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Within minutes she fell into a resigned acceptance. He engaged her in conversation, forcing Lucca to examine every word that passed her lips, terrified that any wrong sentence would give her away. The first thing she learned was that Caligher possessed an uncanny talent for dulling her misgivings—and making her want to trust him.
She found it almost too easy to talk to him. She felt herself slipping, revealing pieces of her greater life story—with all the important parts carefully edited out.
* * *
An asteroid city towered around them, connected by the Ternetzi-made architecture. Two mountainous peaks rose on either side of the open ravine—the stone a splash of colors ranging from sherbet to fuchsia to deep jewel peacock tones. Every part of the structure had been terraformed within an inch of its life.
The place should not have existed, but it did. Lucca snapped pictures for her album. If she lived to see Earth again, her family would want to see this place. Her dad would cry. As bitter as the gulf between them was, Lucca held onto the belief that this album would make him understand. Make him agree that she had to leave.
Hidden among her somber thoughts was a faint ember of hope. Despite the unfathomable odds, she expected to see Earth one day. See the look on her parents’ faces. Heal the cracks. Hell, she almost believed they could mend whatever had gone wrong between humans and the Ternetzis.
Caligher towed her to the city complex. Gleaming spaceships raced across the pit, adding a vibrant feel of life reminiscent of a true coral reef. Individual jumpers joined the flying traffic—aliens casually launching themselves outside without protection. How freeing that must feel. Lucca envied them deeply but could never begrudge them.
Caligher’s comms stayed open to hers, so she heard him calling on a merchant. An argument erupted and her translator fell behind, feeding her words at random until a pattern emerged.
Slowly, she digested the gist. They were arguing about Caligher’s ship.
“It is not stable—”
“You know nothing about my ship.”
“I knoweverythingabout ships.”
“Not this ship. It’s different.”
“My red ass it’s different. Your ship’s not exempt from physics, you thick rock, and that wing will get you killed!”
Lucca agreed with the merchant on this one. She’d had a few days to adjust to Caligher’s restless personality.
He ripped the walls apart when he was bored, then he started modding things, tearing cords out, plugging them somewhere… somewherewrong, doing it all with his bare hands and not an ounce of planning. Most days she woke up to an aura of destructive glee emanating from his side.
“Don’t touch my ship,” Caligher said.
Fuel was Lucca’s next objective. She scanned the asteroids and spotted the station to their left, a column of stone and infrastructure that stretched a kilometer tall.
Okay. That would be there when she needed it. Next, she needed money.
Caligher had promised some share of his earnings, but she couldn’t imagine it would be enough to flee the star system. Her mind zoned out to the tune of their continued argument. She could hear the sounds of the merchant’s workshop in the background.
What did she do about directions?Don’t suppose I could just ask.She imagined she would find herself as one of Caligher’s bounties faster than she could blink.
Handcuffs. A cell. Maybe worse. She doubted it would be the kinky affair she had in mind.
Lucca’s ears tickled when they started talking about her.
“Who is in this pink ship? You know I have to ask, are they here of their own free will?”
“This is Lucca. She’s more like… a business partner.”
“Abusiness partner?” The merchant released an ear-piercing laugh that had Lucca lifting her shoulder in a wince. “Is that what you kids call it these days? Whatever happened to good old—”
“Morwong I willmurderyou.” Caligher released a long-suffering sigh. “Lucca, this is Morwong. I’m sorry you had to meet him—”
“I’m Caligher’s father—”
“He is not my father.”
“I am!”
