“That makes sense.” Krystal opened the bottle of liquid and took a tentative sip. Flavor exploded on her taste buds. T’arq was right. It was fruity—like a mix of pineapple and kiwi fruit. She made a noise of approval and took a bigger swallow.
He grinned and stretched his arms out along the back of the bench, letting his head drop back. He breathed in deeply.
Krystal watched as his features relaxed. She turned toward him, tucking her feet underneath her so they didn’t dangle above the ground like a child’s. That was the problem with everything on the Zataras; they made it for giants.
Except the flight engineer’s chair. That was customized to fit her. That was a lot of trouble to go to for one test flight. But why?
“What do you want from me, T’arq?”
“Hmm?” He opened one eye and peered at her without moving his head.
“I need to know what you want.”
He shifted slowly, turning toward her. One leg hitched on the bench and his arm stretched out behind her. Head tilted to one side; his eyes traveled over her face. Krystal sat in silence, waiting for the answer. She had a short fuse, but she also knew when to be patient. And getting this answer from him needed patience in buckets.
“I don’t think I know,” he finally said. The words were soft, his eyes on hers as his fingers tapped idly on the back of the bench.
“I know what I want,” she said, taking another swig from the bottle. “I want to save lives. And my cloak will save lives.”
“But…?”
She sighed, slumping. “But I can’t do the testing. Not out there.” She gestured toward the direction of the hangar, her skin paling slightly, and she swallowed hard.
“Why not?”
She looked at him with incredulity. “Are you blind?”
He laughed.
“You saw what just happened! That was just me sitting in the cockpit safely on a starship. Imagine what it’s going to be like when I can’t get off the damned thing.” She dropped her head into her hands and groaned. “It’s bad enough that I panicked. What if I completely screw up the testing?” She wailed.
“Then we’ll do it until we get it right.” He reached out and peeled one of her hands away to hold it in his own. He squeezed gently, forcing Krystal to look at him.
“We… we will?” she asked, eyes wide.
“We’ll go back to the stealth ship and we’ll try again. We’ll test it until you get it right.” He smiled gently and smoothed his thumb back and forth over her hand. The long strokes calming her racing pulse. She took a shaky breath and released it, tension seeping from her.
“Oh.” The matter-of-fact way that he delivered the statement floored her. Just like that. She wasn’t a problem, an issue to solve. Her anxiety wasn’t being treated as a major hurdle. “Together?”
He reached out with his other hand to squeeze her shoulder gently. “Together.”
* * *
As the big Taurean slid into the pilot’s seat, Krystal admired how sinuously he moved. He knew where everything was on this small ship. Now that she was a little calmer, she had spent some time alongside T’arq checking every nook and cranny on the ship, so she was familiar with it. He reasoned she would feel safer if she knew the ship better.
Krystal had laughed and accused him of likening the ship to a person.
“Respect your tools, Krystal. That’s what every good engineer does, right?”
She had nodded and realized he was correct. The ship was a tool, a tool she needed to use to meet her objective. It wasn’t an obstacle in the way; it was the way.
With that change in attitude, she found the task a lot easier, even if she wasn’t entirely comfortable yet.
“Ready?” T’arq asked her, gesturing for her to take the flight engineer’s seat.
“No.”
“All right, then we won’t go.” He unbuckled the straps holding him safely in the seat.
