Chapter 9

Tinsley was standing on the empty bridge of her ship. It felt a little surreal for her to be alone after all the drama of the past two days. How quickly life changes, she thought.

She’d been informed it could take days for the repairs to her ship to be completed. She felt more alive than she had before, in part because of the chase and firefight. But she knew even more than that, the proximity of a certain hot Lorr warrior was the predominant reason for the changes happening within her.

Their inability to make progress in the mission made her feel powerless. She knew that every moment they lost, the risk became greater of something devastating happening to Maraliza. She thought of her regret at not being able to prevent her own sister’s death, and she was determined not to let that happen again.

An idea came to her suddenly.

“Jeeves, call my father please. Lorenzo Adams,” she said.

Within moments, a holographic image of her father appeared before her. “Tinsley, my darling, how are you?”

Tinsley spent a few minutes giving her dad a slightly edited version of the recent events in her life. When she told him about Dante’s missing sister, he was as furious and upset as she had been.

“I’m proud of you, my jaanu girl,” he said when she’d finished, using the Hindi word for “my life,” which he had called her since she was a kid. “If I can do anything to help, you let me know.”

“Well, actually, pitaji…” When she wanted something, she used Hindi terms of endearment, a fact he knew.

“Uh, oh—am I going to regret making that offer? What do you need?”

“No, no, I don’t think you’ll regret it.” She paused, knowing it was a big ask. “Could I borrow the Thunder Bolt?”

“My new toy?” Tinsley’s dad looked a bit crestfallen on the monitor, and she felt guilty. Still, she didn’t back down. “The Thunder Bolt is my third favorite child, after you and your brother.”

“I know, Papa. And I would treat your ship like my own child. My ship came across some technical problems, and I just need something for a short while that’s fast, so we can rescue my… friend’s sister.” She felt odd calling Dante a friend since he felt like one of the most important people in her life already. “We need something fast, and the Thunder Bolt certainly fits the bill. Plus, it’s got great cloaking, which would keep us safe.”

“Okay, shahad.” The Hindi word for honey. “But you’ve got to look after it,” he agreed with a sigh. “I’ll bring it over myself if you send me your location. I’ll get to give my little girl a hug before she goes risking her life for a noble cause.”

“Thank you, Daddy. You’re amazing.” Tinsley let out a breath that she hadn’t realized she’d been holding in.

Now all she had to do was let Dante know he’d be meeting her dad this afternoon once he got back from the space station.

The Thunder Bolt was a replica of one of the first spaceships from Earth. Her dad was a history buff, and when the limited-edition Thunder Bolt came out, he was one of the first to have his name down for one. He loved that rocket ship. Although he’d said it was his third favorite child, Tinsley knew she wouldn’t have to do much for the ship to ascend to first place.

Just then, Dante came back. He was alone while Bran was still off chasing parts.

“No luck.” He threw himself into the captain’s chair. “It’s because it’s a substation, not the genuine article. They don’t stock the parts here. I can’t believe we’re going to be marooned here for days while those bastards escape with my sister!”

“Actually, Dante, I’ve got a bit of a surprise coming,” said Tinsley, not able to hide her pleased expression.

Dante looked at her sideways. “What kind of surprise?”

“My father’s flying here as we speak with a super-fast ship for us to use. He should be here within a flick.”

“Tinsley, you’re amazing.” He beamed. “I’ll call the crew back right away.”

“Actually, it’s a two-seater. It’ll carry more people in an emergency, but its design is based on one of the early Terran space rockets. I think they wanted to keep it as original as possible. It’s even got the original Zero-G Control they used to have to save power when they were on long journeys.”

“So, just the two of us then?” Dante grinned wolfishly. “Will the ship be up to the task of chasing after pirates?”

“That’s the beauty of it! They’ve kept a lot of the original design, but it’s completely modernized. So it’s a fast and viable machine now. The originals went out of commission for a reason.” She laughed.

“That’s true. Terrans were… behind for a little while.” Tinsley could tell he was holding back, especially because he couldn’t withhold his scoffing snort.

“Hey! Every planet’s technology starts out humbly.” She strode over and mock-punched him.

He grabbed her into a rough embrace, but they hopped apart once Dru walked onto the bridge. “Don’t mind me,” Dru said. “Just doing some repair work here.”

They both laughed self-consciously. Tinsley could feel her cheeks burning red hot.

“Come on. Let’s get a coffee,” said Dante, shrugging it off.

She suddenly grew fearful. Dru was so nonchalant, maybe this was typical behavior for the captain. He was royalty, after all, not to mention hot as hell. Was she just his latest plaything? She hoped fervently that she meant more to him than that. She told herself she’d be fine with it if she was just one of many, but the thought of it sent a shard straight to her heart.

She wondered what her father would think of the being who had inspired such strong feelings in such a short time. That would help her get perspective on whether it was real or not.

Just then, her comm buzzed.

“We have company, captain,” she said to Dante with a nervous smile.

“Does this mean I get to meet your dad?” Dante asked enthusiastically. It sent a wave of relief over Tinsley, at least for now. Maybe she wasn’t just another conquest.

She spoke into the comm. “Come in, Dad. Just unlocked the doors.”

Tinsley’s dad had taken just over a flick to arrive at the space substation. He made impressive timing considering how far he had come.

“Hello, sweetheart!” he said with a huge bear hug. “And this is…”

“Daddy, this is Dante. Dante, this is my father, Lorenzo.” She introduced them shyly.

The two men shook hands. Dante towered over her father, but Lorenzo didn’t seem at all intimidated by the huge Lorr warrior.

“Tinsley told me about your sister. I’m so sorry you’re going through that. I know the pain you’re going through, and I wouldn’t wish it upon anyone. Well, maybe on the scum who took her.”

“Thank you, sir. I can’t tell you how grateful I am for you to volunteer the use of your ship,” Dante said, and Lorenzo flashed an amused look at Tinsley.

It had broken her dad when her sister was killed. He was better now, but he still carried a lot of sadness. And rage.

“You look after my little girl,” he said. “She means more to me than all the stars in the universe. If I thought for a moment I could stop her going off on this mission, I would. But I know her too well. She’s stubborn when she wants to be, often to help others, like now. So please, look after her.”

“I will, Mr. Adams. I promise.” Dante made a fist and thumped his chest while looking Lorenzo straight in the eye. “She’s special. I recognize that. I’ll get her home safely.”

The sincerity of his promise surprised Tinsley. It made her feel a sense of pride for both of the men who stood before her.

“I love you, Daddy,” she said, throwing her arms around him.

“I love you, too, honey. I love you, too. You take care of yourself. You hear me?”

“Yes, of course.”

“Now go get this Lorr’s sister back!”

He handed her the keys. The machine even has a set of metal keys, Tinsley thought. How retro can you get?

The Thunder Bolt was a work of art. It was painted white and had yellow lightning bolts painted down the side. It even had the original NASA logo painted on the wing. She couldn’t believe she was actually going to get to fly it.

The cockpit held two seats, and the panel had an array of flashing lights and buttons. She figured most of them were probably for display and possibly obsolete. She sat down in the pilot’s seat and familiarized herself with the controls.

“I think you’ll find that’s my seat,” said Dante when he entered the cockpit.

“I think not.” She didn’t have the slightest intention of moving.

“I’m captain,” he said indignantly.

Tinsley almost laughed. “No, I think you’ll find that’s me.” She grinned impishly at him. “Besides you crashed the last ship I let you drive. I don’t want you to trash another one.”

“Let me drive?” Dante said with fake shock in his voice. “I’m pretty sure you were begging me to fly your ship!”

“Anyway, you were too slow. I’m at the controls. Now sit down. I want to take off.”

He glared at her. But ultimately, he took the copilot seat.