“I’ll reach out to Finn and find out where he wants to meet us,” Burn said.“Can we get dinner on the station?”
Dax nodded.“I could definitely use some time to stretch my legs.Is it better to arrange cargo online or on-station, Lacy?”
“I’d go in-person, since you’re a new outfit.Put a face to a name and people will remember you.Once you’ve established a reputation, either should be fine.”
Burn slapped her hands on her thighs.“It’s a plan.Let me know when it’s time to go.”With that, she exited the bridge, leaving me alone with Dax.
I stood too and found myself standing closer to him than I expected.Close enough to feel the heat of his body.“I, um, placed the order.You’ll be notified when there’s an offer.Once you accept it, you can enter payment details and arrange delivery.You can log in on your comms.You’ll want to keep an eye on it when we’re on the station and at dinner.”
“Thank you,” he said.His voice rumbled through me and his gaze held mine.“You’ve taken care of issues we didn’t even know about.”
“You’re new at this.You’ll get the hang of it.”
I didn’t want his thanks.I wanted...him.My body leaned toward Dax.
His head dipped toward mine.“Lacy,” he whispered, his lips brushing over mine as he said my name.
The radio crackled to life.“Welcome to Rigel Naught,Fortuna.We see it’s your first visit to our fine establishment.Please take some time to acquaint yourself with the rules and regulations.”
“Dammit.”Dax stepped back.
“You should take care of that,” I whispered regretfully.I moved out of his way, so he could resume command of the ship.
Tablet clutched to my chest, I left the bridge to finish my own preparations.
26
Dax
Lacy hadn’t been exaggeratingabout the paperwork required to dock at Rigel Naught.After acknowledging the rules and regs of the station, there were questions about our cargo—none—and the length of our stay—unknown.I was able to fill in the crew information at least, grateful that I’d seen Lacy’s ID that first night.
I stood and stretched, more than ready to explore the station.The ship’s small gym took the edge off my restless energy, but it wasn’t enough.And as much as I wanted to ask Lacy to help me burn off the rest, that felt inappropriate.I was used to the massive decks of the battleships I was stationed on.Running the length of them took twenty minutes.I could walk from one end ofFortunato the other in less than two.I hadn’t considered the inactivity when we’d made our plan.I didn’t think any of us had.Would hauling cargo from one star system to the next be enough?Or would we need something more?Something like helping Lacy locate her sister?
“Hey, Sarge.”Burn popped her head into the bridge.“Finn’s got a table at a bar near the docks.Moya’s Place.Said it’s easy to find, just look for the giant alien head.”
“Great.I’ve got to change.Let Lacy know, would you?Meet me at the main hatch.”
“Can’t you tell her yourself?You guys were so close before I left you up here all alone.”
“She was placing the order for the ship.”
“Sure, Sarge.Sure.”
She disappeared back down the hall before I could reply.Which was fine, since I had no idea how to respond.There’d been that moment, that barely there kiss.The station’s interruption had been a good thing.At least that was what I tried to tell myself.Because I was pretty sure that was a lie.
My comms pinged with a message as I crossed the threshold of the bridge, locking it behind me.I’d learned that from my visit to Elegium Station.Though I couldn’t swear that a locked door would stop Lacy.Before we’d picked up Burn, she’d shown me every backdoor intoFortuna’ssystems and I’d changed the passwords.But would that be enough?
The quote from a place called Pop’s Deli appeared on screen.I scrolled through it, absently noting the ingredients for Burn’s spaghetti and my pizza.I frowned at the cost of Finn’s steak—that was robbery!
Several items looked like they could be turned into a spicy garlic noodle dish.I smiled.That had to be Lacy’s favorite.The other items looked pretty standard for stocking groceries for a ship.
The number at the end, on the other hand, was big, bigger than I’d expected.If that was only enough food for four people, what would the bill look like when we were feeding six?
I’d check with Lacy before accepting it.She’d have a better sense of what was standard than I would.Right now, that was just something else I needed to learn.When our squad had dreamed this plan up, none of us had considered the logistics.
The others were in for a rude awakening, because I wouldn’t be the only one tackling all this paperwork.
“Everyone ready?”I asked several minutes later when we met at the main hatch.I’d stopped by my quarters to change clothes.Burn had obviously done the same, pairing a black tactical shirt with purple cargo pants.The heels on her boots looked lower too.Based on that, and the blaster snugged against her back, she was ready for anything.
