Free Asarlai Wars 1: Warrior Wench by Marie Andreas Page B

like Skrankle parted the ship out quickly once you didn’t show. Or he did it right after you dropped it off. Regardless, those parts took a fast trip to the outer rim. But most of them aren’t incorporated into any ships yet.”
    She studied the screen; once he pointed them out she saw where the parts were. “So, fourteen? He split her up into fourteen parts?” Not too bad. The main part to find would be the core. That held the brain of the Victorious Dead . “You said they weren’t all incorporated. Which parts? Are they in a nearby ship?” The idea of raiding a ship stupid enough to take illegally removed parts sounded lovely. Especially after the way things had been going lately.
    Gosta practically rubbed his hands with glee. “That, my dear Captain, is the best part of all.” He pulled the screen toward him and fiddled with adjustments. “See here? This is the Warrior Wench , as we sit in dock waiting to leave.” He tapped the center. “And this is the core of the Victorious Dead .”
    Vas poked at the screen. That idiot Skrankle had put a warship’s core in a pleasure cruiser? “Are you certain? Is it damaged?”
    “Yes, I’m certain. And it’s not damaged. Skrankle put a block on it so the Warrior Wench would work without tapping into the Victorious Dead’s memory portion of the core, but she’s there. He didn’t clean her. He simply overlaid the block.”
    She allowed herself her first real smile that day. The most important part of her beloved ship was with her; she only needed to dig it out. The rest of it would have to be gathered, on principle if nothing else.
    Finally she shook herself. No reason getting too happy. Things were still far from normal. “Can you check to see if the Warrior Wench’s core had been damaged?”
    The grin faded from his face. “Already thought of that, Captain. No damage. The Warrior Wench is only a few years old, her core still factory perfect and I hate to say it, more advanced than the Victorious Dead .”
    She swore. “So why did Skrankle gut my ship to add its core into this one? We’re missing something.”
    “We may never know now that Skrankle’s gone.”
    Flarik broke up the introspection as she came on deck. “The officers completely understand our loss, and hope that we continue to enjoy this ship as the last gift of our gallant supporter, Skrankle.”
    Vas continued to be amazed at Flarik’s ability to keep a straight face in any circumstance.
    “If you no longer need me, I will resume my sleep preparations.” More statement than request, but Flarik did wait until Vas had acknowledged her with a nod before turning and marching down the hall.
    “Why do I always feel like I’ve been chastised when she does that?” Deven spoke from behind her.
    “Because you are being chastised,” Vas said. “We all are. I’m grateful she’s on our side. Now, Gosta—”
    “Now, Captain,” Terel cut her off as she came into the bridge. “I’ve been calling you for the last ten minutes. We have to get another shot into you. And I want to do more tests on that poison.”
    Vas started to argue but Terel wouldn’t let her. “If you’d prefer we can stop the treatments and see if what’s left of that stuff in your system can find a way to kill you.” The look on Terel’s face said there were two options: her way or her way.
    “So be it.” Vas raised her hands. “I’ll go let you shoot me with that archaic torture device. Let’s get this over with.”
    ****
    Deven waited until Vas and Terel were gone before turning toward the rest of the room. “Mac, prepare to move out. Gosta, you have the bridge.” He turned toward his own small ready room. There were too many things that he needed to sort out.
    One of the most disturbing items concerned his recent reaction to Vas. The last two days he felt an odd tingle in his telepathic senses whenever she stood close. Like he would when near a lover. However, while he and Vas were close, they’d never gone