He opened his mouth to speak, but she cut him off.
“I don’t care if they’re strangers! If I could, I’d take every kid in that cresh with me. I want them all to know how amazing it isto have a big, messy family. To be free to explore who they are instead of being shoved into a box and told that’s their identity. I know you’re scared because you're sure everything is going to go wrong, but I’m good at assessing risk. This isn’t as high risk as some of the bounties I’ve hunted down.”
“That doesn’t give me confidence.” His voice was dry, which gave her hope that he was starting to use his higher-functioning brain instead of letting his instincts keep control.
“It should,” she countered with a little laugh. “I’ve been a bounty hunter for five years. Most of the individuals I’ve hunted down weren’t dangerous, but there were some killers mixed in. What kept me alive was planning and being prepared.”
“When we met, you’d been stabbed and were about to be kidnapped,” he pointed out.
She laughed. “The first part was true, the second part wasn’t. I was about to give up fighting them off and use my nuclear option, but then you were there and I didn't need it.”
“Nuclear option?”
“It’s kind of a jolter in grenade form,” she said, pointing to her trusty bag. “It disrupts the nervous system of everything within fifteen feet. It would’ve gotten me too, but at least I’d be safe, and it would give Filsin Station security time to arrive.”
“But you’d be hurt also,” he said.
“I know. That’s why I call it the nuclear option,” she said. “The whole point of this story is that I was prepared and not anywhere near as helpless as you thought I was. I make plans. Then I make more plans for when those plans fail. And finally I have more plans if the plans for the other plans fail.”
He sounded a negative rumble. “All the planning in the world can be disrupted by one instance of bad luck.”
She considered it a good sign that he was using his rumble instead of his rattle. “That’s true, but remember, I’ve got some Leemrons who owe me big favors and will do just about anythingfor credits. It would use up most of my savings, but I could arrange for us to escape with a three word message to a Leemron broker.”
He didn’t have an immediate answer, so she continued. “I can’t leave the kids, Zeph. I just can’t. That’s not who I am. If you honestly love me, then you’ll understand that.”
“It’s your best and worst trait,” he grumbled.
That’s when she knew she’d won.
Zeph
This time when Han explained the plan they’d come up with, Zeph listened instead of trying to think of ways to talk her out of it. He had to admit it wasn’t bad.
There were a lot of things they couldn’t plan for because they didn’t have the information yet, but they’d be able to fill the gaps once they landed at Blish’s port and had access to the planet's UniBase.
“You’re clever,” he said once she was done.
She gave him a mischievous grin. “Why does that sound like an insult?”
“It might partially be,” he said with a sigh. “There is one thing you’re not considering.”
She raised an eyebrow at him. “What?”
“The only ship we have is mine,” he reminded her.
Her mouth dropped open. “Oh god, this is going to be a crowded trip.”
“Especially after your brilliant plan succeeds and we add two more little bodies to the group,” he reminded her.
“Aww, you called me brilliant,” she cooed.
He rumbled with amusement at her response. “Your selective hearing is fascinating."
“I thought all of me was fascinating,” she retorted. Wiggling closer, she let go of his hands and raised hers to his face. “We should probably enjoy having some privacy while we have it.”
He sucked in a breath, but before he could agree and start rubbing bonding oil all over Han’s body, the ground under them rolled.
“The jumpers with the storage containers are here,” Han said.
