“That’s true,” Mace said.
Xaber took note. The big male was surprisingly talkative tonight. He had to be interested in Tix.
Would wonders never cease?
Mace continued to explain about their nanotech for a few minutes. It was the most he’d heard the male say in years. He hadn’t been this animated since before… Xaber’s brain shied away from the thought, but he forced himself to finish it. Before the others had died. Before they lost Star and Morn. Before it was just the two of them.
“So, what about you? How long have you been here on Defiance?” Mace asked.
“Only a few weeks. Enough to find work and explore a little. This place is bigger than I expected. I grew up on a space station, so I figured it would be more of the same.Veth, was I wrong about that.”
“We’ve been all over the Drift and a few other places before that, and this station is one of a kind. That’s why we came here. We’re hoping this will be our new home. Someplace stable and steady.”
Flek arrived at their table with a service bot laden down with their order. While neither of them had to eat every day, they also didn’t have to worry about gaining weight. Their medi-bots kept them fit and healthy no matter what they ate. It was one of the reasons so many beings were interested in getting hold of the nanotech for themselves. That, and the fact that it would extend their lives by a considerable margin.
“This is all for us?” Tix gaped at the three large pizzas.
“It is. This is what they always order. Every time. No changes.” He pointed to each pizza in turn. “This one is pepperoni, mushrooms, and onions. That one double cheese, olives, and spicy sausage. The last is my specialty. Smoked cheese,kynsha,and shredded protein seasoned with my secret blend of spices. You try. You will like.”
“What iskynsha? I’ve never heard of that before,” Tix asked.
“Vegetable from my home world. Sweet and spicy.”
“I’ll start with your specialty then. It sounds delicious. Oh, and your juice is fantastic. You should definitely put it on the menu,” Tix said.
Flek bared his teeth and waved his hand over his head in excitement. “Yes? Good. I thought so, but it is always best to get another opinion.”
Xaber’s hand was halfway to the first pizza when Flek tapped a three-button code into a keypad set into the edge of the table and activated the sound dampener.
Then, he asked a question that threatened to derail their evening. “I heard of a job for you. Quick. Easy. The target is on Defiance. They left Ashur Station suddenly and left some debts unpaid. Those beings want to talk to them face-to-face. You find and deliver. Get paid. Yes?”
Tix froze, her slice of pizza partway off her plate. He couldn’t tell if her reaction was shock, panic, or a bit of both. Her fingers shook slightly as she set the food down and stared at him with wide eyes. “You do that kind of thing? For money?”
Fraxx. This was not how he wanted her to find out what they did for a living. Experience had taught them that most beings had one of two reactions to the information. Either they found it intriguing or abhorrent, without much middle ground. Even if he couldn’t read human body language and micro-expressions clearly, it would be obvious which camp she fell into.
“We’re bounty hunters,” Mace stated.
“Why?” Tix asked, her tone sharp and edged with something Xaber couldn’t name.
“Because we wanted to do something useful.” Xaber paused to organize his thoughts before he continued. He wanted to get this explanation right.
“You know what we are and why the corporations created us. We were pawns in their wars. We fought and killed for reasons that had nothing to do with us. None of it was our choice.”
He paused and was gratified when Tix responded with a small nod of understanding. She wanted to hear his explanation. That was better than outright rejection. He didn’t know her, and her opinion shouldn’t matter. But for some damned reason, it did.
“We haven’t been doing this long. Less than a year, in fact. And we have rules about which jobs we take. We don’t take corporate jobs. Ever. We only go after criminals and those who do business with them.”
Mace spoke up. “We’re trying to make things better by taking the dangerous assholes out of society. We all have to make choices. Some choices have consequences. That’s where we come in.”
“When you say taking them out of society, you mean to face justice? You don’t take contracts that ask for uh… more permanent resolutions. Do you?” she asked.
“You mean, would we kill someone?Fraxxno. We don’t…wewon’tdo that,” Xaber said. Dead-or-alive contracts existed, but they would never take that option. They were done killing. No more fighting anyone else’s battles.
He waited while Tix considered what they’d said. It took longer than he liked before she settled back in her seat and picked up her slice of pizza.
“Okay.”
He relaxed, but only for a second. Then he remembered that Flek was still waiting for an answer.
