Crossways Read Online Free Page B

you personally, so mind your manners.*
    *Will do,*
Ben said.
*Can you do us one more favor?*
    *How much is it going to cost me?*
    *Nothing. It will cost us in the long run,*
Ben said.
*Can you find us a space we can take over? I don’t care how spartan it is. Even an empty warehouse will do. I’d like somewhere I can get my psi-techs away from the settlers.*
    *I’ll see what I can do. I guess there’s not much love lost.*
    *The settlers are a bunch of Ecolibrian fundies,*
Ben said.
*They’re never going to like implant-enhanced psi-techs, no matter how many times we save their asses.*
    Mother Ramona gave the mental equivalent of a suppressed laugh.
    *I’ll see what I can find.*
    Ben turned his attention to docking an unfamiliar ship in one of Crossways’ internal docks. There was little room for error.
    â€œHarnesses,” Ben broadcast ship-wide. “Safety lockdown for manual docking.”
    *All battened down here,*
Ronan Wolfe, their medic, responded privately to Ben.
*How is your shoulder?*
    *Sore but holding.*
    *And Cara?*
    *Making light, but I’ve seen her try to ease her ribs when she thinks no one is watching.*
    Ben lined up
Solar Wind
with Port 22’s blue access lights. The station filled the viewscreen, her pulse-cannon obvious from this distance, barrels sticking out like bristles on the side of a porker.
    Port 22 grew from a small dark rectangle on the bulbous end of one of Crossways’ huge projecting caissons to a gaping maw that swallowed them whole. The screen view switched to a functional glideway with a run of central guide lights.
    Ben cut the power, feeling a slight bump as the grav buffers caught and the ship regained weight.
Solar Wind
settled gently into her landing gear and the clamps engaged. The air lock began to cycle.
    Home—for now, at least.

    As the rest of the crew left the flight deck, Cara sat back in
Solar Wind
’s comms chair.
    â€œAre you sure you don’t mind?” Ben asked.
    â€œOf course I don’t mind. I’ve been waiting for you to suggest it.”
    She swiveled around to face him.
    â€œIt won’t tire you too much?”
    â€œStop trying to give me an out. You need to talk to your Nan. Yes, it’s a long way, yes it will be tiring, but it’s what I’m trained for. Now do you want to do this or not?”
    He nodded. He’d hoped to be able to bring his family off Chenon, but Alexandrov had foiled that plan along with his attempt to get at Crowder.
    â€œOkay.”
    Cara breathed deeply and closed her eyes, sitting perfectly poised. Bruise or no bruise, she looked beautiful, even in a severe black buddysuit that disguised the curves he knew were there.
    *Ready?*
she asked.
    He followed Cara’s mental link as her thoughts ranged out toward Chenon and Nan. Ben could feel her concentrate on seeking out his fierce and formidable grandmother, matriarch of the Benjamin family, or what was left of it: Ben’s older brother, Rion, and Rion’s two boys, Kai and Ricky.
    *Cara!*
He felt the moment of contact as Nan recognized Cara’s mental touch.
*Is Reska all right?*
    Nan was the only one who ever used Ben’s given name. He’d been Ben Benjamin since his first day in the Monitor Cadets, just as Jessop had become Jess.
    *Ben’s fine,*
Cara said.
*Here, see for yourself.*
    She pulled back, leaving Ben and Nan to talk to each other through her link.
    *Reska. It’s been too long—*
    *Sorry, there was a reason for that, Nan. Things went south very fast on Olyanda and I didn’t want to put you in danger by giving you information others might want, but you need to know now.*
    *Tell me the worst of it.*
    Nan never wasted time on irrelevant explanations.
    *We found platinum on Olyanda and Crowder betrayed us to get it all for the Trust.*
    *And did he?*
    *Get it? No. I sold it to Crossways, but it was touch and go for a while. He tried to wipe out the colony with a