Warhawk's Sacrifice - Ch. 2 - Simple Problems - Alpha (Patreon)

Seb sat still and allowed his thumping heart to settle. The deep hum of the ship’s FTL drive calmed him, but the lingering smell of burnt plastic and metal kept him on edge. They’d escaped for now, but there was no telling for how long and what was the cost.

Outside of the infrequent sparks that shot out of the nearby blown panels and red hue that separated him from the ship’s T-gauss batteries, the entire floor was devoid of any light. He wasn’t sure how much he’d damaged the ship’s electrical infrastructure after boosting the ship’s shields. However, he’d hoped the breakers had done their job

Seb felt Iris scratching on the back of his mind, but he ignored it for now. He didn’t have time to deal with her. The ship wasn’t going to fix herself.

He pushed himself up to his feet and spoke aloud. “Syn, can you hear me?” The virtual intelligence’s response was full of static and distortion. “I can’t hear you. Give me a second.” Seb tapped on the side of his head, triggering his suit to fully enclose his helmet and allowing him to speak through his its comm. “Try now.”

“I read you, Captain,” Syn said. “Can you hear me?”

“I can. The speakers on the maintenance floor seem damaged. Is everyone else all right?”

“Vi, Iris, and Sister Mischa are all on the bridge and are okay. Nalla is observing Francisca in one of the spare bedrooms. Both Eni and Zara are quite upset. Most likely from being woken up from the blaster fire.”

“Well, it’s not like we planned to have the Reborn start shooting at us, so they’re just going to have to get over it. How’s the Amnesty?”

“The damage is isolated to the maintenance level and our primary weapon. I detect several tripped circuit breakers, damaged terminals, and battery two in the T-Gauss is destroyed. I’m also not able to reach certain power paths, indicative of melted or fried wiring. It’s possible the ship’s internal converter is also damaged, but it is responsive.”

“Makes sense. Things didn’t go real bad until the FTL core fired. The amperage draw was probably too high paired with the additional load I was putting on the system with the power from the T-gauss batteries… How’s the server room?”

“Eni’s surge protectors and battery backups prevented any damage.”

“That’s good. She would have kicked my ass if that damaged any of her equipment.”

“Indeed, or tried to bite it.”

“Knowing her, probably both,” Seb said, chuckling. “Are the shields still active?”

“They are but they aren’t going above forty-three percent.”

Seb’s smile vanished. “Fuck, that’s not good. Syn, run a diagnostic on the ship’s core batteries. Make sure the voltage and amperage are within spec and there are no spikes. If they are, then it’s likely I damaged the converter by over charging the shields.”

“Running diagnostic now, Captain. ETA to completion, sixty seconds.”

While Seb waited for the diagnostic to complete, he swapped his helmet’s Heads-Up-Display to night vision. He walked down the hall, following the slithering power cable until he reached the end wall. The terminal bar did not produce a holographic interface when he approached, telling Seb it either didn’t have power or it was blown. When he bent down and looked at the end of the cable, he could see the wall was scorched black and the plastic end was melted. While his helmet filtered any lingering smells, he could see the gray smoke that lingered around it.

It kept us alive, he thought. But looking back, if the shields hadn’t overcharged, it could have fried them completely and left us dead in the water. It was our only chance to escape, though. No sense worrying about it now. I just need to tackle one problem at a time.

“Captain, the diagnosis is complete,” Syn said.

Seb stood and headed for the maintenance closet. “Give me good news.”

“The batteries’ diagnostic came back with no errors reported and reads as healthy.”

“Thank the Maker. It’s got to be the converter, then. That’s easier to stomach than the core batteries being bad. Let’s just hope Timura Outpost has a suitable replacement.”

“I’ll add that to an acquisition list for when we arrive.”

“Thanks, Syn. Send that to my WICI. I’m sure I’ll have a lot more that we’ll need after I’m done fixing things.”

An exclamation icon appeared on Seb’s HUD showing he’d received a new message. “Done, Captain. Let me know if there’s anything else you need assistance with.”

“Will do.”

Seb walked into one of the maintenance closet that was more office than a closet. It was Seb’s own personal space, just like Eni had the server room and Nalla had her medical office. Several human-sized toolboxes stood mounted to the floor,  full of organized sockets, electronic screwdrivers, and drill bits.

Small organized drawers held every sized screw, bolt, and washer that the Amnesty was built with. Along the far wall were magnetic strips that held hand tools ranging from drills, laser cutters, and wire splicers. They held everything he needed to maintain the ship.

Standing pushed next to the far back wall stood a clear metal workspace that gave room for Seb to work. Several universal tools hung from ceiling bungees, allowing Seb to reach up and grab what he needed instantly. He even had a small refrigerator, freezer, and deployable cot for the nights that he was going to be working late. Just like today.

Before he began, he double checked he had enough provisions down here to last him a few days. He knew once he started, he didn’t want to be bothered until he fixed everything he could. While most of it was prepackaged meals in a pouch, he used the idea as motivation to get the work done. He told himself he didn’t deserve the comforts of Nalla’s cooking, a shower, and sleeping in his own bed until all of his work was complete.

Seb walked to the nearby wall and pulled his equipment harness that hung from a metal hook. After slipping it over his suit, he grabbed all the equipment he assumed he needed and clipped them on the carabiners that hung from the harness. When he ran out of clips, he activated a hovercart that sat idle on the ground, giving him a floating, working surface that he could push around and carry equipment.

Seb started his work by taking out his Laser projected Electronic Wire Tester. With a click of the handheld device, green lasers emanated out of the front glass circle, creating a grid pattern that showed on the wall. Any wires hidden behind the metal lit up an orange color. Any live wires illuminated a lime-green color.

Seb walked the entire length of the maintenance area, taking notes on his WICI on all the wiring that needed to be replaced. Thankfully, his previous planning left him with boxes of bundles in storage, enough runs to redo half the ship. When he completed his walk, he stopped by the floor’s breaker panels to check on their condition.

Web found several destroyed, but most were tripped. He added another hour's worth of work to his docket. Before he left, he tripped all the circuits that weren’t needed for primary functions like the maintenance floor’s life support system and the FTL core.

After he finished with the panels, he did another pass down maintenance, only this time searching for larger items that needed to be replaced: blown terminals, shorted speakers, and shattered lights. The really large equipment, like the T-gauss battery and the ship converter, were things he added as a stage three repair. Those were things he was going to have to wait to fix until they docked at their next stop.

“Hey, Syn, do you read?” Seb asked.

“I’m here, Captain,” his companion said.

“I’m going to start on repairs. Please lock the doors to the maintenance floor including the elevator. I don’t want to be disturbed at all. Only if it’s an emergency, and if they tell you it’s an emergency, then ask them what it is. You can use your best judgment if it warrants reaching out.”

“Affirmative, Captain. Please let me know if there’s anything I can assist you with.”

“I’m wishing you had a drone right now.”

Syn’s smile radiated through her voice. “Are you wishing for us to continue our lessons?”

“Not what I was thinking,” Seb said with a short laugh. “But I’m looking forward to a few more late night lessons once we do get you a body.”

“As am I, Captain.”

With a smile on his face, Seb grabbed some additional supplies and got to work. Over the next few days, he kept his head down, tackling one problem at a time. The work was long and arduous. However, Seb didn’t mind it. In fact, he enjoyed it. Each problem was simple. A burnt cable meant a new‌ run, crimping new ends, and plugging it in. A blown terminal was easily replaced with just a few bolts, connecting a few wires, and installing the latest firmware.

They were nothing like the complexities of intergalactic politics, or the implications of harboring the last member of an ancient civilization with the theoretical power to stop an impending invasion. Each repair filled him with a sense of purpose. When he grew tired, he power-napped on the cot. When he grew hungry, he squeezed down a nutrition tube.

After dumping the last bits of trash from his work, he gazed down the lit halls and smiled. He tapped the side of his helmet, triggering his suit to pull off the faceplate and slide back the shell. When the process completed, he spoke into the hall.

“Syn, I’m testing the speaker system. Do you hear me?”

“Loud and clear, Captain.”

Seb tightened his fist and pulled it to his chest. “Yes! All right, can you do a scan on this level and check for any issues? T-Gauss battery two and the Amnesty’s electrical converter?” He tapped on the floor as he waited for Syn’s response, expecting the worst but hoping for the best.

“All fixtures, lights, and terminals are responsive, Captain. All previous power routes are active and show no signs of wear.”

Seb slumped back into the wall and smiled. “Thanks Syn. Please unlock the doors into maintenance.”

“This has been completed, Captain.

“Thank you. How far until we reach our destination?”

“Barring any unforeseen obstructions, we will reach Timora Station in forty-nine hours. Captain, I also want to inform you that Eni and Zara wish to speak with you as soon as you are available.”

“I’m sure they do. Where are they?”

“Zara is in your quarters. Eni is downstairs in the server room.”

Seb tilted his head at the previous sentence. He wasn’t sure why she’d be in his room, however; he was keen to find out. As he pushed the hovercart full of trash to the elevator, he shuffled.

His body ached and smelled. He’d been going almost nonstop since he started and the moment he slowed down, his exhaustion caught up with him. The longing for a taste of Nalla’s cooking, a stiff drink, and a warm shower kept him mobile.

As the elevator descended, he made an additional request. “Hey Syn, is Nalla up?”

“She is Captain.”

“Would you mind asking her if she has the time, if she can make me something to eat and meet me up in my quarters?”

“Of course, Captain.” Before the elevator reached the bottom level, Syn spoke once more. “Nalla confirmed she will meet you in your cabin in thirty minutes.”

“Perfect. Thanks, Syn.”

“You’re welcome, Captain.”

Once the doors opened, Seb could hear the sounds of grunts and shouts. When he pushed the cart out into the cargo bay, he found Sister Mischa training. The towering woman swung her flaming power sword overhead, illuminating the entire room in a bright orange.

She sprinted from side to side, moving in her bulky armor with astonishing speed. The blue-green color of her armor showed bits of silver along the battle skirt and knee pads from the constant wear. Her twin red horns protruded through her hooded helmet, striking fear in the heart of her enemies as they gazed into the red visor that was in the shape of a sparkling star.

Seb continued toward the cargo bay door, only stopping once he reached the other garbage they had stacked. He dumped all the equipment near the other destroyed shelving, twisted operating table, and the broken healing tank.

Once the trash was pushed together, he waited until she saw him and stopped, extinguishing the flame of her powersword with the push of a button. She clasped it on her back with a magnetic thud and approached the captain. With a pressurized hiss, she pulled off her helmet's front faceplate, revealing her golden eyes and sweat-matted white hair.

“Doing a bit of training?” Seb asked.

“No… I’m banishing the galactic spirits,” Mischa said with a smug grin.

“In full armor? Hopefully, you got them all. The last thing I need is some ghost peeping at him while I’m in the shower.”

Micha rolled her eyes and pushed Seb’s shoulder. “I train how I expect to fight.”

“You realize we have a full gym you can use.”

“Yes. I’ve taken advantage of it. However, it’s too crowded to swing my blade without me causing damage.”

“I appreciate your consideration.”

“Where have you been?”

“Locked on the maintenance level,” Seb said, pointing his thumb over his shoulder. “Our escape from Rilon V left the ship in a bad state. I needed complete focus to get her fixed up.”

Mischa’s smile faded. “The ship’s in good health, right?”

“Oh yeah, she’s not going to blow or anything like that. It was small electrical issues that needed to be addressed. Think of it as a big power surge.”

“Okay… so what happened at Rilon V? Is what Vi told me true? They opened fire on us upon arrival?”

“In short, yeah. They claimed to be acting on behalf of the GRC. We were told to power down and give up Iris, calling her classified material or something like that. When we didn’t comply, they tried forcing us the hard way. Vi managed to fly us out of there. The electrical issue was from me overcharging our shields so we could make it.”

Mischa nodded slowly. “So we’re in the GRC’s crosshairs. That’s not good.”

“No… it’s not. We’re heading into the galactic core to buy us some time. We need supplies to fix the ship. Iris needs clothes. We need to purchase supplies.”

“What of your sepix employer? Do you think she’ll be a problem?”

“Zara?” Seb asked, twisting his lips. “Honestly… I don’t know.”

Mischa took a step forward, looming over Seb, her voice cold and direct. “I need you to tell me that if she were to order you to hand over Iris, you’d refuse.”

Seb pinched his eyes together and starred unblinkingly. “I’d refuse.”

Sister Mischa’s eyes bounced between his own, looking for any signs of a fault. Satisfied, she slowly nodded. “Things are starting to get heated. Normally, I’d say this is where we should split. However, I doubt Iris would allow us to.”

“Do you think the church could protect her?”

“Yes,” Sister Mischa said without hesitation. “For a time. We have convents located in unclaimed space. We could hide her there. It… would not be an easy life for her.”

“That’s good to know as a backup plan. If things get too messy, we may need the church’s protection.”

“If the GRC wants her bad enough, though. I don’t even think the church could protect her. All the Sisters and Holy Mothers would gladly give our lives for her. However, our numbers are only a few thousand. The GRC has billions of soldiers.”

“Yeah… I know… We’ll need to come up with a way to keep her safe.”

“I will pray and seek guidance,” Sister Mischa said, setting an arm on Seb’s shoulder. “And you should seek a shower.”

Seb smiled. “I think that goes for the both of us.”

The two shared a laugh before splitting. While the Sister of Nimora headed for the elevator, the captain continued down the hall, headed for Eni’s room. He passed the destroyed medical office that looked like a grenade exploded in it. The privacy glass was missing and the frame of the office bowed outward.

As Seb approached Eni’s room, thumping music with a heavy bass track vibrated the hall floors. He slammed his fist onto the door, knowing full well she couldn’t hear him. After a few seconds, when she didn’t respond, Seb opened the door and walked in.

In the far back corner room, lines of code scrolled through her dozen screens as if her program was searching for something. Seb recognized some of the symbols from the cave they’d originally found his glove in and assumed it was part of the data they had recovered. He expected to see Eni sitting at her desk, but when he looked around, she was nowhere to be seen.

He walked deeper into the room and passed the orange couches and chairs. When he looked toward the rows of server racks, he could see several servers pulled outward with the chassis. It wasn’t until he almost reached the other side of the room that he saw the small purple-skinned beauty bent over on a stool looking into one of her servers. A nefarious grin formed on Seb’s face as he readied his hand for her plump bottom.

Swinging his hand back, Seb swung forward, connecting his hand on the white-haired pracovi’s cheeks. She howled and fell backward, allowing Seb to catch her in her arms. At first she scowled, slowly rubbing her bottom until she looked up at him with her green and blue eyes. She gave him a toothy smile with her sharp, pointed teeth.

Eni yanked on his suit’s collar, pulling Seb into a twisting tango with her tongue. Even though he was exhausted, he always had enough energy to embrace each of his women. After a handful of seconds sucking on each other's lips, Eni pulled away, leaving a strand of saliva connecting to both of their mouths.

She tapped on her wrist-mounted WICI, and the music stopped. Her smile faded after she leaned upward and sniffed around his neck. She leaned back and frowned. “You stink.”

“Good to see you too,” Seb said, chuckling.

“Well, you do!”

“Yeah, not showering for a few days will do that to you. Did Syn and Vi tell you what happened?”

“Yeah… sounds like we are wanted by every GRC member? It will be interesting to see what the bounty is on your head after we drop out of FTL.”

“Wanna take a bet?”

Eni’s eyes lit up. “Yeah… but we’re not betting credits…”

“Oh?” Seb asked, knowing full well where this was going.

“Nope. If you win, you get to choose what we do in the bedroom. If I win, I get to choose.”

Seb squinted down at Eni's smug grin. Something about her smile told him she had something already in mind. While he’d enjoyed their sexcapades until that point, he still felt hesitant in responding immediately. However, his curiosity had him by the throat.

“Fine…,” Seb said. “But it better not be anything I won’t like.”

Eni leaned and pulled down on his collar, whispering into his ear. “Oh, don’t worry, I know you’ll love it.” Eni let out an evil giggle as she leaned back in Seb’s arms. “You know, I could get used to this.”

“Don’t get any bright ideas. You already sleep on my chest at night. I’m not going to start carrying you around like some baby.”

Eni playfully slapped Seb on the chest. “Ugh. You’re no fun. Did you manage to get everything fixed on the ship, by the way?”

“Just about. The T-gauss is out of commission until I get a replacement battery, and shields are low until I can get a replacement converter. Just got that and the medical office to take care of. I haven’t even checked the exterior of the ship to see if there are any bolts that got through the shields, but if they did their job, we should be fine. What about in here? I saw some of your servers were pulled out. Is everything okay? Syn told me that this room didn’t get damaged.”

“The surge protectors did their jobs. Nothing got fried, thankfully. I’m just trying to squeeze some juice out of the hardware by overclocking the processors.”

“Any luck?”

Eni shrugged. “Not really. I don’t have sufficient cooling to squeeze anymore out of them unless I get creative with liquid nitrogen and a shit ton of copper. Maybe some orlindrian ice would do the trick…”

“I don’t think we have any of that lying around.”

“It’s better for me to wait until we get to our next stop. I’ll plan on getting some additional hardware. I’ve got a few open sockets on some motherboards to use. Otherwise, I’d have to rebuild the servers completely, which is just going to stall things longer.”

“How’s the dictionary coming, by the way?”

Eni tapped Seb on the chest as her eyes lit up. “Put me down and I’ll show you!”

Seb set Eni on her feet and followed the small, white-haired girl to her terminals. She climbed into her chair and tapped on her keyboard, increasing the size of one screen. After she finished, she spun in her chair and pointed up at the screen.

“While you were busy doing your thing, Syn and I borrowed Iris.”

“What do you mean, borrowed?”

“I… may have bribed her with a shit ton of candy.”

Seb snorted and shook his head. “You know how that sounds right.”

“Horrible… I know. But we made so much progress! We loaded her up in my Dream Theater, which I didn’t know would work given it’s not programmed for nakai minds. However, since you could speak with her, I used the human settings as a base and we modified it until she could start seeing images.”

“Isn’t that dangerous, toying with her mind like that?”

“Nah… it just wouldn’t work. We took it slow. There were plenty of safeguards.”

Seb crossed his arms and leaned back. He wasn’t sure if he believed Eni, given how reckless she could be, but if she’d been injured, Syn would have informed him. “Okay… so once you got her loaded up inside the Dream Theater, what happened then?”

“We would show her a picture of something basic, like a cup. Then we would have her draw out the nakai word for that. After a few hours, Syn managed to pick up on patterns within the nakai language.”

“So, this is her building the dictionary?” Seb asked, pointing up at the scrolling symbols on the screen.

“Yup! Based on our timeline, we should have version one built in the next few hours.”

“What about the spoken language?”

“Way ahead of you. That’s our version two. Version one is just so we can start interpreting the data off of your glove’s storage. Version two is full communication with Iris. When she was in the Dream Theater, we pulled the brain signals it read from her mind. With that data and the dictionary, Syn and I believe we should be able to build her a dedicated comm device which will interpret her telepathic signals, convert them into spoken word, and then broadcast them to everyone’s translation implants.”

“Seems like you both have been busy as well.”

Eni pointed to the nearby trashcan full of empty energy pouches. “Yeah… you can say that.”

“Did you manage to speak with Vlad about the Yorion data you managed to pull?”

“No, I was out when we dropped out of

“That’s right. Okay, try to prioritize it once we reach Timura Outpost. We need the credits to rebuild the ship.”

“Don’t worry, I’ll take care of it. Speaking of… you need to talk to the princess about our back pay. She still owes us millions.”

Seb sighed and nodded. “I know. I planned on speaking with her after I spoke with you.”

“You know she’s been staying in your room, don’t you?”

“Syn said something about that.”

“The balls on her,” Eni said with a clenched jaw. “If you need me to help kick her out, just say the word.”

“I’m trying to maintain the peace, not start another war on my ship.”

Eni shrugged. “The offer stands.”

Seb took a step forward, bent down, and kissed Eni on the head before rubbing his hand in her hair. “Thanks for the offer. I’ll see you later.”

“I’ll be in here if you need anything.”

Seb waved as he exited the door. He made his way back to the elevator, nodding at Sister Mischa, who was still training. After hitting the button for his floor, he used the time readying himself for what he figured would not be a simple conversation with Zara. He could see it going two ways: either she would stand in the doorway, waiting for him, or she would be lying in the bed, legs spread.

However, when the doors opened, neither of them was true. He stepped into his room and scanned the surroundings. The metal blast doors hid the crescent moon windows from view. The lights cast the room in a dim yellow light.

She wasn’t standing at the bar to his left, lying on the circular bed in the center of the room, nor sitting at his personal desk and terminal to his right. When his eyes followed the wall to the open bathroom door, he heard the soft rain of the shower. Seb wondered where she was bathing, given his bathroom’s virtual project system allowed the user to shower anywhere in the galaxy.

He walked over to his bar and poured himself a drink while he waited. After grabbing a glass from underneath the counter, he turned around, scanning the multicolored bottles that lined the shelves of his bar. He snatched a brown bottle with no words on it and a cork stopper. Onigaram liquor always hit like a truck, and would soothe his aching muscles. The black liquid moved with the viscosity of a muddy puddle. He poured enough for a single gulp, as that would be all he needed. After downing the contents, he washed the glass and put the bottle back on his shelf.

Satisfied, Seb walked across his room to his desk. He started the long process of removing his armor from his skinsleeve. He started with his upper body, removing his chest and backplates. Once he got them off, he finished with his arms, then his thighs, and eventually his shins. By the time he finished, he no longer heard the shower running.

Instead, Zara replaced the subtle sound of falling water with a melodic hum. Seb froze when heard her voice. He didn’t think such a shrewd and ruthless business woman could produce such a soft, sweet sound. It clashed against everything he knew about her. And so he sat at his desk chair, listening and waiting.

When she stepped out of the room, Seb saw she was still in her human-like form. She was wearing two towels: one wrapped around her horns and red hair, and the second holding on for dear life as it wrapped across her massive breasts. It was barely long enough to cover her upper body, barely covering her plump bottom and wide thighs.

She must have felt his gaze because her humming stopped and her vertically slit, yellow eyes darted up at him. They tightened into thin slits. They didn’t show fear, they foretold a predator who was about to make him regret getting the jump on her.

“Sorry to startle you,” Seb said, smiling. “But you are in my room.”

“Yes… well, the accommodations offered on your ship are lacking,” Zara said.

“Are they now?” Seb asked, crossing his arms. “How so?”

“Sebastian… I’m a princess of the Saladonus family, not some filthy commoner. I expect a certain level of luxury while traveling, and simple beds and public showers are not one of them.”

“Did you just call my crew filthy commoners?”

Zara scoffed. “There you go, not paying attention to a word I’m saying.”

Seb jumped to his feet. “You’ve got this all wrong, Zara. You’re on my ship. This isn’t some holiday cruise liner where you can boss around the help to get what you want.”

“Are you done? I don’t wish to argue with you. You’ve got enough to worry about as is, and we have much to discuss.”

Seb clenched his jaw. He hated how she was right. He had enough on his plate as is, and whether he wanted to admit it, having her on his good side was a valuable asset.

“Fine… I don’t mind if you come up and use my shower when you want to. Just don’t don’t treat this like your own personal barge and we’ll get along great.”

Zara smiled and walked over to the room’s built-in closets and pointed. “Now, which one of these has your comfortable clothes?”

“Why do you want to know?”

“Because I’ve been wearing the same dress since we left Benioff’s party, and I’ve never worn the same outfit more than twice in my entire life.” She turned with a slight grin on her face and slid her finger down the middle of her cleavage. “Or would you rather I forgo any clothes?”

“The farthest door on the left,” Seb said with a deadpan face.

Zara walked to the edge of the room and pulled on the two handles. She took a few minutes sifting through Seb’s clothes. Her flared nostrils and frowned told him that she wasn’t too pleased with her selection, only to be confirmed seconds later.

“Sebastian, you really ought to let me take you shopping,” she said. “There’s nothing in here except sweatshirts and sweatpants. I mean… cotton? Really?”

“These are clothes for lounging around. I’m not trying to wear a suit to sleep in, Zara.”

“There’s always an opportunity to look your best. I could get you some pants in burain fur that’s more plush than cotton and smoother than silk.”

“And likely harvested with slave labor…”

Zara scoffed. “There’s no need to be so dramatic.”

The princess dropped the towel from around her body, and Seb jerked his head to his ceiling. He knew she did it on purpose. She wanted him to look, and he did. He resisted as long as he could, his eyes bouncing from object to object that stood in his room. But his body betrayed him, naturally gravitating to the tan skin of his former employer.

He wasn’t sure if it was a result of her magical transformation, but her skin was perfect. It shined with the room’s dim light, as if she bathed in the richest oils. Her curves gave her the body of a goddess, a calling for all warriors to pledge their devotion to her. When their eyes met once more, Seb turned around after she smiled.

“I don’t know why you’re being so coy, Sebastian,” Zara said. “You’ve seen all of me before.”

“That’s not entirely true,” Seb said after clearing his throat. “Not this body, anyway.”

“It’s the same body, just a different form. One you seem to enjoy.”

“Sure… but it’s the attitude that comes with it that sours it.”

When Seb didn’t hear an immediate response, he wondered if he’d pissed her off. He straightened when he felt her footsteps approach from behind. Her arms wrapped around his chest and felt her soft cushions press against his back.

“You have a wicked tongue, Sebastian,” Zara whispered in his ear. “If it wasn’t for my appreciation for your talents and your good looks, I’d rip it out.”

“Well, lucky for me.”

Her hands explored his body, teasing the front of his skinsleeve with her fingers. He found the pressure subtle, but it was her aggressive approach, warm breath upon his ear, and light touch that had the hair standing up on the back of his neck.

He knew he was going to be in trouble as her fingers reached lower. However, the moment took a downward turn when Zara took one deep breath near his neck and then a few smaller ones. She jerked away from him, coughing.

“Varanidae’s breath, you’re rank!” She shouted.

Seb burst into laughter as he turned around. He never thought he would be thankful for his own natural body odor. However, his laughter seized as his eyes took in Zara’s nude body. While she waved her hand in front of her face, her breasts swung free. They caught him in a trance.

Noticing his dropped jaw, Zara placed her hands on her hips, standing proud. “So, you do like this form, after all.”

“It’s… okay…” Seb said, trying to play it off.

Zara pointed down at Seb’s groin. “That’s not what your body says.”

Seb looked down at his growing bulge and crossed his arms. “It’s a natural reaction. It means nothing.”

“Oh it definitely means something. I see how you look at my breasts. You know… you can touch them if you want to.”

She didn’t need to make a strong argument. He wanted to. It was as if the heavens parted and the Maker himself cast a holy light upon her perfect mounds. He wanted to shove his face between both of them and sleep the night away, using them as his own personal pillows. But before he could make another mistake, he would likely regret, the elevator door opened.

Seb jerked his head to see Nalla enter, holding a tray with the dinner she made for him. When she looked over at him and Zara, her soft smile shifted into a horrible shriek. She screamed and dropped the food on the ground, covering her eyes with both hands.

“Oh my gods, I’m so sorry!” she cried.

“Nalla, this isn’t what it looks like!” Seb shouted.

“Oh, it’s definitely what it looks like,” Zara said with a smug grin.

“Will you be quiet! No, it’s not!”

“I should have knocked!” Nalla said, turning around. “I’m so sorry! I’m so sorry!”

Nalla sprinted back into the elevator. Seb chased after her only to have the door close in his face. He turned around and threw up his hands when he heard Zara’s laughter.

“Was that really called for?”

“What?” Zara asked, shrugging. “It’s not like she caught us fucking.”

“You could have explained it was just a misunderstanding.”

“I will not lie to the poor girl. If anything, it would have been more exciting to have her stay.”

“I—just can’t with you right now.”

“Your crew knows we’ve slept together, right?”

“Yeah, but that was in the past.”

“It could be current too,” she said, batting her lush eyelashes at him.

Seb trudged his way into the bathroom, ignoring the princess as she eyed him with nefarious intent. He unclamped the skinsleeve around his neck and wrists, allowing for the skin-tight fabric to inflate like a trash bag.

After slipping it off, he turned on the shower, stepping into the instantaneously hot water. He braced his hands on the wall, allowing for the warmth of the water to cover him. Combined with the tingling numbness from his earlier drink, he no longer felt any pain.

“Wow, I know you got fitter, but seeing it all in the open is quite a treat for the eyes,” Zara said.

Seb stood up and turned around in the shower. Zara stood, leaning against the door frame. She’d slipped on a sweatshirt and pants since the misunderstanding with Nalla. He watched her eyes wash over him like a predator eyeing its next meal. If she hadn’t been leaning back, he was certain she would have salivated.

“You can go,” Seb said, pointing out the doorway.

“We still have business to discuss,” Zara said.

Seb turned and started cleaning himself. “Then talk. There’s no point in drawing this out. I’m exhausted and need sleep.”

“Very well… Your virtual intelligence has kept me in the dark, but it’s easy to assume what has happened. Still… I’m going to ask you to tell me.”

“Arithor forces tried to arrest us on behalf of the GRC.”

“So the inora informed the GRC of the girls’ presence. No doubt likely their queen’s decision after the deal fell through. Where are we headed now?”

“Into the Galactic core. Timura Station.”

“If you think the GRC won’t come after you in the Galactic Core, you’re mistaken. It may be a DMZ, but they’ll just send contractors after you.”

“We’ve escaped bounty hunters in the past.”

“I’m not talking about bounty hunters. I’m talking about private military contractors. Small armies and gangs on GRC payroll. Just like how I keep you off the books, these companies fight the shadow wars outside the light of the public eye.”

“So, what are we supposed to do? Sister Mischa spoke about the Sisters of Nimora having churches in unclaimed space we could hide in.”

“If you run, you’ll always be running, and they’ll find you, eventually. You need to beat them at their own game and give them a reason to stop chasing you.”

“How?”

Zara held up her finger to her lips. She paced back and forth as she thought. When she stopped, she looked at him with a pinched brow, her eyes full of determination. “When we stop at the station, I’ll make some calls and see what I can do.”

Seb crossed his arms and leaned back. “And what’s that going to cost me?”

“Nothing… for now… but like all things in this galaxy, if I do find a way to protect you, it won’t come free.”

Seb smiled and shook his head. “How did I know? I’m telling you right now, I’m not working for you again. Our contract is complete.”

“Yes. yes. As you’ve stated a dozen times over many days. But just note the ask won’t come from me.”

“It won’t?”

Zara chuckled. “ Of course not, darling. I don’t have the power to protect you, but the people who could will require something in return, and with the ask being protection from the GRC, it’s going to be something big.”

Seb sighed and placed his hands on his hips. It’s always going to be like this, isn’t it? he wondered. We’re never going to escape from being under someone’s thumb. One way or another, the ultra-powerful will always manage to keep their claws around our throats.

After turning off the water and drying off with a towel, Seb wrapped it around his waist and approached Zara. “Fine. Make the calls, but I’m not agreeing to anything unless I know the cost.”

“You have my word,” Zara said with a slight nod.

“Oh, and before I forget. You still owe us all that back pay.”

“Ah, yes,” Zara said, her smile fading.

“And don’t give me any sass about not being able to come through. The ship needs repairs.”

“Don’t worry, you’ll get your money. Once we arrive at Timura Outpost, I’ll get you the credits owed.”

“Good.” Seb walked past Zara and trudged his way to his bed. He sat on the edge and leaned forward. “Anything else that you want to discuss? Otherwise, I think I’m going to get some sleep.”

Zara walked over, kneeled in between Seb’s legs, and rain her fingers underneath his towel. She leaned forward and whispered seductively. “Well, since I ruined your dinner, why don’t I make it up with some desert?”

All of Seb’s brain cells fired all at once. The primal half wondered how sweet her lips would taste. It wondered if the glisten on her skin would taste like icing. The other half was an aflame starship plummeting to a deserted planet. A screeching alarm warned of his impending demise. The battle between these two halves raged as he stared into her golden eyes.

It was in those eyes that the alarm won over. They instantly transported him back into the corporate apartments of Merovingian, where Zara presented herself on the bed, enticing him to take the deal that landed him ten years in prison.

“Hey!” Zara shouted, as Seb stood and dragged her by her wrists. He led her to his bedroom door, tapped the call button, and after a few seconds, the doors opened.

“Your room is one floor down,” Seb said, extending his arm to the door.

Zara’s face turned red, and she stomped into the elevator. “You know you can be a real jerk.”

“I know.”

When the doors closed, Seb leaned his head forward. He waited for a few seconds, wondering if he made the right decision. One head vehemently disagreed. Undecided, he spun on the spot and looked at the spilled food on his bedroom floor. Realizing he was going to have to talk with Nalla about what happened, he let out a sigh and started cleaning. Nothing’s ever simple…