Chapter 14 Elana
“That’s most of it. I think the reality show producers chose it as our destination because there were so many rumors and so few details about it. Some say it’s surrounded by toxic gas. Others say it’s cursed. I think the main problem is the asteroids. That makes it hard for most crews to access.”
“But you want us to try?” Rotten smiles.
I can tell this appeals to his inner daredevil.
“I do want to try. But I want us to live to talk about it,” I say.
“Of course, that’s a given. And what do you want to do when we get there?”
“Run a few tests on the dust patterns.”
He grimaces.
“I also want to see what the deal is there in general. Maybe it’s the base of operations for this planet stealing business. I’m wondering if that’s why whoever’s doing this worked so hard to stop The Adventure. Or it could be totally unrelated.”
“But you don’t think that.”
“No. I think they must be connected. But I don’t know how and I don’t know what the ultimate goal is. After we’re done, I want to talk to Mia and get her perspective. And maybe we can find out what happened to Brigitta. Hell, I haven’t heard whether Regina and Harkin made it back alright.”
Rotten frowns when he hears Harkin’s name.
“Anyway, I want to see Orocopa 1 with my own eyes, analyze it with my own equipment.”
“Because you’re a genius and you believe in yourself.” He smiles.
“Well, in this area, I’m pretty awesome. I guess I shouldn’t be afraid to say it.”
“You should say it loud. You may have noticed I’m not afraid of letting the world know about my accomplishments.”
“I had noticed.”
“And I’ve done nothing compared to you. You should be shouting it to the heavens, ‘I’m awesome. Behold my mighty brain.’”
I can’t help laughing.
“Well, me and my mighty brain want to go to Orocopa 1 now. Do you think you can manage a few asteroids?”
“Yes.”
After that, I head to my quarters while Rotten heads off to huddle with Wyn and his lead engineer.
When I arrive, a crew member is waiting to help me hook up my biocomm to the ship’s computer.
The Xanxian woman identifies herself as Koko and smiles at me hopefully when the work is complete.
“Is everything to your liking, miss?”
I check that the connection works and that I can access the data I need before turning to her.
“Yes. It looks good.”
“It’s my pleasure, miss. The captain said that I wasn’t to leave until you had exactly what you wanted. He said I should treat you like a queen.”
“Really? Wow. Okay. Well, thank you. Everything is perfect. You can tell that to the captain.”
“I will! Thank you, miss.”
She scurries to the door and leaves. I stare after her, stunned. Like a queen? What is Rotten up to? I know he said he loves me, and he’s fully embraced his whole pirate schtick. But isn’t this taking it too far? Is he for real?
I think it is. My gut tells me so. I’ve never sensed anything but honesty when he’s spoken about his feelings for me. But who falls in love in a day and treats their mate like literal royalty? And if they do, how long does it last?
I don’t know what it says about me that his overly nice treatment of me sets off all kinds of alarms, but it does. Especially when I think about it in the context of the other shady things he’s done.
Rotten acts impulsively. He doesn’t seem bothered by consequences, and he constantly seeks the next exciting thing. Kind of like me when I’m in my wild woman zone. But he never exits the wild zone. How does he live that way?
I’m feeling more and more sure that he’s not a villain. But if he’s a hero, he’s one with zero attention span. How do you build a life with someone like that? How do you sustain a relationship which can’t always be exciting? Will he tire of me when the next shiny thing comes along?
I’m starting to feel real feelings for him, a real connection.
So much so that it's like I can feel his feelings and hear his thoughts. I’ve heard of the Xanxian mating bond, but that seemed like fairytale stuff.
What if it’s real? Am I ready to bond for life with a man who will lose interest in a minute?
If I wait until after we visit Orocopa 1, will it be too late to get free?