The Syn-En Solution by Linda Andrews Read Free Book Online Page B

disappeared behind the fuselage of an Orion -class ship.
    Burkina tapped her index finger to her lips. “Mutiny? Hardly, Admiral. A citizen is legally required to lead the Syn-En missions. So it is you who should be punished…”
    Bei cocked his left eyebrow.
    Finally a reaction. Victory drummed in her veins. Wait until you see what’s next, Admiral . Striding forward, she set her hands on the com’s fold down keyboard. The LCD buttons glowed green under her fingertips. Scrolling through the active portals, Burkina found the weapons array and brought the pulse cannons online. “First your sentence for addressing a superior without permission, Syn-En.”
    Red lights flashed as systems locked onto their targets. One. Two. Three. A perfect number. Her broken nails flirted with the firing order. Would he recognize it as the same amount of times she’d slept with him?
    “Burkina.” Batting aside a curled piece of rudder, Tim strode toward her. “Don’t—”
    She pressed the button. She no longer took orders from men. The ship’s deck bucked under her feet with each shot fired. Soon more debris would knock against the hull. “That’s three of your precious life pods gone and how many tin soldiers dead? Thirty? Forty?”
    “What have you done?” Tim yanked on her fingers as if trying to undo the damage.
    Twisting at the waist, Burkina slammed her palm against his chest. She pulled the punch at the last minute, preventing his ribcage from collapsing like a soda can in seven atmospheres.
    Momentum shot him backward and Tim’s magnetic boot heels scraped the metal floor. He grunted when he collided with the interior wall then rebounded into the metal cloud with a tinkling of metal.
    Burkina’s gaze remained on the screen, waiting for a reaction from the Admiral.
    A muscle clenched in Bei’s jaw.
    There. She’d done it. Yet it wasn’t enough. She wanted him on his knees. He asked for it, trying to be human, perverting the race. Her fingers twitched on the panel. None of the Civies tried to stop her. “There’s plenty more life pods out there.”
    Tim flapped his arms, clearing a path to her side. “I’m picking up life signs outside the door.”
    A trickle of fear snaked into Burkina’s belly. How had they found her so fast with the systems offline? Could it be a coincidence? Had to be. She’d picked up nothing on the com system. Like the good little machines they were, the Syn-En were undoubtedly systematically sweeping the decks, prioritizing repairs. Still… She ordered the cannons to lock onto more targets in a broad spectrum shot. “Call them off, Bei, or I’ll blow up ten more pods.”
    Bei glanced to his left and nodded.
    A blip registered on the com. She’d been right. The Syn-Ens had found her by dumb luck. Too bad their blundering had revealed her location. She needed another diversion.
    Tim sighed. “Life signs are retreating.”
    She rolled her eyes. Did the Civie really think she needed him for confirmation? She’d witnessed firsthand how much the Syn-En valued their mechanical hides. Not that they allowed her into the club. Her citizen status had set her apart from them. It had also revealed their debilitating weakness: their fondness for each other.
    A flaw she planned to exploit.
    “I should eliminate the pods for insubordination.” Burkina drummed her fingers on the console. The ship rolled with the salvo. “There. Five gone. I can be merciful, but any more disobedience and I’ll take them all out.”
    Bei stiffened. The camera pulled back, widening its focus and highlighting the fact that his hips had twisted almost a hundred and eighty degrees from normal.
    Whispers rumbled through the cargo bay at the damage.
    Had his spine snapped? Was he even now on the verge of a fatal error? Perhaps she should order the mighty admiral’s twisted carcass preserved as a visual aid to the other tinmen. She considered tightening the frame on his face then decided against it. The Civies needed a