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"I'm a junker, not a house lord from Homeworld. Small's gonna have to do, princess."
I bite back a scowl of irritation and touch the hatch plate, trying to figure out how to work the thing. Even though I've been gone from Earth for several years by now, no one ever let me operate equipment or tend to myself. My praxiian owner treated me like a dog that he just liked to fuck, and I shudder at the reminder. The va Sithai brothers were good to me in that respect. Ironic that I can force-dock a pirate ship to another in space and can't open the door on this stupid thing. "I don't know how to work this."
I brace myself for Jerrok's inevitable cranky response, but he simply comes to my side and grabs my hand, placing it on the panel and then tugging at the handle next to it. "You have to do two different functions at the same time," he murmurs. "So no one can activate the door open by accident."
I'm a little unsettled at how quickly—and easily—he reached for me and how I allowed it. I should snap at him for daring to touch me, but now's not the time. "Okay."
"Silent, remember?"
I stick my tongue out at him.
He huffs, but he sounds a little amused, at least. Jerrok releases my hand and moves back to the cargo belly of the shuttle. "Give me a few and I'll join you. I just need to secure our trading goods."
I grab onto the doors and haul myself into the cockpit of the shuttle. God, this thing is teeny-tiny. The interior reminds me of a tiny helicopter in that it's small and pod-like. There's no real “seating” like there would be back home, just a lengthwise bench we're apparently supposed to share. I'm a little appalled at how cramped the cockpit area is, but I guess the majority has to be for the cargo. Adjusting my robes around me, I straddle the back half of the narrow bench and look at the controls. There's a fair amount of them, but some of the symbols I recognize from my time on the Little Sister. That's the one for increasing speed, and that's the one to activate the sling-drive that propels you at hyper speed, not that we'll need that in the midst of an asteroid field. Jerrok joins me a moment later in a creak of cybernetic parts as he slides onto the bench in front of me. "Trying to figure out how to escape?"
"No, I don't know how to fly this thing."
Maybe there's a hint of longing in my voice. He grunts, tapping a panel to turn it on. "If I get bored enough, I can show you."
Huh. "I'd like that," I say softly. I want to learn how to take care of myself. I hate being beholden to everyone else.
He secures the hatch, locking and cross-locking the door until we're sealed inside. The environmental controls come on in a rush of recycled air and my ears pop. "Hold on," Jerrok says. "This one has a bit of a rough acceleration."
I put my hands around his waist, since there's not much else to hold onto, and brace myself. There's a loud warning beep as one set of airlock doors roll back and we jerk forward, the small shuttle creeping along into the next bay. I tense as the doors shut behind us and then a second round of beeping begins as the doors that will lead us out into space roll open. I hold my breath, terrified that this junky old shuttle isn't going to be sealed properly and we're going to be sucked out into space.
But then we surge forward, my head snapping backward. I dig my hands into Jerrok's waist as we fling forward, and bite back a scream of alarm as he narrowly dodges an asteroid floating far too close.
"Relax," he murmurs. "You're squeezing the kef out of my side. It's one of the few parts of me that's not metal, you know."
"Oh. Sorry." I let go of him. "I'll keep my hands to myself now."
He grunts. "You do that."
I set my fingers on my knees, flexing them just a little with the memory of how firm he'd felt.18SOPHIEIt's a little disturbing how easily Jerrok blends in at the station. Before we land, he's joking with the docking agents over the comm. When they come out to greet our little shuttle, he talks easily to them as he pulls out the crate of scrap and lets the authorities pick through it. They glance through the shuttle's windows at me, but Jerrok waves them off.
"That's my new mate. Bought her a few months ago."
"Ooli, huh?" The mesakkah officer makes a face, shrugging his shoulders. "Guess it's hard for someone like you to find a decent mate."
