In an unbidden moment, she imagined having coffee with Amelia and Celise in the mornings, learning to farm from an ex-Rhymarran, hugging Amelia goodnight beneath the shimmering leaves of the kerrac tree. A whole life unfolded where they actually remained in proximity, and Torian had her two favorite people under one beautiful, domed roof.
Plus, after seeing this place, Torian suddenly wanted nothing more than to give Amelia something like her old home. Vaesa wasn’t Rhymarra, but… well, it felt like the next best thing for two people stuck in space.
“Actually,” Torian said, “I have another lead… if you’re interested.”
Amelia tilted her head. “Assume I’m always interested in new jobs, Scrap.”
Torian grinned. “Well, good. ’Cause this one’s a doozy.”
CHAPTER 20
When Torian finally boarded theDestituteagain, Moss was saying, “—correct, considering the age of Vaesa.”
So, clearly Torian hadn’t been theonlyone to divulge their plans for the ancient space station. She hid a smile and climbed the stairs to the living area, removing the sweater in theDestitute’s comfortable warmth.
Lyric murmured something inaudible.
It felt wrong to eavesdrop on them, so Torian began tidying the kitchenette. It was very late now, and she was frankly starving. Probably, Lyric was hungry too—time to find a midnight snack.
She hadn’t gotten far in her search before Lyric emerged from the engine hatch. They hauled their workbag out, then saw her and froze.
She waved. “Ah, hello. How’d it go?”
“Um—it’s fixed.”
A pause.
No more information was given.
Torian offered a smile. “That’s great! What was wrong, if you don’t mind me asking? Just so I can keep an eye out for problems like this later.” Those nylarian blueprints had been intense, even with Torian’s working knowledge of engineering. It’d be nice to know where to start if this happened again.
Lyric finished pulling themself out of the engine room. They closed the hatch behind them, almost reverently. “I, um. I doubt you could have fixed it. The part Dutch replaced on Vaesa wasfractured. I had to modify another piece to make it work. Took a while.” They hefted their bag, appearing embarrassed. “Needed special tools.”
A fractured part. That would make sense. Dutch probably had done his best with what he could find, but all the replacement parts on Vaesa would be millennia old.
And yet, that wasn’t what Torian was focused on. Amused, she repeated, “Moss told you about Dutch, huh? And Vaesa?” Jokingly, she called to the computer: “How long was I gone?”
“Approximately two hours, twelve minutes,” Moss replied. “I like Lyric. I have decided they should be a partial owner of theDestitute, alongside you.”
Torian balked. “You’re replacing me?”
“Alongsideyou,” Moss repeated.
“Some loyalty.”
Lyric’s body language had steadily deteriorated. They hunched as if to make themself smaller, suddenly finding the bag in their hands fascinating. When there was a brief pause in the conversation, they inserted quietly, “I’m—I’ll go. No charge, Captain. Th-thank you for introducing me to Moss.”
Torian held up her hands. “Wait. I was teasing! I’m glad you two made friends.” She racked her brain, then offered, “Do you want some dinner? I was just going to make something.” She tugged the first thing out of the pantry cabinet, a nylarian can that had somehow not been shoved to the back. Pickled beans. What the fuck werepickled beans? Desperately, she fumbled for something else. “Not this—hang on—”
Lyric edged toward the staircase to the cargo bay… and the exit. “Thank you, but—”
“I would like you to stay, Lyric.” Then, as a pointed afterthought, Moss added, “Forever.” It sounded vaguely ominous.
“Let’s start with dinner, assuming they even want some,” she said, lest Moss scare off this poor mechanic. She pulled out ingredients for a salad, which felt safe, considering she didn’t know Lyric’s dietary preferences. The leaves were vacuum-sealed in theirown self-cooling container; they’d come out a bit limp, but they should taste okay.
Lyric fidgeted with their bag, then reluctantly lowered it to the mossy carpet. “I’ll stay. If Moss wants.”
“Forever,” Moss reiterated.
