Read Hex for Free Online Page B

had an annoying trait of explaining that which was already obvious. “Hand over your bags to the...”
    â€œThat won’t be necessary.” A woman stepped away from the group. “If those are your personal belongings, you’ll want to keep them with you.”
    â€œOh... all right, then.” Cayce stopped in front of them, raised his right hand in a formal salute. “Lieutenant Amerigo Cayce, commanding officer of Special Survey Team Three, Coyote Federation Corps of Exploration. You must be Captain Carson. Pleased to meet you, ma’am.”
    The woman smiled without returning the salute. Tall and slender, with dark hair twisted into a long braid that nearly reached her waist, she bore absolutely no resemblance to Sean. “Pleased to meet you, too, Lieutenant,” she said, “but I’m not the skipper.” A few chuckles from the people behind her, which she acknowledged with an amused wink before looking at Cayce again. “I’m Melpomene Fisk, the helmsman. Thanks for the salute, though.”
    â€œOh.” Cayce’s face reddened as he dropped his hand. “I see. So who is...?”
    â€œI am.” Another woman spoke up from the center of the group. “Don’t bother with the salute. I’m not impressed.”
    How like her, Sean thought, as his mother stepped out from among her crew. Let some poor schmuck make a fool out of himself just so her people can get a laugh at his expense. He didn’t realize it, but this was the first time he’d ever felt sympathy for Cayce.
    â€œCaptain Carson.” Cayce did his best to recover from the gaffe although even his own team were hiding grins behind their hands. “Sorry, ma’am. I only assumed...”
    â€œYes, yes, I understand.” A nonchalant flip of her hand brought an end to any unnecessary explanations. “I know this is when your people are supposed to be introduced to mine, but we’re on a schedule here. The Montero has been given priority clearance through Starbridge Coyote, and before that we need to rendezvous with the gatehouse to pick up our last passenger.”
    â€œWe have someone else coming along?” Cayce was puzzled. “I wasn’t informed of that.”
    â€œGuess you haven’t read the memo, then. A senior representative from Janus will be joining us. He’ll have the hyperspace key to the danui system.” Captain Carson was becoming impatient. “That means we need to get out of here soon, so if you’ll get your people aboard...”
    â€œYes, ma’am.” Pulling together what remained of his dignity, Cayce turned to the others. “You heard the captain. Let’s get moving.”
    â€œYes, sir,” Sandy muttered, barely able to suppress the sarcasm in her voice. The rest of the team hefted their bags and headed toward the shuttle. The five Montero crew members received a quiet nod from their commanding officer and fell in beside them; together, the two groups formed a line in front of the ladder leading to the shuttle’s passenger hatch.
    Sean avoided meeting his mother’s gaze, and for a moment he thought he might be able to board the spacecraft without having to speak to her. She was having none of that, though. He was about to walk past her when he felt her hand on his arm.
    â€œSean?” she said quietly. “Aren’t you going to say hello?”
    Sighing inwardly, he paused to look at her. “Hello, Captain. Good to see you again.”
    As always, there was no expression on Andromeda Carson’s face, yet the look in her eyes betrayed her surprise at the coldness of his tone. “Good to see you, too, Corporal,” she replied. “I was surprised to learn that you’re on this mission. I’m looking forward to...”
    â€œThank you, ma’am.” Sean took a step forward, freeing himself from her grasp. “If you’ll excuse