Jaded Read Free Page A

prepared her for her next three months of travel with Ex-Hess.
    “You might want to call me by my name, madam. Truanic.”
    “So, you might want to call me Jayd, Truanic.”
    He blinked. “That is a lovely name.”
    “Thank you. Yours is very lyrical as well.” She chuckled.
    They headed for the diplomatic checkpoint and once they were scanned, they left the customs area and headed to the private shuttle pad.
    “You have been doing this for five years?”
    “Five, six. It all blurs together after a while.” She shrugged.
    “How is it that you still have a sense of humour about this?”
    She pointed to their shuttle and he followed her to the gleaming beast that would be their home. Her code opened the door and once inside, she gave him the tour.
    “We have lift-off clearance in ten minutes. Will you be settled in by then?” She was asking the question from the doorway of his quarters.
    He simply dropped his bags on the bunk. “Ready.”
    She did the same in her own quarters and headed for the controls. “Wake up, darling.”
    The living systems grew bright the moment she spoke. “Hello, Jayd. How was business?”
    “Oh, same as always, sweetie. This is my new partner, Truanic.”
    The deep masculine tone said, “I am pleased to meet you, Truanic. Watch your partner. She is a handful.”
    Truanic took a seat. “Your ship is masculine.”
    “It made me feel better to yell at him. He can take it. The ship is named the High Honour . The mind inside is a new template, designed by the Guardian project.”
    She grinned as her ship grumbled.
    Truanic eyed the console warily. “Does he have a name?”
    “I call him Harry.” Jayd shrugged and settled in as the harness snapped around her and pulled her into her seat.
    Truanic was on his own for fastening and when he was done, he asked, “Why do you have a sentient ship?”
    “It was thought necessary when one of my executioners decided that my decision was incorrect and he tried to launch me out the airlock.” She wrinkled her nose.
    “I gather that he was unsuccessful.”
    “He was indeed.”
    Harry was working on taxying to a lift position while they chatted. He requested clearance and took their assigned spot, sliding into the launch rail that would take them off the surface and into the stratosphere with mechanical propulsion that did not involve fuels being dumped into the atmosphere. It was quite the thoughtful system, but Jayd really felt the gravity.
    Truanic sat back as they were held in their seats by the violence of the rail shot. The moment that Harry kicked in their burners, the pressure changed and it was five more minutes before they could move comfortably.
    “Thank you, Harry. You have our coordinates?”
    “I do. Your concealers are charged and waiting as well. You are going to need them. You are scheduled for a tarmac trial at the next site.”
    Truanic blinked, “You actually do trials at the spaceport?”
    “For some species it is the only place they can actively secure. It is always a shame to have a defendant killed before they can be brought to trial.” She didn’t describe how it made her feel.
    “I read about one of those trials. There was a miner on trial for negligence. You tried him after the mob got to him and he was found innocent after all witnesses had been examined. It had been a mechanical failure due to unusually high humidity.”
    Jayd blinked, and as Harry’s artificial gravity came on line, she unclasped her harness. “You did your homework.”
    “I needed to know what kind of judge I was getting as a partner. You are fair and you do not flinch when the judgement is unpopular. This means that you often rub people the wrong way but you are an excellent judge.”
    She chuckled. “What brings you out as executioner? It is not a post that many normal folks line up for.”
    “Sometimes the best thing for an individual, or a society, is to have the violent offenders removed quickly and mercifully. Of course, sometimes