Efferus by Kevin Hardman

Author:Kevin Hardman [Hardman, Kevin]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: I&H Recherche Publishing
Published: 2017-10-30T04:00:00+00:00

Chapter 33

Browing was absolutely livid.

“There’s a bounty on our heads and you didn’t tell us?!” he practically screamed.

“Technically, the bounty’s only on my head,” Maker countered.

Browing glowered at him. “And the rest of us are just what – collateral damage? You should have told us.”

Maker didn’t immediately say anything. They were currently in the Raider’s briefing room, and everyone was present – including Gallico. Upon figuring out what the ships outside the station were doing, he had immediately called everyone together and made them aware of the events on Defalcator, including the bounty. It was a revelation that had immediately set Browing off, and he had not been shy about expressing his opinion. Of course, Browing’s anger was nothing Maker would lose sleep over, but he didn’t want any of his people – basically, those he’d left at the space station – to be in the dark about this stuff.

Maker sighed. “First of all, everyone who went planet-side with me knew. Next, we’ve been on board for maybe ten minutes, so forgive me if I focused on getting us away from here first and then briefing the issue, as opposed to doing the reverse.”

There was silence for a moment, then Diviana said, “It’s fine, Lieutenant. It was the right call.”

The rest of the Marines either murmured in agreement or nodded, giving Maker a strong showing of moral support. Browing, not to be outdone and still on his high horse, was about to say something when Dr. Chantrey spoke up.

“It’s a moot point at this juncture,” she declared, “since, with all those ships out there, we aren’t going anywhere.”

“So, just to make sure I understand,” Planck chimed in, “all those ships out there are waiting to pounce on us, essentially with the hope of capturing Lieutenant Maker?”

“More or less,” Maker replied. “They’re inside jump range, so we’ll run into them before we get far enough to go to hyperspace.”

“And if we try to jump before that,” Fierce added, “the station will vaporize us.”

Planck frowned slightly, as if trying to work out a math problem in his head. “But if they want him so badly, why didn’t they just capture him when all of you were moving through the station from that other ship to the Raider?”

To everyone’s surprise, it was Gallico who joined the conversation at this point, saying, “It’s the rules of the space station. They don’t allow anything that might damage the facility – especially violent altercations. Anything like that will cost you the privilege of landing at either the station or on the planet, and this far out in the Fringe, you need access to every resource you can get. Basically, no one’s willing to risk getting cut off.”

“But how do they even know we’re here?” Loyola asked.

Maker shrugged. “Probably just playing the odds. As Gallico said previously, it wouldn’t take much effort to figure out that we have a ship docked at this station. And since we haven’t been captured yet, it’s a sure bet that we’ll be trying to leave the area as soon as possible.

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