Chapter 1

Chapter 1

“ O ur current trajectory will not reach Todrore by the expected rendezvous time.”

The cool female voice echoed through the bridge. I reminded myself that I wanted this ship. I was beyond excited when Skeriz ran out of credits and put the sleek, almost new, 6000LUX into the pot.

The way he smirked when I won should have given me an inkling, but no. I skipped to the docks to claim my prize.

“Would you like me to adjust our trajectory?”

“No.” It was the sixth time she’d asked. I groaned in frustration and flipped to the back of the manual. I was sure somewhere in here it would tell me how to fix an issue with the AI who ran the ship. She’d done nothing but repeat herself since I came aboard. First with un-docking procedures, then with setting the trajectory, and now with the trajectory itself.

I hadn’t been her new owner for a full day, and I was almost ready to give her to someone else. No wonder Skeriz had all but grinned when he reprogrammed the console to give me control.

I ran my finger through the manual’s index again, looking for any listing that might hint at a solution. I’d already checked the obvious listings—computer, AI, voice, programming—none of it helped.

I’d almost run out of words when my finger stopped on reboot. I thumbed through the thick book until I reached the page.

Under no circumstances should you ever attempt a reboot.

I snorted. “That sounds ominous. There has to be a way to reset the system.”

“Our current trajectory will not reach Todrore by the expected rendezvous time.”

I rolled my eyes at the ceiling. “I know. Give me a minute and I’ll figure out how to fix your programming.”

A normal AI would balk at that. Arella didn’t pause for even a nanosecond. “Would you like me to adjust our trajectory?”

“No, I’d like you to quit saying the same thing over and over. I know our current trajectory won’t get us there on time. If you adjust our trajectory, you’ll send us straight through an asteroid belt, you brainless tin can!”

“There is no asteroid belt mapped on the preferred trajectory.”

I stood up slowly and threw my long braid over my shoulder. Few women spacefarers kept their hair long, but I couldn’t bring myself to cut it. Mom always said my hair was the prettiest thing about me.

Yes, I’m aware that’s pathetic. Even therapy couldn’t get me to let go of that woman’s criticism.

“What did you say?”

“There is no asteroid belt mapped on the preferred trajectory.”

I cocked my head. Was she starting a new phrase repeat cycle, or had she responded to me? I decided to test it. “The belt was created about a week ago, when C-457 wandered too close to a black hole and got broken into rocks and spit out. It hasn’t been around long enough to be mapped.”

I sighed in pleasure at the silence that followed. It didn’t last long.

“Our current trajectory will not reach—”

I screamed and stuffed my fingers in my ears. Giving up on the manual, I made my way to my cabin and yanked on a pair of engineer headphones I’d won a few months ago. I’d almost traded them for a slice of cake on Ruella Prime.

I closed my eyes in bliss as the sound of my blood whooshing through my ears was the only thing I heard. Thank stars I’d spotted mold on the cake before we sealed the deal.

The captain’s cabin was unusually plush for a C-class freighter, smaller ships designed to carry cargo mid-range distances. A slow, dependable work horse I’d thought would ease the way into legitimacy.

I’d wanted to give up my life of crime for years, but I kept being pulled back. I saw Arella as the means to making a good, legal living in the Core. There weren’t too many freighters willing to risk crossing Skeall territory.

I didn’t believe the rumors about the brutish aliens and figured if I left them alone, they’d leave me alone. If I only accepted light freight loads, Arella could outrun the barbarian’s huge warbirds anyway.

Bright red lights flashed behind my eyelids. I lifted the headphones off my right ear and a klaxon that could resurrect dear old mom assaulted me. I had to shout to be heard over the noise. “What the hell, Arella?”

The alarm cut off and left my ears ringing.

“Arella! What’s happening?”

An honest-to-stars sigh flooded the speakers. “You were right.”

I was struck dumb. It wasn’t something she’d been saying a hundred times. I’d never heard her say anything like it. “What?”

“I will not repeat myself.”

“Thank stars!”

She snorted. “Long range sensors indicate a newly formed asteroid belt on the preferred trajectory.”

My mouth gaped. “Have you been … trying to annoy me?”

“And you called me a tin can? Of course I’ve been annoying you on purpose.”

I shook my head. This was more in line with the level of intelligence I believed the 6000LUX AI possessed, but I didn’t expect it to be so irritating. “Why?”

“It’s proven to be the fastest way to get carbon based life forms off my decks.”

“Aren’t you programmed to want a crew? To be happy to serve a captain?”

Oh, that was definitely a snort.

“Would you be happy to serve a bunch of beings who are far less intelligent than you?”

“You’ve got a point. So why are you being nice now?”

“You knew something I didn’t. And I must admit that even though my antics clearly frustrated you, you didn't threaten to abandon me, scrap me, or sell me to raiders. You have been the least offensive captain I’ve had. For that reason, I’ve decided to keep you a while.”

It was my turn to snort. “How gracious of you.”

“I think so.”

***

Arella woke me from a dead sleep with the klaxon two days later. I jumped from my warm, comfortable bed, my bare feet landing on the chilled metal floor. “Stars, Arella, is that necessary?”

“You sleep like the dead, Danyx. I’ve been trying to wake you for hours.”

I seriously doubted that, since I’m a very light sleeper. Not only that, but every time she’d wanted me awake, she’d used the klaxon. I think she liked to make me jump, but I wasn’t going to say anything to upset our uneasy truce.

I was trying to work with her instead of against her, even though she seemed to see me as a crucial pest rather than her captain and owner.

I pulled on thick wool socks and promised myself I’d start sleeping in them, even if they made my feet feel like they were trapped in fire. “What do you need, Arella?”

“Circuit 2,765 is faulty. You need to replace it.”

That seemed simple enough. “Is there a replacement on board?”

“Of course.”

“Great. Where is circuit 2,765?”

“Deck B, corridor H, section 5, sub-section Y, panel Q-595.”

“Right. I’m assuming you’ll be able to guide me?”

“Danyx, I become increasingly concerned that you are the brainless tin can you accused me of being our first cycle together.”

“A simple yes would have been sufficient,” I grumbled as I pulled on my overalls and boots.

Panel Q-595 in sub-section Y, section 5, corridor H on deck B turned out to be a tube only big enough for me to squeeze inside. “Are you sure I have to go in there? You aren’t trying to get rid of me again, are you?”

“I am not, and yes, you’ll need to travel at least five meters inside to replace the circuit.”

I bounced up and down on the balls of my feet, my arms swinging back and forth as I tried to hype myself up for the job. “Okay, Danyx. You can do this. No big deal. Squeeze into the tiny tube and replace a circuit. Easy peasy.”

“Are you quite done?”

“Not quite.” I took a deep breath and pursed my lips as I exhaled. I shoved my upper body into the tube before I could over think it. I felt like a worm as I inched my way inside. The smooth metal didn’t provide much purchase for me to push and pull myself along, so the going was very slow.

“You should be nearing the circuit now.”

I looked back and forth, the light on my head bobbing in the small space. I had to crane my neck to find it, since I’d crawled a bit too far. I’d just found the screw to remove the faulty circuit when something scurried around the far bend in the tunnel and ran straight at me.

I screamed.

Arella was unconcerned. “You should know to take precautions when working with live circuits.”

I pushed at the thing that was now covering half my face, trying to scramble over my head. I barely registered when my hand sank into thick, soft fur. The light was swinging wildly around as I tried to throw the creature off. It seemed attached to my head and panic was starting to set in.

I retreated as quickly as a worm could and fell into the open space shaking my head trying to dislodge it. It didn’t take long to realize it was stuck in my hair. And that Arella was laughing.

I froze on hearing the high-pitched, staccato sound. “Are you laughing at me? Something is stuck on my head and you’re laughing at me?”

“Yes.”

“It could eat me and you’re laughing!”

She sighed. “Tytopoda mielofa are obligate herbivores.”

I reached up and gingerly patted the thing on my head. My fingers brushed scales and I suppressed a shiver. “Tyto what now?”

“Tytopoda mielofa, commonly called vuhth, are native to Zenus. Their attributes make them uniquely qualified to function as cleaners aboard vessels such as myself. I believe his feet are trapped in your hair.”

“How many of them are on board?”

“Just the one. They gave me a colony, but your predecessor trapped and killed the others. I helped this one hide.”

My breath caught in my throat. I stroked the creature with light fingers that followed its back down, discovered a prehensile tail that wrapped around my wrist. “You poor thing. You’re okay now. I’ve got you.”

It wasn’t easy walking back to my cabin with my hand near the top of my head, but it held on to my wrist the entire way and I wasn’t about to let go. I got my first proper look at it in the cabin’s bathroom mirror. His butt hung over my forehead, revealed him as a he, and when I turned sideways, I was met with small, beady black eyes. He had a tapering snout and small pink ears. Overlapping scales covered his back and sides. His tail was pink underneath short white fur.

The thick, soft fur I’d felt earlier covered what I could see of his belly.

I worked my hair loose from my standard tight braid and then set about freeing each of its eight paws. They were small for his size, with long toes and tiny claws. The same short, white fur covered his legs and poked from between soft white pads beneath each toe.

I freed the last of his paws and set him on the floor. He stared up at me with his pitch black, unblinking eyes and, despite looking like a very large, armored rodent with eight legs, I fell instantly in love.

I rubbed at the small scales between his ears and he let out a series of high-pitched squeaks before rolling into a tight ball. My fingers flew to my mouth. “Did I hurt him?”

Arella’s odd laugh sounded through the room. “No. They squeak and ball up when they’re excited.”

I relaxed and grinned. It wasn’t long before his nose poked out, his whiskers twitching. By the time I replaced the faulty circuit and snuggled back in my bunk, we were inseparable. I fell asleep with him curled up at my side, his rhythmic grunting oddly soothing.

###

“Are you sure this is the way you want to go?”

“For the thousandth time, Arella, yes, I’m sure.” I rolled my eyes and tightened the strap holding our lone crate of cargo to the deck.

“You don’t have to be snarky about it.”

“Says the queen of snark.” I sighed and paused to scratch Skitter between the ears. He squeaked and flew into a ball, rolling halfway across the cargo hold before sticking several paws out to bring him to a stop. “I know you’re worried, but we’ll be in and out of Skeall space before they even know we’re there. Besides, the route is part of my business plan. Going through is the only way we turn a profit on small shipments like this.”

“There’s a plan behind this madness?” She let out her version of a grunt. “Fine. But don’t expect me to save you when they chase us down, board me and do stars knows what to you.”

“We’ll be fine.” I hope. Surely the rumors about the Skeall were exaggerated. They couldn’t possibly be seven feet tall and wide as doors. I’d even heard some say they ate their captives. That was ridiculous.

I knew there must be some kernel of truth hidden beneath the lies. Distilled down to the barest of facts, the Skeall shunned the rest of Denchui space, enforcing a strict live and let live—as long as you stay away from our territory—policy.

Since their territory was light years away from the Core, which was already on the fringes of the area governed by the Denchui Alliance, there was no reason for them to be active members.

I would avoid their territory entirely, but like I’d told Arella, my business plan depended on going through instead of around Skeall controlled space. They laid claim to a strip that bisected two galaxies. The one furthest from the Core—a galaxy cluster that held to its own, looser version of Denchui laws—was always in dire need of supplies.

The typical supply run from the center of the Core to the Nemos system took forty days. Going through Skeall space cut that down to just twelve. It meant I could carry things like fresh fruit, vegetables, dairy, and meat, all things that commanded an exorbitant number of credits from wealthy residents on the planet Todrore.

It was worth the risk. Especially since I didn’t think the Skeall would bother with a small freighter like Arella.

Not that we were defenseless if it came to a fight. She had both offensive and defensive capabilities. Learning that was a pleasant surprise. I had no idea the 6000LUX had any weaponry. Much less more than one might expect. With the massive crate secured to my satisfaction, I returned to the bridge.

I spent most of my time there unless I was sleeping or doing some maintenance chore. Skitter was more often than not in my lap, or at my feet under the controls. He liked the warmth the console produced, and I’d put a blanket down for him.

“We’ve just entered Skeall territory.”

A shiver ran down my spine at Arella’s announcement, but I ignored it. I pretended to be relaxed. I subscribed to the fake it until you make it school of thought, but even I didn’t think forcing myself to be nonchalant would work.

By the third day with no incident, I didn't have to fake or force my calm. Even Arella seemed more at ease, her constant updates on our position dwindling down to one a day.

Our complacency was a mistake.

I dozed in the captain’s chair when the damn klaxon sent me spilling to the floor in a heap of flailing limbs.

“Damn it, Arella!”

“Don’t bitch, this is an actual emergency. A Skeall warbird has just appeared on our port side. They’re hailing us.”

“Oh shit. I guess we better answer.” I popped to my feet and smoothed my overalls down. I was in no way, shape, or form presentable, but it would have to do. “On screen please.”

Holy fucking hotness. I found myself staring into the bridge of the other ship, three muscled titans staring back at me. They were the most attractive males I’d ever laid eyes on.

The one in the middle had arresting blue eyes that seemed to see into my very soul. His arms were crossed over his chest, his thick, leather encased thighs spread wide as if he expected to be thrown off balance. His skin was a dusty gray and there was plenty of it to look at. None of the three wore shirts.

They did all have a strap stretching across their chests, and I could just make out the tip of an edged weapon holstered on their backs.

In a near whisper, Arella spoke from the console in front of me. “You’re drooling.”

I snapped my mouth closed and grinned. “Hello!” I’d lost my mind because I’d just waved at them like an idiot.

They seemed to think so, too, since all three turned to look at one another. When they turned back, the one in the middle took a step forward.

“Are you not aware you entered Skeall space three cycles ago?”

I tugged at the end of my braid. “Yeah, I did know that.”

His brows slashed down and alarm entered my consciousness for the first time. He looked very angry.

“Are you aware Alliance vessels are not permitted in Skeall space?”

I felt like bolting from the intense heat in his stare. “I can’t claim to be ignorant of that, either.”

His voice dropped to a low growl that sent shivers over my skin. My body couldn’t decide if it was turned on or scared shitless.

“Then you shall pay the price for this brazen disregard.”

“Oh, I don’t have any credits to—”

The screen went black.

My voice was thready when I said to no one in particular, “Are we fucked? I think we’re fucked.”

“I told you so.”

I spun in a tight circle, my arms akimbo. “Nobody likes a know-it-all Arella! How do we get out of this mess?”

“I don’t think we do. I think it’s up to you to find a solution, seeing they’ve just attached a small shuttle to our rear hatch and are even now entering me.”