“We need to access databanks to find our way back, do we not?” It asked.
She nodded. “But Tim…”
“Tim is not fully cybernetic, and you might be taking fire.”
It had a point.
“How about this. I drop down and help Tim secure his situation. You scan for databanks now that the interference is gone. And if needed, you can join us.”
“That is a reasonable alternative.”
Riina blinked. Did the robot sound disappointed?
“I appreciate the offer.” She did. As far as she knew, the robot hadn’t been programmed to take dangerous risks.
The other reality was that the airlock only held one at a time and Trac would have to linger in the area to also allow the robot to join them.
“I really do appreciate your offer,” she said again, “and we will probably need you, so it’s better not to get you shot up by exposing you early.”
“That is fair,” the robot said. “And also reasonable.”
It did sound happier, which it should whether it was sentient or not. She’d worry about any robot that was eager to get shot at.
She was kind of worried about herself.
She heard a squawk and looked down. The bird, T’Korrin had apparently followed her out of the cockpit. Now the bird ruffled its feathers and shifted from foot to foot.
“T’Korrin wants to go with you,” Lira said.
Rinna looked at her, aware that Lira couldn’t see her incredulous expression. She kind of wanted both of them to see it, but she didn’t lift her faceplate. She looked down at the bird. It ruffled its feathers again.
“Why?” Riina asked.
Lira shrugged. “I have no clue. But whenever I’ve not done what he wanted, I’ve been sorry.”
Riina bit back a sigh. “When Harold comes down, T’Korrin can come with him?”
She made it a question, even though it wasn’t one.
Lira looked at the bird. It looked back and appeared to shake its head. Riina almost gave in, but she was dropping into a fire fight.
“Deal with it, T’Korrin,” Lira said.
The airlock signaled pressure balanced. Her last view of the bird was of it shaking its head from side to side. She opened the hatch and slid inside. It was small and she marveled that Tim had managed to get his shoulders inside.
He had wide shoulders. She sighed, recalling those shoulders as the air hissed out.
Tim had told the pilot he would keep watch, while the man tried to access the ship he claimed would fly. He’d prefer that pilot be distracted when the shuttle arrived. It was cloaked, and his human eyes couldn’t see it, but his cybernetics registered the shuttle’s proximity.
The ship that the pilot considered flight-worthy looked like a piece of junk to Tim, but if it kept the man busy, he was content.
That didn’t mean he took his sensors off him. He had a small video of his movements on a floating screen using his cybernetic eye. The man moved, as if to block visuals, so Tim deployed a small drone to keep on eye on him.
The man could just be trying to get away and planned to leave him behind. Tim might have understood that imperative more, if they weren’t so desperately in need of data.
His suit registered the shuttle overhead and he transferred the bulk of his attention up. He didn’t see the airlock open.
He did see a figure step out, dropping down toward him. He waited tensely for the flare of rockets that would slow her descent.
