there’s more business coming. I think I’m dressed for it.”
Della handed her the
pilot’s gun, she’d found the holster and put the two together.
There was a strap with six clips in it. Aspen hadn’t even realized
that she’d lost track of her weapon. “You’re going to need
this. I wish I was good in a fight, or could fly a ship, or even
shoot a gun, but I’m pretty useless when you look at it. I can
clean though, and take care of people.”
“That’s the kind of
thing that makes a ship feel like a home,” Aspen said, trying to
adjust the straps at the top of her boot so they made loops that
would hold clips along the front. Mirra helped, providing the third
hand she was missing. “She can cook like a gourmet droid, make
something out of three pieces of nothing.”
“Shush, you’ll
raise expectations,” Della said as she took Aspen’s jacket and
found the right way to hang the gun holster inside it. “I promise
I’ll never give you a reason to point that at me again,” she said
as she put the jacket back on Aspen. The gun wasn’t so weighty that
it felt off balance, and it only took her a moment to adjust to it
hanging under her shoulder. She faintly wished she had something
else, a weapon that didn’t kill the person she loved more than
anything in the universe, but it was an intimidating weapon.
“I really hope that’s
true,” Aspen said. “But you may be safer going off on your own
after you get paid. This ship is already wanted, and I’m positive
that I’m headed into another dangerous situation. Just think about
it, I appreciate your offer to help, and if I end up with a ship to
call my own at the end of this, I’ll need people just like you, but
the danger is very real. I don’t want you to follow me into
something you can’t handle because you thought you owed me.” She
recalled a moment where she considered spacing them and felt a dull
pang of guilt. “You would have ended up with a head start one way
or another. How you decide to use your freedom is up to you, and I’d
love it if you joined me on a ship, but it probably won’t be this
one, and I know I’m dangerous to be around. They enslave or execute
outlaws here, and that’s what I am now.”
“We know,” Della
said. “For the right reasons.”
“What she said,”
Mirra added. “Now let’s see what else we can find aboard.”
“We split platinum so
I get seventy percent, you two split the rest,” Aspen said.
“What? But…”
Della said.
“That’s how
captains do it,” Mirra said. “Most actually take between eighty
or ninety-five, because of the cost of maintaining the ship and the
responsibility they shoulder.”
“Oh, that makes
sense.”
“Besides, we’re
going to find a lot of plat,” Mirra said. “There was a lot of
heavy luggage delivered ahead of us.”
“We should start
piling valuables and staples in the main hold too,” Aspen said. “We
need to know how much loose items of value and food we have. The
galley is always stocked on this old bird before long trips, so I’ll
check that with a quick look.”
“Can I go clothes
hunting while we do this?” Della asked.
“Sure,” Aspen said.
“We’re on an eleven-hour jump, then at least one more after that.
I’m just hoping the Rinnel family pays up. I only have three
thousand credits in my personal account. I can’t cover your shares
from the ransom attempt on that.”
“I haven’t been
allowed to have a bank account for seven years,” Della said.
“What she said,”
Mirra added.
“Okay, you two get
started, I’m going to plan our next jump,” said.
So the looting began
while Aspen made sure the galley was stocked and was satisfied that
every cupboard and dispenser was full, then returned to the cockpit,
averting her eyes from the sheet against the rear bulkhead.
It only took her a few
minutes to find where Sun and the three other crewmembers were
brought, and it wasn’t where she’d hoped. They were working in
Della handed her the
pilot’s gun, she’d found the holster and put the two together.
There was a strap with six clips in it. Aspen hadn’t even realized
that she’d lost track of her weapon. “You’re going to need
this. I wish I was good in a fight, or could fly a ship, or even
shoot a gun, but I’m pretty useless when you look at it. I can
clean though, and take care of people.”
“That’s the kind of
thing that makes a ship feel like a home,” Aspen said, trying to
adjust the straps at the top of her boot so they made loops that
would hold clips along the front. Mirra helped, providing the third
hand she was missing. “She can cook like a gourmet droid, make
something out of three pieces of nothing.”
“Shush, you’ll
raise expectations,” Della said as she took Aspen’s jacket and
found the right way to hang the gun holster inside it. “I promise
I’ll never give you a reason to point that at me again,” she said
as she put the jacket back on Aspen. The gun wasn’t so weighty that
it felt off balance, and it only took her a moment to adjust to it
hanging under her shoulder. She faintly wished she had something
else, a weapon that didn’t kill the person she loved more than
anything in the universe, but it was an intimidating weapon.
“I really hope that’s
true,” Aspen said. “But you may be safer going off on your own
after you get paid. This ship is already wanted, and I’m positive
that I’m headed into another dangerous situation. Just think about
it, I appreciate your offer to help, and if I end up with a ship to
call my own at the end of this, I’ll need people just like you, but
the danger is very real. I don’t want you to follow me into
something you can’t handle because you thought you owed me.” She
recalled a moment where she considered spacing them and felt a dull
pang of guilt. “You would have ended up with a head start one way
or another. How you decide to use your freedom is up to you, and I’d
love it if you joined me on a ship, but it probably won’t be this
one, and I know I’m dangerous to be around. They enslave or execute
outlaws here, and that’s what I am now.”
“We know,” Della
said. “For the right reasons.”
“What she said,”
Mirra added. “Now let’s see what else we can find aboard.”
“We split platinum so
I get seventy percent, you two split the rest,” Aspen said.
“What? But…”
Della said.
“That’s how
captains do it,” Mirra said. “Most actually take between eighty
or ninety-five, because of the cost of maintaining the ship and the
responsibility they shoulder.”
“Oh, that makes
sense.”
“Besides, we’re
going to find a lot of plat,” Mirra said. “There was a lot of
heavy luggage delivered ahead of us.”
“We should start
piling valuables and staples in the main hold too,” Aspen said. “We
need to know how much loose items of value and food we have. The
galley is always stocked on this old bird before long trips, so I’ll
check that with a quick look.”
“Can I go clothes
hunting while we do this?” Della asked.
“Sure,” Aspen said.
“We’re on an eleven-hour jump, then at least one more after that.
I’m just hoping the Rinnel family pays up. I only have three
thousand credits in my personal account. I can’t cover your shares
from the ransom attempt on that.”
“I haven’t been
allowed to have a bank account for seven years,” Della said.
“What she said,”
Mirra added.
“Okay, you two get
started, I’m going to plan our next jump,” said.
So the looting began
while Aspen made sure the galley was stocked and was satisfied that
every cupboard and dispenser was full, then returned to the cockpit,
averting her eyes from the sheet against the rear bulkhead.
It only took her a few
minutes to find where Sun and the three other crewmembers were
brought, and it wasn’t where she’d hoped. They were working in
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