Free Chronicles of a Space Mercenary 3: Vengeance by Ronald Wintrick Page B

would do to change what was coming.
    “You might want to give me a couple days to recuperate before you do anything rash.” I said, it clearly being pointless to argue with her.
    “You have seven days.” She said and thus reprieved from immediately having to cast my life on the line yet once more didn’t bother asking her plans.  It didn’t really matter- it would involve life and death and that was all that really mattered. Thus was my life dictated; weeks of enjoyable intoxicated relaxation interspersed with brief periods of murder, mayhem and near-death experiences, meanwhile being told what to do by my crew.
     
    Chapter 19
     
    The Katons couldn’t move any faster in warp than we could and were in exactly the same place behind us six days later- lucky for them- when I appeared on the Bridge again at the revised appointed hour. Everyone was in readiness and at their stations and guns. Bren had even finished building the next cannon- which I had been sure would precipitate a dispute between the back gunners as to who would get it, but I only got half of it right. The dispute came when Tanya tried to force Bren to install it while we were in warp. If I hadn’t interceded on Bren’s behalf I think she would actually have shoved him in the lock and cycled him out- all based on Bren’s own big mouth when he had postulated aloud in her presence that his calculations showed it could be done. That he was positive a person could space-walk in inner-space. With great strength, no matter what your strength, came great failings. We all have them but I was glad I wasn’t on Bren’s side of the graph.
    “The chaperone is back.” I told Bren and Tanya as I entered. Neither said a word and I could feel the tension between them like a thick fog. I stopped and looked back and forth between them before I spoke; “What the hell’s going on now?” They wouldn’t still be this mad at one another over the airlock issue- or at least Tanya wouldn’t have been, so this had to be something new.
    “Bren turned off the cannon.” Tanya said with a sweet smile. It was a sweet smile but I could see she was seething inside.
    “Turned off the cannon!” I said. “Cannons can’t be turned off.”
    “I turned this one off until you’re ready to take Command of your ship again.” Bren told me. I could see the near call at the airlock had been rough on him but I still didn’t like the implications of this. “Without me, no cannon.” This he told Tanya and why I could see her boiling inside. Bren wasn’t going to turn it back on until I was back to protect him.
    “You said it was theoretically possible.” Tanya said with an innocent smile.
    “Turn it back on.” I told Bren but giving Tanya a stern look, which she completely ignored. I turned back to Bren as he typed the command to reactivate the cannon; “Are you sure you can’t space-walk in warp?”
    “The math checks out. We should be able to space-walk in warp.” Bren said as he finished. “Would you like to test the theory?”
    “I’m not much of a crash-dummy.” I said as I seated myself and sipped my hot-jolt. It was about my eighth cup or so this morning and so I was about as alert as any human being could hope. “Let’s do these Katons, if you must, and then I’m going back on rest and relaxation.”
    “I don’t think you’ll be getting any rest any time soon.” Bren told me as I heard Tanya’s fingers flying over her keypad.
    “That’s two things you got right.” Tanya said as her system checked out. She hadn’t really been going to cycle Bren out the lock but it had been an amusing interlude to a boring afternoon for which Bren had made her pay dearly after- by disabling her weapon with enemies behind them- and nearly precipitating her into the real act of cycling him out the lock- except without his spacesuit. “Let’s see if we can shoot for three.” She added as she implemented a security protocol over the cannon’s fire-control system