Page 36 of Sway’s Peace (Delivery Service #2)

Grace

Grace never got to experience dorm life.

Oh, sure, she went to university and got a fine arts degree she didn't want and had no plans to do anything with, as was expected of a woman of her background. She couldn’t not have a college degree, that would just be shameful.

But she also couldn’t actually have a useful degree, nor did anyone expect her to do anything meaningful with one.

It was a piece of paper meant to remind the lower class that she was superior, that was all.

But when it came to college life itself, she didn't get to experience any of it. She had a private home right off campus paid for and controlled by her parents – with security cameras and everything. Not meant to protect her but only to watch her to make sure she behaved as a proper lady. She was never allowed to go out, have people over, or enjoy freedom. She certainly wasn’t allowed to have roommates.

And while people had been jealous whenever she said as much, she couldn’t help but think that she was actually the one missing out.

Maybe it was just a simple case of the grass always being greener in someone else’s yard, or maybe it was just Grace wanting what her parents would always refuse her, but she’d desperately longed to experience the normal side of college life.

Living on the Humility, she finally got that experience. She had a private privy, though it was small, but everything else was communal. And though the ship was bigger than a house, there were still ten people living on it, so they were constantly walking over each other.

And she loved it! She was surrounded by such fun and interesting people all the time. Knowing that the entire crew was from Rik-Vane did initially make her cautious, but then she actually started to talk to the guys and she felt like a big jerk. They were all so nice!

Trove was a domini male who kept his hair up in a ponytail and flirted outrageously and harmlessly.

She couldn’t help but notice that he didn't have any claws like he should, which made her curious as to why not, but she didn't ask.

It was either an aesthetic choice or a personal one, and if it was a personal one, that didn't seem like the kind of thing she should go poking around in.

But he was super nice and happy to help whenever she had a question.

Then there was Rok. He was a baemoth male like Covor, but that was about where the similarities between them ended.

Rok was much bigger, and he clearly worked out because each of his four arms were like logs, and his thighs were like trees.

He also had teal and black scales all over his body.

If they were considered ugly among his kind, then Rok would be very unattractive.

But from her perspective, he was much nicer on the eyes than Covor.

His nose looked to have been broken a few times, but his smile was wide and kind, and his yellow eyes gleamed brightly.

He also walked hunched over, like he was scared of intimidating her, which was precious. He was absolutely adorable.

Vytln, the lvtl male she saw coming into the Humility before, rarely showed his face, so she didn’t know much about him.

She had also seen a pair of avanava twins wandering around, but they didn't speak much and gave her plenty of room.

But on the rare occasion that they did cross paths, they were polite.

The captain, Tanin, was the s’skree male from the window.

He was calm and commanding, polite and distant.

Personally, Grace wasn’t sure what Garnet saw in him.

He was like talking to a brick wall, never smiling or showing a reaction of any sort, but to each their own she supposed.

At least Tanin was considerate and didn't make her feel unwelcome, though she was very obviously a hanger on that wasn’t even paying her way.

And, of course, there was Garnet and Goldie.

Unlike the guys, those two weren’t from Rik-Vane.

They were twins that the guys had rescued after being abducted from Earth.

Instead of returning home, they opted to just stay and live with them.

Garnet seemed like the team mom, constantly making sure everyone had eaten and that the ship was clean.

Goldie had taken over the medbay and was the medical officer of the ship – which was impressive since, according to them, they hadn’t actually been in space for very long.

The pair were a lot of fun to talk to and hang out with.

Like Grace, they were sponsored to be out in space.

Tanin was their sponsor and, unlike her, their sponsorship was still ongoing.

But since Garnet had mated Tanin, Goldie was the only one left on it.

They had a ton of questions for her, like she was some sort of authority about living out in the Coalition.

Since she had more than a few years on them in that regard, she was happy to give whatever information they needed.

Though it was funny to suddenly be considered the expert in a subject that still sometimes overwhelmed her.

Grace had a lot of questions for them too. About their abduction, what it was like to suddenly be forced to live out in space, what life was like on a spaceship. They got to see so many different stations and planets and colonies – it sounded amazing! She was jealous.

They were headed to a factory colony now.

They had to pick up a shipment of weapons and shields.

It was the first time they used their new subspace crystals, and the girls were excited.

They both had a bad case of subspace sickness thanks to the dying crystals and inadequate shielding.

They also, apparently, used to have to travel leapfrog style since the old crystals didn't allow them to swing for long distances.

The fact that they could now just swing immediately to their next destination made them all thrilled.

They were talking about how many more jobs they could do now, which would translate into more credz, and therefore more upgrades and comforts.

Grace easily got wrapped up in it. Enjoying the fruit of her labor – even if all she did was the administrative work, it was still cool to see.

But, of course, she enjoyed spending time with Sway the most. Trying not to be clingy or overbearing, she’d limit herself to joining him on the bridge to only once a day.

He worked a lot. Doing the complex calculations required for subspace travel was a near constant job.

Most ships would have a least a couple of people to do it, while larger ships would have an entire navigation team.

She didn't want to pester him, but she did want to spend time with him.

Things between them weren’t as easy as before. There was a new tension, a new hesitancy, now. She wasn’t sure she’d call it a bad thing. Just an awareness, a new layer of consciousness, that made things tense but not altogether uncomfortable.

There was a lot about Sway she didn't know. She wanted to ask about everything, but at the same time, she appreciated that he might not want to talk about it. Knowing what she did about his past, it was hard to ask him the usual questions about his life she would in getting to know anyone else. She couldn’t ask about his childhood, his family, his friends.

She did ask about what it was like working on the Humility.

He explained how he’d needed to learn subspace travel almost entirely from scratch.

He knew the basic calculations from experiments with the Master, but that hadn’t been about travel.

Grace was curious what a mad scientist could possibly need subspace calculations for, but she was absolutely sure that she didn't actually want to know.

Just another thing she couldn’t ask. Another layer of tension.

In contrast, she wasn’t shy about talking to him about her life at all. She’d already verbally vomited her family trauma all over him. It couldn’t really get much worse. Actually, it could only get better since she could prove that she was capable of doing more than just trauma dumping.

And, to her surprise, he really listened. Not to say that people ignored her in the past, but whenever she would have casual conversations, they felt casual. Especially in dating. It was a prelude to a relationship, a necessary step that had to be taken that neither party really enjoyed.

But Sway listened . When she talked about her family vacations growing up – which were always luxurious and extravagant – when she talked about her life in school, when she told him about what it was like on Holotulle, he paid attention with the most rapt expression on his face.

Like every word from her mouth was precious and important.

And she knew it wasn’t an act, because he was able to remember it all.

When she talked about her best friend from high school then brought her up again later, he remembered her name and their relationship dynamics and how odd it felt for them.

They were friends because their parents demanded it, not because they really liked each other, but it still formed a sort of comradery – an us against them kind of thing.

Sway listened. He paid attention. He didn’t just mumble a reply and retain half recalled details. It was wonderful and drove any lingering hesitation about him from her mind.

Okay, yes, he kicked in her boss’ chest, but it was in defense of her! And he insisted that he was still a pacifist despite it. She had some reservations about that declaration, but he seemed determined to make it true, and she loved that.

Grace would never demand perfection from someone, but seeing them work on themselves, trying to be better, was always admirable.