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Taly’s eyes widened as Ranvir entered the cargo bay, followed by the rest of their pod. They stood shoulder-to-shoulder, looking fierce while forming an impenetrable wall.
This version of Ranvir wasn’t the warm, gentle male she’d come to know and love. No, now he was the cold, calculating cyborg he’d been trained to be. His gaze slowly traveled over each person there as if committing their faces to memory. It had many of the colonists moving closer to the outer door.
“We saved you from certain death. Brought you to a place where you have a chance to move on with your lives. Repay that kindness with betrayal, and I will personally hunt each and every one of you down. I will end your life and the life of every member of your family. Painfully.” With that announcement out of the way, Ranvir grabbed the release lever for the outer door.
Taly watched the colonists trip over themselves to get off the Troubadour as if the Gods of hell themselves were after them. Maybe they were. She grabbed Sato’s arm before she followed.
“Here.” She slipped the extra credit strip into Sato’s hand. “It’s not much, but it should get you and your family to Gamma-2.”
Sato’s hand closed around the strip as she pulled Taly in for a one-armed hug. “Thank you, Taly. For everything. We’ll never forget you.” With that, they were gone.
Ranvir didn’t say anything. It was one of the things he loved about Taly. She wasn’t naive. She couldn’t have gotten to where she was if she had been, but she hadn’t let it harden her. She couldn’t help everyone, but that didn’t stop her from doing what she could.
He took the grey cape Vujcec carried, put it around her shoulders, and then pulled one on himself. She eyed him questioningly. “It will help us blend in and cover the bulge of that blaster you have in your pocket.”
She smiled at that. “Noticed that, did you?”
“I notice everything when it comes to you.” He handed her an ear comm. She shouldn’t need it since he wasn’t leaving her side, but he wasn’t taking any chances. “It’s programmed with an encrypted channel.”
“All right,” she said, putting the device in her ear.
“You will do exactly what I say,” he reminded her. “You will not leave my side.”
“I will, and I won’t.” Rising up on her toes, she gave him a quick kiss. “Don’t worry. Everything will be fine.”
