Rhymarra’s space traffic control and their prissy smuggling databank would have been helpful right about now.
As she deliberated, a light flashed: an awaiting text message from the unknown vessel.
Request: Establish radio contact to coordinate rescue.
It was risky, but Torian didn’t have much choice. She set her jaw and keyed access, tuning the radio to their frequency. Her heart pounded as she said, “This is the… um, theTraitor, hailing from Colony 13. Please identify your ship.”
For a moment, there was silence.
Then, Amelia’s voice came over the radio:“Well, well. How did I know you’d break down in the middle of space, Scrap?”
Amelia.
The apprehension and fear vanished in a breath, replaced with giddy happiness. A stupid smile slid across her face. Thank the Heavens, the stars, and Moss itself—they weren’t fucked after all.
There was literally no one Torian wanted to see more in the entire galaxy.
Amelia’s ship drifted into view, moving with tiny propulsion jets that nudged it into position. Beside theDestitute, it was a behemoth, and Torian had to crane her neck to see the flight deck: the one area of a human-built ship that utilized an actual window.
Amelia was lounging against that window now, holding her radio. She was wearing that faux-leather jacket Torian had gifted her, and looked too suave to handle. Even from here, Torian could see her smirk.
Torian’s brain went blank, just for a moment. She knew Captain Amelia Perrosk was sexy as fuck—but seeing her casually about to attempt rescue made it almost too much to bear. Heat rose along Torian’s neck and cheeks, even as she clawed her tone into some semblance of nonchalance.
“I’m hardly drifting. We’re just… taking a break.”
“Ah.”Amelia’s shoulders shook from laughter.“Then your SOS was just—”
“Trying to make friends. You know.”
This. This was how Torian had fallen for Amelia in the first place. Once they stepped out of “professional colleagues” and into “maybe friends or more,” conversation with Amelia had been so, so easy. Every exchange held weight, every smile hinted at deeper feelings. Torian used to recall their conversations and laugh at howrightthey all felt.
At least, up until the moment they weren’t.
“Well, since you already know us, I guess we’ll just leave. Wouldn’twant to confuse another potential… friend.”Amelia was still teasing.
Torian pressed the button on the console, attempting to steer this conversation back into safer territory, but then Moss interrupted: “Do not let them leave. We need a tow.”
Because she’d had her finger on the radio, Moss’s words accidentally transmitted. Immediately, Amelia’s body language shifted from casual to alert, and she craned her neck to see better into Torian’s flight deck.
“Who was that? Tell me you didn’t put a crew on that tiny-ass ship.”
Moss had been fine with revealing its existence to the officials on Rhymarra, but for some reason, Torian hesitated here. She told herself it was because Amelia’s crew were smugglers by trade, and now theDestitutewas in a vulnerable position. She told herself that if someone overheard and decided to use Moss to profit, even behind Amelia’s back, there’d be little Torian could do to prevent it.
The reality was that Torian suddenly felt like she was going behind Amelia’s back, making friends and moving on—even though Torian hadn’t been able to move on, not in six months, and suddenly she was panicked thinking that Moss might ruin any potential shot she had.
It was so stupid, but Torian still spluttered, “That’s my… uh… ship AI. Came with the vessel.” And then she released the radio’s transmission button.
Just in time, too. Moss said curtly, “I am not an AI. I am life support.”
Torian forced a laugh. “I know, Moss. But it’ll take a bit longer to explain to her what you really are. Can we wait to have that discussion?”
Moss paused. “My data suggests Captain Amelia Perrosk is a past romantic partner.”
That made Torian’s entire body go hot. In a brief, unbiddenmoment, she remembered the week before the Accident, the blissful time between when they’d kissed and when everything fell apart. The moments where Amelia and Torian would meet in the hallway, and instead of sidestepping, Amelia’s fingers would gently graze Torian’s arm. The moments where Amelia smiled, and it felt like Torian’s whole world was on fire, because that smile was forherand no one else.
Then, the moment where Amelia chose Torian as her personal security, and delegated the more senior security team to guard outside.
The moment it all went to hell.
