The Heart of Valour Read Online Free PDF Page A

the
Berganitan
retrieved it.”
    He folded his arms, the motion causing the worn sweats he’d pulled on to fall a little farther from his waist. “I was in it. And in salvage, like life, possession is nine tenths of the law.”
    The vacuum jockeys from the
Berganitan
had rescued him, directing the spherical escape pod into a net in one of the ship’s shuttle bays. Given the mulish expression he was wearing, Torin decided not to remind him of that. “You must have made inquiries,” she said, buttoning her shirt.
    “I did. No one knows anything about it.”
    “That’s because it’s classified Top Secret.”
    “No. They
won’t
talk about Big Yellow, but they don’t seem to know about the escape pod.”
    “You’re a civilian. Neither branch of the military is likely to tell you what they know.”
    “Please.” Fingers digging in his short beard, he snorted. “I deal with the military all the time. I know when they’re fukking me around and this was more like they honestly didn’t know.”
    Torin set the empty mug back on the table and frowned. “Maybe they didn’t know. You couldn’t have been talking to anyone with a very high clearance.”
    “That’s possible.”
    She stared at him for a long moment. “You want me to ask someone, don’t you?”
    He grinned. “It is
good
sex.”
    “Not that good.”
    “Liar.”
    “Fine. There’s an Intell major running the Silsviss briefings I’m doing. If I get a chance, I’ll ask her.” She slid a foot into her right boot and bent to tie the laces. “How long will you be docked?”
    “Odds are good I’ll be gone by 1400 tomorrow.”
    His tone pulled her attention back to his face. If he was off station by 1400, this was it. They’d probably see each other again when she got back to her unit. Civilian salvage operators weren’t unknown at OutSector stations, but only the brass knew how long they’d keep her here. “All right, I’ll ask at the morning briefing.”
    “Ta.”
    Both boots secured, she moved to the hatch and paused, left hand rising to touch her jaw. “The upgrade’s got a signal strong enough to reach ships in space.”
    Craig’s brows rose when she stopped, clearly expecting more.
    She didn’t have any more.
    His fingers went back to his beard. “You’ve got the
Promise
’s codes.”
    “I do.” Her left hand settled against the scarred surface of the hatch. The upgrade went to grades Gunny and above, so that if they had Marines dirtside, and the comm unit got hit, they could call for evac. They weren’t for… She glanced back at Craig; from the way the corner of his mouth was twitching, he knew exactly what she was thinking. Cocky bastard. Stepping out onto the ramp, she turned again. “Be careful.”
    He nodded. “You, too.”
    * * *
    “Major Alie.”
    The major’s hair lifted. “Is there a problem, Gunny?”
    “No, sir.” di’Taykan didn’t have the concept of personal space, so Torin stepped a little closer. They were standing, once again, at the front of Compartment 29 waiting for the morning’s group of senior NCOs to finish taking their seats, and Torin figured that her odds of getting an answer were better if the major thought she couldn’t be overheard. In the raw light of day, minus post-coital endorphins, this was obviously a bad idea, but she’d told Craig she’d ask—and that left her only two options. Keep her word. Or not. “The CSO who…”
    “You’re seeing.” The words were tame for a di’Taykan. The innuendo was all it could be.
    “Yes, sir.” Torin responded to the words alone. “He was wondering what happened to the escape pod off Big Yellow.”
    The major’s hair flattened. “The alien ship is classified, Gunny.”
    “Yes, sir.”
    “And classified means you’re not to speak of it.”
    “No, sir.”
    “Not even to your
vantru
.”
    Given the major’s expression, now was not the time to mention that
vantru
—more or less translated as primary sexual partner—was a bit strong,