On the other hand,Fortuna’sempty crew cabins were just down the corridor.
A few minutes later, I stood outside the first cabin.Rebalancing Lacy’s weight, I pressed my palm against the entry pad.When the door slid open, I stepped inside.
One of ten nearly identical crew berths, the room’s spartan furnishings were closer to what I was used to in the space corps.Sure, it had one bed instead of bunks and an attached bathroom rather than shared facilities elsewhere in the ship, and a dresser, desk, and closet when I was used to a footlocker.Compared to the opulent captain’s quarters where I was currently sleeping, it reminded me of the places I’d called home for the last ten years.
I lay Lacy gently on the bed, boots and all, and ensured her slinged arm was draped over her stomach.If the nanos did their job, she wouldn’t need it by the time she woke up.I’d let her make that decision.When she was fully on the bed, she rolled onto her side, burying her face in the pillow.
Backing up slowly, I watched the rise and fall of her chest for a few seconds before dimming the lights so she could sleep.Another tiny snore followed me from the room and I stifled my laughter.
No matter how cute she was, I couldn’t afford the distraction—or the potential damage—that came from her having free access to the ship, so I locked her room from the outside.Plans months in the making had been blown to smithereens, all because someone had broken into her apartment.
I mulled over that as I returned to the bridge.Lacy hadn’t backed down when we butted heads.It would probably take a lot to send her on the run.So, whatever was after her—and now me—wouldn’t be fun to deal with.
Just what I needed.Another problem.
Adding that to the end of my very long list of things to deal with, I made my way to the bridge.Dropping into the captain’s chair, I dragged my hands through my hair.Getting a haircut wasn’t even on the list, though I really should make time for it next time we were in port.
I stared out the ship’s windshield.Everywhere I looked, dark space surrounded us, broken only by the flicker of stars and, maybe, other ships.For the first time since our unscheduled departure, I checked the autopilot.Why hadn’t I done that before?
The course Lacy had set the ship on didn’t appear to actually take us anywhere; it just pointed us away from Elegium Station and through Zone 4.After checking to make sure the external sensors were on—they were—I left it alone.I didn’t have a better plan.At least not yet.
We couldn’t return to Elegium Station for four days due to the coolant leak quarantine protocol, but that didn’t mean we had to hang out in Zone 4.I sighed, feeling adrift.
That cargo load on the station had been the best option for our first run.Transfer machinery to a farm planet.Short term.Easy.Lucrative.And a great way to get our name out there as a reliable crew.
Ha.
Not so reliable since I’d had to contact the client and let him know I wouldn’t be able to make the appointment.I hadn’t bothered trying to explain that it was a mistake.Who was going to believe “Someone invented a coolant leak to steal my ship”?Instead, I’d thanked him for considering our services, though I may have broken my jaw gritting my teeth as I’d choked the words out.
All those credits lost because of my ship-stealing stowaway.
My anger at Lacy flared again, but I crammed it down.What was done was done.That energy was better spent finding a way out of this mess.I pulled up the ship’s network and settled in for a long—night?Morning?Whatever it was, I needed to locate another job for us.
Pulling up the message boards used to advertise jobs, I logged into the ship’s account and started scrolling.
10
Lacy
Shoulder Guyand his friend were gaining on me.Their footsteps echoed in the corridor behind me.How had they found me?He grabbed my arm, holding me immobile.I struggled and struggled against his grip, but couldn’t get free.What did they want?
My eyes flew open.“Dream,” I croaked.“Just a dream.”
Heart racing, I scrambled up to sit up, but something grabbed onto my arm and held me down.My dream self’s sense of panic bled into the real world and I batted at the invisible forces holding onto me.My wild flails finally brought my right hand in contact with the strap that was holding me down.It took far too long to register that my arm was in a sling.
Why was my arm in a sling?
Ignoring that question in favor of freeing myself, I finally scrambled to a sitting position and swung my legs over the side.I studied my surroundings.Low lights illuminated simple, but familiar, furniture.There was a desk tucked into the corner, between the closet and a door that led to a microscopic bathroom.
“Mako,” I whispered.My pulse slowed, now that I was safe on my ship.
No, that wasn’t right.Sleep fuzzed my brain.
This wasn’t my room.Wasn’t my ship.
Longing swept through me.It had been two years since I’d been onMako.When I’d made plans to stay on Elegium Station, Dad had insisted that she stay onboard his ship.Why pay docking fees when I didn’t need a ship handy, he’d argued.At the time, I’d bought that argument.I sighed.He’d probably wanted to keepMakoto use himself.Sometimes I missed her more than I missed my family.
If I wasn’t onMako, where was I?
