Homecoming (Psi War Book 1) by Rick Partlow

Author:Rick Partlow [Partlow, Rick]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2018-04-28T23:00:00+00:00

Chapter Fourteen

“Think your head can handle this?”

Ash glanced up from the unappetizing plate of processed soy and spirulina and brightened as he saw the bottle Sandi was holding; it was clear glass, or a good imitation, and the liquid inside was a pale amber, nearly gold.

“Is that…” he trailed off, looking between her and the bottle. Sandi had cleaned up since he’d last seen her, and she’d found new clothes somewhere to replace the old ones she’d stained with blood.

“Tequila,” she confirmed, grinning. “Korri and I found it when we were searching. You sure you’re up to it?” She cocked an eyebrow and he realized she meant his head.

“Oh, yeah,” he assured her. “The auto-doc cleared me. Lucky thing they had one in their clinic.”

“Nothing but the best for Naga,” she said, her tone dry and perhaps bitter.

She handed him a shot glass and poured out two fingers, then sat down beside him at the galley table. She looked around and he was sure he knew what she was thinking because he’d been thinking it too: the “galley” on the Acheron was a single, fold-down table and a shelf with the food processor, coffee maker and storage bins. The Bellerophon’s was huge by comparison, with seating for over a dozen people and a small holo-tank in the corner for entertainment.

“Their food still sucks,” he countered, downing the shot in one gulp, feeling it burning its way through his chest. “But just about every spaceship has shitty food.”

“At least we had an excuse.” Sandi downed a swallow right from the bottle and Ash looked at her questioningly. “There’s only the one glass,” she told him. “If you got room for all this,” she waved at the spacious galley, “then you have room for a freezer to store real meat and a refrigerator for fresh vegetables.”

“Did they have a fabricator,” he wondered, “or did you find someone your size?” He nodded toward the grey utility fatigue shirt she wore.

“While you were in the auto-doc,” she said quietly, eyes flickering downward, “Fontenot and I cleaned up the bodies. It got a bit messy.” She took another swallow, then poured a fresh shot for him. “There’s a small fabricator in the storage hold. I threw the old ones away.”

“You know,” he mused, staring deep into the amber liquid in his glass, “everything we owned was on that ship.”

“I’m sorry about the Acheron.” Ash looked over his shoulder, surprised he hadn’t heard Fontenot coming up behind him. Then again, Jackie was with her…

Maybe she fucking flew her down the stairs.

The two of them walked up to the table next to theirs. The seat creaked under Fontenot’s weight as she fell into it; Jackie sat more gracefully, without a spare movement.

“Grant,” Fontenot went on, “my son…he pretty much gave me unlimited funding for this operation. I can guarantee he’ll buy you a new ship or rebuild one just like the Acheron if you prefer.”

Ash felt anger burning in his chest, hotter than the tequila, and he

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