Page 2 of Tempting Cargo

Shivers rippled over my spines, and I took a steadying breath. “Thank you, Paiata.”

The next few hours passed in a focused effort to check cargo plans and plan future trades. Our new route opened up a couple of potential detours, and I scoured the trade listings until my eyes ached—as did my heart.

My brother was better at this task than I, and if there was any justice in the galaxy, he’d have been here with me.

“Entering major shipping lanes now, Captain,”Paiata said.

“Thank the gods for that. My skull is going to implode.”

“I’ll get us locked into a path, and then I’ll get some drinks. Chrya?”

“Of course.”

The massive shipping lanes were slower going, but the superior comm speeds made it worthwhile. I turned on the local chatter channel, listening to other bored traders offering tidbits and catching up with acquaintances, then tuned to the kri’ith channel. If I was lucky, someone would have heard from Saris dai Yakri, and I might get some gossip for Mother.

I curled my claws under the armrests of my chair and dug them in. It was all so damn petty.

My console blipped with multiple incoming messages, the comm network finally using the shipping lane traffic to zip the last few data relays.

I cradled my mug of chrya, scanning the new comms until I groaned aloud. “Do I open Mother’s first or last?” I’d almost forgotten about hers. Almost.

“Get it over with, Cap. What’s she saying?”

It wasn’t a brief message, and as I read it, my face flushed with heat. “For the spines of Kri. She wants us to pick up some j’tzavi glowlights because her neighbour has some.” More and more, instead of sending me lucrative trades, she sent these inane demands.

Paiata drew a protein bar out of his pocket and unwrapped it. “Fascinating.”

“The only place within a reasonable amount of parsecs is the outlet station, isn’t it? And they only sell in bulk. Nobody else will want any. Does she realise it’s not even profitable?”

I’d have suspected she was sabotaging me again, except this time, she just wanted to one-up her rival. Again. We’d have to supplement this trade with something else.

I smoothed a headspine between my thumb and finger. “Maybe I’ll take Gefez up on the adult data slabs after all. We can flip them at Rinta III on the way back to Orith. I’ll present Mother with her unprofitable trade, let her stew and rant, then show her the rest of the profit.” The thought of sharing it withher gnawed at my bones, but I couldn’t be anything other than profitable.

I took another steadying breath. “If she insists on knowing how I made it, I’ll tell her.”

Paiata bit off a chunk of the dry bar and chewed, staring at me until he swallowed. “She’ll hate that.”

Muzati wandered onto the bridge. “What’s that?” She straddled the empty navigator’s seat, her spines caked in grime from whatever crawlspace she’d been contorted into, fixing whichever part of theDorimisahad broken today. “I don’t know who will hate what, but I’m sure I have a lot of thoughts about it. Have I told you about my idea to reroute the emergency propellant? Rather than having it just sit there all the time, we could use its—”

“The captain wants to diversify into porn trading,” Paiata said.

Muzati stopped, gawping. “A bit out of your comfort sector, isn’t it, Captain?”

I shot Paiata a scowl. “Context, Paiata, context.”

Muzati—once I’d apprised her of said context—grinned, her teeth gleaming in the light from the nav panel. “She’ll hate that.”

“Exactly.”

I’d make sure Mother knew it was interspecies porn, too. There was a fine line between rubbing it in and pissing her off, but if I made enough profit to keep her in her stupid lifestyle, she shouldn’t recall me. Especially if I got her some unfashionable garden lights.

CHAPTER TWO

Thirteen humans, one daunting galaxy

Garrison

I NUDGED ELLIEforwards until she stood directly before the giant talking lizard.