Chapter 7
“Nothing left,”Cyra repeated for the third time since the credit agency manager had explained the accounts were closed. Her knees weakened, and she sank to a bench outside the facility. Some part of her had assumed Varik was lying until the truth had been confirmed by the very nice, but very useless man. “All those credits. Why did Auvi have Varik’s name on all those accounts?”
Doc grimaced. “He loved Varik once. Maybe still did on some level. They’d both lost faith in each other some time ago. But Auvi hated dealing with the mundane. He brought up changing his property inheritance months ago, and I jumped on changing it because I knew he would procrastinate. I had no idea the credit accounts were held in both their names.” Doc sat next to her and tried to put his arm around her shoulders. She was much taller than Doc, so it was more like around her back, but it was still comforting.
“Varik knew about the accounts but not the change in the plans for The Treasure.” Cyra blinked hard and shook herself as she stood. “We have to get back. He could have been the one who tampered with the spider container. Who knows what else he’s up to?”
Cyra hurried back to the hanger with Doc in tow.
The security staff had the area cordoned off. Cyra held out her arm to allow access to her galactic identification. After scanning her GID chip, they allowed her to enter.
“Veda?” She hollered through the empty vessel. “Veda, where are you?” She moved to the cargo hold.
“I’m here,” Veda said emerging from the lower level. Her confusion was written all over her face. “Why are you screaming and why are you back so soon? I thought you’d be another hour at least.”
“I need to change the authorizations for the ship”s systems immediately. I have to make sure Varik can’t get back on board or into the systems remotely.”
Cyra deleted all of Varik’s authority including several back doors he’d created in multiple subsystems, the sneaky bastard. She finally understood why Captain Auvi made her study so much. She had more knowledge about the ship than most engineers and captains combined. She could run The Treasure from top to bottom—if it was possible to be in multiple places at once.
Crew. Her next hurdle. If she didn’t find at least a skeleton crew that would be willing to work for the promise of payment after they delivered the spiders and Dez, her time as captain would be short-lived. Her stomach soured. Dez had saved Veda and possibly Cassan. He should be treated as a hero but he was still cargo, and she had to honor the contracts to deliver all the goods on the ship. If she could.
She dropped into the captain’s chair and gazed unseeing out at the bleak metal hangar through the unshielded windows on the bridge. She shifted from slumped to alert when a few wayward crew mates entered the hangar. They must not have received Varik’s message. She had to tell them something that would make them stay, but she couldn’t make herself rise to share all her bad news.
Moments later, Doc called from the door to the bridge. “Cyra, the crew is waiting outside the lower deck. You need to speak to them.”
She stood with a sigh. “And tell them what? I have a ship with a partially completed contact and no money to pay them for the work they’ve already done?”
He moved briskly down the corridor. “Why don’t you let me speak to them?”
It might be weak, but she jumped at the chance to hand that conversation to him.
Doc stepped forward and held up his hands. “Listen.”
“Where’s our pay?” someone in the crowd of over fifty called out.
“I can explain everything. You may not like what you hear, but I’ll tell you the truth, unlike what you may have already heard.”
“Varik said?—”
“Captain Auvi was a good captain and kept this ship on an even keel for a very long time. I’ve worked with some of you longer than I can remember. The captain entrusted this ship to Cyra.” Doc gestured back to where Cyra was planted. The crew fidgeted and gave each other knowing looks. “And while Captain Cyra has been on this ship for several galactic years, you may not know her as I do. She’s trustworthy, reliable, and incredibly intelligent. She’s a planner and if anyone can figure out how to keep this ship profitable while taking exceptional care of its crew, it’s her. Auvi invested his time training her to be his replacement. She knows how to run this ship, but she needs you. Auvi gave her his loyalty. If you trusted Auvi, you can trust his judgement now.”
“Trust doesn’t pay my bills,” a voice called from the crowd. Several crew members were already tramping down the corridor.
“Look Doc,” Jarek, the navigator stepped forward. He was burly and had scales covering his shoulders and small curved horns. It made him look more fearsome than he was. “It’s not that we don’t trust Captain Auvi, but we work for a living. Even if we deliver this cargo, the first half of the money is gone. Varik told us it was already spent. It takes fuel, food, and lots of fees to fly this behemoth. We might have enough fuel and food to make the delivery, but what then. There are docking fees on Morgual. And with no contract, how are we supposed to get all the way to Kolben to make the second delivery?”
The remaining crew murmured in agreement.
“We…” Jarek gestured to his coworkers, “have no desire to be stuck on a shit hole planet like Morgual or worse Kolben. I’m sorry, Doc. I don’t care how smart Captain Auvi’s sugar-butt is. I’m not willing to bet my life on her.” He turned, and the few crew who hadn’t already wandered off followed him.
Cyra stared down the empty hallway. The sting of the sexual nickname reverberated through her leaving a stain of self-doubt. Maybe the crew had a point. Maybe she could sell the ship and— No. Auvi gifted her the dream of her lifetime. She’d be damned if she’d cave in before she’d at least tried to make it work.
“What are we going to do?” Veda asked.
“I have no idea.” Cyra crossed her arms. “But I’m not ready to give up. Captain left me this ship. He trained me for years to be the captain eventually. It’s way too soon and I’m not really prepared, but now is when I have to do this. I don’t have the luxury to wait until I’m ready.”
“I can help you to secure a new crew,” Doc offered.
“I don’t have any credits beyond my meager personal account.” Cyra pursed her lips, holding back the small number she’d confirmed earlier.
“Credits aren’t everything.” Doc was almost talking to himself he was so deep in problem solving contemplation. “All we need is a couple professionals who know how to do things.”
“I know enough about how the ship works, I could get by with an engineer and a navigator. At least for the short term. If Veda is willing to take on the duties of monitoring the cargo?” She tilted her head at her friend. It was a huge ask.
“For you, Cyr, yes. For us. Besides, where else am I going to find a ship where I will be the Chief Medical Officer and be working for my best friend?”
“So, I can pay you with a fancy title?”
“Seems like a surer thing then a big raise.” Veda chuckled and nudge Cyra gently.
Speaking of managing the cargo… “Where’s Dez?”
Veda glanced back toward the crew quarters. “I asked him to move out of the cargo bay and into one of the smaller sleeping berths. I was lucky to get him out of the cargo with neither of us getting killed. Until those damn spiders are delivered, I don’t want anyone in there with them.”
“Good call.” Doc smiled his approval at his protégé.
“Great. Now, how are we going to get The Treasure to Morgual to deliver the damn things?” Cyra brushed her hair back from her gills, wishing she could hide in the wet room. An extended swim called to her, but she couldn’t avoid her problems. She was the captain.
“We should split up and hit the favorite gathering spots of the space crews. See if we can talk some of them into coming back, one on one, and if not, ask around for good and available engineers and navigators,” Doc replied.
“Is it safe to leave the spiders?” Veda asked, betraying the fact that she was not looking forward to having to network with drunken sailors.
“I don’t want to do this anymore than you. Probably less in fact.” Cyra hugged her best friend, seeking courage more than giving any. “But you’re right. Varik could do anything while we’re gone.
“I can remain on the ship and provide security.” Dez’s voice startled Cyra, and she spun to find him lingering in the shadows of the intersection of corridors.
It was a terrible idea. And perfect. She shouldn’t. Veda and Doc’s gazes were locked on her, drowning her in expectation. Veda shifted her eyes in Dez’s direction with a lift of her eyebrows.
Cyra sighed. She was terrible at this captain stuff. “If you’re sure.”
“It would be my honor to help you.”
His honor? “Thank you. Doc, can you get him a comms unit so he can call if anything happens?” She shifted her focus back to the attractive male that should be in a cargo hold and not in her awareness at all. “Don’t be a hero. I mean, you’ve already saved us once, but don’t put yourself at risk. If there’s a problem, contact the dock security and then call me.”
“Yes, Captain.”
There it was again, that fluttery feeling but this time between her legs. Time to get some distance. “I’ll let the station master know we’re leaving Dez on the ship to monitor. Meet you at security.”
Veda and Doc appeared as Cyra left the skeptical official’s office. Having already had a bio-hazard emergency, the man was anxious to get The Treasure away from Cassan. The good news was he’d agreed to extend her credit so she could leave. But only if she left in the next three cycles.
No crew. No credits. And no other options.
Cyra pinned her dark green hair up, making sure it still covered her gills. “We need a plan.”
“You and Veda should park yourselves at the Rusty Bucket.” Doc pointed down a crowded corridor where every other door was a bar. “Varik’s banned from there after our last stop over. I’m going to roam some lesser-known transport haunts and listen for any gossip. I may be able to find someone to send to you for approval.”
“We just need two, an engineer and a navigator,” Cyra repeated, as if that made the task easier.
“I’ve got a few cycles before I have to get on my shuttle. I’m sure we can find a few crew members by then.” Doc’s reassuring smile said more about how difficult this task would be than if he hadn’t tried to convince her. Too bad they didn’t have more than a few cycles. Doc patted her arm. “No time to waste.”
“It’s going to work. You’ll see, Cyr. Everyone loves, Doc. He’ll find the crew we need.” Veda tugged her forward.
The dive bar was packed with flight crews—a menagerie of different humanoid species from all the various solar systems that relied on Cassan as a travel waypoint. Wall-panels aged with a faux-rust patina gave the place its name. Although it was difficult to tell exactly what color they were in the sparsely lit space. The long bar was made to look like concrete. Probably some plastic polymer. Cyra only saw concrete in use on planets, not in the station. Veda tugged her past the packed bar seating and through the tall tables.
Cyra didn’t bother to try to be inconspicuous as she moved through the crowd. It would be helpful if her whereabouts were known just in case someone actually wanted to contact to her about a job.
The service at the Bucket was marginal, but she wasn’t there to drink. They found an empty table at the back. Maybe they would find a crew quickly and they could both go back to the comfort of The Treasure. Cyra didn’t bother to make conversation. There was nothing to say—either found a crew or they didn’t. And they knew better than to discuss their concerns with so many ears tuned for gossip. It was better to remain silent and let others wonder about them. Maybe Doc would get lucky. She hoped so, because at this point, luck was all she had and it hadn’t been on her side so far.