Chapter 11
Cyra had barely slept.And what sleep she did get was filled with heated yellow eyes and a muscular gray man who wanted to do wicked things to her body. Despite, or maybe because of the heated, disjointed dreams, sleep appealed much more than the problems of being captain. But if she’d didn’t rise she’d miss saying goodbye to Doc. She dreaded losing him after he’d provided so much support. He’d filled in the role of mentor Auvi had always had in her life, making the loss of her captain easier to process. But once Doc was gone, there would be no safety net. Every decision she made would matter not only to her but to the women who joined her in this inadvisable endeavor.
No credits.
New captain.
Poisonous spiders. And barely enough fuel to get to the delivery planet. The urge to pull the coverlet over her head was strong.
The door chimed.
She sighed and rose. Veda stood in the corridor, her appearance perfect, if Cyra ignored the slope of her shoulders or the sadness in her eyes. “It’s time.”
“Give me five minutes and I’ll meet you on the lower deck.”
Veda nodded and shuffled down the wide corridor alone. Cyra’s heart hurt as much for her friend as herself.
The trip to the outgoing transit dock compressed them among beings who seemed resigned to their fate rather than excited about what the cycle would bring. Cyra’s own party was the worst of all. Too soon, Doc stood outside the shuttle that would take him to retirement paradise.
Veda shook with silent sobs. “I’m going to miss you so much. I won’t know what to do.”
“Yes, you do.” Doc patted the hand he held in his. “It’s time for you to spread your wings, little one. It’s time for me to find some pleasure while I still can.”
Veda sniffed. “I promised myself I wouldn’t cry. I loved spending my days with you, learning from you.”
“And, I loved teaching you. But you’re ready.”
Cyra couldn’t help but feel like Veda’s loss was an echo of her own. At least Veda had the chance to say goodbye to her mentor.
Veda gazed up into the eyes of her mentor. “Will you contact me sometimes?”
“Of course.” Doc gave her a reassuring smile. “You know your mother will still ask me how you are even after I remind her that I am no longer on the ship. I’ve taken care of you for so long, she’ll expect me to continue. And I will, from afar. Captain Cyra is going to be a good captain.” He patted Cyra’s arm but stayed focused on Veda. “You’ll have so many new adventures. It’s your time.” He wrapped his arms around the little bronze woman, his own bronze skin only slightly darker. Veda sobbed into his chest, clinging to him.
Cyra wiped away her own tears.
Veda held onto Doc until the shuttle staff announced the final boarding.
Doc stroked her hair. “Veda, I have to go. I’ll send a comm when I get there. Let me know how the spider delivery goes. And take good care of Dez. He has a rough future in front of him.”
“I will. I promise.” Veda hugged Doc once more and stepped back.
Cyra clutched her friend’s hand and waved to Doc as he disappeared into the cruiser. She wanted to cry and be scared like Veda, but she was the captain now. She had to be strong for her crew and be the person they could rely on. There was no one left for her to cry on. No one left to reassure her that everything would be okay because it wouldn’t be unless she made it so.
Cyra and Veda made it back to the galley despite blurry, tear-filled eyes. Blaize, and Rhysa were in the galley drinking from steaming cups.
Cyra tried to pull herself together. “Hi Rhysa. Didn’t expect you so early.”
“Didn’t have anywhere else to be, Captain.” She paused. “Sadly. Maybe there will be some action where we’re going.”
Being called captain still didn’t feel right. Cyra poked the replicator.
“The provisions haven’t arrived.” Blaize handed her a covered cup. “Rhysa brought buzz.”
“Thank you.” Cyra clutched the biodegradable container, already slightly soft and drank deeply. The warmth was followed by a sense of clarity that she only got from the caffeinated beverage. “Where’s Dez?”
“He came out earlier. Grabbed a protein bar and went back to his quarters. He’s kind of weird about touching. I tried to show him where the bars were stored and he jumped about a foot away from me.” Blaize lifted a shoulder briefly and then drained her cup.
It was weird, but as long as he was handled and still on the ship, Cyra wasn’t going to question his quirks. “So where are we going for first meal?”
Blaize cleared her stuff from the table, went to the recycle bin, and tossed her trash. “I’ll pass. Had a protein bar and I still have a ton of work to do.”
“You sure?” Guilt settled in Cyra’s gut along with the buzz. She’d had no idea how rough the mechanical systems were.
“I’m good.” She flashed a smile and bounded out into the corridor, her red braid bouncing on her back.
Cyra made a note to review everything Blaize had done and to make it a priority to stay on top of any and all systems in the ship. When Captain Auvi was leading—a twinge of loss hit just thinking his name—she followed his lead and let the team do their jobs without much oversight. And while Cyra didn’t want to manage oppressively, she should have an accurate view of what was happening on her ship. Captain Auvi had trusted too easily and too much.
They made the quick trek to the Alexo Diner near the dock. The corrugated metal facade broken up by capsule shaped windows. A variety of beings filled the booths, but the three women were seated quickly in a recently vacated space and served more buzz before they had to ask. After deciding on their meals, they punched their orders into the display embedded in the table.
“While we wait for food, I have your contract.” The last thing Doc had sent Cyra before he left. She forwarded the document to Rhysa’s comm. Cyra bit her tongue to resist babbling to fill the silence at the table. In the background, dishes clanked, and the cook called out orders for pickup. Servers bustled and diners chatted. But a black hole of weight settled on Cyra’s shoulders as she waited for Rhysa to sign off on the terms.
“Where are we headed first?” Rhysa asked after they had ordered and Cyra had transmitted the contract to her.
“We need to deliver our cargo to Morgual.”
“The shit hole at the far end of the Gleise solar system?”
Cyra nodded. “I’ve calculated the EMF rods needed and we can make it in one go without using a wormhole.”
“That’s ridiculous, it will take galactic weeks longer.” Rhysa scowled.
“It will take longer, but not g-weeks. Blaize has already found enough improvements to the engines that we won’t need to use any ER bridges. Besides, I’m not sure what the time impacts might be. I can’t be late on this delivery. As it is, we’ll be cutting it tight.”
“All the more reason to use the bridge. Odds are we’ll end up there sooner.”
“I’m not willing to bet our only source of any income on odds. We can do this fast or we can do it right. For this particular delivery, we have to take the more conservative route.” And for any future deliveries, because crossing bridges was the worst.
“Are you sure Blaize has actually improved the performance of the ship?” Rhysa’s pink eyes bored into Cyra.
“No, but I’m not considering possible improved performance in my calculations. I expect you can find some efficiencies in our navigation as well.” Blaque Poll navigators were supposed to be bad ass. Let her earn her reputation.
“Of course, I will. But I’ll also plan some alternate routes with the available bridges. Just in case things go catastrophic.”
Cyra’d had enough of things going catastrophic, but she couldn’t argue that the probability of more going wrong was zero. She tamped down the churning doubts and attempted to be the confident leader she should be. “I appreciate you taking the possibilities into consideration and respecting my decision.”
“I had to know you had considered all the options.” Rhysa grinned at Cyra.
The server delivered their plates at that moment cutting off any response Cyra might have made. She was tired from the confrontation, but she felt even more confident in her decision. She trusted the ship. She was gaining trust in Blaize. If her plan didn’t work, she was no worse off than if she hadn’t inherited the ship.
“Who are you getting your fuel rods from?” Rhysa asked in between tiny bites of her food.
Cyra swallowed her mouthful seaweed slaw. “Gereth”
“I know him.” Rhysa’s tone held a load of innuendo and she grinned. “I’ll make a visit, chat with him, and confirm he’s not screwing you on price. Did you already reload the food and water?”
“Supposed to be delivered soon.” Another thing to check on.
“I’ll see Gareth after we finish, and I want to check out your nav systems before we take off.”
“Once you have our route plotted, can we review it? Our dust shields take extra energy.” Navigation wasn’t Cyra’s strongest subject, but she knew enough to evaluate the courses Rhysa defined.
“No problem. I’ll make sure to route us around the thickest clouds.”
Rhysa finished up her grains and berries, leaving Cyra and Veda to finish and pay.
Veda wiped her lips with her napkin and took a deep breath.
Cyra braced herself. Her friend had on her serious face and Cyra wasn’t sure if she could manage any more complications before they left the station.
“Cyr, you need to move into the Captain’s quarters.”
“What?” Why would Veda even suggest such a thing? Captain Auvi’s quarters had always been off limits.
“It doesn’t make sense to leave that area of the ship empty. It’s closer to the deck.”
Kind of a lame argument. “Most of the ship will be empty and I’m completely capable of walking.”
“You’re the captain.” Veda crossed her arms and glanced in the direction Rhysa had gone. “You have to take on the trappings of the office.”
“We barely have a crew.” And could she really be a captain if they only had two crew members and hadn’t flown anywhere? “And I don’t want to lord anything over you. You’re my partner. Blaize bought in as a partner too.”
“This trip will be successful. But only if you take the role Captain Auvi trusted you with. You’re not lording, you’re leading. That comes with filling the spaces Auvi left empty.”
Like Cyra’s chest?
A pang of loss ripped through her but she blinked back the tears. Veda was right, she had to fill the role even the parts that made her uncomfortable. “Don’t take offense at Rhysa’s confrontational ways. Smart people should question authority, especially if they don’t know the person.” Cyra gave her a pointed look. “And even if they do.”
Veda dropped her arms and a slight smile on her lips. “I guess so.”
Cyra found Rhysa at the navigation deck hours later. “I didn’t know you were back.”
Rhysa gazed up at her with those oddly pink eyes and a smile bloomed across her lips. “Captain. You’re going to love my news.”
“Yeah?” Cyra braced for whatever Rhysa might say. She didn’t know her navigator well enough yet to trust that she actually would like the news.
“The fuel rods?”
“Uh huh?”
“The invoice will have a fifteen percent discount.” Rhysa fluttered her eyes.
“That’s great.”
“And…we’re getting twice the number of rods delivered. Blaize said The Treasure could hold them. So we have enough fuel to make it there and back.”
Cyra’s chest squeezed. “I don’t have the funds to pay for double the delivery yet.”
Rhysa tilted her head. “You don’t understand. Same total price, minus fifteen percent. Double the rods.”
“How…” Cyra sputtered.
“I took care of his rod. He’s taking care of ours.” Her voice was giddy, and she gave a little shake of her hips.
“But…” No way should one of her crew have exchanged sexual favors for their travel.
“Don’t worry it was truly my pleasure.” Rhysa dragged out the words with a seductive inflection. “And really no different than using your orgasms to launch.” She raised a thin eyebrow. “Right?”
Ow. A perfect punch in the gut. And completely accurate. “Right. But I don’t want you to think you have to do that.”
“I don’t. But what I do have to do is get an upgrade for the nav system. Stat.”
“What’s wrong.” Cyra was getting seasick from the emotional swings of the conversation. Had she really dreamed of being a captain one day? It was nothing like she’d imagined.
“Nothing I can’t work around, but the maps haven’t been updated in forever and the subscription wasn’t renewed. There are so many better options out there. I mean we could renew. What budget do you have for updates?”
“Nothing. We don’t have any budget until we make this delivery. This is essentially an unfunded startup.”
“How would you feel about me covering the updates to the systems? With credits, not booty. I wish, but it’s difficult to suck a dick through a wireless network connection.” Rhysa laughed.
“I won’t be able to pay you back for…I don’t know how long.”
“Can I buy in? Blaize mentioned she’s a partner, and I have some funds. If we want maximum efficiency in the route and smart routing around the dust clouds, I need better tools.”
“I can offer you the same partner contract I offered Blaize.”
“Done.”
“I’ll edit your contract now.” Cyra paused. “Thanks, Rhysa. For the fuel and for…” Cyra blinked back unexpected tears, “…for trusting me enough to invest.”
“Thank you for letting me get in on what I think will be an amazing business. You’ve got an incredible ship.”
Cyra glanced around the bare metal panels and the dated systems. The Treasure was older, but she was a veritable unicorn as one of the few transports that could move a variety of live cargo. If they got the spiders to Morgual, the future was theirs. Big if.
“We need to be ready to launch as soon as the rods arrive.” Cyra told herself as much as Rhysa. “The food and other provisions have already been loaded.”
“Rods should be here shortly. Just enough time for me to download the new software and update the maps. I’ll be ready when you are.”
Cyra wasn’t ready for any of this. But that wasn’t a requirement. The time for overthinking was past. Time to launch, Captain.