Of course we give them a hard time. It's our job.
-Comment made by an unknown reporter when about treatment of the Lovely Angels by the press
The Angel spun about its central axis as it slowly descended. Kei watched the instruments, making certain the ship was lined up with the docking bay.
"Are you sure the landing gear is going to hold?" Yuri asked, not for the first time.
"Of course I'm sure. Kind of. Almost. Reasonably so at least."
"I feel so safe," Tamikia said over ship's com. She was in the ready room with her children.
"Bitch, bitch, bitch. Is that all you can do?"
"I can also ruin careers."
"True," Kei agreed. "Brace for landing."
"Brace?" Yuri asked.
The ship settled down onto the landing pad. Almost before the landing gear had touched ground, service robots came up and started to insert power feeds and grounds into the Angel.
"Told you the landing..." Kei was interrupted by a shrill alarm and the collapse of the ship's forward landing strut. Everyone was thrown forward. Yuri's head hit the console. "...gear would hold." Kei finished lamely.
"I thin I readdy bode by dose dis time," Yuri said.
"Let me see." Kei said as she gently grasped Yuri by the chin and turned her face so she could see. "Yep, it's broken. When you get it set you can get another nose job, have a little more taken off," Kei said brightly.
"I hab never hab a dose job before," Yuri said angrily. "Dis is your fault."
"My fault? You are the one that has to learn to wear your restraint belts tighter."
"Dey chafe."
"Poor baby," Kei said in a sickeningly sweet voice.
"Go to hell." Yuri pulled a small medkit from one of her belt pouches and began to wipe away the blood. It was painful but she was reasonably sure it was not too bad
"Uh oh, we got press."
Great, Yuri thought. Not only would the jackals be writing stories that would make them look bad, all the pictures of her would show her with a broken nose.
"Let's go and face the vultures," Kei said, resigned to it.
There were quite a few reporters and camera crews around the landing area, as well as idiot-spectators who just wanted to see what was going on.
With Mughi in the lead they cut through the crowd with surprising ease.
Questions were yelled from the throng but Kei and Yuri had plenty of practice in ignoring the press.
They were almost at the limousine when one of the reporters directed a question at Tamikia. "Miss Jinnas, could we have a statement?"
"About what?" Tamikia slid Susanne, who was still sedated, into the limo. Then she turned around to face the reporters.
Kei wanted to scream at Tamikia for acknowledging the reporter. The press had got their hooks into her.
"What about the allegedly destroyed ship?" A woman in the back of the crowd called up.
"And all the deaths reported?" the first reporter, a short man, yelled out.
"What about the rumour that this was arranged with the destroyed ship a bait in a trap." A tall, golden-eyed, androgynous type asked loudly.
That was so close to the truth that Kei wondered who his, her or its contact was.
"How were the Dirty Pair involved in this," the short man called loudly, obviously taking a calculated risk.
Both Kei and Yuri turned in unison to stare at the man. He looked very nervous and Kei was certain if she took a step towards him he would bolt. She kept a tight reign on her anger and was certain that Yuri was doing likewise. There were too many cameras and reporters for them to beat the little toad into paste.
Kei did memorize his face though, and if she ever ran into him again he would be very sorry.
"I'll arrange for a press conference later," Tamikia said as she ushered Catherine into the limousine. "As for now I have no comment, except to say it wasn't their fault."
It was not the answer the press wanted. They exploded into a verbal flood that Tamikia ignored. She climbed into the limo. Yuri and Kei smiled at each other as they climbed in, Mughi right behind them.
The limo rose up on its effect fields, and then drove off, leaving an enraged press behind.