FORT LIBERTY: VOLUME ONE by M Orenda Read Free Book Online Page B

grin. Look at the shit we’re in this time, Col. How we gonna keep a handle on this?
    Voss shakes his head, cutting his gaze to Logan. The kid’s a good medic, better than most, with a fair amount of time served in the both field and surgical rotations. He looks lost in zero G, hands constantly gripping onto things, his body bouncing off walls when he gets too close… first time in big sky.
    “Can we keep her sedated?” Voss asks.
    Logan glances at the girl and frowns. “For three weeks? I dunno. Maybe. I’ve got my kit. We can keep her at really small doses… and yeah, maybe it’ll last. Still, I mean, it isn’t good. You run the risk of creating damage, or turning her into a serious addict. She’s really that mental?”
    “Came after Voss with a knife,” Wyatt says.
    “C’mon,” Gojo scoffs. “Not the first woman to do that.”
    Wyatt laughs.
    Logan doesn’t even crack a smile, his eyes suddenly wide. “We got a lot of knives in here. And guns. And ammunition.”
    It’s a good point.
    “Wyatt,” Voss says. “Find a secure location to cache the weapons. Nothing stays in this cabin. We need a guard schedule.”
    “On it, sir,” Wyatt acknowledges the order.
    Logan, though, is still in the dark. “But, sir… that brings us right back to the question of what to do with her. She could wake up any minute.”
    “You have to keep her quiet.”
    “Which means what, sir? We sedate her, despite the risks?”
    “Absolutely,” Voss says it without hesitation, knowing there isn’t any choice, and it’s the call that needs to be made. “That’s exactly what we do. Keep her calm. No one on this ship can know about this girl, not the crew, not the captain. We’ve just logged a false position with command, put our names on the cruiser manifest and blinked out of real time because I don’t want us tracked through big sky. If this woman starts screaming, we’re done.”
    “We got the right ship, Colonel.” Gojo chimes in. “Enough contraband hidden in the cargo hold to supply half the willow houses in Red Filter. These guys might be actual transporters, but they’re damn good smugglers. Odds are, this crew will sail us straight through all the checkpoints, no problem.”
    Voss nods, hoping that proves true. “In the meantime, Logan, I need you to test this girl’s blood. You’ve got scanners for pathogens and analysis… ”
    “Yes, sir. I’ll run it all.”
    “And Gojo,” Voss shifts his gaze. “I need you monitoring the ship comms. I want to know immediately if there’s chatter.”
    “Sir,” Gojo says.
    Wyatt nods. “What about the Captain? He the inquisitive type?”
    “She.” Voss corrects.
    “ She? ”
    Now Wyatt, the entire team, is interested.
    Voss sits there, waiting for it.
    And here it comes.
    Big grins, some laughter.
    “The Captain’s hot, or what?” Gojo asks.
    “Not bad,” Voss replies, knowing that it’s a significant understatement. “But not friendly either.”
    “I can work on that,” Gojo volunteers.
    “Easy, Go Poke,” Wyatt says. “You’re not so good with the smart ones.” He cuts his gaze to Voss, eyebrows raised. “What about you, Col? She’s already laid eyes on ya. Did she approve of what she saw?”
    Voss doesn’t like the question, but he knows the answer, those dark eyes still sizing him up in the back of his mind. “She wasn’t horrified.”
    “Then it might be time to turn on the charm.”
    “She’s getting paid three times what this vessel is worth. That’s charming.”
    “Doesn’t guarantee our security though, does it?”
    Voss tries not grimace. “You’re suggesting I distract her.”
    “From the woman we’re hiding… the one everyone wants to find and kill? Uh… yes… God, yes, but also soften her up a little. We can’t afford a ‘not friendly’ captain. The way this mission is going, we need her friendly. We need her very, very friendly. We need her in our pocket.”
    “Ambitious.”
    “C’mon, Col,” Wyatt says,