At I’m reasonably sure I didn’t shit myself, so that’s a win, right?
Oh, and we’re not fuckingdead.
That’s definitely a win.
If nothing else, this seals it for me.
This is not where I want to be.
I want to be home, with Olarte, curled up in their arms and snug in their bed.
Anything else is just kidding myself.
My future is with Olarte, not here. And if I have to sign a thousand contracts to be with them, that’s what the fuck I’ll do.
Just, please, let me make it back to them safely.
Chapter Seventeen
Davies
Six hours later, I’ve had a several shots of Heimlhen vodka and I’ve finally checked to make sure I didn’t shit myself.
I did not.
Yay, me.
I feel edgy, nervous. It’s not the first time I’ve had to abort a jump due to a mechanical issue, but it is the first time I’ve encountered a situation like this outside of training, or any kind of mechanical issue while aboardthisparticular ship.
Ihatethe way it makes me feel. No, it wasn’t my “fault” it happened, but there’s…somethingoff.
And I can’t put my finger on it.
Thatmore than anything unsettles me.
I wander down to Engineering, where McMurtry is scurrying around with his seven techs. I hate to interrupt him, but I can’t ignore my instincts.
“Hey. Got a sec?”
He doesn’t look up from his console. “Not really, Davies. What?”
“Any idea what happened yet?”
“No.” He’s not being brusque to be an asshole, and I know this. It’s partly just how he is, and partly the stress he’s under.
“Oh.”
“Nothing you did, if that worries you,” he adds.
It hadn’t, not really.
Not until hesaidthat. “Let me know when you figure it out, huh?”
“I thought I would keep it a secret forever.”
I realize that’s the Onyx’s way of being sarcastic. “Sorry,” I mutter.
He finally looks at me. “You will be next to know after myself and the captain. Fair?”
