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Mathiras adds, “But if we’re the ones that find it, we could be rich beyond our wildest imaginings.”
“I can imagine a lot,” Adiron says, grinning.
“So we’re going after this ship? The Buoyant Star?” I ask.
“The Slatra system is a forbidden system,” Mathiras continues. “It was ceded in the Threshian Wars and mesakkah are forbidden to fly there.”
“So we’re not going?”
“All of our star charts and maps have been classified or incomplete,” Kaspar says, flicking his fingers across the nav screen and pulling up star chart after star chart. “Until now. Now, we just might have a chance to find that ship.”
“But it’s dangerous,” Mathiras continues, and looks over at me.
“We’re pirates, right? Isn’t everything dangerous?”
“This is a different kind of dangerous.” Mathiras exchanges a glance with his brothers. “One we’d never risk Zoey on, and one we shouldn’t risk you on, either.”
So…wait. There’s a creeping sensation of fear moving over me. “What am I supposed to do, then?” I gesture down the hall. “And what about my new best friend?”
“The carinoux can’t stay on board. It’s too dangerous—for it and for us. The last thing we need is some overgrown expensive pet chewing through the Sister’s wiring.”
“Should we put it back?” Kaspar asks.
I gasp. “You can’t abandon it! You just killed the other crew! You’re scuttling their ship!”
“Yes, but this could be the job that makes us,” Kaspar continues, stabbing a finger at the star charts. “We need to get on this!”
“Sophie’s got the thing under control,” Adiron butts in. “And it’s still worth a lot of money to the right buyers. Be stupid to pass that up.”
Mathiras holds up a hand. “We’re not passing up anything. There’s a way to keep Sophie safe and offload the carinoux somewhere until we can organize a sale.”
“How?” Kaspar asks, impatient.
The oldest brother just grins. “Remember who owes us a favor?”
Kaspar’s eyes widen. Adiron chuckles. “Un’Rok? He’s going to shit himself if we show up with a human and a carinoux.”
“He owes us a favor,” Mathiras reminds them, a stubborn expression on his face. “I don’t care if he shits himself as long as he keeps them safe while we check out the Slatra system.”
They’re talking around me as if I don’t count. I hug my arms to my chest, hating it, and hating that I almost agree with them. I don’t count. I couldn’t even kill the enemy earlier. But…shouldn’t I have a say in my own fate?
Here I thought things would be different after joining the brothers’ crew, but I feel like a thing—an object—just as much as I ever did. Me and poor Sleipnir both. “Is this un’Rok guy…another pirate?”
Adiron snorts. “He wishes.”
“He’s a junker and a mechanic,” Mathiras explains. “Lives alone on an abandoned outpost. It’s perfect. You’ll be safe there until we come back.”
“It’s decided, then,” Kaspar says quickly, and Adiron nods.
I…guess it is. The brothers go off in search of adventure, and I get to cat-sit at some stranger’s house. Lucky me.4SOPHIEIn the three days it takes for the Little Sister to approach the Vogli asteroid belt, Sleipnir chews up all of my bedding, my favorite chair, three control panels in my room, and nearly eats a hole through the door.
The carinoux is apparently a bored chewer, and even metal or the strongest plas doesn’t stand a chance.
It just reinforces the fact that the va Sithai brothers want Sleipnir off the ship for this next adventure, and where the big carinoux goes, I go, too. I’m not happy about it, though. Sleipnir no longer tries to attack the others; he watches me for my reactions to the other males and adjusts accordingly. He’s smart, Sleipnir, and utterly affectionate. I tell myself not to get too attached, because he’s going to be sold off. He’s just another “thing” to make money.
I try not to let that eat at me too much.
Adiron, Kaspar and Mathiras are wrapped up in plans for this missing ship. They spend all day discussing star-lanes to take, fuel, and poring over every inch of the star maps. Since I’m not going to be allowed to help out, I’m pretty much on my own. I make my food, clean up after Sleipnir, and re-read the old copy of Outlander on the ship for the seventh time in a row. Even though I’m still on the ship, I feel isolated and it sucks.
When the Vogli belt appears on every screen, Kaspar and Adiron both take to the controls, skating us through the floating minefield of massive asteroids. I stare out the ship’s windows in wonder, marveling at the sheer number and size of the rocks that float past. I’ve never seen anything like it. It’s also a little terrifying as crater-covered asteroids the size of stadiums drift close enough to the Sister to make me sweat.
“It’s a great place to hide,” Mathiras admits as we look out the window together. “Only the most danger-loving flyboys would head out here. There’s no stations anywhere near this system, no big star-lanes. All is quiet on this end of the galaxy.” He puts a hand on my shoulder. “You’ll be safe out here.”
