The Star Prince by Susan Grant

prayed wouldn't be soon. She had never prepared a meal in her life. While cooking her own food was something she'd expected, and even looked forward to, dinner for six was something she'd never anticipated. Her sympathies went out to the crew.
    Quin pursed his lips, scrutinizing her. "I hope that liquor you like to guzzle hasn't eaten all your brain cells, because you'll need a few for this." He shoved a palmtop computer into her hands. "Here— your shipboard systems manual." He tapped the palmtop with work-worn fingers. "You've done all right so far. But like I told the captain today— if you fly rough, I'm not fixing whatever you break without it first being docked from your pay. Got it?"
    "Yes. I do," Tee'ah replied. Her tone was cool but not cold. As a professional starpilot she refused, no matter how much the man baited her, to bicker with her mechanic, wrench-wielding demon that he was.
    She was thankful when Quin skulked off without further provocation. With the palmtop nestled in her hands, she relaxed against the contoured pilot's chair. Her chair. She could grow used to the sound of that, she thought as she accessed the data stored on the little computer and began studying the lengthy shipboard systems manual.
    But, as she waited for Ian to come back to take her to Gruma's marketplace, her attention drifted to the miles of sunlit, forested hills outside the ship's forward viewscreen. True, viewscreens in late-model starships weren't transparent and displayed only what the computer "saw," but it was obvious the day was lovely. The idea of being closed inside smothered her with a sensation of claustrophobia. She'd spent too much of her life gazing longingly out of windows; it was her time to be on the outside. She'd await Ian there.
    She checked her hip pocket for credits, her laser pistol, and the personal comm unit Ian required her to carry. Across the cockpit, Quin crouched on his knees. His head was buried in an open panel underneath the comm station and tools glinted near his boots. The mechanic had been working since they'd landed, muttering about "bad luck" and "suspicious damage." She doubted that cutting short her studying of the ship's systems would make his mood any worse. "I will see you later, Quin."
    As she rushed down the gangway from the cockpit, Ian exited the cargo hold. "Ready?" he asked.
    His words were interrupted by a shout: "Tee! Halt!" Quin clambered down the gangway. Red-faced, he looked as if he was ready to vent all the outrage in his rancorous little soul. "You're confined to the ship."
    "She's on probation," Ian corrected. "Not confinement."
    "But, sir. I thought you said we had to keep an eye on her."
    "I’ ll keep an eye on her. I'm taking her to the market."
    "Quin's worried about the remaining quantity of functional brain cells in my head," Tee said dryly.
    The mechanic scowled at her. "Do me a favor, starpilot; don't go losing any more today." He hoisted himself up the gangway and stomped back to his repairs.
    After watching him go, Ian turned and dropped a cap and a pair of eye-shaders into Tee'ah's hands. "A makeshift disguise," he said.
    The crown of the cap was decorated with Earth runes: A.S.U., and a mean-looking little red man with horns and a tail. "Thank you. Is this Quin? It rather reminds me of him."
    To her delight, her employer laughed. "Meet the Sun Devil, the Arizona State University mascot and my ship's namesake." He seemed to search for a suitable English-to-Basic translation. "A.S.U. is where I received my higher education on Earth."
    Tee touched her fingertips to the emblem on the cap. Earth and its inhabitants symbolized all she hoped for in her new life: unconventionality and brash independence. "It will be an honor to wear it," she said. Proudly, she wedged the hat onto her wretched hair— or what was left of it— and led the way down the entry ramp.
    She walked with Ian along a dirt path leading away from the ship. The breeze held a slight chill, but it was