Free Vitalis Omnibus by Jason Halstead Page A

her right, hiding completely behind Kira. She gasped, feeling something inside of her mind release. Millions of images and thoughts flashed through her conscious mind in a heartbeat, unrecognizable but now a part of her.
    Kira refocused on the mirror, and then reached up to wipe the tears from her face. She felt different, she realized. She no longer felt lost and inadequate. Kira turned, shaking her head slightly at the incredible weirdness of it, and then made her way back to her bed. She picked up the torn and burnt bodysuit and considered it. She glanced at her locker, where she had other clothes available, and then smiled as she slipped the bodysuit back on.
    She made sure it covered the most important areas and then moved at a stiff but deliberate pace to the bridge, where she expected to find somebody, if not all of them. She was in luck; Eric, Tarn, Captain Sharp, and Jeff were gathered when she stepped into the hatchway. They fell silent instantly, staring at her with mixed expressions.
    “Do you have my rifle?” Kira addressed Captain Sharp first.
    “Here,” Tarn said, turning and picking up her MAR-7 from his station behind him. She noted he sported multiple bandages as well, and had a steel rod with a cross piece at the top to use as a cane. She took it from him and glanced at the cane deliberately.
    “That LF grenade went off next to me. Shrapnel tore into my hip pretty good.”
    Kira nodded, and then began to turn away from him. She saw that Eric’s face was guarded. He met her eyes briefly, and then looked away before she could offer him a smile.
    “Hey, that’s an impressive piece of hardware you got there. Newer than what I’m used to. Then again, I never cared much for sniping. You got clearance for that thing?”
    Clearance? She glanced down at it, clueless as to how to answer him. “Does it matter?” she asked, remembering his own boasting about the military grade plasma rifles he’d acquired.
    Tarn grunted. “Only if somebody with bigger guns and a search order comes asking.”
    An image of herself filling out forms at an office and then transferring money from three separate accounts to a fourth account played through her head. “Yes, I have a security clearance for it.”
    He nodded and looked away from her. Kira frowned . He hadn’t been nodding to her; it had been for the Captain. She turned to face him. “This going to be a problem?”
    “Problem? Maybe you hit your head but you just saved our butts. Near as we can tell , the pirates turned tail and ran away. Eric even went out on the hull to see about some repairs. No sign of ’em,” Sharp said. “You can sail with me anytime, navigator or security.”
    “Hey!” Tarn protested.
    “Shut your hole; you’re old and not much to look at. Kira here is younger, faster, and a lot nicer to look at!”
    Tarn chuckled. “Got me there.”
    Kira looked back and forth between them. “Aren’t you the least bit curious about how I did all that?”
    “ Ain’t a one of us that doesn’t have secrets. A dark past, a mistake or a string of ’em. We wouldn’t be where we was without them. Long as they don’t threaten my ship or my crew, you’re entitled to them. One thing though: is it Kira or is it Emily?” Eric made a strangled sound at Sharp’s words, drawing glances from Kira and the Captain.
    “It’s Kira. Emily is— was a…well, I don’t know what she was. A survival mechanism , I suppose. She’s gone now, and I have to pick up the pieces and move on with my life.” Kira paused to stare purposefully at Eric. “If my life will let me, that is.”
    Eric met her gaze and after a long couple of seconds , he gave her an abbreviated nod. The butterflies in her stomach settled down, but it took a few additional moments for her to tame the grin that came to her face. She turned back to the Captain. “I don’t even know all the skills I have, nor what’s so special about me. It’s going to take a lot of time to figure