Skye had never seen a clean employees-only lunchroom, not even in the Guild.
The blinking red lines were the only thing that moved in the room besides her. She stepped out of the panel and let out a sigh of relief.
She had paid off one of the docking ring employees to clear this room, but paying off someone didn’t mean they’d do what she asked. Hell, he might not have done what she asked—the room might be empty at all times except whenever lunch was—but she didn’t care.
She had gotten Jack this far.
Now came the tricky part.
She pulled him forward.
He stepped out of the panel, looked up, and then stood upright with such a sigh of relief that she felt for him. Then he brushed off the top of his head, as if he had touched that horrible ceiling in the passageways. He did have some black streaks on the side of his face.
She probably did too, which made her shudder. Those passageways had been nasty.
She inclined her head toward a nearby sink. Jack looked at her with gratitude, then cautiously made his way over there. She followed. They needed to clean off as best they could and quickly.
Jack finished up, then stepped aside so she could rinse off as well. That hadn’t cleaned up the smell. But she headed toward the door, hoping he remembered her admonition.
It slid silently sideways instead of opening outward. Three employees stood near their stations, theoretically monitoring any ship that wanted to land on Krell. Automation didn’t work here; there were too many variables, most of them with shady reputations.
The employee that Skye had talked with, a man still so young that his enhancements couldn’t cope with all of his bad skin, winked at her. She winked back.
Then she slipped right toward the part of the ring where the high-end space yachts got stored. Most of them had security too tight for her to breach, but two models built for speed rather than comfort didn’t. Apparently a lot of the comfort items on a space yacht slowed it down, or at least ruined the sleeker designs that enhanced swiftness.
She could feel Jack behind her. He was going to have to duck again as they walked into the ring. This part had been upgraded most recently. The walls actually gleamed here, and the ring itself, while still plain, had a bounce to it that suggested custom-made materials.
The ships she wanted were farther down the ring, in their own hangers. She made it to the first. Fortunately, it was also her first choice, primarily because it was newer, and because a cursory search didn’t show any affiliations with known crime rings. She’d learned that one from her parents as well.
She slipped into the airlock and beckoned Jack to follow. The ships docked half in and half out of the ring. When they wanted to leave, they unclamped and backed out before they took off.
This allowed someone to flee even if no employees were working and even if someone else tried to shut down the automated docking system.
Jack slipped in with her. The space was narrow, partly because the nose of the ship pushed up in here as well. Earlier, it had taken her a minute to find the door. It blended into the ship’s blackness with no obvious lines around it.
His body pressed against hers, but he remained hunched. Still, he grinned.
None of the airlocks had security cameras, and apparently he knew that because he said, “You know how to get into this thing?”
Those were the first words he’d spoken in nearly an hour. But instead of answering him, she tapped the side of the ship. The round door opened inward, leading them directly into the cockpit.
“That’s not very efficient.” Jack pushed past her and stepped in first, almost as if he thought he could protect her from someone inside.
“Actually, I think it’s really efficient,” she said as she followed him. “We’re in the cockpit and ready to go.”
The cockpit was large. It took up a third of the ship. That was the other way she knew this ship was built for speed. Another
The blinking red lines were the only thing that moved in the room besides her. She stepped out of the panel and let out a sigh of relief.
She had paid off one of the docking ring employees to clear this room, but paying off someone didn’t mean they’d do what she asked. Hell, he might not have done what she asked—the room might be empty at all times except whenever lunch was—but she didn’t care.
She had gotten Jack this far.
Now came the tricky part.
She pulled him forward.
He stepped out of the panel, looked up, and then stood upright with such a sigh of relief that she felt for him. Then he brushed off the top of his head, as if he had touched that horrible ceiling in the passageways. He did have some black streaks on the side of his face.
She probably did too, which made her shudder. Those passageways had been nasty.
She inclined her head toward a nearby sink. Jack looked at her with gratitude, then cautiously made his way over there. She followed. They needed to clean off as best they could and quickly.
Jack finished up, then stepped aside so she could rinse off as well. That hadn’t cleaned up the smell. But she headed toward the door, hoping he remembered her admonition.
It slid silently sideways instead of opening outward. Three employees stood near their stations, theoretically monitoring any ship that wanted to land on Krell. Automation didn’t work here; there were too many variables, most of them with shady reputations.
The employee that Skye had talked with, a man still so young that his enhancements couldn’t cope with all of his bad skin, winked at her. She winked back.
Then she slipped right toward the part of the ring where the high-end space yachts got stored. Most of them had security too tight for her to breach, but two models built for speed rather than comfort didn’t. Apparently a lot of the comfort items on a space yacht slowed it down, or at least ruined the sleeker designs that enhanced swiftness.
She could feel Jack behind her. He was going to have to duck again as they walked into the ring. This part had been upgraded most recently. The walls actually gleamed here, and the ring itself, while still plain, had a bounce to it that suggested custom-made materials.
The ships she wanted were farther down the ring, in their own hangers. She made it to the first. Fortunately, it was also her first choice, primarily because it was newer, and because a cursory search didn’t show any affiliations with known crime rings. She’d learned that one from her parents as well.
She slipped into the airlock and beckoned Jack to follow. The ships docked half in and half out of the ring. When they wanted to leave, they unclamped and backed out before they took off.
This allowed someone to flee even if no employees were working and even if someone else tried to shut down the automated docking system.
Jack slipped in with her. The space was narrow, partly because the nose of the ship pushed up in here as well. Earlier, it had taken her a minute to find the door. It blended into the ship’s blackness with no obvious lines around it.
His body pressed against hers, but he remained hunched. Still, he grinned.
None of the airlocks had security cameras, and apparently he knew that because he said, “You know how to get into this thing?”
Those were the first words he’d spoken in nearly an hour. But instead of answering him, she tapped the side of the ship. The round door opened inward, leading them directly into the cockpit.
“That’s not very efficient.” Jack pushed past her and stepped in first, almost as if he thought he could protect her from someone inside.
“Actually, I think it’s really efficient,” she said as she followed him. “We’re in the cockpit and ready to go.”
The cockpit was large. It took up a third of the ship. That was the other way she knew this ship was built for speed. Another
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