floating.
“Okay.” Vance nodded to her from his station. “We can go
now.”
They made their way to her ready room and closed the door
before either of them spoke again.
“So what did you want to talk about?” Vance sat down on the edge
of the couch as small beads of sweat broke out on his forehead. He was
obviously nervous. Not that she was surprised. She would probably be every bit
as worried were she in his spot. He had to think she blamed him for the current
crisis. But he was far too good an engineer for her to suspect negligence on
his part.
“Would you like a drink?” She turned to face the decanters
sitting on a nearby shelf as she took a deep breath.
“No thank you, sir. I’m good.”
“Okay.” She returned her focus to him as she folded her
hands in front of her waist. She’d hoped he wanted the drink so she could have
one. She could use a little bit of alcohol to settle her nerves and to give her
hands something to do. “I wanted to talk to you about the possibility of
sabotage.”
“Of what? The ship?”
She walked over and sat on the chair directly across from
Vance. “One of my crew members voiced some concerns and now that we’ve had a
weapons malfunction on the day of the run, I wanted to get your opinion.”
“I can’t imagine why anyone would. What would their motive
be?”
“My best guess? We’re picking up a political prisoner who
carries a lot of weight. It wouldn’t be that farfetched to believe someone
doesn’t want him to pay his debt to society.”
“Who are we talking about?”
“That’s classified. But he has connections at the top of the
political spectrum.”
“I see.”
“The people who would want him free have the power and
influence to promote those who help.”
“Do they have the authority to promote a possible saboteur
to captain and give him a ship of his own?”
“Yes.”
“There is one name that comes to mind. Barkswell.”
She nodded. “He’s ambitious.” And did have a connection to
Prime Minister Lee. “Anyone else?”
“Maybe the XO.”
Harlow’s heart froze and her stomach knotted at the
possibility before her mind caught up with her emotional reaction. “No. He’s
the one who started asking questions. If her were the saboteur, the last thing
he’d want is to bring attention to it.”
“Guess you’re probably right. I was just suspicious of the
timing. He came onboard right before the run. Awfully convenient.”
“The same can be said of any of the new blood.”
“You do have a point.”
“Any other names?”
He shook his head slowly. “No one comes to mind, sir.”
“Thank you.” She saw him out before pouring herself two
fingers of whiskey.
“XO to Captain.”
His timing could not have been worse. Well, maybe it could
have been. He could’ve called her while she was masturbating. But other than
that, this was as bad as it got. “Captain here.”
“Salaan will be in range in an hour.”
She didn’t need him to tell her that. She could hear the
clock ticking in her head. “And?”
“Have you eaten?”
This had to stop. “You’re my XO, not my babysitter.”
“It’s the XO’s job to make sure the captain stays of sound
mind and body.”
She growled with irritation. She hated it when he was right.
“Fine. I’m headed to the mess hall now.”
“I’ll join you there.”
“I don’t recall inviting you to dine with me.”
“This is my first run. I’d kind of like to know what I’m
doing.”
Damn it! Must he be right about everything tonight? “Okay.
Meet me in the mess hall in fifteen minutes.”
She had ten minutes. Dashing to her bathroom, she ran a
brush through her hair before changing into a fresh uniform. Her eyes had dark
circles under them and her complexion was sallow from the lack of sleep and
stress but it was nothing a touch of makeup couldn’t fix.
Looking her best had nothing to do with meeting Parker and
everything to do with keeping up appearances with her crew. If a
“Okay.” Vance nodded to her from his station. “We can go
now.”
They made their way to her ready room and closed the door
before either of them spoke again.
“So what did you want to talk about?” Vance sat down on the edge
of the couch as small beads of sweat broke out on his forehead. He was
obviously nervous. Not that she was surprised. She would probably be every bit
as worried were she in his spot. He had to think she blamed him for the current
crisis. But he was far too good an engineer for her to suspect negligence on
his part.
“Would you like a drink?” She turned to face the decanters
sitting on a nearby shelf as she took a deep breath.
“No thank you, sir. I’m good.”
“Okay.” She returned her focus to him as she folded her
hands in front of her waist. She’d hoped he wanted the drink so she could have
one. She could use a little bit of alcohol to settle her nerves and to give her
hands something to do. “I wanted to talk to you about the possibility of
sabotage.”
“Of what? The ship?”
She walked over and sat on the chair directly across from
Vance. “One of my crew members voiced some concerns and now that we’ve had a
weapons malfunction on the day of the run, I wanted to get your opinion.”
“I can’t imagine why anyone would. What would their motive
be?”
“My best guess? We’re picking up a political prisoner who
carries a lot of weight. It wouldn’t be that farfetched to believe someone
doesn’t want him to pay his debt to society.”
“Who are we talking about?”
“That’s classified. But he has connections at the top of the
political spectrum.”
“I see.”
“The people who would want him free have the power and
influence to promote those who help.”
“Do they have the authority to promote a possible saboteur
to captain and give him a ship of his own?”
“Yes.”
“There is one name that comes to mind. Barkswell.”
She nodded. “He’s ambitious.” And did have a connection to
Prime Minister Lee. “Anyone else?”
“Maybe the XO.”
Harlow’s heart froze and her stomach knotted at the
possibility before her mind caught up with her emotional reaction. “No. He’s
the one who started asking questions. If her were the saboteur, the last thing
he’d want is to bring attention to it.”
“Guess you’re probably right. I was just suspicious of the
timing. He came onboard right before the run. Awfully convenient.”
“The same can be said of any of the new blood.”
“You do have a point.”
“Any other names?”
He shook his head slowly. “No one comes to mind, sir.”
“Thank you.” She saw him out before pouring herself two
fingers of whiskey.
“XO to Captain.”
His timing could not have been worse. Well, maybe it could
have been. He could’ve called her while she was masturbating. But other than
that, this was as bad as it got. “Captain here.”
“Salaan will be in range in an hour.”
She didn’t need him to tell her that. She could hear the
clock ticking in her head. “And?”
“Have you eaten?”
This had to stop. “You’re my XO, not my babysitter.”
“It’s the XO’s job to make sure the captain stays of sound
mind and body.”
She growled with irritation. She hated it when he was right.
“Fine. I’m headed to the mess hall now.”
“I’ll join you there.”
“I don’t recall inviting you to dine with me.”
“This is my first run. I’d kind of like to know what I’m
doing.”
Damn it! Must he be right about everything tonight? “Okay.
Meet me in the mess hall in fifteen minutes.”
She had ten minutes. Dashing to her bathroom, she ran a
brush through her hair before changing into a fresh uniform. Her eyes had dark
circles under them and her complexion was sallow from the lack of sleep and
stress but it was nothing a touch of makeup couldn’t fix.
Looking her best had nothing to do with meeting Parker and
everything to do with keeping up appearances with her crew. If a
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