Earth Afire (The First Formic War)

skilled and hard laborers. Are you from a clan?”
    “Not a clan. A single ship. El Cavador. Or rather, that was our ship. It was destroyed in the Kuiper Belt by those you call the Pembunuh.”
    “Then you have my condolences. But if your ship was destroyed, how is it that you are alive?”
    “It’s a long story. But there are many of us here, and we are wearing out our welcome. If you can promise us protection from your crew and transportation to a depot, I can give you skilled laborers.” She had no idea why she trusted this man, but she did.
    Arjuna smiled. “You need not worry about my crew, Lady of El Cavador. What I have spoken is true. We are a family of crows, not vultures.”
    Family. The word reassured her. But only for a moment. Who was this man? Was she ready to put the women and children in his hands? He could be a murderer, for all she knew.
    No, there was kindness in those moon eyes.
    “As for taking you to a depot,” he said, “I give you my word on that as well. Once we salvage, we will make for a depot to trade. Should we part ways there, you are doing me a favor as well. I wouldn’t have to fly you all the way back here. Where are you headed?”
    “I don’t know,” she said. “But wherever home is, it’s not here.”
    “What is your name, Lady of El Cavador?”
    “Rena Delgado.”
    “And do you speak for your crew?”
    “I speak for no one but myself, but I believe my crew will come if I ask them to.”
    “Then you are not a woman to be trifled with if you have such sway and influence.” He gave her a measuring look. “Tell me how to safely remove an oxygen processor.”
    He was testing her. But the question was simple enough. There were four steps and three precautions to be mindful of. She recited them all, throwing in a few secrets that Segundo had taught that she doubted Arjuna knew about.
    The crow tried to hide that he was impressed. After a moment, as if considering her further, he said, “If you have twenty men and women as sharp as you, I will take them.”
    “We have more than twenty people,” said Rena. “And you will not get a single one of us unless you agree to take us all.”
    “How many?”
    “There are fifty-six of us.”
    Arjuna scoffed. “My shuttle isn’t that big, Rena of El Cavador.”
    “Then you can make two shuttle trips.”
    “And are all these people skilled laborers, or can I expect children and invalids among them?”
    “No invalids. But thirty-seven of them are children, yes. Some of them infants.”
    He scoffed again. “And what am I to do with thirty-seven more children on my ship? I have enough little mouths to feed already.”
    She was glad to hear that he had children on board. That was further evidence of family. Pirates didn’t carry children.
    “Our children work, sir. Not outside the ship, but many of them clean and wash and cook as well as any man or woman in your crew. They’ll earn their food.”
    “I need salvagers, not dishwashers.”
    “And you’ll get salvagers. Nineteen of them.”
    “How many of them are men?”
    “None,” said Rena. “We lost all our men.”
    She saw a hint of pity in his eyes. “Yours is a tale of sorrow, I see,” he said. He folded his arms and considered a moment. “Nineteen women and thirty-seven children. Most captains would laugh at such an offer.”
    “Most might. But you know better. By your own math, nineteen free-miner women are equal to seventy-six corporate men.”
    He threw back his head and laughed at that. A big booming laugh that surprised her. She didn’t think he had any humor in him, but there it was. “You use my own words against me, Rena of El Cavador. Very well. Come. Bring your nineteen women and thirty-seven children. If you salvage as quickly as you do calculations, I have need of you among my crew.”
    *   *   *
     
    “Are you out of your mind?” said Julexi.
    Rena was floating outside the storage room in the corridor with most of the women. A few others were inside the room, feeding and tending the children. “Keep your voice down,” said Rena. “You’ll frighten the children.”
    “ I’ll frighten the children? I’ll frighten them? A ship of murdering vultures is what will frighten them, Rena.”
    “They’re not vultures,” said Rena. “They’re crows.”
    Julexi threw her hands up. “Vultures, crows, seagulls. What’s the difference? They’re all the same. They’re parasites. They feed off the dead and they kill whoever they fancy.