4. Sylas

FOUR

Shit.I pinched the bridge of my nose between my thumb and forefinger. Nothing was going the way I'd planned. How did everything get so colossally screwed up?

Aurelia Callisto. On my ship. Serving in my crew.

How could I not recognize a name like that?

She was young. Too young to be serving as an officer. I'd asked for the best of the best, had handpicked everyone who would serve under me. And yet… How had I missed this? The manifest of officers hadn't been updated, or I would have noticed last week.

Her father was the most famous pilot of the last century. He'd gone missing during his last voyage, and the federation had renamed their flight school after him. The flight school that his daughter had just graduated from.

That was the first thing I'd noticed. Not how beautiful she was, or how young she was, or—fuck—the way her eyes twinkled like gemstones. Because noticing any of those things was wrong. I was her captain. She was a part of my crew. Then there was the fact that she was ten years my junior.

For so many reasons, I needed to get her face out of my mind. Off-limits. She was not for me. Besides, she shouldn't have even been here, so why was I still thinking about her? She was a temptation I couldn't afford to have around.

A snort came from behind me and I whirled, finding my sister standing there with a disapproving look on her face.

"What?" I narrowed my eyes at my younger sister, who plopped onto the seat across from me, resting her heels on my desk. "You're supposed to be on the bridge." Never mind that the mission hadn't actually started yet. We'd have to adjust to one of us always being there soon enough.

"You were a bit of an asshole."

"I'm the Captain, Ky. If they can't handle it, they shouldn't be here."

"Still." Kayle inspected her nails, like she wasn't giving me the time of day. "Probably could have been a little nicer to her."

I looked at my sister, frustration leaking into my tone. "She doesn't belong here. This girl's barely even gotten her feet wet, and I'm supposed to trust her to pilot this ship?"

My sister shrugged. "Look. Rist obviously picked her for a reason. I know you wanted Vitto, that you two go way back from college, but you're going to have to make the best of it for now. It's a little late to get a replacement."

"We can just delay by a day or two. I'm sure if we contact the UGSF, they'll?—"

"Sylas." Her voice was quiet. Subdued. I hated when she used that tone on me, all gentle. Like she was about to tell me something she knew I didn't want to hear. I knew my sister well enough to know all of her moods, and whatever she was about to say definitely would not make me happy.

"What?" I crossed my arms over my chest, feeling every bit the grumpy asshole people liked to claim I was. Maybe they were right. Maybe I was becoming a grumpy old man.

"I know you want everything to be perfect, but…" Kayle shook her head. "I think you should just ride it out. See how she does before you judge her? Besides, I don't think the higher ups will be too pleased if we delay setting out just because you don't like her." Her face said please don't fuck this up for both of us.

"It's not that I don't like her."

"What is it then?"

I clenched my jaw. How did I explain my apprehension? That I didn't like not being in control? She was my sister—she knew me better than anyone. After thirty-plus years together, I was confident that she'd always have my back. "Look. You know who her father is."

"So, you're accusing her of what… nepotism? Because her dad was a famous pilot, she must have only got this job because of him?"

I scowled. Maybe. But I kept my jaw shut, shaking my head slightly. "I don't know." I thrust my fingers into my hair. "Everything needs to be perfect. I need this mission to go well."

"So don't let this ruin your chance just because you're worried about one person. The rest of the crew will help her assimilate. You remember your first commission, don't you?"

"Unfortunately." My first assignment had been a colossal mess. And not just because I was an inexperienced crew member. But because my captain had it out for me, and he hadn't let me slack off for one minute. We all hated him.

Was I doing the same thing now? I closed my eyes, exhaling deeply. I needed a drink.

No matter what she said, I needed to figure out how to get a new pilot aboard—ASAP.

"There's our captain,"Wren said, slapping a hand on my back and steering me towards the open couch in the officer's lounge. Thankfully, it was just the guys and me here, saving me from another lecture from my first officer. Even if she was younger than me, my sister really knew how to dole it out.

We'd all gone way back, both from college and our time serving in the UGSF together. I'd served on other starships with each one of them over the years as well, though never in a position where I was in charge of them.

Leo held up a glass with amber liquid in it. "Care for a drink?"

"Yes," I muttered, going over to the bar and fixing myself one. It was quickly tossed back, and I poured another few fingers before settling onto the couch.

"Rough day, Sylas?" Orion asked in that polished British accent, running his finger around the rim of his glass. "Is the stress getting to you already?"

Exhaling through my nose, I shook my head. "You all witnessed that colossal shit-show earlier." I'd already gotten this from Kayle—did I really need it from them, too?

A smirk spread over Leo's face. Handsome bastard could get any girl he wanted in college just from that one look. "And what a show it was." He crossed his knees, resting the arm holding his glass on top. "You really have no clue how to talk to women, do you?"

Another scowl formed on my face.

"Careful, or that'll turn permanent," Leo snickered.

Wren chuckled from my side. "I think it already is."

Ignoring both of them, I stared into my glass. "Was it that bad?"

Orion frowned. "I heard she was crying afterwards."

My heart stuttered, but I forced my face to remain passive. "What?" Further evidence that she shouldn't be here. If she couldn't toughen up, she needed to get out. Except… why did hearing that she'd cried make me feel bad? I wasn't supposed to feel sorry for her.

"Listen, Cap. Did you ever think that maybe that girl had worked her whole life to be here, and you were kinda raining on her parade?" Wren interjected, and I had to take a moment to think about it.

"No." I was going to need a third drink if these assholes kept on berating me about this. Because I hadn't thought about that. I'd assumed she was just handed the position on a silver platter.

Except, she'd mentioned she graduated at the top of her class, hadn't she?

Don't go down that line of thinking, Sylas. I scolded myself. No good could come from it.

"Can't we talk about anything else?" I market out. "We're leaving for a five-year mission tomorrow, and the last thing I want to do is talk about work all night."

Never mind that work was about to be a twenty-four seven thing around here. Even when we were off, we still had responsibilities. A trip to the gym could be interrupted at a moment's notice if something went wrong. That was one joy of being in charge.

With such a state-of-the-art ship, and it being her maiden voyage, I hoped we wouldn't experience too many issues.

"Anyone have anything new to share?" Leo joked. "You know, besides the mission we're currently on?"

Wren settled back in his chair. "No news to report. But the new digs are great, man. You really outdid yourself getting us all assigned to this ship." He looked at me, curling his tattooed hands around his glass.

"You're telling me." I snorted.

I'd been gunning for this post from the day it was announced, making my interest in Captaining her known from the beginning. After serving as First Officer onboard another vessel for the last few years, it made logical sense that I would have my own command, and I'd more than proved myself.

Now, she was all mine. My ship, my crew, my voyage. The brand new captain's chair was ready to perfectly mold itself to my body. Because I was the only person who'd ever sat in it. I planned to keep it that way, too.

Orion nodded his head in agreement. "This entire space is spectacular. And the rec floor?" He flexed his arm muscles, the dark skin rippling with the motion, like any of us needed a reminder of how tightly toned he kept his body. "Damn. You're going to have to pull me away from those machines."

I'd spent most of my first day in there. At first, I'd wanted to break it in—work off the excess energy, sweat out the nerves—but after that, I'd fallen in love with the gym. It even had a pool connected to it, complete with a sauna to relax sore muscles. We all had to stay in tip-top shape, especially while we were on a mission.

I could already foresee a lot of nights spent swimming laps after a long shift on the bridge—and working off Chef Gregori's meals.

"Wait until you taste the food. They got one of the best chefs on the planet to agree to come on board."

Leo looked excited. "Really?" The man loved food. "How'd they manage that?"

"Apparently, it only took a little bribery. He brought his whole family with him. Plus, the promise of fresh ingredients via the greenhouse only sweetened the deal."

Though civilians used to be forbidden on starship voyages, with a mission like this, it made sense. They'd set up a school for the children and teenagers, as well as a daycare service so crew members could work and know their children would be taken care of. Since none of us had to pay for room or board, it was a pretty good deal. Especially considering how expensive housing was getting back on Earth.

"Mmm." My Chief Engineer's eyes flew shut. "I can already taste it now."

"You're hopeless," Orion muttered, giving him a sidelong glance.

"And starving," Leo confirmed, patting his flat stomach.

Wren pulled up the schedule on his communicator. "Don't worry, I think you're saved. Dinner's only a few hours away."

The small devices we all carried were the modern version of cellphones, the antiquated pieces of technology that only lived in history museums now. Communication systems had come a long way in the last thousand years. Plus, there was a chat function on them that allowed us to ping other crew members with important messages.

"Great. You all introduce yourself to the Chef, and I'll go get the rest of this paperwork done so we can leave on time tomorrow."

After we pulled out of dock at the space station, we'd have to travel at near-light speeds for over a month before we'd reach our intended star system, farther into space than any human had ever traveled before.

The guys frowned at me as I stood up off the couch. "You're leaving already?"

I grunted. "I have to see if there's anyone else they can send."

"And if not? We're supposed to leave the station tomorrow."

"Then one of the assistant Pilots can fill in."

Leo frowned. "Seriously, man?"

"Look, I can't work with her. I just…" I grit my teeth. I couldn't tell them I couldn't work with my pilot because she was too pretty. They'd all think I'd gone mental. "This mission is more important than her feelings. If she's upset, she can pack her stuff up and go while she has a chance."

Five years. We'd be spending five years together. Five long years with the daughter of Samuel Callisto.

Five years with the ultimate temptation.

Relationships with the other officers were strictly forbidden. I rubbed a hand over my face, cursing internally. Get it together, or your entire crew is going to watch you fall apart.

"See you in the mess hall," I finally said, grabbing another scotch for the road.

I got a ding on my communicator from Kayle.

Her file. Thought you might like to look at the girl you've dismissed without even giving her a chance.

Fuck, she wouldn't let this go, would she? I clicked on the data file, figuring it couldn't hurt to know exactly what my head pilot had been up to the last few years.