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7
“You know you want to ride this ride, honey.”
Onnika ripped her arm away from the grip of the miscreant who was supposedly the captain of a small craft calledDrudgeand continued on her way. Word had quickly spread that she and Caryn were looking to join a crew. Naturally, the knaves were eager to recruit a couple of eager “groupies.”
Groupies they were not, but looking to join a crew? Yeah. That seemed like the best option right about now.
Not just any crew would do, however. As always, Onnika needed to choose her mark carefully. At the same time, she had to hurry. Urgency bit at her heels. She felt exposed here in the sparsely populated hangar, the sense of danger growing, and the race was about to start. Less than an hour and all these ships would be gone…those precious schematics with them.
She’d used the last of the stolen cash to bribe her way into the restricted hangar where the racers were getting ready, warming their engines and taking their starting positions. She turned to Caryn and asked, “Are you getting any good vibes from any of these people?”
Caryn glanced around, twisting her fingers together. She shifted her gaze from one ship to another, then to a group of racers gathered at the registration desk, then back to another ship she’d already considered and on to another set of racers chatting by the bay doors.
She seemed more uncertain than ever.
“Remember, anything that doesn’t get us killed is a good option at this point.”
Caryn absently nodded, her frightened gaze going distant.
Over the loudspeaker, a voice announced, “In forty minutes the hangar will be cleared and racers must be in position.”
Caryn took on that same panicked look that had marked her features back on the mining planet.
Onnika placed her hands on Caryn’s shoulders. “You’ve got this, girl. I trust you.”
“ButIdon’t trust me.”
Whirling around to face the line of ships, Onnika said, “Then we’ll both have to agree, or we won’t get on any ship. Point to the ones you’re feeling even remotely good about, and I’ll read the crew.”
Nodding, Caryn indicated three ships, two nearby and one at the far end of the hangar. Onnika read the names painted on the hull in bold letters. “Armada, The Condemned,andDragoon.Dragoonwas at the far end, so they’d check that one last.The Condemnedwas the closest ship. She didn’t see the crew out and about—and the name didn’t exactly foster confidence—so she started withArmada. Two of the crew were arguing over who should be the one to carry a heavy crate onto the ship.
The ship itself was large, but the thrusters appeared to be meant for a much smaller craft. Speed would be an issue. One negative strike already. Onnika cocked her head, focusing her attention one of the two men. He had short, spiky hair with patches of white near the temple. Yet there was a youthfulness about him, an eagerness, even though he appeared to be older than the other. “He wants to win,” she predicted. “Badly.”
Caryn nodded, trusting Onnika’s judgment.
The younger man sported an air of cockiness in every move he made, a young buck ready to butt heads with anything in his path. Yet he seemed less committed to winning. The spark wasn’t there. Of course, that meant little if he was merely a cabin boy. If her memory served, according to the roster, there were thirty crew assigned to this ship. That was more of a turnoff than the boy’s lack of enthusiasm. That many people meant more chances of being recognized as Faieara and their secrets getting discovered.
The Condemnedwas among the handful of smaller ships. It had a pointed nose and sharp, angled edges. It resembled the kind of craft generally more suited for high-altitude, inner-atmosphere travel, but seemed to have been converted for space travel.
It also looked fast.
With no crew in sight, Onnika expanded her gift to reach past the hull, to the interior of the craft. It was more difficult to read a subject that was out of sight, but doable. Distance hampered her as well, but that wasn’t a problem here.
After a moment, she sensed two, no, four people on board…all with absolutely zero intention of winning Phase Nine. She cocked her head at Caryn, who returned a confused look.
“What is it?” Caryn asked.
“Uh, let’s head down to that far ship.”
Dragoonwasn’t the smallest ship in the line-up, but it wasn’t the largest, either. That meant it might boast a good combination of both stealth and speed. By her estimate, it could house a crew of twenty at least, but according to the roster, only six crew members were registered. Plenty of room for two more.
As they approached, Caryn halted for a moment, her eyes distant. She lifted her hand slightly, as if reaching out for something…in the direction ofDragoon.
“What is it?” Onnika asked, brimming with excitement.
Caryn shook herself, looking slightly confused. Then she just shrugged and kept moving.
Only one ofDragoon’screw was visible outside the ship, a good-looking fellow with short blond hair and a regal jaw. The potency of his determination practically smacked Onnika in the gut. In her experience, whenever she got such a clear reading, it usually meant the person was currently contemplating the very desire she was gleaning, or at least was very close to acting on that desire.
