STORY: “So, Soto, given that I can’t suss you out indirectly, I’d like you to tell me why I should send my baby brother into space with a double agent.”
TUELLER: “In his defense, he has saved my life multiple times.”
TUELLER: Tueller sounds meeker than you’ve heard him.
STORY: “Now why would he do that?”
STORY: She turns her back to the three of you, watching out the window behind her desk.
TUELLER: “He’s my co-captain.”
ALEJO: “He’s my family.” Alejo hits the middle word. “Cards on the table? I really was a triple agent. Or quadruple. I lose count. The point is that I am good at what I do. I choose this. It’s not about masters and debts. It’s about choice.”
ALEJO: “I’d take a bullet for Tueller.”
MILLICENT: “I don’t want to derail the issue but I am also a co-captain.”
Chapter 18, Part II
Chapter 18, Part I
ALEJO: I reach out and stop Millie from taking the bread, casually, so as to attract as little attention as possible while doing it.
MILLICENT: Millie shoots a quizzical look at Alejo
TUELLER: “We are submitting the defense grid so no further ships run afoul of it.”
TUELLER: Tueller does not pay attention to what’s going on with his co-captains.
ALEJO: He gives her a quick look, and then slides forward on his chair, ready to spring into action.
ALEJO: Alejo lifts the napkin off the bread, slowly, looking at it and the bread underneath.
STORY: Oh hey.
STORY: There’s a grenade in there.
TUELLER: “The bad news is…”
Continue reading “Chapter 18, Part I”
Chapter 10
TUELLER: “The way I see it we’ve got an alien race to help in indefinable ways for indefinable ends. We have a widow who wants us to track down her attacked ship and rescue my ex-girlfriend’s embryos. To do that we need to figure out where the ship is, by either asking the right person, or hacking the right system.”
TUELLER: “And we also need to figure out if we’re going to help out that widow or shoot her in the face, as requested by my beloved sister at odds with the desires of my dead ex-girlfriend.”
TUELLER: “That about cover it?”
ALEJO: “More or less.” Alejo says this more seriously than he’s been since telling Tueller that he made a dumbass deal.
TUELLER: “You got feelings about the shooting-in-the-face part?”
ALEJO: “I’ve got feelings about getting pulled back into Family stuff that I thought was probably well behind me.”
TUELLER: “You travel with me, there’s always Family stuff.”
ALEJO: “You travel with me and that’s the stuff that I intended to move beyond.”
Continue reading “Chapter 10”
Chapter 9
TUELLER: “Alejo, I’m not sure you’ve ever meet Ruma, Nandini’s widow.”
TUELLER: “So sorry again for your loss. For all our loss.” To Ruma.
TUELLER: Tueller is genuinely sorry, btw. Not antagonistic.
STORY: Alejo, she shakes your hand warmly, wincing at Tueller’s last comment but not responding. “Alejo Soto? I hadn’t had the pleasure. Nice to meet you.”
ALEJO: Alejo bows his head deeply. “Madame.”
STORY: “Tueller, I had some trouble securing the armaments you had requested, but was able to pull some strings to get it done. The boarding armor will be delivered to the Peregrine when we arrive tomorrow to begin the refits. Now, if I may be so bold, I have done you a favor, and I’d like to ask one of you.”
TUELLER: “I am in your debt.”
TUELLER: He says that in a formal sort of way.
STORY: “Glad you understand. I’d like, Mr. Ya’Makasi, for you to help me become pregnant.”
Continue reading “Chapter 9”