Page 25 of Journey to the Forbidden Zone

“Díaz,” she snapped, slapping the receive button without looking.

“Captain.” Zed’s synthesized voice, calm and precise as always, came through the speaker. “I have completed a full diagnostic scan ofAntilles. Purpose: assess best solution to the XenX presence aboard. Context: ship capabilities.”

“And?” The word came out clipped, tight.

“Localized instability detected in Sector Theta-7 of the jump-drive matrix containment field. Microscopic fracturingin the crystalline focusing elements. Cause: stress from the unscheduled hyperspace exit near gas giant.”

Carmen closed her eyes. Of course. Just fucking perfect.

“How bad?”

“Probability of catastrophic field collapse during jump initiation?—”

“Damn it, Zed, spare me the percentages,” she snapped. “Just give me the bad news.”

“The jump-drive was damaged in the sudden exit from hyperspace. It remains operational, but the more we use it and the farther we travel, the greater the likelihood of a catastrophic breakdown.”

Mierda.The hits just kept on coming.

“Can we fix it?”

“Negative. Required recalibration and reinforcement unit is not aboard. Fabrication impossible with current resources.”

Of course. Because shit wasn’t bad enough already.

“What will it take to get the parts, Zed?”

“Much more than what we have available. Realistically, Captain, it would be less expensive to replace the entire unit than to attempt to repair the existing one.”

Damn. She might as well try to buy a new ship at that point.

“Understood,” she managed, the word scraping her throat raw. “Díaz out.”

She cut the comm, the silence rushing back in, louder than before. The sweet smell was still there, a sickly counterpoint to the metallic tang of fear rising in her own mouth.

Carmen braced both hands on the desk, head hanging, staring at the scuffed deck plates. Stranded. Screwed. Trapped. The options narrowed to multiple variations of fucked. Sell Mila and maybe blow up trying. Keep her and definitely get caught. Maroon her and hope she couldn’t be traced back to them. Right.Because a high-ranking UPA official wasn’t going to notice his prize sex toy went missing.

A bitter laugh escaped her. Some fucking captain she was.

A soft chime at the hatch told her someone was outside. Carmen didn’t turn.

“Not now, Zed,” she said.

“It’s me,” Letitia’s voice, low and hesitant, came through the intercom.

Carmen straightened slowly, wiping a hand across her mouth. Shit. Just what she needed: more judgment, more pleading eyes.

“I thought I ordered you to work on the weapons,” she replied.

“You did. I … I just need a minute.”

Unsure why she didn’t just send Letitia away, she hit the release. The hatch slid open.

Letitia stood in the corridor, silhouetted by the harsh lights. She’d changed out of her work coveralls into a simple tank top and loose pants, her dark braids pulled back. Her expression was unreadable, but the tension radiated off her in waves. She stepped inside, the hatch sealing behind her. The small space felt instantly smaller, charged.

She opened her mouth to speak, but then her nose crinkled.

“Damn, what’s that smell?”