Her head jerked up, and she threw up her hands. “No! I was…that was… I didn’t mean…” She couldn’t think of anything to say that would help, so she stopped talking.
He spoke up immediately. “I know that wasn’t what you meant. It’s what made it so funny. That and the expression on your face right after you said it.”
“The universe needs a three-second time delay and a take-back button,” she muttered.
“If you find the suggestion box, feel free to toss that one in for me, too.”
“I will.” She huffed out a breath. “How about we pretend the last thirty seconds didn’t happen and you show me around your ship now?”
He stepped aside and pointed toward the door. “After you.”
She went through the airlock and into the ship. Mace followed behind her, and as he stepped into the doorway, his big body blocked out all the light.
Once inside, the door slid shut.
She waited for half a heartbeat, but nothing changed. No sense of regret, no doubt.Good.
The layout of the ship was familiar. The inner doors were locked open, so the airlock led into the main corridor that ran down the spine of the ship. Next, she did something her fathers called getting the feel of a ship. She stood still and took in everything. The sounds, the smells, even the vibrations beneath her feet.
A few things struck her. The deck was worn but clean, and the air she breathed was fresh, not stale or tainted with mold. Someone was taking care of basic maintenance then. The artificial gravity was set too high. Not by much, but enough that she noticed. The cyborgs were probably too strong to feel the difference, or maybe it was intentional? She’d have to ask.
It only took a few moments for her to catalog her first impressions. In that time, she also recognized the ship’s design. “This is a Falcon-E model, from Gyrex Shipping. Isn’t it?”
She turned back toward Mace as she asked her question.
He nodded. “It is. From what we learned before buying her, the Falcons are supposed to be low-maintenance, reliable transport.”
Tish patted a bulkhead. “They are. These ships are workhorses. Strong. Tough. Versatile. I’ve seen more than afew in my time. Even better, they use standard, easy-to-find replacement parts. Where I’m from, that was a definite plus. We were too far out to get much in the way of specialty equipment. The engine room is aft and up a deck. Right? I should go up and get started. I know you’ve got a delivery to make.”
Mace raised a hand. “Hold up a second. Xaber is on his way here. I wish I could stick around, but I’ve got errands to run before I head to work in a few hours.”
Tish added that information to her growing store of information about her new employers. “You have a second job? Is that why you’re not going with Xaber to Ashur?”
“Yup. I work security at one of the new clubs on the station. Xay will be fine doing this transport on his own. We already did the hard part. Our guest is secured in the hold. He won’t be a problem.” Mace flashed a wicked smile. “You will never guess what ship our target was on.”
She could only think of one vessel that would make Mace grin like that. “Karta’s ship?” Her chest tightened. Oh no. She did not want to be anywhere near that asshole. “He’s not here. Is he?”
“Sadly, it wasn’t him. You’re right about the ship, though. Karta kept out of sight while we took his buddy into custody. Oliver is this guy’s name. Was he part of last night’s problem?”
She recalled the name from the previous night. “If he goes by Ollie, yeah. He was there.”
“What part did he play? I only saw the bit where you busted Karta’s nose.”
“He was one of the gaggle hanging back. He called me a bitch and did his best to make a bad situation worse.”
“A shame he came quietly, then.” Mace shrugged. “I’ll let Xaber know. He’ll make sure the guy gets the extra spicy rations at every meal.”
That made her laugh. “Your idea of revenge is to over-spice his food?”
“Yup. And no dairy. Nothing to ease the burn.”
That was fine with her. It was a petty sort of revenge, but there’d be no lasting harm. That felt right.
“Did I hear that right? Was my reluctant travel companion misbehaving last night?” Xaber’s voice rose from somewhere out of sight.
It only took Tish a second to realize the cyborg was at the base of the ladder one deck down.
“Quit eavesdropping on private conversations and get your ass up here, pretty boy. Or are you not planning on saying hello to Tix?”
