A Greater Interest: Samair in Argos: Book 4 by Michael Kotcher Page B

storming into the system and they needed a pile of missiles in a hurry.  So far, there was about a hundred missiles ready, with another fifty in the pipeline, though whether they’d be ready by the time those ships got here was unlikely.  Still a hundred missiles wasn’t anything to sneer at.  Even a trio of cruisers would be hard pressed to shoot down that many projectiles before their fire control was saturated.
                  Tamara had the techs and bots working, with the station AI overseeing the whole operation and ran down to the hangar bay.  The strike team was prepping to depart, the shuttle nearly ready for launch.  She rushed up to the hatch of the shuttle, a fist-sized box in her hand.
                  “Come to see us off, Boss?” Ekaterina asked, laughing.  She was wearing a skinsuit to move around in vacuum, with unpowered combat armor over that.  She had her armorglass bubble helmet in her hands, ready to fit over her head. 
                  She shook her head, handing over the device.  “No, to give you this.”
                  The bodyguard took the small box and examined it from various angles.  “What is it?”
                  “A lockbox,” Tamara replied.  “That ship you’re going after is old.  I remember it from back in the old days.  And, it’s very old Federation technology, tech I happen to be familiar with.”  Seeing the impatient look on the lupusan’s face, she hurried on.  “Long story, tell you when you get back.  Anyway, you won’t need to blast your way in.  You get to an airlock or cargo hatch and that little baby will slice right through their access codes.  It won’t access the mainframes, but it should open any door on that ship.”
                  Ekaterina looked at first the device and then Tamara with new respect.  “Thanks, Boss,” she said.  She placed it in a pocket.  “I’ll be sure it gets used.”
                  “And here,” she said, presenting a data card to the wolf, “Is the best layout Magnus and I could mock up for you for that ship from my own memories and what we had on various databases.  It won’t be fully accurate, but it should give you a general idea of where to go for the most critical and vulnerable areas.”  Ekaterina nodded.  “Good hunting,” Tamara said, patting her arm, awkwardly.  Then she stepped back.
                  Ekaterina yipped.  “Boss, if I get back alive, then you, me, Chief Nymeria, the Serzhant and Nymeria’s sister need to go on a hunt.  A proper hunt.”
                  “You’d bring a lowly human, a prey animal, on a hunt with a bunch of scary predators?” Tamara demanded, aghast.  “I mean, I’m flattered, really, but I don’t want to be someone’s dinner.”
                  “Aw, come on, Boss,” she replied with a grin, flicking her ears.  “It’d be fun.”
                  “Get back here alive and I’ll consider it,” Tamara said, hardening her face, refusing to tear up.
                  “Let’s go!” Marat shouted from the cockpit.
                  “Gotta go, Boss,” she said.  She gave a lazy salute and then jumped through the hatch, which slid shut behind her.  Tamara watched as a moment later the shuttle lifted off and screamed out of the bay.  Turning, she walked out of the hangar, bringing up her implants and accessing the station communications.
                  Pulling off into a small alcove, she accessed her HUD and a window with the face of one of the Vision pilots appeared.  “Pilot, this is Tamara Samair.”
                  The human started.  “Ma’am!  Nothing to report.  My flight and I are holding position near the tank farm above the mine.”
                  “Good,” she replied.  “I’m changing your