Chapter Thirteen
For a moment, Laughtercouldn’t respond.She’d been so sure Rorix and his Nobek sidekick would concoct an excuse to keep her from the expedition, she almost yelled at him anyway.
“Matara?Do you accept the post?”
“Yes.”She winced at the breathlessness of her tone.She stood and steadied herself.“Yes, Captain Rorix.I’m delighted for the opportunity.Thank you.How soon can I board the ship?”
“It’ll be ready for personnel to move aboard in five days, LDS Com Officer, but there’s no rush.”
LDS, for long distance system, Laughter surmised, pacing the tight space from the lounger to the sleeping mat and back.She wondered who’d oversee short and onboard coms.They’d have to train each other on their specialties.
She was so busy musing, she missed a little of Rorix speaking.“...leaving in two weeks.That’s Kalquorian weeks, which means—”
“Twenty days, yes sir.”Laughter had the mad urge to babble extra thanks and managed to rein it in.“Question, Captain?”
“Yes?”
“What’s EC-1122’s name?”
“Name?Oh, you’re referring to an Earther tradition, aren’t you.”Not a question, but a statement.He somehow managed not to scoff, though Laughter sensed he wanted to.“The Coydidak don’t name their ships.We have no need to personalize machinery.”
“Humans tend to see our ships differently, especially those we spend the better part of our lives on.Inanimate machinery or not, we regard them as entities deserving names.Just so you know the mindset of new members of your crew.”Having won the job, she saw herself as an ambassador to the Coydidak command on behalf of her people.“Explorerwould fit as a name.TravelerorExpedition—”
“Call the damn ship whatever you like,” Rorix sighed.“I’ll see you in two weeks, LDS Lorenz.”He clicked off.
Laughter stared at the com unit in her hand.Had he really given her the assignment?Was she truly off to explore unknown reaches of space?
She shouted a victory cry, the sound wild and happy and ringing.Her arms flung to the ceiling of her little rental’s combined living and sleeping space.She bounced a few times, whooping in triumph as she beamed at a small, sealed urn she’d set on the tabletop in the middle of the room.
“We did it, Dad!We made it happen!”
* * * *
Jedver
Piras wandered the tight, crowded confines of the saferoom.He had nothing to do at the moment, unless he decided to look over the shoulders of his companions.As an admiral and chief spy of their group, he had every excuse to check up on his team, and in Mereta’s case, his ward.He understood all too well they wouldn’t appreciate it.Grown, responsible people were like that.
He knew what each was up to.Lokmi was at work on a project to help them escape Jedver when they received word their ride had arrived...if it did.
