Page 48 of Savage Union

He came forward and opened his mouth obediently. I tried not to notice what soft, kissable-looking lips he had as I carefully squeezed out two drops under his tongue.

He swallowed and nodded gratefully.

“Thank you, Captain,” he said again.

“That’s all. You’re dismissed to your post,” I told him.

But of course by the time we got out of my Ready Room, Gurflug was back in the nav chair. It didn’t matter—Yorrin would tell me if he had changed the route. So I said nothing and nodded for Cass to stand beside my seat as we prepared to make the jump.

I took him by the arm again to steady him and then the ship dived into the worm hole.

24

JESSINA

This time the dilation was a kind of fast-forward. Everything seemed to speed up for a moment—including my heart which was suddenly pounding in my chest. I gasped and stumbled as I clutched at my chest. I would have fallen if Turk hadn’t been holding my arm.

He gave me a swift, worried glance.

“You okay?” His voice sounded higher and faster, like someone was speeding it up.

“Yeah—just surprised, that’s all,” I managed to reply. My own voice sounded perfectly ridiculous—it was a mouse’s squeak so high and fast I could barely understand it myself.

But Turk only nodded.

“Okay, as long as you’re sure.”

“I’m sure,” I squeaked. “Er, you can let go of me now.”

“Not until we’re through the hole.”

This whole exchange seemed to take micro-seconds and his grip on my arm remained firm until we passed through the worm hole and everything abruptly went back to normal.

“Whew!” I shook my head and took a deep breath as my heart began to slow down at last. “That was crazy!”

“Just a standard fast-time dilation,” Turk said casually, finally releasing his grip on my arm.

“Captain, we are through the worm hole and officially ahead of schedule,” Yorrin reported in his slow, careful way. “The new jump along with the fast-time dilation has us only hours from the next worm hole. We’ll be able to make double distance today—maybe even more.”

“That’s excellent work, navvie,” I said, nodding at Cass. “And I think it calls for a celebration. Snuffy?”

“Yes, Captain?” The cabin boy was suddenly at my side, his long nose twitching.

“Spread the word to the Crew that we’re ahead of schedule. There will be a small glass ofpunchinfor everyone tonight at dinner to celebrate,” I told him.

What Ididn’tsay—but I knew Snuffy understood—was that I wanted Cass credited with the course correction and the fact that we were ahead of schedule. The less time a ship spends in Deep Space, the better for everyone. And thepunchin—which was a weak but tasty alcohol that I saved for special occasions—was always good for boosting morale.

If the men knew they had Cass to thank for their extra treat, it should go a long way towards dispelling some of the anger they felt for him. I hoped, anyway.

“Yes, Captain. I’ll go tell everyone right away. Yes, I will.Yes, I will!”

Snuffy bounded down the Gensen’s tube at once, much to my satisfaction.

We were going to get through this, I told myself. I’d had unrest in the Crew before—there was always a way to calm things down. I just had to keep my finger on the pulse of my men and be sure things were going well.

I only hoped I could do it and keep Cass safe at the same time.

25

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