“I took care of his rod. He’s taking care of ours.” Her voice was giddy, and she gave a little shake of her hips.
“But…” No way should one of her crew have exchanged sexual favors for their travel.
“Don’t worry it was truly my pleasure.” Rhysa dragged out the words with a seductive inflection. “And really no different than using your orgasms to launch.” She raised a thin eyebrow. “Right?”
Ow. A perfect punch in the gut. And completely accurate. “Right. But I don’t want you to think youhaveto do that.”
“I don’t. But what I do have to do is get an upgrade for the nav system. Stat.”
“What’s wrong.” Cyra was getting seasick from the emotional swings of the conversation. Had she really dreamed of being a captain one day? It was nothing like she’d imagined.
“Nothing I can’t work around, but the maps haven’t been updated in forever and the subscription wasn’t renewed. There are so many better options out there. I mean we could renew. What budget do you have for updates?”
“Nothing. We don’t have any budget until we make this delivery. This is essentially an unfunded startup.”
“How would you feel about me covering the updates to the systems? With credits, not booty. I wish, but it’s difficult to suck a dick through a wireless network connection.” Rhysa laughed.
“I won’t be able to pay you back for…I don’t know how long.”
“Can I buy in? Blaize mentioned she’s a partner, and I have some funds. If we want maximum efficiency in the route and smart routing around the dust clouds, I need better tools.”
“I can offer you the same partner contract I offered Blaize.”
“Done.”
“I’ll edit your contract now.” Cyra paused. “Thanks, Rhysa. For the fuel and for…” Cyra blinked back unexpected tears, “…for trusting me enough to invest.”
“Thank you for letting me get in on what I think will be an amazing business. You’ve got an incredible ship.”
Cyra glanced around the bare metal panels and the dated systems.The Treasurewas older, but she was a veritable unicorn as one of the few transports that could move a variety of live cargo. If they got the spiders to Morgual, the future was theirs. Big if.
“We need to be ready to launch as soon as the rods arrive.” Cyra told herself as much as Rhysa. “The food and other provisions have already been loaded.”
“Rods should be here shortly. Just enough time for me to download the new software and update the maps. I’ll be ready when you are.”
Cyra wasn’t ready for any of this. But that wasn’t a requirement. The time for overthinking was past. Time to launch,Captain.
Chapter12
After cyclesof searching and coming up empty, Varik had finally found the perfect target—a gentle captain with a small research ship, theHarlan Johnson, in need of engineer after his disappeared. Varik had warned the guy about the special cocktail and the paid pussy. Maybe not as strongly as he should of. The engineer would recover in a few cycles, most likely, but there was nothing Varik wouldn’t do to get on a ship and go after hisTreasure.
He still couldn’t believe that insufferable bitch had robbed him of his rightful inheritance. Auvi loved him, not her. He was the engineer capable of captaining the ship. Not some little fish whose claim to fame was quick, powerful orgasms. Hell, he’d been the first to discover her natural talent in that area. Even as a virgin, she hadn’t been anything so special he’d hand over his property to her. But somehow, Auvi had. Thank god the accounts still carried his name, or he’d be completely fucked. No ship, no money, nowhere to go.
The fact Auvi planned to leave him in such a position was still incomprehensible.
Too bad he’d waited to draw the final line until after Auvi had updated his disposition of assets on death. If Varik had been aware his captain’s plans, he would have acted sooner. Ah well. Space dust through the nebula.
“I’m not sure I can afford you,” Captain Twalley told Varik in a voice barely above a whisper, causing Varik to jolt. He’d forgotten the little captain to his side. “My grant for the next phase of research hasn’t been credited. It can take cycles.”
“I told you. I have plenty of credits.” Varik smacked the smaller man’s shoulder. “I might want to make a few visits to some places along the way, but I’m sure we can come up with a compatible schedule.”
“I need to be availablehereto receive the terms of the grant and make sure I have the funding agency’s agenda prioritized in our schedule. Without them, my research dies. It’s not just money. They hold the publishing key.”
“Of course, of course.” Varik was frustrated with the soft little man but it wouldn’t due to scare him off. Varik had to get on the ship before he could take over. There was nothing else to do but wait. He’d approached nearly every docked ship on the station that could make the run to Morgual. No other captain would even consider him for an engineer position. Apparently, some of the old crew was spending a lot of time badmouthing him all over the station, pissed that he hadn’t kept his promise to employ them all yet.
Selfish, impatient bastards.
New plans took time to implement.
