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“Can’t, not won’t. She can bond.”
His brow lifted. “To whom? You own her, and you can’t keep a crew. There is no bond, is there?”
There was no way in hell I’d tell him the ship desired Cass almost as much as I did.
“The Hollow Chorus wants to bond,” I said. “She needs to. She’s torturing herself in a loop there’s no way out of unless you tell me what happened to Habor.”
He sighed. “A bonded captain—”
“Habor!”
“Fine. Habor made a decision that put lives at risk. The situation was contained. The ship was meant to be decommissioned and sold through channels to ensure it would never be traced back to us. Until you, in your infinite stubbornness, bought it under your own name at a public auction. I have already replaced my disposal crew because of such gross incompetence.”
“Again, not important to me. It’s my ship. She’s alive, and she’s suffering. We owe it to her to help her.”
“Hollow Chorus should have been stripped and the parts sold. Some ships can’t be saved.” His tone didn’t shift as he talked so coldly about destroying something so special.
I turned from the window, hands fisted.
“I have a proposal.” He gestured to a chair across from him, which I ignored. “A new vessel. The Seren Star. She was commissioned three years ago, top-line grown resin, full neural suite, already cleared for bonding. She’s waiting for a captain. I’ll cover the transfer cost and compensate you for the Hollow Chorus at above-market value. Walk away from this one and get on with your life.”
“No.”
“The Seren Star is a better ship. Faster, newer, unburdened by history. You’d bond clean. Start fresh.” He spread his hands. “I’m not asking you to take a loss. I’m offering you an upgrade.”
“I don’t want an upgrade. I want my ship.”
“That ship is broken.” Anger flickered in his amber gaze.
“She’s being fixed. Cass will clear the matrix, rebuild the bonding architecture, and get her flight-ready. Her team has already had breakthroughs.”
“They will fail.”
“Why? Is there data you can’t afford to let the universe see? Will you make sure they fail?”
A flicker of loathing moved across Navarre’s face. Quick, controlled, and gone before it fully formed. “They’ll patch her up at best, take your credits, and make you look foolish.”
“Not Dead Stick. I trust them.”
“Them? Or one in particular?” His eyes narrowed. “You’ve spoken of Cass Myers more than once.”
“Forget her! All of them are shit hot at their jobs.” My heart thudded. He couldn’t know my mate bond had erupted after meeting Cass.
“They’re resourceful and unconventional, I’ll give them that.” He took another sip of his drink. “But they must be using unlicensed tech if they got through the system without bonding to the ship.”
“I told you, they’re amazing at what they do. Everyone I spoke to said they’d be the repair crew to solve the issue. Make it easier for them. Tell me what happened.”
He thumped the glass down and met my gaze. “You’ve involved outside parties in a family matter. Humans who don’t understand the context. They’re a threat.”
“They’re the solution. And they stay on the job until it’s done,” I said. “The ship stays with me. I’m not walking away from this.”
Navarre studied me for a second. He was calculating, the same way he calculated every trade negotiation and family dispute so it fell to his advantage.
“Everything you have comes through this family,” he said quietly. “Your trade clearances and exclusive port access. Your name carries weight in rooms you’ve never entered. I built that for you because I believed you’d use it wisely. Stubbornness isn’t wisdom. And sentiment toward a broken ship isn’t a strategy. It’s foolishness.”
“I didn’t ask for any of that.”
“But you’ll miss it should it be taken. We always pine for what we took for granted, but by then, it’s too late.” He stood and walked to the far side of the room, where a bank of displays showed shipping routes and trade positions across half a dozen sectors. “Take the Seren Star. Let the Hollow Chorus go, and remove the Dead Stick Salvage crew from the picture. This is the last time I’ll offer.”
