Page 3 of Stolen Fire (N.O.A.H (Nostradamus Outerspace Advancement of Humanity) #2)
Blaize reached the galley last, again. Working in the farthest bowels of the ship and doing some seriously dirty jobs meant she had the farthest to travel and the most cleanup to do before she joined the rest of the crew. Did they even notice she wasn’t present?
Rhysa and Bodi sat on opposite sides of the anchored metal table, not looking at each other.
Despite the fact that Bodi was a communications specialist and Rhysa an expert navigator, those two couldn’t find a way to talk without arguing.
Veda, head down, focused on the table. Whatever Rhysa and Bodi had said before she arrived must have upset the kind medic.
Captain Cyra chattered brightly to her lover and the security officer slash chef, Dez, about what he was making for dinner.
Dez shouldn’t be cooking. Probably shouldn’t be out of bed after saving The Treasure from a bomb.
But if Cyra was okay with it, who was she to comment?
“It smells really good, whatever it is.” Blaize took a seat between Veda and Rhysa, leaving the seat next to Cyra for Dez. The table was long, and they each had plenty of space to spread out.
“Blaize,” Dez said with a welcoming tone as he pulled the lid off the food he’d prepared on the induction plate. Cyra jumped up to help him. “Now that you’re here, I can serve.”
Someone had noted Blaize’s absence.
“Sit, love,” Dez said to Cyra, his voice almost too low to hear.
“You just got out of the hospital. Your hand.” Cyra stared pointedly at Dez’s arm, which ended in a stump.
He kissed the top of her head. Cyra picked up the plates as Dez loaded them, and she passed them around the table.
Blaize leaned over and nudged Veda with her shoulder. The medic popped up her head and gave her a small smile. “So, first harvest? Are you excited? I know I am. Of course, I’m so hungry I could probably eat anything, but this smells amazing. What did you get?”
Cyra placed a plate in front of Blaize.
“Oh wow. It looks really good.” Blaize couldn’t help staring at the real—not freeze-dried—peppers diced on top of what looked like a synth protein and ricex dish. She would do everything she could to stay on the ship that not only let her be the sole engineer but was supplied with fresh food.
“Eat.” Dez lifted his fork and dug in.
Everyone else followed his example.
“Veda, congratulations.” Cyra smiled warmly at her best friend. “When you told me what you were going to attempt gardening in space, I wasn’t sure it would work. You’ve exceeded all expectations.”
“Only tomatoes and peppers so far. But more will come.” Veda spoke softly but with confidence. “I have some more prep to do before we leave, to make sure nothing is damaged during our jump.”
“I’ve been reviewing the systems, and everything appears ready from my end,” Blaize said. “The fuel is high quality. As good as what we get on Cassan or possibly better—although for the price, it should be. Everything is so expensive here. But that’s to be?—”
“Speaking of expenses. Each of you has a share of the profit on this run coming to them,” Cyra interrupted.
Blaize clamped her jaw shut. She talked too much.
“I do have enough to pay all of you back and cover the expenses of the return trip to Cassan.”
Rhysa’s pink eyes flashed almost red when she looked up. “Captain,” she said sharply. “Are you telling us you don’t want us as partners, only paid crew members?”
Bodi’s small wings twitched. “That isn’t what she said. If you’d let her finish, you wouldn’t need to argue.”
“Who’s arguing now?” Rhysa snapped.
“Let me explain,” Cyra spoke above them both.
“Dez secured a contract to return some unneeded equipment to Cassan for pickup by the vendor. The mining operation has ongoing contracts for their mineral production deliveries and their supply orders, so we couldn’t get any traction on that front.
But they did have equipment that needed to go back, and no one has been able to take it for them.
These are one-shot deals, but they will cover our return to Cassan with plenty left over.
So, I can pay anyone out who doesn’t want to stay.
I hope all of you will elect to remain.” She silently met each of their gazes for a moment.
Blaize blinked to break the connection, unfamiliar with such respect.
“If you want to remain a partner, great.” Cyra smiled at Veda. “If you would prefer to be a paid crew member, that can be accommodated. I wanted to bring it up now so you have time to consider your decision. I’ll need to know your plans when we get to Cassan.”
“Will you be adding to the crew, and if so, will they be given the option to buy in as a partner?” Rhysa asked.
Blaize tensed. She hadn’t considered that an option.
“I’m not opposed to adding to the crew. I know the engineering job is huge. But I’m not planning to recruit unless one of you makes a request for additional crew. If we find someone, all the active partners would have to decide if the person would be offered a partnership.”
Blaize tried not to panic. Why had the captain mentioned engineering?
Did Cyra think she wasn’t doing her job?
The ship was running at ninety-two percent efficiency.
Anything over ninety was considered exceptional, but maybe Cyra only saw the room for improvement.
Maybe she thought someone else could do a better job.
And with the funds to buy Blaize out… Blaize choked down the rest of her meal.
“Before we make any decisions on how to split the profits, it’s only right to cover the costs of Dez’s injury.” Veda paused to give each of them a pointed look. “He lost his hand saving the ship. Prosthetics—good ones, which integrate—are expensive.”
“I’m not even sure that’s possible, Veda.” Dez smiled at the medic. “If it is, we can look into the costs and how to cover them at that point.”
“She’s right.” Rhysa pointed at Veda with her fork, and Bodi nodded.
“I’m going to mechanical.” Blaize stood and took her dishes to the sanitizer. “There are a few things I want to look over again.”
“The final crate of equipment is supposed to be delivered first thing tomorrow. As soon as we’re loaded and have authorization, we’ll leave,” Cyra said.
Blaize acknowledged the captain before rushing out of the galley so she wouldn’t say anything she’d regret.
Her steps echoed through the wide, well-lit hallways.
The cabinets lining the corridor were a bit grimy from use.
Above the ceiling and below the floor, various cables and conduits needed to connect all the ship’s systems. Blaize felt more at home on The Treasure than she’d ever felt in the caverns of her home planet.
If Cyra thought she wasn’t doing an adequate job, she wouldn’t be able to stay.
Veda was wonderful and warm, and it was nice to chat with her about the plants.
Rhysa and Bodi, although they liked to snipe at each other, were fun, fascinating and, from what she could tell, honest. The other females on her planet had ostracized her for her mixed heritage and odd appearance.
The Treasure’s crew were the first female friends she’d ever had.
She would do everything possible to remain.
She walked a little faster, running through a mental list of tasks she could perform to make sure the trip through the ER bridge was as smooth as possible.
That might earn her points with a captain who hated ER travel.
As Blaize passed the opening to the greenhouse, she caught a movement in her peripheral vision.
She paused and entered the room, checking the ceiling and the floor.
She crouched and peered under the tables.
There was nothing there. It must have been a trick of her mind, but she would be more vigilant.
It didn’t seem likely that there would be vermin on an ice planet, but it was still possible.
Gnawing rodents could spell huge trouble for the systems if they accessed the ship and went unchecked.
She stared back over her shoulder as she exited the room and almost ran over Veda.
“Blaize, I’m glad you’re here.” Veda gripped her arm. “I wanted to ask you if there is anything else I should do to get ready for the jump?”
Veda proceeded to show her how each plant was secured and the fine-mesh netting over the dirt. Blaize forced herself to focus on Veda, despite the eerie sense that she was being watched.
“We should check the shelves. Make sure they’re anchored, along with the lights.
When did you install them? Did Dez help you?
I have a wrench in engineering. Give me a minute.
” Blaize raced to the cabinet where she stored her tools and retrieved her favorite wrench.
It was probably overkill for the job but would help with the vulnerable sensation she couldn’t shake.
“Wow. That’s huge,” Veda said when Blaize returned.
“That’s what she said.” Blaize couldn’t help the stupid joke.
The itchy feel of eyes on her had returned.
“It’s actually very useful since it’s so long and adjustable.
The leverage means I don’t need as much physical strength to tighten the bolts.
It’s a little unwieldy overhead, but since you have these shelves spaced like ladders, I should be fine. ”
As soon as Blaize could, she left Veda and went deeper into the ship, where she had some control.
The systems did what you set them to do.
The settings were either right or wrong.
There was no ambiguity when it came to engineering.
Systems were either working optimally, or they weren’t.
It was so much easier than dealing with people.
Some days, she missed having her own ship, but then she remembered how much she hated managing a crew.
And how much it hurt when they all abandoned her.
Staying on with Cyra would be the best possible future.
If she could get the captain to see she was capable of doing the job without adding engineering staff to second-guess every move Blaize made.
Or worse, force her into the junior role.
A shadow caught her eye. Did something move?
She crawled all over the systems, tugging the connections, and tightening every bolt, but couldn’t find anything that wasn’t latched down.
No evidence of animals, but the odd sense of being watched continued.
Paranoia hadn’t plagued her so relentlessly since she’d been with Varik.
Only he had been after her. She checked the time.
Late. She could keep going, but a yawn had her heading to her quarters.
She’d done what she could to prepare for the wormhole. It would have to be enough.