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I breathe a sigh of relief as I look Tasha over and see nothing wrong with her. I knew Garrick would bring her here safe, but still, we’re on a hostile ship filled with testosterone-fueled warriors. Garrick is strong, but what the hell can he do if multiple triads attack at once, determined to kill him and seize the only two women on board?

If they caught the scent of a potential mate…they’d do anything to claim her.

Theme looks down at his cup, his cheeks going red. His hand trembles as he puts down his teacup. He can’t make eye contact with Tasha. Instead, he finds a spot ten feet above her head to look at.

The poor boy might never have seen a woman naked before. Is he embarrassed that Tasha had to take his punishment, or because he saw her nude?

“Thank you… Thank you, Captain Tasha.”

Whatever is causing his guilt, I’m going to milk it. I’m going to wring the information out of him by letting Tasha ask the questions.

“I just did what I had to do,” she says without emotion. “To try and keep my crew safe.”

I sip my tea, forcing down the bitter liquid as I take a good, hard look at Tasha.

She wanted to keep her crew safe. It can’t have been easy to realize that the bulk of her crew didn’t respect her. I hope she realizes that only Theme and I are loyal to her. The way those miners laughed and jeered when she was spanked makes me sick.

“The tea is shit, by the way. This old ship has poor food replicators.” I sit back, relaxed as possible, hoping my ease will relax him. I need Theme to chill out. The poor boy is jittery as hell. He’s been put through the ringer since the Toads were on his tail, and we need his big ol’ brain to be working at 100% if we want to make it off this hulk alive.

I can’t keep the smile from blooming on my lips.

I can’t believe our luck. It’s going to be hell to get to that control room, but now we have a chance. I latch onto the feeling of hope.

Tasha shakes her head in disbelief. “Why are you sohappy, Sawoot?”

“Because Theme just told me someverygood news.”

Theme winces. He regrets letting me know. Now he looks like a guilty dog with his tail between his legs. He’s feeling so shitty about having Tasha take his punishment there’s no way he can hold back.

Tasha turns to look at him, and he takes a deep breath in. I can see him relaxing already. Tasha’s got that effect on everyone. She’s calm and competent. The fear melts from his eyes, and instead, they go wide with excitement.

“This ship,” Theme tells her, “The Instigator. Aelon must have got it for cheap. It’s a discontinued class of warship—no longer in service in the Aurelian fleet.”

He must have not wanted me to know because he thought I’d drag him to the control rooms immediately. I don’t know what the poor boy thinks of me. I’m not some crazed superhero who could fight off a triad of Aurelians bare-handed. Maybe he thinks I’m bold or stupid enough to try.

I pour Tasha a cup from the pot. The caffeine is energizing me—either that, or it’s because I’m full of hope from the plan.

Tasha takes a sip and makes a face. I shrug. I warned her, after all.

Tasha turns to Theme. “Why was it discontinued?”

“That’s just it,” he explains. “There are critical vulnerabilities to this class of warship—ifyou can get to the control rooms.” His eyes flash. He’s nerding out for sure, which is a good thing, because he’s going to spill out every detail. He loves computers like most men love chasing tail. “Those control rooms are only a thousand meters fromthisroom,” he explains. “If I can get into one alone for justfour minutes, I could hack this ship’s systems. I’ll be able to remotely control all the doors of the ship—and that includes the loading bay doors.”

Four minutes.

Those four minutes would feel like eternity if an Aurelian’s blue-black Orb-Blade was melting through the doors to the control room.

I don’t bringthatup. No way am I going to spook Theme, when he’s just gotten back his confidence.

All we have to do is get to the loading bay. With Tasha behind the control of theWayward Scythe, we can escape.

We can get the hell out of here…

And away from the three men that keep forcing their way into my thoughts.

Tasha’s eyes go wide as she thinks through a plan. I’ve never met anyone who could come up with solid plans fast. She’s got the best strategic mind I’ve ever seen.

“I could open us a path to the loading bay,” Theme grins, “and we can either take our ship, or—even better—steal one of those Reavers. It’ll take me time to hack into it, but I can do it—and we’ll have the time once the Aurelians are trapped.”