1 : Out Of Water

The smell of ozone and acrid smoke hung heavy in the air over a network of winding dockyards, layered over each other, all hanging off the bottom of the oblong station like tarnished steel barnacles. A rainbow of starships jetted between the piers, navigating the crowded airlanes, bound for the next system over, or the fringes of the galactic ring. Beneath the artificial sky, a figure wove her way through the bustling crowds. In the sea of mismatched comers and goers, her lithe pink form hardly stood out, but her trepidation was more than obvious. She clutched her faux leather bag to her blue robed chest as a pudgey passerby in a vacc suit pushed past her without so much as a second glance.

A short way away, a young man sat on the docking ramp of his ship, scanning the crowd from beneath a well worn tricorn hat. His eyes landed on the pink alien, observing her muddle her way through the crowd as he scratched the scar on his cheek absently. Something he couldn't quite place about her stuck out to him. He'd never seen her species before, but there were plenty of species he'd never seen before in the crowd. Not one to ignore a good feeling, he hopped down from his perch, approaching her through the crowd.

“Hey there! Tall pink and handsome! You're looking a bit lost. If you're in need of a ship to haul some cargo, run a job or just take you for a ride, no questions asked,” he gestured back to his ship, a squat cargo hauler with a rounded bottom and a flattened top, a large metal figurehead of a scantily clad woman with a fish tail jutted out from the bow above the large cargo doors. “Then have I ever got the ship for you!”

Either incapable of blinking or unwilling to do so, she looked down the several feet between their eye levels before she smiled, revealing rows of thin, sharp teeth. “Will you be taking me home?” She asked in an accent the man couldn't quite place.

“Definitely!” He nodded enthusiastically. “Where abouts do you call home?”

“My home is at Jur.”

“Never heard of it. But how about you come aboard and I'll look it up on the nav,” he said, turning towards his ship, the woman following curiously, a slight smile playing at her lips. “The names Tyranus by the by. But most people call me Captain. Or just Ty.”

She smiled, trying out his name a couple of times, her thin tongue slurring the T slightly. “I am Moh'sche’sa.”

Ty winced slightly. “I was never very good with languages that click. Your culture do nicknames? How about Moses?”

“This is accepting,” she giggled, her laughter sharp and chirpy.

Ty found her laugh contagious as they stepped into the back of the spacious, but empty cargo hold, the humming lift accompanying them up two levels and letting out on a bridge that sat atop the flat top deck of the ship, a wide, curved window overlooking the port outside. There were several stations, all empty, though Ty sat in the large, vaguely padded chair in the centermost and highest point of the room, swivelling to face the wide, curved console before him. With the flip of a couple of switches, the lights and displays on the console illuminated.

“Alright. That was Jur, right?”

“Yes.”

He nodded, entering the name in only to be met with a disapproving buzz and Moses looked around confusedly when the computer chimed in.

“Destination not recognized.”

Ty frowned slightly, trying another spelling.

“Destination not recognized.”

“You sure that's what the planet's called?” He asked, swivelling to face Moses.

“That is what our land is called, yes.”

“Alright, well let's try the GPC ID,” he said, garnering a blank look from her. “You know… the Galactic Planetary Compendium ID? It's a code every planet is assigned when they make first contact with the Sector.”

“What is the Sector?”

“Sector Alpha? The big fat bureaucratic slug that lays over the galaxy and calls itself a government?”

“I am never hearing of such a slug,” she said, shaking her head.

“You ain't been in space long, have you?”

“Only for three and a half susok.”

“What’s a susok?”

“Three kisok.”

Ty groaned slightly, shaking his head. “Okay, nevermind. I'll just check your itinerary history. Can I see your comm?”

“I am not having one.”

“Really? How'd you get a shuttle off world? Hire a smuggler in cash?”

“No. Our world is not having ships like these,” she said.

“What? How?”

Moses frowned slightly, her thin lips pulling back off her thin teeth. “I thought there would not be asking for questions.”

“Right. Right, fair enough,” Ty nodded, raising his hands and pulling back. “But, if I don't know where I'm going I can only take you as far as you got creds.”

Moses reached into her bag and placed a meager handful of small value chips. “How many as far will these be going?”

This time Ty was the only one laughing. “That’s like four hundred credits, maybe. That’ll get you back to the door if you’re lucky.”

“Then let me having a job from you,” she said. “Until we are at Jur.”

Ty stopped laughing and thought for a moment, looking her up and down, sizing up her thin, rubbery pink frame and thick tendrils that fell from her head down to her waist.

“You got any special skills?”

“I am not thinking that they are special, but some here saying of me they are,” she nodded, looking at a nearby half empty and long cold coffee on the console. Focusing for a moment, the tendrils on her head began to drift and writhe around her head as the glass slowly lifted off, circling around them before settling back down.

Ty gave a low, approving whistle. “Now that's hot shit! You got anything else?”

“Yes. Though showing is some… the word is… oh! Invasive.”

“Baby, I am all for invasive~” Ty practically purred.

“This is good,” she nodded, leaning closer to him, the tendrils on her head moving once more, stretching out towards him. “You are… not afraid, but are being very desperate. Something is leaving you in need, and… lonely?”

Ty slapped her tendrils away, swivelling back to the console. “Not the kinda invasive I thought you meant, but point made.”

“I am apologize. I did tell you-”

“I know I know. Just, don't do it again. But… you're right. I'm a little strapped for cash right now. If you work for me, the best I can offer you is room and board and a twenty percent cut of whatever we manage to make?”

“Deal!” Moses nodded eagerly.

“Alright. And I gotta warn you, the kinda work I do ain't exactly on the up and up. You got any opposition to breaking a few rules.”

“I do not.”

“Even better! In that case, welcome aboard the Vespera, Moses,” he grinned, extending his hand. Moses stared for a moment, extending her hand in a similar fashion.

“You're supposed to shake it,” Ty chuckled, taking her slender, three fingered hand and shaking. “Now come on, I'll introduce you to the rest of the crew.”

On the middle level of the Vespera, Ty showed her through the berths. “This is the living space. We got a galley with ration synthesizers. Nothing fancy, but it'll keep you fed. Medbay where we can take care of minor injuries. And crew quarters. You'll get one of your own. But that one at the end is mine and this is Dana's.”

He stopped at one door, tapping with his knuckles. After a couple of moments, the door slid open to reveal a human woman in a smart white button up and slacks. Her jet black hair was shaved on the right side to make room for a metal panel with a pair of data ports installed. She pushed her square, black glasses up her nose and looked at them as though they were beneath her.

“What?”

“Dana! Meet the newest member of the crew, Moses. Moses, this is my resident tech expert, Dana.”

“I am pleasured to meet you,” Moses smiled.

“Pleased. And I'm a tenant, not a crew member.”

Ty gave a dismissive wave of his hand. “Don't mind her, Moses, she's kind of dry.”

“Is there anything else you need?” Dana asked dryly.

“Oh, nah, just wanted to-”

Dana shut the door again.

“Introduce you…” Ty sighed, rolling his eyes. “Seriously, don't take anything she says or does too personally.”

“She is like this often?” Moses asked, lingering by the door before following Ty down the hall.

“You get used to it. Anyway, that's the crew, so feel free to pick a room and make yourself comfortable.”

“That is all your crew?”

“Yeah, we're a little short staffed right now on account of being… between jobs. Anyway, you got any luggage to pack?”

Moses held up her bag which seemed to amuse Ty.

“Travelling light and a mysterious past. You and I are gonna get along great.”

“I am believing so too.”

“Glad to hear it. Anyway, make yourself comfortable, I'm gonna drum up some business so we can get off this station before dock fees bleed me dry,” he chuckled, heading off back down the hall and leaving Moses to pick a room.

As he stepped into the lift back down to the cargo hold, he couldn't help but smile to himself. Things were going to start going his way soon. He had a good feeling about it.

***

As it turned out, it was a short couple of hours when he managed to pick up some cargo. Someone who looked too dirty and desperate to afford the case of druxton gas canisters that they were practically giving away. Once he got to Port Richley he knew he could find a buyer easily. Not glorious, but smuggling work rarely was and it was safe.

As the last of the canisters were loaded into the cargo hold, Ty signed off with the overseeing droid.

“Thank you for your business, Marshall Stacks,” the droid said, turning and leaving.

“No, thank you,” Ty chuckled, knowing that the falsified ID codes would come up with some other poor soul long after he was gone from the system.

He pulled out his comm and linked into the ship's intercom. “Attention all crew, we are preparing for departure. Report to your stations.”

In a couple of minutes he was settling into the command chair and Moses stepped trepidatiously on the bridge.

“Moses! Perfect. You ever flown a ship before?” He asked.

“No.”

“No problem. Just watch over my shoulder and I'll answer any questions you got. Vessie is a bit of a clunker, but she's nothing if not reliable.”

Moses nodded as Ty tapped the console again, taking hold of the control stick and guiding the ship out and away from the docking clamps. As another ship immediately swooped in to take the Vespera's place, Ty pulled away from the underbelly of the station, entering the coordinates of their destination and programming the jump drive.

“Jump drive spooled to 11.5 percent,” the computer announced cheerfully.

“Alright. Hold onto your teeth,” he smirked, pushing the lever forward, the stars in the viewport melting away into a fractal, prismatic stream, accompanied by a deep rumble from within the bowels of the ship. As normal space warped away, the hull began to shake and rattle, jostling the passengers like a brick in a tumble dryer.

Moses let out a shrill shriek as she gripped the console tightly.

After nearly two minutes of teeth rattling cacophony, the ship settled into a less violent wave of shuddering vibrations that ebbed and flowed as jumpspace flowed past the viewport in a river of blurred colours.

“Alright. Make yourself comfortable. It's a hundred and two hours to Port Richley,” Ty said, reclining in the seat and kicking his boots up on the console.

“That is… slow?”

“A little less than average. Vessie's a bit off a clunker, but she'll get you there in one piece. She ain't nimble, but hell if she ain't fast in a straight line at sub-light. You ever got someone between you and where you need to be, just hit the gas and she'll go right through em.”

“Are you often having to go right through em?”

“Not unless I got business with a certain ship,” Ty shrugged, picking up the cold coffee from his console and taking a sip. “I'm all for a good fight, but only if it's one I know I can win.”

“Do you winning often?”

Ty smirked. “Do I win often?” He chuckled, finishing off the coffee. “I'll tell you some good tall tales over dinner. For now, let's get you better familiarized with ol’ Vessie, eh?”

“Yes! Tell me about this… what did you call it?”. She asked, gesturing to the controls.

“Ah! The jump drive! That's the Vespera’s hyperlight drive. There's a few different types of hyperlight drives out there. Most people will tell you that the jump drive is a bit inelegant. And they'd be right. It's basically an overblown slingshot. But it's reliable and pretty energy efficient all things considered.” He gestured to the readout on the console. “This shows our spool percentage. The higher the spool, the faster we go, but the more fuel we burn. If you're ever piloting her, remember, she's a bit old. Can't take her up much past fifty percent spool without a real rough ride. Emergency only.”

Ty patted the console in front of him. “It's all controlled here, at the command console. But each subsystem has a dedicated console. Up front is navigation. Star charts, course setting, sensors, jump controls, it's all at nav. Left wall is systems. Life support, engine conditions, fuel, supply levels. And right wall is weapons. Vessie's technically a freighter, but I've made some modifications over the years. She's equipped with six carbon nanowire grappling cables, three a side. Four ten millimeter anti armour gauss cannons, two a side. I call ‘em nut crackers. Front mounted, two nine millimeter autogun small ordinance turrets. Back mounted, two repeating plasma mortars. And up front,” he paused for dramatic effect, tapping a button, the outstretched arms of the fish tailed woman on the bow parting. A moment later, a long, thick metal spike emerged from between her arms, the tip encircled by jagged metal barbs. “One custom tooled ramming spike! For when you just gotta roll up your sleeves and get your hands dirty.”

“That is a very mighty weapon,” Moses nodded with a grin that suggested she didn’t know what Ty was talking about, but could tell that it was impressive.

“One of the mightiest. Anyway, what position do you think appeals to you?”

“I am thinking… I would be liking to fly.”

“That's what I was thinking too. Help you get familiar with the galaxy, and if you ever spy home on the charts, just say the word and we'll be on the way. Deal?”

“Deal.”

“Great! Then have a seat and I'll help you get familiar with the console.”

***

Over the next few days, Ty showed her how to read star charts, use the navigation computer, plot a course, and navigate the jump drive. He even dropped out of jumpspace a handful of times to let her practice spooling up the drive and initiating a jump. Impressively, she only stalled the ship once, and picked up the minutiae of steering the ship at sub-hyperlight speed. He wouldn't admit it yet, but she managed to pry tighter turns out of the ship than he could. By the time they approached Port Richley, Ty had his feet up on the console, a fresh coffee in one hand a cigarette in the other.

“Alright, Moses, take us outta jump. Just like I showed you. Nice and easy.”

Moses nodded, flipping the necessary switches and pressing the necessary buttons in the order that she had been shown. Finally she pulled back the control lever and the smear of colour returned to a normal perception.

“We're here!” Ty exclaimed as the ship shuddered to normal speeds, the vibration in the hull finally falling still. “Damn fine job, Moses.”

In the viewport, a large, brown and purple gas giant loomed, ringed in gold, the space around it speckled with hundreds of moons. It was the largest of these moons that the packages were bound for, but Ty took the ship in a different direction, heading for a smaller, rocky moon.

“Alright, you see that ship there?” He asked, gesturing to a large frigate, gleaming in the space over the largest moon like a white and black dagger. “That's a Sector Alpha ship. They're the ones who'll look at whatever you're carrying, tax you out the ass, then tax you again on your way out. We always try to avoid those guys.”

“Oh. What are tax?”

“Unfair is what they are, but don't worry about them. Richley's a grey port. It's in Sector territory, but not actually under Sector control anymore. Used to be, but now they just throw their dicks around the sky. Don't actually have much authority on the moon.”

“I see…” Moses nodded, scowling at the Sector ship as Ty pulled around to the dark side of the small moon, navigating towards a small cluster of lights. As they approached, the comm on the ship crackled to life.

“This is Port Richley. Identify yourself,” a gruff voice demanded.

“Hey! Gilly! It's me, Tyranus! Long time no speak, eh?”

“Ty? You come crawling back to pay what you owe?”

“More or less. I got three tonnes of unfiltered druxton in my cargo hold I'm looking to get rid of.”

The crackle of static was broken by a gruff snort. “Landing bay three. No funny business this time.”

With that the comm went dead. Moses gave him a suspicious look and he shrugged.

“I told you I break a few rules.”

Moses just nodded slowly, watching their approach into the dimly lit colony that clung to the moon.

Airlocks hissed as they sealed and slid open. Ty adjusted his hat and stepped out into the unloading dock, immediately met with a seven foot tall, rotund figure with more chins than reasonable and a quartet of scowling blue eyes. He licked his fat lips with two deep blue tongues as Ty approached.

“Tyranus. I thought for sure you'd be dead after your stunt at Xolox.”

“Ah, come on, Gilly! You know it takes more than sustained blaster fire to kill me,” he laughed, giving him a jovial punch in his flabby gut. Gilly’s unimpressed bulk wobbled obstinately back.

“And you know you still owe me four thousand credits for that docking arm you shattered on your way out last time.”

“I know, I know, just lemme sell this druxton and I'll get you back, no problem. You know there's always a market for it.”

Gilly huffed but relented. “Alright. But you don't leave this station till I get what's owed to me.”

“Deal! You'll have your credits in no time." Ty grinned as he slipped past Gilly, waving Moses on after him. "Stay close and watch your pockets."

Moses nodded, following him deeper through the dingy halls of the colony and eventually out into a crowded, noisy marketplace, stalls crowding the narrow passages, pungent aromas hanging heavy in the air as shouts could be heard in dozens of different languages.

“Alright! Let's make a posting and then get some grub. Shouldn't be too long before that stuff sells.”

“This place is very loud,” Moses said, staring around her.

“Yeah, markets usually are.”

“Oh. At Jur they are being very quiet and respectful.”

“Wouldn't that be nice?” Ty chuckled, stepping up to a large screen wrapped around a pole. He scanned his comm and put up a listing for three tonnes of unfiltered druxton at a starting bid of seven thousand credits.

“There. We'll check back in a couple hours and we should have a cool ten gs waiting for us. You hungry?”

“Yes, actually. But I am not knowing much of the food here.”

“If you can stomach the ship's rations, you'll be fine. I'll hook you up with something tasty,” he grinned, heading back through the stalls, scanning as much with his eyes as his nose, eventually coming to a stall with three vats of fragrant, bubbling, chunky broths. “Two, please.” He said, pointing to one of the vats.

The purple, four armed person behind the stall nodded, pulling out a couple of bowls, adding a few scoops of a grey brown grain into each and topping it off with a heavy ladle full of the chunky, rich smelling broth. Ty handed her a couple credit chits and took the bowls handing one to Moses and grabbing a couple of spoons.

“Here. First meal aboard my crew is on me.”

“Oh. I am thankful of you,” she smiled, taking the bowl with a slight bow of her head. “At Jur, sharing a meal is common used to seal a relationship.”

“Ah, well here's to a healthy business relationship, eh?” Ty chuckled, shooting her a wink. “Unless you're looking for a little something extra on the side?”

Moses laughed, blushing a light purple. “Oh? Oh. No no. I did not meaning that. To a business relationship.”

"Never hurts to ask,” Ty chuckled, nudging her playfully as they found a bench to sit on and enjoy the richly spiced broth.

Tyranus passed the hours with a dramatized retelling of one of his more exciting jobs, a few gorier details skimmed over until his comm pinged that the auction time had expired.

“Ah! Anyway, I'll tell you how I got Vessie back from Sector Impound later. We've gotta deliver our shipment to… dock seven! We're collecting a cool eleven and a half grand off that. Even better than I was hoping.”

Moses smiled as she followed him back to the ship. He rented a cargo skiff from the port and, with Moses’ telekinetic aid, had the canisters unloaded within an hour.

“Beautiful! That's a record unloading I think,” he grinned, the skiff hovering along behind them as they moved through the halls. “I think this is gonna be a damn profitable partnership indeed.”

“I do hope so as well. Who are we delivering at?”

“I dunno. Posted bids are anonymous. We'll find out when we got to dock seven,” Ty shrugged, rounding a corner to see out the porthole to dock seven and a sleek, curvy ship clad in yellow striped chrome plating. Ty stopped in his tracks, the skiff gently bumping him.

Moses frowned slightly, looking at him. “You are… angry?”

“Damn right I am,” Ty said pulling out his comm and defaulting the bid to the second highest bidder at nine thousand credits. “Okay. Change of plans. Dock ten.”

Moses looked confusedly over his shoulder. “That is much less.”

“I know. But those bastards,” he jabbed his finger at the dock they were now leaving. “They work for Anvilluxe Logistics. If the Sector are the bad guys, Anvilluxe are the worst guys. I may not be a lawful man, but there's some kinds of evil even I won't feed. They are completely off the table for anything I do.”

“Oh…” Moses muttered, a bit taken aback as she looked over her shoulder.

“Anyway, nine is still enough to pay back Gilly and keep Vessie running to the next planet. Just… if you ever see those yellow stripes, turn right the fuck around. And if you can't run, kill every bastard in chrome.”

Moses just nodded, frowning slightly as Ty walked away to several docks down.

Waiting for them was a figure that appeared to be the same species as Gilly, a bulbous, bloated woman with four sagging breasts squeezed into a taught vacc suit who grinned as he approached. “Hello! I was very pleased to see you accept my offer. May I inspect the goods?”

“Yeah, fill yer boots, it's all there,” Ty nodded. Watching the woman examine the canisters, releasing a small sample of the gas and sniffing it deeply, smacking her lips.

“That's good druxton.”

“Great! Then we can make out deal and-”

“But it's stolen, right?”

Ty paused for a moment, giving her a blank expression. “Um… yeah? You're buying goods in a black port. Of course it's shady.”

“Well that'll be a bigger risk for me. Do you think we can negotiate a discount for that?”

Ty frowned slightly. “No. You bid nine g. You're gonna pay me that.”

“Now that's unfair. I'm taking a big risk off your hand, the least you can do is cut me some slack,” she said with a pout.

“Go shove your slack! I already lost out on a way better deal and I'm in no mood to deal with some cheapskate trying to screw me harder!” Ty snapped, flipping his long, decorated naval coat aside to reveal the bolt pistol on his belt. “Now pay me the nine thousand credits, or I'll pry them off your bloated corpse, you greedy, worthless, two bit scam artist!”

The woman staggered back, despite having two feet and nearly a hundred and fifty kilos over him. “I- um…” she looked around, Ty having raised enough of a fuss to draw curious attention. Port Richley wasn't the kind of colony that followed the law of the Sector, but they did follow a certain brand of honour, and there were enough dirty or curious eyes on them to set her blubbering.

“Fine,” she muttered sheepishly, handing over a handful of credit chits, which Ty carefully counted out, nodding.

“Pleasure doing business with you,” he nodded, tapping the control panel of the skiff and unceremoniously dumping the canisters in the dockyard, turning and storming back to the Vespera.

“Is this normally how your business goes?” Moses asked tentatively.

“No. Usually people buying stolen goods are more respectful. Honour among thieves and all that. Occasionally though, you can get the wool pulled over your eyes pretty easily if you ain't careful.”

“I see,” she nodded, silent for another moment. “Is this work going to be dangerous?”

Ty nodded. “Does that scare you?”

"Yes.”

“I can take you back to Umbrix Station if you want?”

Moses was silent for another moment, the thin slits in the middle of her face flaring as she took a deep breath. “No. I have no home there. But I admit that I have being… feeling a bit vulnerable.”

“How about I teach you how to shoot one of these bad boys?” Ty smiled, pulling out his bolt pistol and twirling it on his finger.

“What is it?” Moses asked curiously. “The rude woman was scared of it.”

“This is called a gun. They come in many different varieties and almost all of them are designed to hurt, maim and or kill anyone who pisses you off,” he smiled, holstering his weapon and patting her arm. “Come on, I'll show you my weapons locker.”

In the back of the cargo hold, Ty pressed in a seemingly innocuous metal panel, the next panel over creaking open to reveal a sizable cache of weapons ranging from palm sized blasters to a railgun nearly as long as Ty was tall. Moses stared in wonderment at the array of firearms, reaching out and running her fingers over the cool metal plating of a heavy, bulky grey rifle.

“You say these weapons can hurt?”

“Big time.”

“Can I see?”

“Absolutely.”

Ty stepped aside from the weapons rack, gesturing to the metal dummy in a burned and cracked suit of Sector Patrol armour.

“Can you pull that thing out into the middle of the hold?”

Moses nodded, her tendrils drifting around her head as the metal figure slid into the center of the large room. Ty hoisted the rifle down and took a moment to adjust his grip on the bulky weapon, flicking a switch on the side, lines along the sides glowing a bright yellow, the weapons emitting a soft whine.

“Stand behind me,” Ty said, checking his sights as Moses stepped behind him, leaning in curiously. After a moment, Ty exhaled softly, squeezing the trigger. The barrel of the gun erupted in a burst of crackling energy that slammed into the dummy, sending it reeling, the smell of ozone and tingle of static heavy in the air as the gun let off a blast of acrid vapour.

Moses was stunned for a moment before giggling giddily.

“Ceca! I am never seeing that! Not the strongest caldelfo having power like that!”

“Well, out here, any old fool can have that power when they got a Bruun and Doxxtin DG fourty-five plasma rifle in their hands.”

“May I try?” she asked, her eyes sparkling excitedly.

“Sure. But I'm gonna start you off on something less deadly. Put that dummy upright, yeah?”

Moses nodded, pulling the still smoking dummy to its feet as Ty pulled down a pair of lightweight, sleek pistols plated with light blue carbon fibre. He handed one to her, keeping one for himself to show her how to hold it.

“Okay. So, this is a Caeldir mark four. It's a pulse pistol. It fires a small burst of polarized energy that will disrupt electric signals. This thing'll tear through droids like a solar flare through a newborn slug. Won't do much more than stun most organisms, unless you get a good shot on a nerve centre or heart. But we can focus on that later. For now, finger on the trigger, point at what you don't like and squeeze.”

Moses nodded, pointing the pistol at the dummy and squeezing the trigger. A small yellow burst hit the wall behind the dummy. Ty chuckled softly, shaking his head.

“I respect the enthusiasm, but you're a little shaky. Calm down and keep your arm steady. Using both hands will probably help too until you get a better feel for it.”

Ty showed her a new hand position, spending some time helping her find her aim and get used to the gun. Soon enough though, a heavy knocking on the bulkhead.

“Ah, one sec,” Ty said, heading to the docking port and opening the doors to reveal Gilly in all his bloated glory. “Gilly! How's it hanging?”

“You got my money yet, Tyranus?”

“Yeah, yeah. No worries.” Ty pulled out a handful of credit chits, loading one up with four thousand and handing it over. “We good?”

“Yeah. Soon as you pay your docking fees.”

“What? We ain't leaving yet.”

“I know. That's what you said last time you ran off.”

“Fine. How much?”

“Three thousand.”

“Three thousand? Why don't you break my damn arm while you're at it?” Ty sighed, handing over the chits.

“Don't tempt me, Tyranus,” Gilly laughed, all four of his chins bouncing as he turned and left.

Ty shut the door, grumbling profanity as he stormed back. “Alright. Come on. We gotta go get some cash the old fashioned way. Keep that pistol on you. You might need it.”

“What?” Moses asked, a panicked crack in her voice. “Why?”

“Cause we're gonna go camp out on the HEV run and wait for some inexperienced poor sod to come along with a big fat hold of cargo, then see how much we can pull out before Sector drones show up.”

“You mean, stealing?”

Ty gave a noncommittal hand waggle as he stepped onto the lift holding the door open and waiting. “Think of it like a redistribution of wealth. I dunno how it is on Jur, but out here, the only people with more power than the Sector are the corporations. You know that nine thousand we just made? The CEOs, the big guys up top, they make a hundred thousand times more in the same amount of time by just sitting on their ass. They control all the wealth and we, the little guys, the guys they don't like, we get to fight over the scraps while they grow bloated and unimaginably wealthy. They won't even notice a few grand of supplies. It won't hurt them, but it'll help us.”

Moses frowned slightly. “They are… the bad guys also?”

“There's a lot of bad guys out there, and depending on who you ask, I’m one of them. If you aren't in, that's fine. I'll drop you off wherever you want. But I make my living by levelling the playing field. It's dangerous work that pisses off a lot of powerful people, but if you wanna do something good by doing something bad, then follow me.”

Moses was silent for a moment, staring at Ty in the elevator. Her baleful black eyes turned to the pistol in her hand and her grip tightened around the handle.

“Nenrjt is saying the powerful are having a duty to use their power to help the people who cannot,” she said, steeling herself and stepping into the elevator with him. “The greedy do not deserving the power.”

“Now that's a sentiment I can get behind,” Ty smiled as the lift doors shut, bringing them up to the bridge. “I knew I had a good feeling about you, Moses.”

***

After a few hours in jumpspace, Moses had piloted the ship out into open void, the galaxy behind them a sea of stars crashing on the shore of interstellar space. Ty directed her to pull a few hundred kilometres off the HEV run's main channel where he depowered the ship, leaving just enough running to keep the engines warm and life support running. Then he kicked his feet up on the dashboard and popped a cigarette into his mouth, lighting the tip with a small gas lighter and exhaling a thin cloud of smoke.

“What now?”

“Now we wait and watch the sensors for a ship to come along. It'll be pretty obvious who's who. The big companies are usually too cheap or too arrogant to splurge for high tech cloaking and I got Vessie's sensors tuned finely enough to hear a baby fart three systems away. Plus the companies like to send inexperienced pilots down the HEV as a kind of hazing. Pirate alley they call it,” he said with a dry chuckle.

Moses nodded and looked back out at the vast expanse of space stretching out before her. If she squinted, she could almost imagine that she was back home, looking out over the sea on the kind of night so clear and still that the horizon blends away and the sky stretches up to meet the shore. Though the visage lacked the haze of pink tinted mist of her home and she still felt a slight twinge of emptiness.

She didn't have long to reflect on the view before the console in front of Ty gave a gentle beep.

“Looks like we got a ship incoming,” he smiled. “Big freight train. Minimal ordinance. Oh… the pilot's about thirty AU off course. Probably a newbie. Get ready, Moses.” He pulled out his comm as he powered up the ship again. “Dana. Gimmie one of your jamming signals on that cargo train.”

“Fine. But I’m billing my time off my rent.”

Ty rolled his eyes and sighed. “Fine.”

“Jamming signal up.”

“All hands! Brace for ramming maneuvers!”

Moses gripped the console tightly as the Vespera lurched forward. In the viewport before them, another ship grew up out of the void, a massive ship with a bulky, industrial engine towing a snaking train of metal containers nearly a kilometre long. Each container was branded with different logos and Ty noted one as a cash cow.

“Moses! You see that purple one with the three white bars? You ever see that branding on a job, you know you're gonna hit it big time!” He grinned as he set the Vespera on an intercept course. “That container is from Bismarck and Son's Security Solutions, ironically easy to lift from since the “son's” part took over. They're usually loaded with security tech and always an easy sell.”

Ty pushed the engines into a higher kick, the roar reverberating through the hull as the maiden parted her arms, her lance emerging and locking into place with a heavy, metallic clank.

“All hands! Brace for impact!” Ty called out through the intercom as the broadside of the cargo canister rose up to meet them.

With a bone rattling crunch of metal on metal, the spire drove into the side of the container. The cacophony was followed shortly by smaller impacts as the grappling cables attached to the container, thin cables pulling taught and anchoring the small ship to the cargo train like a rusty brown parasite.

“Alright! Moses! With me!” Ty said, running to the elevator, Moses’ long legs carrying her after him quickly. “You ever done a spacewalk before?”

Moses shook her head. “What is that?”

“It means we're leaving the ship. We're gonna go cut a hole in the side of that cargo container, pull in as much goods as we can, and get out before anything goes wrong.”

“What do I do?”

“You're gonna put those powers of yours to work and use them to pull in the cargo. Just try and get as much as you can into the ship,” Ty grinned as they stepped out into the hold. Near the cargo doors, Ty opened a locker, taking out a clunky metallic wristband, handing it to her.

“Put this on. This is a vacc field. It'll stop the void from freezing the blood in your body and provide breathable air for about three hours. It's more delicate than a vacc suit, but it'll do for now,” he explained, clamping it around her wrist and tapping the button on the top. With a hum, an almost completely transparent force field extended a few centimetres around her body. The field tingled her skin slightly, but it moved with her body and didn't restrict her.

Ty zipped up his coat, flipping up his collar and tapping his lapel pin. The sleeves pulled snug, sealing around his gloves as a similar field extended around his head and hat.

“Ready?”

Moses nodded, her hand tightening its grip around the pistol. “I am believing so.”

“Right. Then let's go. Hold onto something and wait for my signal before you follow” Ty said, grabbing another device from the locker and shutting it before throwing a lever by the doors, the large bulkheads parting in the middle, the air rushing out of the widening gap before them. Outside, the slightly buckled frame of the container greeted them, three meters of empty space between the two vessels. Ty took a couple steps back, making a bit of a running start before leaping out over the gap. He dropped for a moment before the tug of the Vespera's artificial gravity let go and he sailed across the open space, the void yawning out all around him. He kept his head forward, colliding with the container, electromagnets in his gloves and boots latching onto the metal exterior. He took a moment to check his surroundings. He could see the exhaust from the driving engine had cut out. They knew they were here.

His attention turned to the metal before him and produced a plasma cutter, the small, white hot jet glowing in the black of space. The flame bit into the thick metal, tearing a rough opening out of the container wall. As he was finishing, he saw movement from the corner of his eye. A small, flying disc had finally made its way down from the engine, a small camera focusing on Ty's cocky smirk. A single bolt slug was all that was needed to dispatch the drone, the superheated metal round eating through the case and frying the internals. As the drone drifted back, the fuel cell burst in a lacklustre puff.

Ty turned up the power of the electromagnets in his gloves, bracing his feet on the container, pulling the cutaway out of its place, sending it tumbling after the corpse of the drone. Gazing inside, his smile widened to see metal crates all labelled with an identification code. A quick scan on his comm revealed the contents to be security drones, similar to the one that Ty had just dispatched, but with heavier specs.

“Score.”

Ty grinned, looking back to Moses and waving to her. Moses seemed to hesitate a moment before taking a breath and following in Ty's footsteps, running and jumping across the gap, grasping his outstretched hand. Ty pulled her against the open hole where she managed to get a slightly unsteady footing on the edge. Ty gestured to the crates, then back to the waiting, open doors to the hold. With a nod, Moses focused on the crates, lifting several at a time and tossing them across the space to the cargo hold.

Ty gave her a grin and a thumbs up, climbing further up the canister and up onto the top of the ship. After a moment, he saw what he was looking for, four figures in heavy white vacc suits. They were still too far away to tell, but they looked like they were armed. With an excited grin, he took off running, dropping down into the gap between two of the sections, clamping to the wall above the heavy metal hitch and bundle of cables that connected the cars together. He poked his head up, using the gap like a trench to keep himself covered as he pulled out his bolt pistol, watching the figures approach. At this range, he suspected that both he and the figures were out of range of each other.

A moment later, a bolt of energy crackled by, bursting against the carriage a few feet from his head.

“Dammit,” He muttered. He knew his bolt pistol would be well out of range, so he commed the ship as a second bolt burst above him.

“Dana! Think you can do me a favour? These clowns got a longer range than I thought.”

“You know the-”

“Yes I know the damned deal, just get up to the bridge and point the autoguns at them!”

“I don't need to.”

“What do you mean you don't need to? We're gonna get shredded up here!”

“I mean I don't need to go to the bridge,” she replied as the autoguns on the bow of the Vespera swiveled around, sending a wave of ordinance at the encroaching figures, sending two spiralling off into the void in a moment. The other two were quicker on their mag boots, staying put and deploying a bubble like shield around them, deflecting the fire as they pushed forward.

“Oh for- Dana! How many times do I have to tell you not to hack my ship!”

“You wanted me to help, and this is faster than taking the lift. A please and thank you wouldn’t be too much to ask for.”

“Oh stuff it!”

“Close enough.” With that, the comm line went dead and Ty scurried back around to Moses, still lobbing parcels into the Vespera inelegantly.

Moses gave him a worried look and Ty gave her a thumbs up, waving her back to the ship. Moses nodded, pushing off from the container and landing awkwardly when the artificial gravity grabbed her again. Ty scrambled into the container for one last crate, the void keeping Moses’ shout of warning from his ears.

Ty looked back to see three more armoured figures who had walked along the belly of the cargo train between him and his ship. He swore inaudibly, ducking behind a crate for cover as energy blasts lit up the darkened interior.

“You know that the autoguns can't reach down there,” Dana said.

“Yes, obviously!” Ty snapped, returning fire to little effect, the slugs of his bolt pistol breaking up harmlessly on their protective shield. “Help me for void’s sake!”

“What's the magic word?”

“Are you kidding me?”

“No. I'm not your crew. You can't just order me around.”

“Fine! Please!” Ty shouted to no response. Though a moment later, he felt the cargo container shudder as the ramming spike retracted. Peeking out of his cover, he saw his ship backing away, grappling hooks retracting and the cargo bulkheads closing over a very panicked looking Moses. “Dana what the-”

Ty never got to finish his sentence as the Vespera launched forward, it's bulk slamming into the backs of the figures, shattering their protective shields and buckling their armour, one finding itself crushed between the hull and container, the other two tumbling limply into the container. Ty dove back from the impact, ducking and covering his head as crates spun and ricocheted off the walls.

After a few moments, the Vespera withdrew, pulling up alongside the hole, the airlock opening on her side. Ty smirked, standing up and pushing a crate out of his way.

“Dana. We really need to work on your communication skills,” he said as he kicked forward, pausing as he saw one of the guards move sluggishly, their visor cracked, icy void draining the life from their suit. Ty winced softly, jumping up to meet them and linking his comm into their suit.

“Hey, buddy,” he said, pulling out a knife, the blade glowing hot. “We both know that dying in space is gonna hurt. So, when you get to hell, make sure you tell ‘em it was Dreadlord Tyranus Nobel who sent you.” With that, he stabbed through the rubber seal at the back of their neck. The three yellowed eyes behind the visor went wide and then unfocused. Returning the knife to his belt, he kicked the figure out into open space, letting the counter force propel him back into his ship.

“Gun the engine Moses! Pick a direction and get us outta here” he commed, pulling himself into the airlock. A moment later, the lurch of the engines took the Vespera away from the battered cargo train, the weapons fire from the remaining guards fizzling harmlessly against the hull.

Ty took a deep breath, slumping against the wall as he caught his breath, unzipping his coat and shaking out his hair as the airlock let him through. Smiling confidently, he walked towards the elevator. He and his crew deserved a good celebration for that one.

Suddenly the ship lurched, throwing him to the ground.

“What was that, Moses?” He commed, climbing to his feet and running for the lift.

“We are not moving!”

“Why not?” Ty demanded.

“They've decoupled the engine and made chase. We've been targeted by a magnetic grappling beam,” Dana said, the only one on the comms who was audibly calm.

“Since when do freight trains have grappling beams?” Ty spat, bursting onto the bridge and leaping into the helm chair and pushing the engines to maximum. This only served to slightly push them away, though the larger ship still gained on them rapidly.

“May I?” Dana asked over comms

“I got this,” Ty insisted, turning the ship to broadside and opening fire, large metal slugs flying from the gauss cannons, slamming into the heavier ship's hull. Though even as scraps of debris began to drift around the ship, the Vespera still slipped ever closer to the engine.

“Tyranus, I can help,” Dana said, her voice thick with strained patience.

“I got this,” Ty repeated, continuing his assault as the larger ship loomed in the viewport, easily three times the size of the Vespera. Ty sent the ship into a fishtail in an attempt to evade the beam when the Vespera suddenly swivelled back to face the large engine.

“Hey! I didn't do that!” Ty snapped, trying fruitlessly to wrestle back control of the ship as it charged towards the engine. “Dana, I swear if you don't kill us all I will kill you myself!”

“Go ahead as soon as I'm done saving your life,” Dana replied, back in her room, staring down the data screens before her, data ports on her head jacked directly into the ship as she swung the Vespera down below the belly of the engine, using the momentum of the grappling beam to slingshot the smaller vessel below the larger engine. As they passed beneath, Dana released a spray of plasma mortars into the underbelly of the beast. The crackling energy was enough to disrupt the beam for long enough to let the engines kick back in at full force, launching the Vespera off into the void.

The larger ship took too much time to turn around, and by the time they did, the Vespera was hundreds of kilometres ahead and had enough time to spool up and jump away.

“There. I set a course to Port Richley and I'm arranging a buyer for you to sell those drones to at a premium,” Dana said through the comm, unwrapping an almond flavoured protein bar to reward herself. “Feel free to come down and kill me at your earliest convenience.”

On the bridge, Ty slammed his head against the console with a frustrated scream.

“Why does she angering you so? She did saving us.”

Ty sighed, rubbing his head. “Yeah, I know. But she… she's just such a bitch about it!”

“Have you considering that she might not be if you are listening to her?”

“She ain't my crew. Ain’t my problem,” he said finally, standing up and quickly changing the subject. “Anyway. Once we're at Port Richley, we should celebrate! There's a few good bars there and I desperately need to get wasted and let loose after that.”

Moses relented, returning his smile and nod. “It has being a long time since I could relax.”

Ty clapped his hands and grinned. “Then it's a date!”

“But you should be inviting Dana,” Moses added. “She is deserving the celebration also.”

Ty’s face fell again. “Dana doesn't like to drink.”

“Have you asked her?”

“Yes.”

“You are lying,” Moses frowned, her tendrils curling at the tips.

Ty sputtered, his posture suddenly improving. “Wha- No! How’d you know?”

“I can feeling it. Like your emotions.”

“New rule. No doing that.”

“I cannot stopping it.”

“Well, just… whatever.”

Moses sighed, tapping the comm on the ship as her tendrils uncurled. “Dana? This is the Moses. Would you liking to going and celebrating with us on Port Richley? Tyranus Captain is saying there are many good bars.”

The comm link was silent for a moment before Dana responded. “Sure. Thanks.”

Moses gave Ty a smile and he just slumped back down into his seat with a scowl and a muttered curse.

As luck would have it, drag from the grappling beam had left the Vespera with a rattle that Ty couldn’t locate and an unstable spool percentage. The week spent in jumpspace back to Port Richley seemed to drag. Ty taught Moses how to shoot better, though he found out that she was quite proficient with bladed weapons already, their one sparring match finding him facing down an entire weapons cabinet of whirling airborne blades all at once. After that, he began teaching her to use her telekinesis to shoot as well. With the heist still fresh in her mind, Moses sunk her teeth into the training with vigour.

***

The Vespera slid cleanly into the embrace of the mismatched docking arms at Port Richley. Ty enjoyed the freedom to have a smoke as Moses docked the ship.

“Good clean landing, Moses,” Ty smiled, standing up and heading for the lift. “You're really getting the hang of this.”

“It is not too much different from swimming at home.”

“Did you swim a lot?”

“All the time. My species is primarily of the water.” She tapped the thin, layered slits that curved along the front of her face and waggled her partially webbed fingers. “We can breathing air and water easily. Though I am preferring water.”

“Huh. So you're amphibious. Neato!” Ty grinned as the lift stopped and Dana joined them. “Perfect timing, Dana. Who've you got set up to take those drones off my hands?”

“A black market arms dealer. Kellum Cade. She expressed a vested interest in acquiring a large number of high grade security drones.”

“I think I've heard of her… she's the crazy motherfucker who lifted a battery of active laser cannons off a Sector ship mid flight, right?”

“A slightly exaggerated story. But only slightly,” Dana nodded.

“Sounds like my kinda gal,” Ty grinned, fruitlessly straightening out his hair.

“I wouldn't get your hopes up. She's sending representatives to make the transaction.”

“Aw, the good ones always do. And how much did you secure for them?”

“Twenty two thousand, three hundred and sixty credits.”

Ty gave a low whistle. “I should get you to find a buyer more often.”

“I'd rather you didn't. I have my own business. This was just to show you how incompetent you can be.”

“Hey, don't forget who you're talking to, tenant,” Ty said sternly.

“And don't forget who prevented the last week and a half from being a complete wash for you, landlord.”

“Who is excited for drinking later?” Moses asked with a smile, cutting through the tension in the air.

Ty chuckled softly, nodding. “Yeah. I'm always excited for drinking. You got bars back on Jur?”

“No. Our drinks are usually made at home.”

“Ah! I do love a good microbrew.”

“You love anything alcoholic,” Dana said with the closest thing to a smirk that Moses had seen so far.

“You are not wrong,” Ty laughed, opening the cargo hold doors to see two figures standing outside. One was a humanoid with coarse orange scales and a mane of shiny, crystalline quills. Behind xem, a large, hulking quadruped with purple fur and more eyes than Ty was comfortable with, who paid him little heed in return.

“You guys Kellum's reps?”

“Vozh,” xe nodded, taking his hand and flashing xyr fangs in a polite approximation of a smile. “You?”

“Dreadlord Tyranus Nobel,” he declared proudly.

“Big name for a little guy. You got the goods?” xe smirked, to Ty's obvious chagrin.

“Yep. All there. Have a look if you're curious.”

“No, thanks. Kellum trusts her reputation is enough to ensure quality in her dealings.”

“Yeah, no worries about that. We just lifted these bad boys off a Bismarck shipment on the HEV run less than a week ago.”

“Not too shabby,” xe smiled and looked at the hulking figure, giving it a nod. The beast lumbered into the cargo hold and began loading crates onto its back, magnetic clamps on its suit holding the crates tightly.

“And you got the cash?”

“Of course,” xe nodded, taking out a small case, opening it to show credit chits in the appropriate value nestled in place.

“Beautiful. That's what I like to see,” Ty grinned, taking the box and examining one of the chits. Satisfied, he shut the box and slipped it into his coat. “Pleasure doing business with you.”

“You too. And I hope our next meeting will be just as fruitful.”

“Who says it has to be our next meeting?” Ty smiled slyly.

Xe looked at him, both sets of eyelids narrowing slightly. “How do you mean?”

“Well, I just so happened to have come into a large amount of credits and my crew and I are going to have a few drinks and celebrate. I was thinking you could join us and I can show you that big things really do come in small packages.”

Vozh looked at him for a moment before laughing and flicking the brim of his hat down over his eyes. “Sorry. But I keep my business and personal lives strictly separated.”

Still chuckling, xe waved to the hulking quadruped and they made their way off the ship as Ty straightened his hat in a huff.

“Kellum looks forward to your business in the future, Deadlord Tyranus Nobel!” Xe called over xyr shoulder with a wave.

Ty grumbled something under his breath, turning back to see Dana with a slight smirk on her face.

“Don't you look at me with that tone of voice,” he said thinly, taking the chit box back out and counting out five thousand, four hundred and seventy two credits, handing them over to Moses. “Here. You did a damn fine job, Moses. I'm proud to have you aboard the Vespera.”

Moses beamed proudly. “I am thankful of you, Tyranus Captain. It is a pleasure to being here.”

“Thank you,” Ty corrected.

Moses cocked her head slightly. “You are being welcome too.”

Ty sighed and waved for her to follow. “No I mean… Just c’mon. I’ll give you a grammar lesson over drinks.”

***

The many moons of Port Richley provided plenty of opportunities for intoxication, catering to any bodily chemistry of any species. It wasn't hard for Ty to find an appealingly rowdy bar that Dana quickly vetoed. A bit more searching and some intervention from Moses lead them to a slightly more respectable establishment, though not by too much. Balja Kimoon's was still a dive bar by most standards. The loud music was just to Ty's liking and Dana simply dampened her audio receptors accordingly. The inside was dimly lit save for a clear area to one side where coloured lights pulsed and flickered near the speakers. They passed through the metal tables where some folks played games of chance, talked or just sat alone.

The bartender was vaguely arachnoid with a long, curled thorax and clawed graspers at the end of ten long, flexible arms, four of which they stood on. They looked them over with four sets of iridescent green eyes as they approached the bar.

“What is your poison?” they asked, an implant on the right side of their four mandibles interpreting their hisses and clicks into Galactic Standard.

“Ethanol based for the two of us, but our friend is gonna need a scan to be safe.”

Their eyes turned to Moses as one of their arms unclipped a small device from their harness. “May I please see your hand?”

Moses looked to Ty who gave her a smile. “Don't worry. They're just gonna take a small blood sample to make sure they don't give you anything that'll kill you. Doesn't even hurt.”

“Oh. Good then,” Moses nodded, holding out her hand. The bartender pressed the tip of the device to her fingertip and she felt a small tug, but no discomfort. As the bartender docked the device in the computer station behind the bar, Moses looked for a wound, but found nothing to her pleasant surprise.

A moment later, the machine pinged and displayed a readout of information. The bartender scanned it over before handing her a tablet with a list of drinks and food available.

“Surprising. We don't see many glycoalkaloid receptive species,” they remarked, handing Ty and Dana tablets with different options.

“Is that… good?” Moses asked.

“It means you're definitely something special, Moses,” Ty grinned, much to Moses’ obvious delight.

“I am thank you!”

After a few minutes of deliberation on Moses’ part, they placed their order and quite promptly received their drinks, a straight double of cheap whisky for Ty, a vodka cran with extra ice for Dana and a large, fruity topped orange and pink cocktail for Moses that the menu listed as a Havessin Sunset.

Ty paid for the first round and they found a table in the corner. He raised his glass and cleared his throat and smiled.

“Crew and tenant, it is my absolute pleasure to welcome Moses to our crew officially. You've proven yourself an asset to the Vespera and you're shaping up to be a damn fine navigator. I look forward to you serving with us for a long time yet!”

Dana nodded in agreement. “Likewise. You are significantly more amicable than our captain.”

Moses smiled widely, the skin around her gills flushing a light, lavender purple. “You are both being too kind. And, I also am looking forward to flying of you, Tyranus Captain.”

Ty grinned, tossing back a mouthful of whisky. “Aw, hell, we're just speaking the truth. But we came here to get drunk and party, not just to sap it up.”

“I agree. I'm hardly intoxicated enough to sustain being in your presence,” Dana smirked, taking a more reserved drink.

“Likewise.”

Moses looked at Dana with a curious expression, her tendrils drifting briefly around her head. “You are very hard to sense, Dana.”

“What do you mean by that?”

“She can read people's emotions with her tentacles,” Ty explained helpfully.

"But I am having some most trouble to sense you, Dana. Why do you hide so much?" Moses asked.

Dana frowned slightly. "I'd really prefer it if you didn't do that."

"I cannot stopping my sisr'tre. I simply wish to make understanding of you so we can be better friends."

"Well I'm sorry to burst your bubble but I'm really not looking to make the same connection."

"Yeah, Dana doesn't really do friends. Her words,” Ty chuckled into his drink.

Dana’s brow twitched faintly. "The more points of connection a system has, the more vulnerable it is. Vulnerability is a luxury not everyone can afford."

"But is it… what is the word for not togethering?" Moses asked.

Ty interjected. “Lonely?"

"Yes! Is it lonely?"

Dana shrugged."I prefer that to any alternative."

"What is an alternative?" Moses asked, cocking her head.

Dana looked at her solemnly, her eyes narrowing behind her glasses. "None of your business," she said, standing quickly and throwing back her drink as she returned to the bar.

Moses blinked confusedly, looking to Ty. "What did I say wrong? I am not knowing what alternative is."

Ty sighed, shaking his head. "Alternative means something different. I think you better go clear that miscommunication up then. Dana doesn't like people digging into her past. Hell, I tried looking her up when she first came aboard. I couldn't find any mention of her and not a minute later she shows up at my cabin door telling me not to go looking again. I figured we've both got our ghosts following us, and I ain't gonna be the one to rock that boat."

Moses looked to Dana as she left the bar with a frown, wondering why she had been so frightened and ashamed.

"Trust me. Just don't worry too much about it and you'll save yourself an ass kicking."

For some reason, Moses did not trust him.