Page 32 of Sol Survivor

She winced, remembering the macabre scene that had greeted her.How she felt about him was ambiguous at best.Sometimes, he’d been the father she never had, despite knowing his ‘care’—ensuring medical treatment, good food, and rest—protected Victorious, the asset.Mostly, he’d been an ass with his smirking, training, kidnapping more children, and convincing many to upgrade their limbs to cybernetics.

She gritted her teeth.Her pure-human status was no longer.In the end, Erv and Carne had won.“A single shot with the blaster, execution-style.”

The door swung inward without warning, with Dieter leaning in.“Got a problem, boss.The crew called for an evac.”

Themba leaped to his feet.“What the farg?”

“Not to worry.I dispatched Tiny.”Dieter’s gaze didn’t stray from Vic’s chest, not even when Themba circled his desk to grip Vic’s arm and tug her to the door.

“Show Vic to her quarters, and stop ogling her.She’s not ice, y’know.”Themba waddled to his desk.

“Sure, boss.”Dieter pressed his palm to her lower back to slip past her, heading deeper into the ship.She sucked in a deep breath to catch the familiar and nostalgic smells of grease and sol.

Behind her, Themba roared into his wrist, “Farg it, Sarg, I asked you to keep a low profile…”

As Dieter led her along kinked pathways with too many doors, she said nothing.He had a lovely ass, but other than that, she reeled from the interview.Maz had accepted all manner of implants.She doubted her captain had more than thirty percent human left in him.Which meant, she might not be able to take him.She grinned.A challenge wasn’t a bad thing, per say.

Up a ladder she and Dieter climbed, the bulkheads closing in, the metal grating beneath her feet worn, and with stickers and posters personalizing submarine doors.In front of a plain door, the name slot blank, he paused.“My room’s the red door…if you needanything.”

She frowned.“Captain said—”

“What Themba doesn’t know can’t hurt him.”Dieter caught a lock of her hair and tucked it behind her ear.“When you’re settled, just call me on the system.Computer, this is Vic, grant her permanent access to room ‘403.’”

“Access granted to Victoria Barnes,” a semi-feminine voice crackled as the door swung open.“Room sterilization complete.Security restricted to Victoria Barnes.”

“It’s just Vic.”She flashed a smile at Dieter while closing the door in his face.“Computer?”

“Yes, Vic.”

She felt like an idiot with her face raised to the paneled ceiling.“Is anyone else allowed access to my room?”

“On this ship, Security personnel can override access.”

Vic sighed.As she had thought.So her room but not hers.Yet another place she couldn’t call home.Scanning the four-by-four-meter cube, she studied the markings on the walls indicating the hidden toilet, basin, table, and closet.The sol-bath was a sliver of glass embedded in the wall.The bunker was single, and she almost missed staring at the rungs of Ande’s bed above it.

This was freedom, no Carne, no Pa, just four walls on an ice hauler heading into space.She was far from the childish dream of working her ma’s sol farm.This was her life, the embodiment of freedom, for now.

No one had ever accused her of lacking patience.

Chapter Twelve

Year: 2219

Lunar Base

Truetohisword,when Vic summoned Dieter, he left his room, closed his red door, and loped over to her waiting in the passage.“Ready to see the ship and meet the crew?”

She gestured to him to lead the way.“What happened?Why the evac?”

He shrugged.“Not sure.Tiny’s still in the med bay with two of the crew.Sarg is with Captain, no doubt rehashing what happened.I’ll find out soon enough.No one died, so that’s good.”

He was too cavalier about the people he worked with.

From the lack of wrinkles, she would place him in his mid-twenties, yet he acted as if he had been a mechanic for a decade.“How long have you been hauling ice?”

“Years.”He grinned.“OnMula Pesada, only two.I like it so far.Captain’s a fair man, and those are rare in the far reaches.Employees get a decent bonus too.”

He entered a round room, counters wrapped the walls, a circular table dominated the center, and a few walls held plants.The UV lighting drew her, and she paused beside one, running her fingers over the green leaves while absorbing the ‘sunlight.’

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