The words had nearly stuck in Jess’s throat. He expected gloating from Dash, or a pointed remark. He was surprised when Dash turned to Sal.
“Are you all right?” Dash asked Sal, voice soft.
“Yeah,” she replied. “The painkillers are kicking in. I’m feeling pretty good, to be honest.”
“Just don’t move the arm.”
“I can’t. It’s completely stuck!”
She giggled a little. Jess checked the level of painkillers Sal was receiving and had the ship reduce them slightly. Dash nodded to Sal, then stood.
“Right, then. Eleven troopers. It could be a lot worse. They won’t want to split their force into more than three groups at most, and probably not more than two. Their primary mission will have been to reach the flight deck and secure it. Failing that they’ll want to find critical locatio
