Again...smart.If only its absence wasn’t a pain in my ass.I’d deal with that later.For now, I entered the code and held my breath.After a torturous moment, the panel flashed green.When I attempted to leave my room this time, the door opened smoothly.Ha!Take that!
I glanced down the corridor—it was empty—and I quickly programmed in my palm print, so I would be able to get backinthe room and wasn’t left to wander the ship in nothing but a sheet.Later I’d add my palm print shipwide.
As quickly and as quietly as I could, I hightailed it down the corridor.
11
Lacy
The clothes refresherwas at the end of the corridor where I’d expected it to be.I slipped into the small utility room and closed the door behind me.The refresher, which was the size of a large tool chest, was mounted along the far wall.The other two walls held mostly empty shelves.OnMako, I’d used the extra space to store supplies.Cleaning supplies, extra food, whatever needed a little extra room.My sister had jokingly called it the crap room, but I had the last laugh when I had something she needed or wanted.
I shook my head.Dax and his missing crew didn’t seem to have any idea what they were doing.Unless money was tight, he should have laid in some basics before heading out to pick up cargo.You never knew if you were going to be able to find things you wanted or needed, whether it was spare parts or your favorite cookies.No one wanted to get stranded in space with a broken ship or a hangry crew.
Not my problem, though it pained me to see him unprepared.Which was dumb, because his lack of preparedness was one of the only reasons I’d been able to get his ship off the station.
Ignoring that dichotomy and the wave of regret, I crouched to unlace my boots.Something pinched in my hip crease.“What the hell?”I rose and shoved my hand into my pocket.
Withdrawing the small envelope Bob had delivered, now crumpled from my adventures, I stared at it.My breath caught as memories of what happened after Bob gave it to me tried to resurface, but I shoved them back.I’d forgotten about the packet.
Was this what they’d been looking for?
Computer printed across the front was my address on the station.I studied the logo in the upper-right corner.There were any number of data-delivery services across the galaxy; they were located on most stations and planets and even some of the larger passenger ships.This envelope came from one of the largest—and most widespread—companies.Tracking down exactly where it had originated from wouldn’t be easy.
The companies transmitted encrypted data across the vastness of space and anyone could use them as long as you could pay for the service.Provide them with your data file and they would send it to your recipient almost instantaneously.The end product was either an electronic file or you could pay extra and get it downloaded to a data chip and hand-delivered to the recipient.Either way, only the recipient could access the data and only if they had the key.
I rubbed my thumb over what was surely a data chip.I couldn’t do anything with it here, so I carefully set the envelope and its mystery contents on one of the nearby shelves.
I checked my pockets to make sure I hadn’t forgotten anything else.I pulled out a couple of hair bands and set them next to the envelope.Then I finished unlacing my boots and toed them off.
I stripped off my coveralls and chucked them into the refresher.My tank, bra, and underwear followed.Setting the cycle to deep clean, I shuddered at what I might have picked up along the way.
Snatching up the sheet, I wrapped it around my body twice and tucked the end between my breasts.I shoved my feet back into my boots so I could run if I had to and grabbed the mysterious envelope.
The corridor was still clear on the way back to my room.Inside, I gazed longingly at the shower then stared at the package clenched in my fist.Get clean or satisfy my curiosity?
Cleanliness won.
I dropped the sheet back on the bed, knowing I’d need it for my return trip to the utility room.
The closet held a towel set, so I grabbed that and crossed my fingers that there would at least be shampoo in the in-shower dispenser.I could use it as soap if I had to, but conditioner would be a dream.
I turned the water to hot and crossed my fingers that Dax or the ship broker had filled the system with fresh water.I just might throw myself out the airlock if I couldn’t get a shower.
Stretching my hand out tentatively, I slipped it into the water that streamed from the showerhead.Hot water hit my palm and brought a smile to my face.I brought a palmful up to my nose and sniffed it.It didn’t smell stale or rusty, like water that had sat too long in unused pipes, so I stepped into the small stall.Water sluiced over my head and body and I moaned in delight.
“Thank you,Fortuna,” I whispered.
Another dream came true when I tested the dispensers and found all three full.Shampoo, soap,andconditioner.
I’d lived almost my entire life on ships and I knew that water was a precious commodity onboard that needed to be conserved.But that didn’t stop me from washing my hair and my body twice.
Telling myself that another minute or two wouldn’t matter in the grand scheme of things, I braced my hands against the wall and ducked my head into the cascade of water.The hot water pummeled and massaged my neck and shoulders in equal measure.As I rinsed out the conditioner, my hair created a curtain around my face.
I stood there, breathing evenly, as I tried to process the events of the last twenty-four hours.I’d never expected to be here, following my father’s footsteps into a life of crime.At the first sign of difficulty, I’d stolen a ship.Was that nature or nurture?
Maybe both?I knew it was my upbringing that made me finally turn off the water and face the day.
I grabbed the towel and grimaced at the rough texture.OnMako, I’d equipped every room with quality towels.Crappy towels sucked.Maybe I’d leave that in the suggestion box forFortuna’smanagement.I laughed.
