[I didn’t want to be here anymore.]
The draic cleared their throat. “Perhaps we should—ah—separate for the night? Ms. Razner, was it? Are you planning to stay on Vaesa for a little while?”
“We’re flying to Rhymarra as soon as the engine’s fixed,” Torian replied, because Torian was my human now, and unlike Kerracia,sheunderstood the metaphorical gravity of this situation. Gratitude swelled in my central system.
“What’s wrong with the engine?” Dutch asked.
I replied, “It does not matter. It is no longer your engine.”
Someone clapped their hands together—likely the draic, since it registered louder than a human or nylarian clap. “Okay,” the draic said. “Ms. Razner, can you wait one day? If you give us some time to puzzle through this, Dutch will help repair the engine.”
“What’s there to puzzle through?” Torian demanded. “It doesn’t matter if he owned the ship. Moss doesn’t want Dutch around now, and I’m on a timeline. Once I fix the engine, we’re leaving.”
“Why the rush?” Dutch asked, in that irritatingly curious tone. “You bought theDestiny—”
“It’s called theDestitutenow,” I inserted. “Or, on human colonies, theTraitor.”
Dutch was silent, andthat, finally, felt like a victory.
Torian spoke, her tone soft: “Please. My sister is struggling on Colony 13. A century is a blink for you, but it’s my entire life—and if I don’t have transportation to Rhymarra, she’s going to die.”
Evenhewouldn’t cause harm on an innocent human, and it sent relief through my system. My leaves physically sagged. For the short term, at least, I was safe with Torian.
As expected, Dutch replied, “Ah. If I may ask, how will Rhymarra help?”
“They have exams to allow citizenship. I’ve been studying half my life,” Torian said. “She can’t breathe on Colony 13. If I can get her to Rhymarra, she might stand a chance.”
“Dutch,” the draic said.
“I know,” Dutch replied. “Go on, then. Fix your ship. We’ll be around; do let us know if you need help. Zenthielutos, can you be a dear and grab those plates? I want a proper nylarian meal tonight. Good luck, human!”
I waited, but no more conversation was had.
A few minutes later, heat passed by my new colony extension, still growing around the dock beside theDestitute. My cameras registered movement, and Torian climbed the ramp to the cargo hold. She closed the double doors, sealing us inside, and activated the energy barrier.
“Fuck,” she said.
Agreed.
CHAPTER 10
“Maybe Idoneed Dutch’s help,” Torian grumbled. Sleep fogged the edges of her mind, weighed on her shoulders, but she wouldn’t stop working, not until they were safely inside another wormhole flying toward Rhymarra. “Humans use chemical rocket engines. This is a more advanced version, but with systems I can’t even replicate.”
“It is an iradia fusion engine. The nylarians chose iradia because it is readily available in their asteroid field, and its fusion produces high heat, but very few toxic materials.”
Torian rubbed her brow. The temperature range on this ship was comfortable, but she’d been lifting heavy machinery for hours now. The engine lay in pieces as she struggled to identify what, exactly, broke.
She suspected it was the exhaust valve, but she definitely didn’t have a replacement part. She also wasn’t entirely confident that was the problem, since her education insolar fucking engineeringdid little to prepare for an alien starship engine.
Moss was trying to help, but a half-organic life support system wasn’t doing much for engine repair.
Despite their struggle, Torian wasn’t willing to offer Dutch access to the ship’s interior. A dark part of her feared that if Dutch stepped inside, he might never leave. Even if he meant well, even if he followed through on fixing the engine… she’d owe him. He might delay her trip somehow, or try to make another claim on Moss.
Torian couldn’t risk that.
“I might need a break,” Torian muttered, pushing away from the engine. Standing made her a bit dizzy, and she blinked hard.
“Your systems are failing,” Moss observed.
