“Acknowledged.” Blaize glanced around the crowded room once more. Nothing moved. As it shouldn’t. She turned her back and headed to the bridge to strap in for the crossing. With any luck, they wouldn’t experience a time shift—big or small—but there were no guarantees. Wormholes made long-distance travel possible, but not without unpredictable costs.
She rubbed the back of her neck. Maybe her foreboding had nothing to do with the engines and everything to do with a future catastrophe. Rhysa and Bodi were in their usual places on the bridge. Calm. Professional. Veda had taken one of the empty chairs near Bodi. Blaize dropped into the empty one next to Rhysa and tugged the safety harness, securing herself for the inexplicable experience of ER bridge crossings. No two had been the same, and she braced for the unexpected.
“Did you warn Captain Cyra?” Blaize asked the team.
“Nope.” Rhysa lips lifted in a wicked grin. “Dez said not to disturb them. Their mating ritual is pretty involved from what I read. She probably doesn’t know she’s on The Treasure by now, much less care if we’re crossing a bridge.”
Lucky captain.
“Do you think the plants will be okay?” Veda asked.
“Of course.” Blaize had no idea how the plants would react to the crossing, but there was nothing to be done about it and no point in upsetting her. “You gave them a very secure structure.”
“Notice of crossing sent.” Bodi’s only sign of nerves was a slight fluttering of her transparent, vestigial wings. “Proceed when ready.”
The fact that the crew followed all the safety protocols without resistance pleased Blaize. The rules were there for a reason, but she’d worked with crews who believed the old laws to be overkill.
“Penetrating the hole now.” Rhysa’s gleeful double entendre made Veda snort laugh.
At least someone was having fun. Blaize took several slow, deep breaths and braced herself for the entrance, which would be slightly worse than the exit. Wormholes sucked. Literally. Blaize swallowed her stomach back down as it seemed to lift into her throat. The familiar, but unwelcome, tugging and slight disorientation came next. She forced herself to slow her breathing and remember that The Treasure was designed for this type of travel. Even though it was her first crossing on the transport, it was a solid ship. She’d been over it with a fine-tooth comb. Nothing would go wrong. And with any luck, they wouldn’t be too far out of sync with time.
She slowed her breathing to a normal rhythm and closed her eyes. The swirling colors on the viewscreens disoriented her enough to be uncomfortable. Finally, the telltale tugging returned. Or, really, intensified.
“Pulling out,” Rhysa called.
With a stutter, they returned to the standard view of stars, and the physical stretch stopped.
“No time lapse,” Bodi responded.
“Yeah!” Rhysa held out her hand, and Bodi slapped her palm.
“Nice job, Nav.” Bodi returned her attention to her station. “Sending cross complete now.”
“Coordinates for Cassan are in.” Rhysa spun in her chair with a satisfied smile. Blaize shot her an approving smile and nod, but there really wasn’t much navigating once the ship entered the ER bridge. The hole did whatever it wanted with the ship, and you prayed it all went well. Mostly it did. But still, everyone liked to receive approval for a job well done.
“I’m also sending a message to Cassan that we’re on track for deliveries.”
A hint of foreboding prickled the back of Blaize’s neck. The sensation of something being not quite right. “Can you scan for Varik’s ship, too?”
“Already on it,” Bodi replied without looking up.
“Yeah, that fucker is going down for what he did to Dez and almost did to The Treasure. I know guys who would hate-fuck his eye socket for me.” Rhysa’s pink eyes flared red. For a tiny thing, she was frightening on occasion. Also, who had she been dating?
“Better than he deserves.” Veda freed herself from the safety straps.
Blaize blinked. She’d never heard Veda sound bloodthirsty before. It was like discovering a bunny had fangs.
“I’d watch that on loop,” Bodi added.
“I’m with Veda—better than he deserves.” But Blaize wouldn’t watch it. The idea of looking at him turned her stomach. She freed herself from her seat. “I’m off to safety check the engines.”
“Blaize?” Veda paused at the door to the bridge. “Do you have a minute to help me with the plants?”
“Sure thing.” Checking the engines after the crossing was a safety habit, like Bodi sending the entrance and exit communication blasts. Highly unlikely anything was wrong, so no rush.
Chapter 5
Cifer pressed into the spare space at the edge of the engine room, a quivering mess of flesh. Wormholes always left him disoriented, as if pieces of his body weren’t quite connected, but the experience had been particularly unpleasant without the benefit of a secured position. Footsteps in the corridor forced him to ignore his physical difficulties and resume his camouflage—easier imagined than executed in his current state.
