I got it.They had history.They were already on the same team.Spoke the same language and had the same inside jokes.
But it made me feel like the outsider I was.Fortunamay have been Dax’s ship, but she felt so much like myMako, that I guess I’d gotten lost in the fantasy that she was.With thirty-six hours to kill before we met up with Finn, I’d holed up in either the engine room or my cabin, making lists, making plans.As long as Dax’s team didn’t convince him to kick me off the ship, I intended to keep my end of the bargain and identify lucrative cargo opportunities.
Rigel Naught, where we were meeting Finn, was a hotbed of trade.The moon station orbited a dry, barren planet.Normally the moon of a dead planet wouldn’t be a good place for trade because the planet below had nothing to offer, but Rigel Naught was extraordinarily lucky: it was almost perfectly equidistant from three inhabited planetary systems.
Need engine parts?You could probably find them on Rigel Naught.Rare spices?Anything your heart desires—for a price.High-value trade goods?Opportunities so thick on the ground you’d trip over them.
The opportunities for cargo were endless.Navigating it all—the legal, the shady, and the dangerous—was tricky for a newcomer.I’d outlined the best of the cargo options available online and added a few that were invitation only.With the right word in the right ear, I was pretty sure I could get an invitation forFortuna.
I was finishing a different kind of shopping list when Dax’s voice crackled through the intercom.“All hands to the bridge.We’re on approach to Rigel Naught.”
Show time.Nerves fluttered in my stomach.Burn hadn’t been very welcoming and I was afraid I’d face the same from Finn.Add in worry about my sister, and my anxiety threatened to boil over.These last few days in space, putting distance between me and what had happened on Elegium, felt like stolen time.
No time for worry.I had a job to do.Shoving the tablet with my lists in my pocket, I slipped out of my room and approached the bridge.
Dax and Burn were already seated.He had his hands on the controls, but as soon as we got closer, the station’s automatic docking system would take control and pull the ship in.
“Have you been here before?”Burn asked, her attention never straying from the console in front of her.
“A few times.With my sister and our father.It’s been a few years, though.”
Burn hmmed.“And you think your information is still good?”
I rolled my eyes since she couldn’t see me.“Haul cargo long enough and you’ll learn that things out here don’t change quickly.Sure, the technology might get a little fancier and the names may change, but the work stays the same.”
There was a clunk and then a shudder ran through the ship as Dax steered us into the docking mechanism.I held my breath as he bobbled the controls a tad, but his oversteering was quickly corrected by the automated system.
“Where’d you learn to drive this thing, Sarge?”
“Trial and error.”
Burn laughed, but I saw the way Dax practically peeled his hands off the controls.I didn’t think he was joking.
“So what’s the plan?”Burn asked.She swiveled in her seat.“Can we go meet Finn now?”
I shook my head.“We won’t be cleared to leave the ship for at least an hour.Docking takes time and there’s registration paperwork to take care of.Once you’re in the system, it will be a little shorter next time.”
Dax turned to face me.“Paperwork?”
I nodded.“Yep.You’ll face it on most stations.The more legit ones, at least.The shadier ones don’t tend to care.”
He sighed.“I guess that’s what I’ll be doing.”
“I need to place a supply order.”I pulled my tablet out of my pocket and opened up the master list.
“What’s your favorite meal, Dax?”
He shot me a startled look.“What?”
“What’s your favorite meal?”I asked again.
“Spaghetti and meatballs,” Burn said.
I looked at her in surprise then back at Dax.“That’s your favorite food?”
“No, that’s my favorite,” Burn said.“I assumed you were going to ask me too.”
“Good to know,” I said evenly.
