“I have credits. Not enough for my own ship but plenty to chip in. Give me a contract for this delivery. If you aren’t happy, pay back my credits and drop me back here on the station and we call it good. If you are happy, I’m an official partner and get a split of the profits once we have profits.”
Cyra glanced at Veda who stared back with wide eyes. Cyra could almost hear Veda screaming, “Do it,” in her head.
“Alright, one delivery and we’ll renegotiate at the end of that. Meet me atThe Treasuretomorrow at mid-cycle. We’re in dock alpha, bay sixty-eight oh one. We’ll finalize the terms and put them in writing.” In the meantime, Cyra would search up anything she could find to corroborate Blaize’s story. If Varik had sent her?—
“Got it. I’ll see you tomorrow, Captain. Nice to meet you, Veda.”
Blaize left the bar and Veda released a quick squeal.
Cyra wasn’t quite ready to celebrate, but she would if Blaize proved to be honest. “Let’s get out of here.”
“One down. One to go,” Veda said as she followed Cyra out of the bar and back on to the ship.
“Captain Cyra, Veda.”
Cyra startled. Dez stood statue-still at the top of the entrance ramp. “Dez.” She tried to slow her breathing. “Everything okay?”
“Yes, Captain. No issues to report.”
That voice and those eyes—not to mention the man himself—completely distracting. But she couldn’t afford to be distracted. “Thank you. Uh, Veda can you, uh, get Dez whatever— I have some work to do. Excuse me.”
“Sure,” Veda replied, her tone suspicious.
Cyra didn’t have any answers or even a bad explanation, but she hadn’t lied. There was work to do, so she didn’t hesitate to disappear into her quarters and open her data screen.
After hours of research, confirming most of what Blaize had shared, Cyra escaped to the water chamber and stripped. Finally she could find some relief. Her tears would only add to the contents of the pool. No one would have to see how sad and scared she truly was.
On the good side, they’d possibly found an engineer who was seemingly committed to making the business work, if for no other reason than to make Varik suffer. But on the downside, Cyra would be responsible for the wellbeing of another crew member. She didn’t know how to take care of herself, much less command a ship.
And she still had to find a navigator, get the ship refueled, pay the dock fees, restock the food stores, and figure out how to get paid for delivering the damn spiders. She hated spiders—particularly big and nasty spiders. Spiders that could kill. And then there was Dez. The man destined for Kolben, where lifespans were notably short. Maybe she’d acted rashly when she’d run from being married with babies on her home planet. Being captain was everything she’d wished for, but the reality was dreadful.
“Why?” she screamed into the liquified gel. Why did Auvi have to die on her? She wasn’t ready. Not only did her heart miss him, her body did too. Tears streamed down her face only to be absorbed by the medium in the tank. She still swiped at them, angry with her weakness. Captains didn’t cry. And tears wouldn’t pay a crew.
She wallowed in her missteps and cursed the fates that had placed her in the precarious position of having everything while being on the brink of losing it all. Swimming until exhausted, she left the chamber and returned to her cozy quarters to rest before facing another challenging cycle. Every cycle that passed while stuck on Cassan brought her closer to failure.
She lay on her bunk, staring up at the curved ceiling and forced herself to count her blessings. A habit her mother had instilled in her as a child.
Veda, a trained medic, cared for the spiders without hesitation and would remain on the ship. Her loyalty was unquestionable.
Doc committed his last days on Cassan to helping her find the specialists she needed. Already, she had an engineer who didn’t just want a job, she wanted a partnership.
If she could get a navigator and a communications officer, the ship could function. Even just a navigator would get them off the station. But how long would it take to find one?
And Dez? He’d saved them from the spider outbreak. He’d watched over the ship. But he was a complete mystery, and what he did to her body without even trying was dangerous. She didn’t need another risk to her leadership.
Cyra, Veda, and Dez sat at the small galley table the next morning eating the meal Doc had prepped. Dez’s yellow gaze burned into Cyra every time she glanced up from her tray as if he could see the dirty dreams she’d had about him. Her cheeks heated, and she locked her gaze downward, pretending she couldn’t feel his eyes on her like a caress. Like his fingers hadn’t slid deep into her, coaxing an orgasm from her that left her thighs wet and her body aching. If her door hadn’t still been locked when she awoke, she would have accused him of coming into her room uninvited. Instead, he’d invaded her thoughts, which was so much worse.
An odd noise disrupted Cyra’s shame cycle. “Did you hear that?”
Dez stood. “I believe someone is hailing you from outside.”
Cyra was surrounded by the other three as she made her way to the open ramp.
Blaize. For a little thing, she had a set of lungs on her.
“What are you doing?” Cyra asked as he lowered the ramp the remaining way to the deck.
“Sorry for the hollering, the stupid security people would let me call you,” Blaize explained somewhat breathlessly as she entered the ship.
