him go. A sigh pressed against my lips, but I held it back.

“Coffee, Jack?” He glided over to the machine, planted his foot against the sensor station bulkhead, transferred some of the brew from the machine to a bulb, and chucked it at me. I caught it. He floated by the sensor station, arms crossed.

“I had no idea you were so sensitive, Birdy,” I said, rotating the bulb in my fingers.

“Anything else I can get you, Jack? A massage, maybe? Or just a swift kick in the ass!”

“Thank you,” I said.

He deflated, my words splashing over him like cold water.

“It was nothing.”

Awkward silence passed between us for a moment. He looked at me, looked away, then looked back, running a finger over his mustache.

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