Page 95 of Chosen By Swift

“You two would be in a patient cubicle.”

Swift grimaced. “And the cargo ship?”

“Jump seats.”

“And there’s nothing else available?”

“Not for a civilian,” the officer said, referring to Alys. “I can hold two seats for the shuttle tomorrow unless you’d rather—.”

“Swift?” Flint, the outpost commander, approached the logistics officer’s desk. “Is there a problem?”

“No, sir. We’re discussing options for a return flight.”

“Cargo only?” Flint addressed the logistics officer who nodded. He then glanced at Alys and back at Swift. “Your mate is pregnant?”

“She is.” It wasn’t strange for Flint to know that. As soon as Alys had stepped foot onto the outpost, he would have been alerted to her medical status.

“I’m sure she wants to get back home after this rather distressing visit,” Flint remarked, his expression one of concern. “Give me a few moments. I may have another option for you.”

“Thank you, sir.” Swift nodded at the logistics officer who had been helping him and then returned to Alys. “We may have to stay another night here at the outpost.”

“Oh. Well, that’s okay,” Alys said, quickly covering her obvious disappointment. “I don’t mind.”

She did, but she would never admit that to him unless pressed. She already felt guilty and embarrassed about everything that had happened at her family’s farm. Being back here seemed to have rolled back all of the progress she had made in advocating for her needs and voicing her displeasure. Hopefully, once they were back home, she would feel more comfortable with being assertive.

“Swift.” Flint strode toward them with a smile on his face. “I have a solution to your problem. We have a Dagger X1 returning to theValiant.It carries four pilots and four crew, but we’re only sending it with two pilots and two crew. There’s plenty of room for you and your mate in the crew section. There’s even a bunk if she needs to sleep.”

“Perfect,” Swift said, relieved. “Thank you, sir.”

“You’re welcome.”

After explaining the situation to Alys, Swift gathered up their luggage and led her out to the tarmac. He enjoyed the look of wonder on her face as she took in the sleek black stealth ship that waited for them.

“Why does it look so different than the other ships?” she asked as they waited to be admitted.

“It’s a final prototype for a new ship that’s being rolled outfleet-widein twenty months or so,” he explained. “There are two dozen or so of them in this sector right now. The pilots are basically using and abusing them to make identify any issues that might have been missed during the design and trial phase.”

“But it’s safe, right?”

He brushed a tender kiss to her temple, hoping to soothe any worries she had. “It’s safe. I wouldn’t risk you or our babies.”

“I know you wouldn’t.” She shot him an apologetic smile. “I didn’t mean to imply—.”

“I know you didn’t.” He slipped his arm around her shoulders and gave her a gentle squeeze. “Come on. Let’s find our cabin.”

After he had Alys settled into the empty crew cabin, he went to speak with the two pilots, Vector and True. They were younger than him by a few years, but both men were more than capable behind the controls. They talked shop for a few minutes, discussing the flight plan that included quite a bit of maneuvering in the stratosphere and mesosphere before their final ascent to space and then the trek to theValiant. None of the planned maneuvers were dangerous, but they would add another three hours to the total flight.

“If you need anything, you’ll have to fend for yourself,” Vector warned. “We only have engineers on the flight crew today.”

“We’ll be fine,” Swift assured them. “And, again, thank you for letting us onto your flight.”

Air trafficcleared thepilots to proceed to the runway so Swift left the cockpit, making sure to close the door behind him. He passed the two engineers on his way to the cabin where he had stowed Alys and introduced himself before continuing his journey. When he reached the cabin, Alys had already stretched out on the bottom bunk. She was fast asleep, and he carefully secured the two harnesses around her body to keep her safe.

“What?” she asked sleepily, rousing as he clicked the harnesses into place.

“Nothing, sweetheart,” he murmured and kissed her lovingly. “I’m securing your safety belts. Part of the flight might be bumpy.”

“Oh.” She yawned tiredly. “Okay.”

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