Chapter 41 Lacy
Lacy
“That’s stupid!” Burn broke into my explanation of how cargo hauling on Yarty worked. Small planet, known mostly for their beers, they had very specific requirements before they allowed you to take on any of their precious beers as cargo.
“Yeah, it is,” I agreed. “But they make the beers, they make the rules.”
We were sitting in the mess going over the unspoken rules of interplanetary cargo. The reason Burn had agreed to let me back onboard Fortuna. She was proving to be a good student who took meticulous notes on her tablet, but every once in a while, the more arbitrary rules confounded her.
She stared at me wide-eyed. “But . . .” She stopped, started again. “How do people get things done?”
I shrugged. “I honestly have no idea. Magic?” It was as good a reason as any.
She leaned over her tablet, making notes of this latest crazy custom.
I watched her with a half-smile. There really was no method to my madness when it came to sharing my knowledge. Sometimes I stared at a map and let planet names tickle my memory. Other times, Burn or Dax asked about a specific planet.
They seemed almost disappointed when I had to remind them that I hadn’t been everywhere. That was when I pulled out some of the more outrageous customs.
I wasn’t the world’s best teacher—I liked engines better than people, so I could never do this for a living—but I was having a lot more fun than I imagined.
Plus, it kept my mind off my sister. And the upcoming rescue. And the new crew members who would be joining us.
Oh yeah, and yesterday’s sexy times with Dax.
I definitely needed the distraction.
“Maybe it’s some religious angle. Or the reason could be lost to time. It doesn’t matter why. What matters is not doing it will unravel any deal on Yarty and probably cost you any goodwill you may have built up. It’s rude,” I repeated.
“It’s stupid,” Burn echoed.
“Okay, fine. It’s a dumb superstition, but it’s the way it works. I’m sure your planet has customs that seem backward.”
“That’s because they are,” Burn muttered and shoved away from the table to start pacing.
Her reaction reminded me how little I knew about her. She was an adrenaline junkie. She’d been in the space corps. But I knew nothing about where she came from. Her reluctance to discuss it told me there was a story there. Same as me.
When Burn rounded the room and passed in front of me, I caught the look of distress on her face. Crap. I hadn’t meant to cause her pain. “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have pried.” I turned my attention back to my coffee.
Burn made another circuit of the room then dropped into the chair opposite me with a thunk. “You’ve probably never even heard of my planet,” she said, “which is completely fine, because it sucks.”
I put down my cup and focused on her. I wasn’t going to interrupt.
She took a breath and started picking at her nails. I’d never seen her express anything but extreme confidence or righteous anger. To see her obviously bothered . . . Whatever she had to say, it wasn’t going to be pretty.
“I grew up on Octavius Prime.” She paused, waiting to see if I recognized the name.
I shook my head.
“It’s a planet filled with misogynistic, small-minded people. Where the men are men and the women are . . .” Her words trailed off and she redoubled her efforts on her poor cuticles.
I covered her hands with mine. She tensed, then the muscles under my palm loosened and the picking stopped.
“Women are baby makers and food preparers and that’s pretty much it. No education, no other skills. From the cradle, they’re taught to aim for the best men—the wealthiest and the oldest—and to treat other women like competition.”
“That’s awful!” I blurted, then realized how it might make Burn feel. “Sorry.”
She gave me a grim smile, her eyes haunted. “No, you’re right. It’s awful.” Her hand curled up to grip mine. “The fact that you want to go after your sister? That’s awe-inspiring to me.”
“She’s my sister.” I didn’t understand why that would inspire awe.
“You love her, right?”
I nodded.
She pulled her hands free and rolled up one sleeve.
Her hand traced over a long scar. “My sister gave me this because I refused to marry Old Man Weather. It was my ‘duty’ as the oldest daughter,” she said robotically.
“I ran away and she was forced to marry him in my place. Instead of his son.” She rolled down her sleeve and pushed her shirt up to reveal another scar on her stomach.
“When they caught me and brought me back, she tried to kill me.”
“Your sister did that?” Horror coated my voice. Layla and I had our moments—some of our more violent fights had involved throwing things—but we’d never intentionally tried to harm each other.
“With our mother’s favorite carving knife.” Tightly leashed pain was barely discernible in her tone.
I squeezed her hand. “That’s awful. I’m so, so sorry.”
She gave me a bleak smile. “I’m not. It was the final push I needed to leave that godforsaken place.”
“How?”
“I learned from my first escape. I was sneaky, careful. And I knew my timing had to be perfect.” She laughed bitterly and I glimpsed the deep well of pain and suffering that Burn kept hidden. “I smuggled myself out on a supply ship.”
I waited for her to say more. When she didn’t, I ventured one more question. “How did you get into the space corps?”
“There weren’t a lot of job opportunities for a woman with no education and no idea how the world worked. But I was strong and willing and they promised me hot meals and a place to sleep.”
“I’m glad you’re safe now.”
“And I’m glad you’ve shown me that sisters can fight for each other, not just with each other.” She gave me a tight-lipped smile and pulled her hand away.
I’d always fight for my sister. I couldn’t imagine it any other way.
A tiny voice inside added that I’d fight for Dax now.
“Anyone else need coffee?” Dax’s arrival broke the silence between us. I was grateful, because I had no idea what to say or how to offer comfort. Or if Burn would even accept it.
Both of us murmured no.
“What’s going on?” Dax asked, having picked up on the tension. “We’re not kicking her off the ship yet, Burn.”
Burn laughed, but I caught the edge to Dax’s voice. Like he would fight to keep me onboard.
I tried not to read anything into that and did my best to ignore the rush of warmth that came with the thought of staying here. Staying with him.
“It’s fine, Dax,” Burn said, her gaze holding mine. “I was just asking Lacy how she ended up a mechanic and her sister became an archaeologist.”
Since I wasn’t sure exactly what each of them knew, I started at the beginning.
“We grew up on a ship.” I wasn’t sure if Burn knew that or not.
When she nodded, I continued. “There’s not a lot to do when you’re in space.
I was fascinated by the engines, so I spent a lot of time there.
My sister spent a lot of time in books. And on the rare occasions we had time to explore the planets or the stations, she was always in the museums or libraries. She still is,” I added with a smile.
“It doesn’t sound like you and your sister are much alike,” Burn commented.
I shrugged. “We’re close anyway.” There wasn’t a lot I could add to that without revealing more about our family than I liked. Though I wanted to know more about Burn’s family, I didn’t want to poke at that wound again, so I looked at Dax. “What about you? Any siblings?”
He settled in at the table with smile, his lips quirking. “Three of each. I’m smack dab in the middle.”
My mouth dropped open. “Spacer?” There were spacer clans who had big families to help with the upkeep of their ships. Keeping it all in the family.
“Naw,” he said. “Horny parents.”
My face flamed and Dax laughed at me. Burn just shook her head. I guess she already knew this.
“I can’t imagine having such a big family,” Burn said. Was that a hint of wistfulness in her voice?
“It was just me and my sister and my parents, until my mom died,” I said.
“But growing up on the ship was like having one big extended family. Except the crew members were more like aunts and uncles than siblings.” I wouldn’t say the crew of Eternal Nocturne had been one happy family—except when it came to me and Layla.
The crew hadn’t coddled us, but they’d protected and taught us and somedays I missed them almost as much as I missed my sister and dad.
“Did you have other kids to play with?” Burn asked.
I shook my head. “My dad always said it wasn’t a great environment for kids. My sister and I were the only exception.”
Dax studied me over the rim of his coffee cup, his gaze intense.
I swallowed. Why was he looking at me that way? I reviewed the conversation and realized I may have said too much. Why would Layla and I be the only kids allowed onboard? Only someone high up would have the authority to make that call.
“Where did you grow up?” I asked Dax, both to get his attention off me and because I was curious about the man I’d practically slept with.
“Mandarina,” he said.
I rifled through my mental files. “Hybrid economy, tech and agriculture, but ag is the biggest export.”
He nodded. “You’ve been?”
“Not on planet. Maybe the spaceport.” We’d visited a lot of places growing up and I didn’t remember them all. If I’d been planetside, would I have met Dax? Remembered him? I thought about his kisses. Our time in the gym. Yeah, he was definitely memorable. A rush of heat colored my cheeks.
“Now I understand what you meant, Dax, when you said it was awkward walking in on your parents with their googly eyes,” Burn said conversationally. “I’m going to go.” She set her mug down, then started to stand.
“Wait, Burn. Tell her the rest, Lacy.” He leaned back in his chair, his legs extended beneath the table, bracketing mine. Was he asking me to share about yesterday? My face flamed in mortification. What the h—
“About your sister,” he clarified.
“What?” I tried to keep up, but I didn’t understand what he was asking.
“About why she’s so interested in archaeology and history.”
“Oh.” I paused, searching his face. “Are you sure?”
He nodded.
Burn dropped back into her seat, her voice tight when she asked, “What are you talking about, Dax?”
“We said no more secrets. So tell Burn about Layla or I will.”
I glanced at Burn, unsurprised to see a hint of distrust returning to her questioning gaze.
“When we were kids, my sister thought she saw the Queen of Stars. She’s been searching for it ever since.”
I was ready for the questions. The excitement. The accusations. What I hadn’t expected was the blank look on Burn’s face. “The what?”
“The Queen of Stars. The missing treaty ship.”
“The fairy tale ship,” Dax chimed in so helpfully.
Burn shook her head. “Sorry. I have no idea what you’re talking about. If they didn’t teach it in the military’s remedial classes, I didn’t learn it.” She leaned back in her chair, arms crossed defiantly.
I remembered what she said about the lack of education for women on her home planet and my heart ached for the little girl she’d been.
Instead of making her feel bad about her lack of knowledge, I quickly told her the story. Dax chimed in, repeating his belief that it had never existed.
“So it’s full of treasure?” Burn asked, a gleam of interest in her eye.
“No one knows for sure,” I admitted. “It’s more likely to be ore, maybe other supplies for building. Or maybe it doesn’t exist,” I added, shooting Dax a sharp look. “Regardless, my sister has spent her adult life looking for it and I think that’s why she was taken.”
Burn leaned forward, utterly engaged in the story. “Because she found it?”
“I don’t think so.” Based on everything I’d read in her files, I didn’t think she had the location yet. “But someone might think she did. Or is about to.” My money was on the second option. “She’d agreed to meet with someone from a history forum who said they had new information.”
“So we’re going treasure hunting?” Burn’s excitement bled into her words.
She leaned over to give Dax a one-armed hug.
“You take me to the best places, Sarge!” Then she bounded to her feet, pausing to look at me.
“I’m glad we’re going to rescue your sister and all, Lacy.
But you really should have led with this. A treasure hunt is badass.”
She left the room and I swear I heard her say, “What do you wear to a treasure hunt?”
I shook my head as Dax and I watched her leave.
He shifted to face me, his hand grasping one of mine. “I’m going to tell the others when they come on board, Lacy. I meant it when I said no more secrets.”
Exhaling slowly, I nodded, while still mulling over his words. “Do you think it will be a problem?”
Dax didn’t say a word and I started to worry.
“Not as much of one as Finn,” he said finally. “If we’re upfront with them, everything should be fine.”
Famous last words, I thought, and gave him a weak smile.