He returned moments later with a pristine white jumpsuit.
“It’s been tailored to your measurements. I need to head back to the medical bay, but Kaedren will be waiting to escort you to the bridge.”
“I appreciate everything you have done for me,” I said, then I waited for him to close the door before getting up.
This man was dangerous—not because he was a pirate, or a not-pirate—but because I was already starting to trust him.
I opened the door and stepped out—and straight into a world I wasn’t remotely prepared for.
Chapter 3
Kaedren lumbered ahead of me like a silent semi-truck. There wasn’t much in the way of human traffic onboard the ship, but the few aliens I did see made sure to get out of the four-armed man’s way as quickly as possible. The hallways were surprisingly bright and carpeted. I’d been expecting something darker—metal floor plates, dripping pipes, the occasional torchlit dungeon ambiance. It was my first time on a pirate ship, and it felt like I was being prejudiced.
Who says pirates are evil, other than all the newsfeeds, movies, books, TV shows, comics, dead people, and mangled survivors?
“It’s a beautiful ship you’ve got here,” I said.
“Hmmm,” Kaedren replied.
I ran my hand across the wall. “Is this Luna Moon? I think I saw an article about this color in the last issue ofYour Spaceship, Your Home.”
“It’s sugar dust,” he replied.
I almost tripped over my own feet. Security officer, speak thy truth. I wasnotexpecting this mound of muscle to know anything about the thousands of variations in the off-white color palette. Will wonders never cease!
“Big on interior decorating?” I asked.
“I pick the colors in the ship’s public areas. This specific tone allows for a variety of visual scans across the visible and invisible parts of the light spectrum. While Luna Moon is similar, it degrades our ability to scan in the ultraviolet range.”
He didn’t even miss a step.
“Not what I would’ve gone with personally, but I get why you picked it,” I said.
“Based on where you were living before we rescued you, I don’t think interior decorating was something you much cared for.”
I stumbled again. Rude. But also… fair. Not like the company had given me many options to personalize my corporate-issued shoebox. Not that I’d tried. I just nodded and smiled—something I’d gotten far too used to doing.
Kaedren stopped in front of a set of double doors and moved to the side. “We have arrived at the bridge. The Captain is waiting for you.”
The doors whooshed open, and I stepped through.
You’ve seen the space opera serials, so you know what a starship bridge is supposed to look like: neon lighting, a super-wide 64k-resolution viewscreen, sleek metal guardrails, high-end futuristic chairs that are guaranteed to damage your spine—everything arranged for perfect camera angles.
This ship was not that.
It looked more like a war room that happened to fly. Screens covered the walls—not for show, but dense with data streams I itched to analyze. The captain's chair sat behind a curved desk cluttered with more displays, no dramatic dais in sight. Three workstations faced it, each one showing signs of actual use: a forgotten coffee cup, a stylus wedged between keys, a jacket draped over a chair back.
Huh. No theatrics. No wasted space. Everything here existed because someone needed it.
I'd been expecting pirates to have more flash. What I got instead was a ship that looked like it could actually fight.
Lyrin and another man were on the bridge. Lyrin offered me a soft smile. The other man wore a broad grin and waved—an actual wave, enthusiastic and unguarded, like we were old friends reuniting at a spaceport. Blue skin, silver hair that floated slightly despite the artificial gravity, and grey eyes that crinkled at the corners.
That must be the science officer. Cute wasn't quite the right word. Disarming, maybe.
I waved back before I could stop myself.
Then the Captain stood up.
