“We would’ve circled around a few times.I’m just glad we had the coordinates.Otherwise, finding you would have been like finding a needle in a forest.”
“‘We,’ huh?”
Hiding a wince, I realized I couldn’t brush off her question the way I had over the comms.
“Yeah, not sure how this pickup would have gone without assistance.”I felt bad about minimizing Lacy’s contributions.
Burn looked at the now-empty hallway like she was worried about being overheard.“Assistance?That’s what we’re calling it these days?I mean, I get that you have needs and stuff, but I didn’t expect you to bring some random woman on board.”
“Watch yourself.She’s a passenger and a temporary mechanic.”I bristled at the implication.Sure, Lacy and I had shared an amazing kiss, but there was nothing between us.“I picked her up at the asteroid station.”
“Picked her up?Like in a bar?”Her tone radiated disapproval.
I scowled at Burn.“Even if I did, that wouldn’t be any of your business.I’ve seen you slip out of a bar with a stranger or two in the past.”When she looked affronted, I added, “No judgment.I don’t give a fuck who sleeps with whom, as long as it’s safe, sane, and consensual.You should do the same.”
She didn’t say anything for long enough that I turned my attention back to the ship’s controls.I wanted to double-check our course tonight before I set the autopilot for the night shift.I was too exhausted to take another evening and Burn didn’t know the ship.If Burn hadn’t reacted the way she had, Lacy would be an option, but I wanted to deescalate this before bed, not set Burn off again.
“I’m sorry,” she said finally.“It’s just...This is our dream.You, me, Finn, Mercer, Orion, and Wilson.The ship isours.We scraped and saved and planned and Wilson died for it.And to have a stranger be the first person I saw, a stranger wearingyourclothes...Well, it was a lot.I’m sorry.”
“Apology accepted.”I gave her a smile and a light punch on the shoulder so she knew I really meant it.“How badly did you insult her?”
“Who?”Burn tried for light and playful, but I could tell it wasn’t good.“Fine.I flirted with her, then I called her your bed bunny.”
“Fuck, Burn.”I winced.“You definitely need to apologize to her too.”
She sighed.“I know.I will.Did you really pick her up in a bar?”
I checked the programming one last time, then swiveled to face her.“No.I picked her up at the spaceport on Elegium Station after she ran into some trouble.She needed help.”
That was skirting the truth, but Lacy and I hadn’t had time to concoct a good cover story.I wasn’t going to tell Burn that Lacy had stolen our ship, at least not right away.Burn could probably rip the other woman in two with her bare hands.
I waited for the next question.She surprised me when it wasn’t about Lacy.
“What about the cargo?”
I sighed.Lacy had fucked that up for me, too, but I felt this urge to protect her.To make sure that my crew saw her as one of them.I couldn’t explain it, except tension between crew members on a ship this size would be awkward, if not uncomfortable.
“That was a misunderstanding,” I told my former squad mate.“Lacy helped me identify Rigel Naught as a good source for cargo.We’ll meet Finn there and pick up a shipment or two.”
Burn’s dark eyes drilled a hole in me.“First, she’s a mechanic.Now she’s a fucking cargo master?I think you’ve been conned, Sarge.”
Because Burn poked at a worry I still had, I responded harsher than I intended.“She grew up in space.Knows ships likeFortunalike the back of her hand.”
Burn shook her head.“Okay, Sarge.Whatever you say.”
With that, I snapped.“No.None of that ‘okay, Sarge’ bullshit.Like you said, this is ourdream!Everything we worked for the last few years.You got concerns, you tell me.You got a problem, you tell me.You assholes might have decided to make me captain, but it’s not a one-man show.”
“Fine, I don’t like it, but I’ll trust your judgment.For now.”She stood and stretched.“You got a bunk assigned to me?”
I shook my head.“Wherever you want.I’ve got the captain’s quarters, the only damn perk of this job, and Lacy’s got one of the cabins, but you’re free to pick any of the others.”
“Gotcha.”
As she started past me, I grabbed her wrist.“It’s really good to see you, Burn.”
“You, too, Sarge.You, too.”
23
