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“What do you know?” a sharp voice demanded.
They both jerked in their seats and then looked toward the door. The major stood there glaring, the CR brand standing out in stark relief against his cheek.
Taly wasn’t going to answer for a moment, then realized that was childish. “You have an NNP, neural net processor. It can be either an open or closed network. Nas told me about it once, saying how efficient communications were within a pod and that it saved his life more than once. You must be within a certain range to use it, which is why you wanted to get close to the escaping vessels.”
His hard glare had her shrugging with a nonchalance she didn’t feel. “So were any of you able to contact the other members in your pods?”
“What makes you think the four of us aren’t a pod?” Ranvir demanded.
“Because if you were, you never would have discussed your plans in front of us.” She gestured to Vujcec and herself.
Ranvir couldn’t dispute that. Nas’s lover was obviously more than a pretty face. “None of us were able to make contact,” he finally told her.
“Crap,” she cursed, sliding away from her unfinished meal, no longer hungry. “So what now?”
There was a long pause, but finally, he told her. “Now we head to Tuater.”
“But…” Taly broke off when she saw him weave ever so slightly and questioned, “When was the last time you ate or reenergized?”
“I’m fine,” the major snapped.
“You’re not,” Taly fired back. Standing, she crossed the room and opened a panel revealing several thick, slightly curved sticks.
“What are those?” Vujcec asked, having followed behind them.
“Power grips,” Taly told Vujcec, but her gaze remained on the major. “This is the latest in reenergizing terminals. It’s supposed to restore your energy levels instantly when you grip it.”
“These aren’t supposed to be available yet,” he muttered, moving closer to inspect the devices.
“Again,” she said dryly, “this is a prototype ship. It comes with lots of new things. There are several stations spread out across the ship.”
Reaching out, Ranvir’s hand encircled one of the power grips, and he stiffened. She watched his eyes close as his systems absorbed the onslaught of power. Nas had once told her that reenergizing was a long agonizing process. It started as a low burn and then finished as an inferno. In combat, the reenergizing was fast and burned like flowing lava.
She’d never seen the new power grips used and hoped they lived up to their billing. The recipient was supposed to feel only a slight tingle during the transfer.
When the major opened his eyes, he released the grip and stepped back. She was instantly at his side. “Are you all right?” she asked, carefully touching his arm.
Ranvir’s intense brown gaze locked with hers before glancing down to where her hand rested on his bicep. She quickly let him go.
“I’m fine.” He wasn’t going to tell her, her touch had been more electrifying than the power grips.
“So they work?” she asked, looking from the grips back to him.
“Yes, my energy is now at its optimum level.” He tilted his head to the side, gaze narrowing. “You cut your hair.”
She subconsciously lifted a hand to her hair. “Yes. I figured I needed to change it so I wasn’t recognizable.”
“It won’t help,” he snapped.
“What? But…”
“It doesn’t change how beautiful you are.”
Taly wasn’t sure who was more shocked at his statement, her or the major. She didn’t think the gorgeous cyborg even liked her, let alone noticed her looks. Before she could say anything, he spun on his heel and left the room.
“Wow. I didn’t think cyborgs were capable of that,” Vujcec said, reminding her of his presence.
“Of what? Taly asked absently, her gaze on the door the major had gone through.
