Serendipity (Book 1 of the Dana Halliday series)

DON'T WORRY, BE HAPPY. TIRZENS. ANOTHER KUBRICK MOVIE.

"What did you do?" I gasped, rolling off the stretcher.

Flynt shrugged. "Just jumped over the cart and pulled it down after me." He grinned. "I haven't gotten to run like that for a long time."

Novernyi tottered to her feet and was off toward her ship. Behind us, there was a flurry of commotion in the ER, and Flynt gave the stretcher a hard push at the entrance. It murmured sadly as it returned home. It hadn't had such an exciting day since its assembly.

"How much fun could we have with one of those in Main Cargo?"  We ran after Novi. "That was totally worth getting arrested."

"Depends on who arrests us," Flynt said, but he was still smiling.

From somewhere above us, the alarm we'd first heard in the hospital was still blaring, interspersed with an announcement I couldn't understand. There was a pall of acrid smoke in the air, although it was far enough up that it didn't bother me. The singed hair odor was stronger. There were other people in the hangar, but all were either making for exits or tending to their ships. I glanced questioningly at Flynt.

"Someone must have spilled something flammable.  If they can't get it under control, they'll shut off the forcefield. Everyone's either preparing to take off, or anchoring their ships to the floor. Don't worry, they'll give us plenty of warning."

"Oh, geez." I looked up through the evil haze and into the blackness of space. "Well, maybe that means no one's guarding her baby."

That was too optimistic. When we caught up with Novi, she was facing the two Sturv from the night before, still keeping watch over her vessel. 

"My transport was paid for," she declared. "The transfer of funds—"

"The source of payment depends on who wins custody of you," said one of the Sturv. It sounded amused. "That has yet to be determined. The last we heard—"

"The last you heard," came a ringing voice from beyond Novi's ship, "was that her husband is about to win the challenge."

It was Kleathanna. She was accompanied by her protection drones, and...the Qir? Yes, the Matriarch was with her, and several attendants whose kids I had treated. Klea spoke at the drones, and two of them made a beeline for the Sturv.

"We will leave," protested the Sturv who had spoken, but Klea laughed.

"No, you will not, foul ones. You will stay here and explain yourselves to Tirzen authorities." She gave Novernyi a million-watt smile. "Your Mirra, my friend."

Novi paused just long enough to return the smile, though hers was rather grim. She gestured at Flynt, and the two of them strode past the Sturv, who were now guarded by the circling drones.

I walked cautiously over to Klea. The electronic alarm sounds overhead were increasing in tempo. "Tirzens?"

V'tru'kri gave me a dignified nod. "The Kolmira Company are the ones who sold us our substandard ship."

"Ah." I gave the Sturv my darkest glare.  "And your inadequate food. I'll have everything written up pretty soon if you need evidence."

Klea translated for me, and one of the Qir attendants—Skunk Girl's mom, the one who advocated against early pouch weaning—gestured affirmatively. "It was years ago and far away, of course, and we didn't expect to receive justice, but we recognized them here."

"We had nothing to do with that!" protested one of the Sturv.

Flynt extracted a small, box-like device from my backpack—we had loaded it with a few tools he thought he might need, cushioning them with extra bandaging supplies—and stuck it to the hull of the Mirra. Novi was already through an open hatch and inside.