Ginny

GINNY

K evin is presently in some serious discussions with the chief Habosu. The pair of them mutter in one corner of the disgusting bridge while I attempt not to touch anything.

From the way Kevin's arms are moving, he's either going to lose them to a battle axe or he's going to windmill his way off this ship. He's not winning anything if the look on the Habosu's face is anything to go by.

"If you still want the goods, you'll give her back to the Xnosson," he finally fires at the massive space troll.

"Are you threatening me, human?" the chief returns.

"You want what we have, and I'm the only one who can get it to you, so yes, I'm threatening you," Kevin says.

I genuinely didn't know the man had a backbone.

The Habosu stares at him for a beat longer than necessary. "Get the female off my bridge and back in her cell," he rumbles. "I'll deal with you later." He nearly knocks Kevin over as he turns and stomps back to his chair.

Kevin hurries over to me and takes my arm. I shake him off.

"Just come with me," he growls under his breath.

"Fuck you," I growl back.

"Listen, you little mudlark…" he snarls.

"Yeah? What are you going to do, Kevin ?" I put my hands on my hips, but I'm taken by surprise as he basically rugby tackles me through the doors and out into the disgusting corridor.

Although, given there are no Habosu in it, the air is a little clearer.

"Fucking hell, Kevin, what the fuck?" I stumble back from him, doing my best to both keep my balance (not so easy) and not touch the dirt-streaked walls (also not so easy).

I decide the lesser of two evils is to end up with my back on one wall.

"If you'd let me explain," he huffs, rolling his eyes. "The chief wants to sell you on Trefa, regardless of what your…partner"—he eyes my pregnancy—"offers to get you back. There's a market for everything on that particular planet."

"You'd know, given you've been selling out your fellow humans for, what, a handful of credits?" I walk off down the passage in the direction I was brought here.

"Wait, Gina." Kevin rushes after me. "I was getting credits, it's true, but the Habosu were going to take me to Trefa and sell me off if I didn't continue to sell to them," he says with a wail.

"Yeah, right. Pull the other one—it's got bells on. You were getting paid and paid handsomely for all the contraband you were selling. I don't believe for a second you were scared for your life, or you'd have gone to the authorities."

Kevin colors. "Maybe because there are worse things than being threatened by the Habosu, such as being moved to the penal section?" he says, his voice filled with hope.

I've heard things about the penal section. It's not like we could go without one—a ship filled with millions of humans, and some of them are going to be bad.

"Kevin, I cleaned oxygen scrubbers for a living." I take the same sharp right turn again. "Not much bothers me, and I certainly wouldn't sell out all those others scraping a living on a ship filled with too many souls."

Kevin grabs my arm again. "I know, which is why I want to help you."

"Like you did last time?" I'm unable to shake him off.

"I didn't want you hurt, don't you see? I know what I've done is wrong, but seeing you…like this…I can't go through with their plan," Kevin says, his eyes taking on a brief glimpse of steel.

"I can take care of myself." I finally pull out of his grip. "Asteron will come for me. I know he's coming for me, and I trust him more than I've trusted anyone in my life after my family. That includes you," I retort.

"Gina…"

Before he can make any more wheeling attempts to clear his twisted conscience, the entire ship shudders. Then it tips.

I catch hold of a railing running along the corridor. It's sticky, which would be disgusting, but it means I can grip it, even with the sudden lurch of the ship. Kevin is not so lucky, and as the ship continues to up end, his feet go from under him, arms flailing, he slides down the now vertical passage, screaming as he goes.

I'm struggling to hold on, attempting to get one of my legs hooked into the rail in order not to fall when the ship rights itself, and I land on my arse with a thump.

This can mean only one thing. Asteron is here, and I have to find him.