Free Starseers: Fallen Empire, Book 3 by Lindsay Buroker Page A

rose behind his faceplate.
    “That’s the kind of thing a gentleman does for a lady. And if you don’t consider me a lady, then that’s also the kind of thing a good passenger does for his pilot.”
    “I’ll keep that in mind,” he said as they headed for the exit.
    Alisa did not see the robed woman skulking in the cargo hold, but Yumi was at the pen, cooing to her chickens as she refilled their water dish. Alejandro stood next to the ramp, grimacing as the birds squawked enthusiastically, sending feathers flying. They seemed particularly jubilant. Maybe they were making up for their subdued hour spent in the mists.
    Someone had opened the hatch already and lowered the ramp. Thankfully, eerie mist was not seeping into the ship this time. Had Abelardus already gone out to meet with his people? Alisa did not see him.
    Alejandro turned toward Leonidas as he and Alisa approached, looking a touch relieved. Alisa wagered that wasn’t the expression most people wore when they saw a cyborg in combat armor striding toward them while carrying a grenade launcher. Alejandro probably hoped to hide behind him out there.
    “Leonidas has agreed to blow up a tower for me,” Alisa said. “If you say nice things to him, he may blow one up for you too. To facilitate cooperation from the Starseers.”
    Alejandro frowned at her attempt at humor. “I don’t think you can strong-arm these people.”
    “But can you strong-grenade them?”
    “You’re an eccentric woman, Captain.”
    “And yet you keep flying places with me. Is it possible you’re not the most normal soul yourself?”
    “No.”
    Beck appeared on the walkway and jogged down the stairs. He wore three jackets and a fluffy fur cap that looked like it might have been forgotten in a remote corner of the Nomad by a passenger decades earlier. He was not in his combat armor, carrying only his knife and a pair of blazer pistols. He looked at Leonidas in his gleaming red suit and seemed surprised.
    “We dressing up for a fight?” Beck asked.
    “I’m hoping that won’t be necessary,” Alisa said.
    Leonidas rested his hand on his grenade launcher and said nothing.
    “Maybe the mech just wants to stay warm.” Beck eyed the open hatch, then rubbed his arms through his multiple layers of sleeves. “It’s cold enough to breed polar fangcats out there.”
    “What?” Alejandro asked.
    “You haven’t heard that expression?”
    “Polar fangcats only mate at temperatures of negative fifty degrees and below,” Yumi said, finishing with her chickens and walking over to join them. “It’s believed it’s because of the length of their gestation period. Mating in the dead of winter ensures their babies will be born in the warmth of summer, when the temperature averages negative twenty. That’s in the south pole though. The north pole is balmy in comparison.”
    “Balmy. Sure.” Beck rubbed his sleeves and eyed Leonidas’s armor again. Climate-controlled armor.
    Yumi headed down the ramp, waving to someone. Was the female Starseer waiting for her?
    A clang came from engineering, and Alisa called, “Mica, are you going to join us for this friendly meeting with interesting people?”
    “You don’t pay me enough to deal with Starseers,” Mica called back.
    “I did get you that new tank.”
    “You got that for yourself. It’s your ship.”
    “Are you sure? You’re the one who cuddles with it.”
    Perhaps talking about their distaste for Starseers wasn’t a good idea with the hatch open. Alisa could not see anyone from her position—the ramp led down to a landing pad that appeared to be made from variegated glass tiles—but she heard voices murmuring to each other. Yumi had already gone off to the side.
    Alejandro sighed, either at the magnitude of what he was about to do or at the silly conversation. “Let’s go, Leonidas.”
    He started down the ramp, but he paused to look back and make sure Leonidas was following before going far.
    “Such a brave man,” Alisa