Page 70 of Too Many Beds

Lucas’s stomach lurches when the air pressure changes, the pressure of his boots suddenly lessening where he stands.

“Sorry,” Poe says, catching Lucas’s arm before he stumbles. “We’ve reduced the halls to 75% artificial gravity, in order to conserve energy. You probably didn’t hear before they absconded, butHephaestuswas equipped with limited resources based on how long the operation was supposed to take.” The other door of the airlock hisses open, and Poe keeps ahold of Lucas while escorting him into the wide, brightly lit hallway.

“A malfunction in one of our machines resulted in us running over our estimated project time. We’re all more than ready to get back home, but when we packed up and went to take off, Ranger discovered the navigation systems were completely down. The ship is pre-programmed by the company we work for to prevent resource theft—yeah, I know,” he says, grinning at Lucas’s eyeroll. “So, unless Tim and your engineer find a workaround, we’re stranded until the company gets a shuttle out to us, and only the gods know how long that’ll take.”

“I’m certain Andi will be able to help!” Lucas says, over-enthusiastic, mindful to not call attention to his personaluselessness. By the third hallway they turn down, he’s adjusted to the partial grav, and straightens his spine so Poe knows to let him walk on his own. His own cruiser is only equipped with artificial gravity in the personal cabin, and it doesn’t have a gradient feature. He’s either bouncing around his cockpit or securely on the ground.

They both fall silent as Poe navigates through the ship, Lucas squirming in discomfort over not knowing what else to say. Sooner than later, fortunately, they make it across the small vessel, passing into a wing that smells remarkably fresh compared to the stale, metallic air most ships acquire. Lucas draws a deep breath, a smile coming unbidden to his face. The light changes as well, yellow undertones giving way to bluish full spectrum lighting emitting from panels in the walls.

“Creek?” Poe calls, footfalls quiet as looks into each room they pass. They reach a set of transparent double doors; the sight through the acrylic makes Lucas’s jaw fall open.

He’s seen space hydroponic gardens before, but none grown quite so lushly. Beyond several rows of plants stands the fifth member of the crew, his back to the intruders. “What’s up, Poe? Tim find out how to get us the fuck out of here yet?” Creek asks without turning around. Even from a distance Lucas can tell the man is tall, even more so than Ranger, and he has long brunet waves tied back into a high tail on the back of his head.

“Not yet,” Poe says. “And you’d know what’s up if you checked your communicator.”

“If anything isthatimportant, Ranger can use the overhead speaker,” Creek grumbles. He bends over to prod at a small bush with thick, virident leaves struck through with yellow veins. Lucas does his best not to check out the generous swells of his ass, visible even through the baggy jumpsuit Creek is wearing.

“Just turn around and greet our rescuer, you ass,” Poe says.

Creek startles, straightening as he spins on his heel to face them. He’s wearing PPE glasses and gloves, but even through the bulky plastic, Lucas can tell Creek is the most beautiful man he’s ever seen. Then he sweeps them off and his high cheekbones, piercing gaze, and olivine skin confirm it. One of his eyes is honey brown and the other is an inhuman electric blue. The pupil clicks as it dilates.

“I— I’m not the rescuer,” Lucas protests, stumbling over his words. “I’m Captain Lucas Collingwood, but I only received the distress signal and responded, my engineer is really the one—” Poe laughs, but Creek only stares, focus intense as Lucas struggles to not make a fool out of himself. And fails.

With measured steps, Creek exits the row in which he was working, unzipping his jumpsuit and sliding his arms free. He comes to a stop in front of them, keeping his eye on Lucas while tying the sleeves off around his waist. Then he folds his arms across his chest and says, “Hello, Captain Collingwood. Thanks for showing up.”

Heat floods Lucas’s face. “It wasn’t any inconvenience. Not a problem at all. Actually, I was right at the end of an assignment and we were on our way back to my planet. I’m glad I caught it, because no one deserves to be stranded, and I’d hate to be in your guys’ position?—”

“I’m sure Ranger expressed appreciation for all of us,” Creek says, voice low and even. His height has Lucas tilting his chin up to meet an intense stare. He’s not muscled or wide like Ranger and Poe, but also not beanpole-thin. Just graceful, like a dancer, with a gardener’s nimble, dirt-smudged hands.

Lucas swallows hard. “He did.”

Creek stares at him a moment longer, then the pupil of his blue eye contracts, clicking softly as it adjusts to the light. “Good.” Then he turns around and walks back to his plantswithout another word, leaving Lucas feeling oddly flustered, and his heart jackrabbiting in his chest.

Poe gives him an apologetic shrug. “That’s just Creek,” he explains. “Let’s go check in with Ranger, see how long you guys’ll be stuck here.”

Similar to the personal cabin in the cruiser, where Lucas and Andi sleep on two vertical bunks, the five-man team shares a single room for sleeping quarters. There are six units total in the room, each featuring a mattress with storage drawers under the bed, cabinets over, and a privacy curtain. Lucas feels somewhat jealous of the privacy curtain.

While they could sleep in their cramped cabin in the cruiser, Ranger insists it’s no issue to make room for Lucas and Andi during their stay. Andi makes an attempt to decline, but Lucas is excited at the prospect of an adult human-sized mattress, and so accepts enthusiastically. Which means Andi has to accept as well, being as overprotective as they are. So they sigh, then take the unclaimed sixth bunk.

Meanwhile, the twins opt to share Poe’s bunk, allowing Lucas to spend the first night cycle aboard theHephaestusin Oliver’s vacated bed. Exhausted by all the socializing, Lucas falls asleep immediately, his last thought being how good Oliver’s sheets smell.

The next morning, the seven of them have breakfast together. Creek eats quickly and silently, then leaves as soon as he’s finished. Shortly after, Andi and Tim disappear to go another round fighting the navigation system.

While the twins clean their spots, Ranger only pokes sparingly at his rehydrated eggs and potato hash, focusing moreon a side of cooked greens. Noticing Lucas noticing, Ranger grins. “I can’t with this fake shit,” he says, jabbing his fork at the beige tray. “We’re lucky to have Creek aboard, cranky bastard though he is. Not many ships get fresh vegetables like this; just standard freeze-dried rations. First four months here I lost a dangerous amount of weight, before Creek noticed and came up with a meal plan.”

“I’m fine with most freeze-dried food,” Lucas replies. “I can eat it, I just miss some things we don’t have up here.” Like real butter.

Ranger smiles, but his eyes drop to where he’s tapping his fork against the side of the bowl of greens. “I miss a lot of things, frankly.”

Lucas purses his lips, debating on whether to ask while knowing he’s going to, but feeling better for the moment of hesitation. “What brought you to space?”

Scratching the back of his neck, fingers carding through his long locs, Ranger says, “Just got some bills back home, since my granny passed away. I had quarry experience on my home planet, and the mining company was paying nearly triple my salary for this position, with bonuses for every kilogram harvested. Seemed foolish not to go for it.”

“What’re you searching for?”

The question wins an eyeroll. “They’re called ‘vastpink’ gemstones. A type of crystal that forms in low-gravity environments, usually found in the cavities of large asteroids like the one we’re circling. Some celebrity on my planet became obsessed with them, making vastpink jewelry absurdly popular. Now demand is through the roof.”

Lucas finishes his last bite of food, then swipes a napkin across his mouth. “I’ve never seen vastpink.” He can’t deny his curiosity—Lucas is curious about everything there is to learnabout different cultures, which is why he bought his little cruiser and began intergalactic contract work in the first place.

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