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Or might an alternate path have changed things? If they’d stayed on Vaga, how different might their journey have been? Perhaps Ethanule might have come for them…eventually. If they hadn’t taken up with Ziggy, would they have simply been betrayed in the same manner by the next crew they endeavored to trust? Would they have still encountered Aidan some way, somehow, down the line? Or would she have never known him at all? If Caryn hadn’t been seduced into confiding in Rice, would they ever have set foot on that never-ending wasteland of a planet—
Onnika gasped at her own stupidity.
Preparing to leave, Jedar tipped his hat once more. “Good luck to you.”
She jumped out of her seat. “Wait!”
At the suddenness of her outburst, three sets of curious eyes turned her way.
She turned to Aidan. “I have to go get something. “Don’t let him leave.”
“Well, now, Miss Onnika, I really don’t—hey, wait a darn second!”
Without hearing him out, she darted out the door and raced to her room, where her damp dress hung on a wire to dry. Asher and Lear were there keeping an eye on Caryn, both looking solemn, but as soon as she entered, they perked up a little and demanded to know if the old man had agreed to help.
She dug into the hidden pocket, searching…searching…
Please don’t let me have lost it.
Then her hand wrapped around the cool object she sought. She smiled at the two gruff males and replied, “He will.”
Hurrying back to the mess hall, she was happy to see Jedar had reclaimed his seat. She crossed to take hers as well and then set the Tranzinite in the center of the table between them. The rare and priceless gemstone sparkled blue and violet in the light. All sound seemed to have been sucked from the room as all three males gazed disbelievingly at the stone.
“Will you accept this as payment?”
