Read Online A Matter of Honor (Privateer Tales Book 9) by Jamie McFarlane - Free Book Online

only noise we heard as a heavy door slid out of view, exposing the pressure barrier to the interior of the station.
    Anino and the rest of my crew awaited Marny and my return in a well-lit and otherwise empty room. One look at Tabby's face and I knew she was as angry as I was.
    "That was some kick-ass teamwork out there!" Anino said as we passed through the pressure barrier.
    I took three quick strides through the barrier, picked the teenager up by his suit and pushed him against the wall. A blaster charging behind me was followed by the sound of two more revving up.
    "You risked my entire crew out there. Explain to me why I shouldn't knock your teeth into the back of your neck?"
    "Mr. Hoffen, I beg of you! Place Master Anino on the floor and step back, or I'll be forced to respond," Jonathan said from behind me.
    "You so much as move a muscle, Jonathan, and I'll drop you where you stand," Tabby growled. Her blaster was in my peripheral vision and leveled at Jonathan.
    "Oh frak me, a Mexican standoff. Could this day get any better?" Anino squeaked. "Jonathan, put down your weapon. I'm at no risk here. Hoffen is making a point. He's establishing a pecking order."
    "Master Anino, I believe he intends to do you harm," Jonathan said.
    "What kind of sick shit are you?" I asked, letting Anino slide to the floor.
    "Well, now we're getting somewhere," Anino said, standing back up and brushing non-existent dust from his knees. The teenager was a head shorter than me.
    "We're out of here, Anino. We don't need whatever work you have for us. I need to trust my business partners," I said. "Jonathan, you promised to return us to the surface if I requested. Are you as good as your word?"
    "I am, Captain Hoffen," he replied.
    "Wait. Don't you want to hear what the big deal is?" Anino asked.
    "No, you sick little bastard. No job is worth dying for," I said.
    "Well, that's the rub, really, isn't it?" Anino asked.
    It was such a strange thing to say I couldn't help myself but to ask, "What are you talking about?"
    "You said no job is worth dying for and yet it always comes down to that for you and your crew," he said.
    "I don't know what you're on about, but we're out of here. Nick, do you know where the suits are that we came in?"
    "Down the hall, Liam. We're not far from the main room," he said.
    "Lead on," I said.
    Anino smiled and shrugged his shoulders, apparently content to follow us into the main room.
    Lower armor plating. Dim interior lighting .
    We all stopped moving for a moment as the metallic dome retracted into the floor. Beneath the metal was a thick layer of armor-glass. When fully retracted, the entire twenty meter tall structure was completely translucent down to the last two meters where it appeared we were embedded into the floor of the sea. The interior lights had dimmed and glowing strips along the floors and walls provided a small amount of light.
    Outside, the feeding frenzy had dissipated, although a number of larger fish were lazily gliding around, looking for scraps that might have been missed in the milieu. It was hard not to be mesmerized by the huge variety of sea life the light of the dome illuminated.
    "How far down are we?" Ada asked.
    "Ninety-two meters," Anino said, his quiet voice easy to hear in the silence that had settled over us.
    "Why weren't we crushed by the water when we exited the dome?" Marny asked.
    "The suits can handle a lot more than that. To be honest, I'm not sure a Sephelodon could crush the armor, so you probably weren't in any real danger," he said.
    "Drop it, Anino. We're not buying what you're selling," Tabby spat. She wasn't giving in so easily.
    "Tell me, Hoffen. Why did you risk your entire crew for the crew of Cape of Good Hope ?"
    It was a sore subject, which shouldn't have surprised me. I was growing to like this Anino kid less with every moment I was around him. We'd watched an entire shipload of people fall out of the TransLoc fold-space wave and be lost in the deep dark of space.