They weren’t planning on leaving the very day that they finished the upgrades, but now they had to get away from the station master and had a client paying by the day. Loyalty didn’t appear to care how long it would take for them to get him back home, but Tanin was honorable. He wasn’t going to purposefully draw out the time he was with them to force him to pay more.
The others were all summoned back to the ship as Sway was calibrating the new crystals. It was a complex process he’d never actually done before. He’d practiced, he knew how to do it theoretically, and he’d completed more than a few simulations. But it was the first time he’d ever done it in real life. It took longer, and required more focus, than he initially thought.
While he was busy doing that, he didn’t realize that the others were all coming back and getting ready to take off. Tanin came by as he was about halfway through to tell him that he’d gotten the swing data he’d eventually need from Loyalty, but that their other job came first.
They were being hired by a security team to transport a shipment of weapons. It wasn’t a very difficult delivery and was almost not worth their fees. They were a specialized deliverycompany. They didn’t deliver any random thing. They charged a lot because they promised safe delivery over a quick one, but they were willing to deliver dangerous things to dangerous places. And while, yes, crates of weapons could be considered dangerous, they were de-activated and not explosive, so most delivery companies would agree to take them no problem.
But the people they were delivering for, apparently, didn’t understand that concept. A weapon was dangerous, no matter what. Sway had seen a few people with that mindset. In his experience, they were those who had no experience with weapons.
That wasn’t his concern, however. Tanin was too honorable to blatantly rip off a guy paying them to get him home. He wasn’t, however, so honorable that he wouldn’t take a fool’s credz when offered. If this group was so afraid of pistols and guns and the like that they thought they needed to pay their larger fee, then they weren’t going to tell them otherwise.
Once that was done, they could deliver Loyalty back home.
And then they could figure out what to do with Grace.
Unlike Loyalty, she didn’t have a destination immediately in mind. She hadn’t, at all, been prepared for suddenly needing a new job and new home. The extra time she had while they were completing the other jobs was important for her to think and figure out her next steps.
It also meant that she’d be with them for a while.
And Sway wasn’t sure what he should do. How he was going to try to convince her to stay. He just knew that he now had a chance.
He didn’t want to end whatever they had. Not yet. Not before he could explore this powerful longing for her. He still found her charming and precious, despite everything. He would be glad to develop their relationship further if she wanted it. Wanted him.
But would she?
After seeing him do what he did, was there even a chance? Or was he taking on a fool’s mission right now?
Sway finished the initial calibration of the crystals, and the subspace generator was closed back up, the shielding replaced, and the hatch closed again. He then returned to the bridge. The second half had to be done while they were out in the black, away from anything else that might interfere – the station, any space debris, asteroids, etc.
The station already had a designated area that was big and far enough away meant for precisely that purpose. It was empty now, so Sway began by planning the route to fly there. The subspace machine was used for swinging out of space, allowing them to cover impossible distances in practically no time. But the engine was all that they needed if he was going sub-light speed. It would take about a day to get to the area and finish the calibrations.
After that, they could move on to their next job. And now that their subspace generator was fully functional, they wouldn’t need to wait five days between each small swing. That meant finishing this job then taking Loyalty home wouldn’t take long.
Realistically, he only had a few days with Grace. He imagined she’d decide to return to Holotulle. It was probably the best place for her, if he was being honest with himself. She could properly start over there and get a new job – likely not with Uver Prime.
They still had a chance though. If she would still want to see him. If she wasn’t frightened by how aggressive he had become. Or if this entire incident hadn’t soured her feelings towards him entirely. He couldn’t blame her if it did. But the very thought that he might have lost her hurt. Much more acutely than he expected.
“You’re thinking pretty hard.”
Sway, not even realizing he had been sitting, without moving, in his seat on the bridge for quite some time, started in surprise. His displays were open, his calculations and navigation commands just floating there, completely untouched as he stared at nothing.
He didn’t even hear Garnet come onto the bridge. She was leaning against the console, giving him that sweet, bright smile of hers. How long had she been there?
“Where’s Grace?” She asked when he remained silent.
“My room,” he answered immediately, wondering at the rush of warmth the answer brought. He really liked that she was there. In his space. Where she belonged. “She doesn’t want to cross paths with the dock crew, so she’ll stay there until we leave.”
Garnet nodded. “I’m going to go say hi. Bring her some food. Make sure she has what she needs.”
“Thank you,” he said genuinely. Garnet was a good female. She took care of people. No one asked her to do it. She just did. That made the actions much more meaningful.
“So.” Garnet gave him a long look. “You thinking about claiming her?”
Sway frowned. “I don’t know… I am afraid she saw an ugly side of me. I don’t think she was very comfortable with it.”
“Sway, I don’t really know how to tell you this, but, er, you and the guys… Well, I’m not going to say youonlyhave ugly sides. But I will say that you came from a very ugly past.” Garnet’s voice was hedging. Cautious. She was trying not to be rude, but she didn’t need to dance around the truth.
“I’m a murderer,” Sway said simply, accepting the label without argument. “I killed and tortured a lot of people.”
