“Name’s Tory Ciarelli, she’s a newer kid,” he told them. It had taken some time, but he’d finally squeezed a last name out of her. “A stowaway headed for The Big Drop. Someone gave her bad directions, she’s here by accident. Got some tip on how to crack this model’s security block.”

Mina gave him a ‘gah’ look and then cut her radio link. She waved for a couple of the men in the area to come over. He could see her talking with Soshnikov quietly on another channel, before turning back to the two of them. As suspected the magic they’d had together wasn’t a subject worth talking about, at least in public. Gurminder was fine with that.

“Why didn’t you take her back to the CU?” Mina demanded to know, “You know this is the last place Earthers are welcome.”

“I’d already gone too far to turn back, did you want me to be late? I was told it was needed urgently,” he said, bending the truth a little. “Considering what I’ve got for you, turning back might have meant never. But it’s not a problem. You can unload, let me refuel and I’ll take the kid right back to Cerberus Underhill, no harm. If we head off soon, we’ll be back just after nightfall, probably before anyone really notices she’s missing.”

The point was to make her see Tory wasn’t a threat. he didn’t want her killed.

“I know what you’re doing here,” Tory said over the radio. How had she clicked in so quickly? Damn the kid was tech smart but danger stupid. “You’re trying to resist colonization. Send us all back to Earth, right? That’s what the weapons are for. Good. Send us all back! Me first!”

All three of the Rus scowled and Gurminder winced. He turned and slashed a gesture for her to cut her radio. She might not just get herself killed. The men around them lifted their guns up, looking ready to shoot on command.

He made another silent appeal to her and also to Mina.

Clearly his stowaway didn’t understand the gesture, or just didn’t want to shut up. And there was no way he could stop her, as her radio controls were internal.

“I can help you,” Tory continued. “As long as you make sure I can go back too. To Earth I mean.”

Mina stared at the girl, eyes wide, clearly not knowing what to make of her. The woman finally turned back to him, a seriously perturbed look on her face.

“What have you been telling her?” she guessed. “You know there can be no information about what is going on her repeated outside the clan. Do you really want the both of you dead, Gurminder? Are you such a coward Kalsi that you couldn’t do it yourself? What the hell did you think, bringing an Earther here?”

Damnit! Gurminder backed up in front of the girl, holding his hands up. They were both kaput if he didn’t talk the Rus down right now.

“Nothing, hardly, I didn’t tell her anything. She’s some kind of kid coding savant or something,” Gurminder said, “She found out about the weapons on her own. She’s smart. But she’s still just a kid. She isn’t a spy and she doesn’t even have a tracker on her. She made specifically sure MarSec couldn’t track her. The newer is smart, but she’s not our enemy. If anything, she’s a traitor to her own kind. And we could use more of those if we are going to-”

Mina held up a hand, turned back to Soshnikov. The other guy leveled his rocket gun at the girl. Gurminder tensed. Soshnikov was known for having an itchy trigger finger. Tory’s sudden movement to putting him between her and the guns pointing at her showed she’d just realized she’d done something incredibly stupid and was just starting to figure that out, about three or four stupid statements too late.

“Don’t,” Gurminder said waving his arms as he grew frantic, and suddenly stupid protective of her himself. “I’ll take care of her, she’s my problem, okay. There’s no need to for that. She won’t do anything, she won’t say anything. I swear it.”

“I won’t,” Tory pleaded over the radio. “I just want to go back to Earth. And if anyone is going to help me, It’s going to be you. Tell me what I have to do to convince you all that I’m on your side!”

She was finally scared, although that meant she had moved behind him, meaning if she was going to get shot, so was he. Thanks a lot, shorty!