Privateer Tales 3: Parley Read Online Free

emergency.
    The mirrored face shield withdrew into the suit and the hood relaxed, electrical stimulation no longer keeping it rigid. I knelt next to the couch, desperately hoping she was alive.
    The first thing that struck me was just how bad an idea it had been to lean in so close. A wave of putrid air hit me hard and I gagged. It had been a long time since I'd barfed in my suit, but believe me, memories of that experience never leave you.
    I saw with relief that she was breathing.
    “Nick, can you take us back to the Baux-201 site and start looking for Captain Chen?” It would be a terrible blow to her daughter, but leaving the woman to float in space like so much trash would be even worse.
    “Roger that, how many were in the lifepod?”
    “One girl, about our age. She's breathing.” I looked down at the girl. She looked a lot like her mother, same beautiful face, warm brown skin, and hair that was woven into tight rows of beaded braids. Her hair was much longer than her mom’s and had bad things in it at the moment, no doubt a result of her violent spinning episode.
    Marny had left and returned with our med-kit. She placed a diagnostic device on the girl’s forehead and another on her chest. They both showed green.
    “She’s got a suit-liner on. Let’s at least get her out of the suit and clean it. It would be awful to wake up to this smell,” Marny said.
    “How about you start on that and I’ll find something to help get her cleaned up.”
    “Chicken.”
    “True enough.”
    I rounded up an extra pillow and a couple of clean blankets as well as a bucket of warm soapy water and a pile of cleaning towels. This girl would have enough to worry about when she awoke without also having to deal with the embarrassment and mess of having violently thrown up.
    I was grateful that by the time I got back, Marny had successfully removed the vac-suit. It lay in a pile on the ground. Together we worked to clean up the girl’s face and hair. It didn’t take too long and by the end I thought the smell had been mostly mitigated. We covered her with blankets.
    “I’ll run her suit through the cleaner and then sit with her,” Marny offered.
    “Thanks, Marny, but I’d like to be here when she wakes up.”
    “Understood. You did a good thing, Liam. I know I gave you a hard time, but she wouldn’t be alive if we hadn’t come.”
    “I’m not sure she’ll see it that way.”
    “That’s not why we do it,” Marny said.

TOUGH DECISIONS
     
    We found Adela Chen’s body in the wreckage of her tug, still strapped into the pilot’s chair. She had been shot up pretty badly. It was so senseless and caused me to question my decision to not drag those frakking pirates to justice.
    Nick sent the combat data streams to the approaching Mars Protectorate frigate. They were still several hours out and requested that we remain in the vicinity.
    “Cap, she’s comin’ around. You might want to get in here.” Marny had stayed with the girl while Nick and I looked for her mother.
    By the time I arrived, Captain Chen’s daughter had pushed herself up to a seated position. Her wide-eyed stare locked on me as I entered the room. Marny, obviously uncomfortable with the situation, stood by the door. Unfortunately, Marny was still in her armored vac-suit.
    “Thanks, Marny. Would you mind giving me a few minutes with Miss Chen?”
    “Aye, aye, Cap.” Marny looked relieved and quickly exited the room.
    “Miss Chen, I’m Captain Liam Hoffen. You’re on Sterra's Gift and you’re safe.”
    Seating options were pretty limited. She was on the couch. I wasn’t about to sit next to her, given her current state of confusion, but I also knew that standing was the wrong answer. I opted to kneel down and sit back on my heels.
    “My mom?” She looked at me with tears already forming. The memory of Adela’s body inside her ship was still fresh in my mind. This girl looked so much like her. I felt a tear slide down my cheek.
    “She didn’t