Page 24 of Savage Union

I eyed the bottom bunk ruefully. I didn’t feel like it was safe to sleep there. Already I could see the mattress springs of the top bunk sagging ominously. What if they gave way and Gurflug fell through on top of me? Or what if the entire top bunk just collapsed? Either way, I would be crushed.

“You can fight about bunks later. Right now get dressed. The Captain is waiting for you. Yes he is.Yes he is,”Snuffy told us.

Then he skittered away, leaving me alone with Gurflug and a single thought in my mind…

Oh Goddess—I don’t know if I can handle this!

But it seemed like I didn’t have a choice.

10

TURK

Iwatched from the Captain’s chair as my two new navigators came back up the Gensen’s tube and onto the bridge. The huge Galafruxian struggled to get his bulk through the narrow opening but the boy was quick enough. However, Gurflug came first and despite his size, he made it to the navigator’s station first.

Casting a triumphant look over his shoulder at Cass, he jammed the silver ring of the nav helmet over his greasy temples and then turned to me.

“Head Navigator reporting for duty, Captain Turk. I’m ready to plot our route to the Triplex Cluster whenever you give the word.”

I only nodded absently—I was keeping an eye on Cass. There was something about the boy that bothered me, though I couldn’t put my finger on it. When I’d had him by the throat and brought him so close to my face, I had noticed that he smelled oddly familiar. Helookedfamiliar too, but that didn’t make sense at all. I didn’t know any other male like him…and yet, he intrigued me.

Not likethatof course—I’m no lover of other males. The farthest thing from it—I love the female form and everythingabout women. But still, the boy was on my mind, much more than a crew member—even a new one—ought to be.

Ishouldstill be angry about Frux, who had tried to second guess my choice to hire two navigators. He’d even called the Chief of our Clan…and had been summarily swatted down. I had the feeling that the Chief only kept him because of his relation to his wife—he didn’t actually like Frux either. Nobody did.

Currently, The Illyrian’s Union Rep was standing to the left of the Captain’s chair, his arms crossed over his narrow chest, fuming. He was always pissed off and complaining about something or someone—it was his whole fucking personality. Someday he was going to go too far and when that happened, I was going to fuck him up. But today was not that day. For now, my attention was on the boy.

I watched to see how he would handle Gurflug’s preemptory actions. He stood there, his hands clenched into impotent fists, a tight look on his face. But what could he do?

I saw the question running through his mind along with possible solutions—his face was very expressive, though I could tell he was trying to hide his emotions. Of course the Galafruxian was too big to physically push out of the way—not that I would tolerate that kind of physical conflict on my ship. And if he complained to me, he risked looking weak and whiney—not a good impression to make on your commanding officer.

“Come here, boy,” I said to him, and nodded to the right of my chair.

He shot me a wary look—probably remembering the last time I’d gotten him close—but he didn’t hesitate. He came right up to the side of my chair and stood at my right hand, watching the viewscreen, as we all were.

The star maps came up as Gurflug concentrated and I saw the jumps appearing in golden lines drawn from one worm hole to the next to the next. I counted them—five in all.

Beside me Cass stiffened and his jaw locked but still he said nothing.

“Yes, he’s using your routes,” I murmured, keeping an eye on his expression. “What are you going to do about it?”

He turned to me, his face a mask of fury. He opened his mouth, but I cut him off.

“Careful, boy,” I said softly. “There’s only one right answer here and that isnothing.”

“But he’s stealing my route!” His voice was soft but filled with barely suppressed rage.

“Yes, but it doesn’t matter. I know who plotted the course first,” I told him.

“Why did you bring me on board if you aren’t going to let me navigate?” he asked, glaring at me.

I should punish him for that insolent look, I thought. But somehow I didn’t want to—I understood why he was angry. I had once been the low man on the crew roster. Unlike my friend Slade who had been born as Clan Cruel royalty, I’d had to work my way up from the bottom in Clan Savage.

“Oh, I’ll let you navigate,” I told the boy. “I’ll need you once we get away from our home galaxy and there’s no Verifier to check the routes. For right now, stay back and let Gurflug have his fun.”

Some of the fury left his face, which was almost too pretty to be masculine. I frowned to myself—now where hadthatthought come from? I pushed it aside and waited for the first jump.

“Have you ever gone through a worm hole before?” I asked Cass.

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