Page 21 of Seducing Jenny
Inside, every luxury and comfort was catered to, including printers for food, small weapons, and tools. Each surface was self-cleaning, from the polished beige glimmerwood floors to the lavender walls. Even the overhead lights brightened or dimmed via mood sensors attuned to Jenny’s eyes, giving her perfect illumination throughout the ship.
When I slipped into the pilot’s seat, a thrill shot through me. I was about to fly a ship nicer than any of my friends had ever flown, including Deacon’s. I had felt the same excitement whenwe had driven it home from the dealer, so I wondered whether I would ever tire of flyingCheesecake.
Maybe I could convince her to change the name one day.
I fired up the engines and steered the ship through a tunnel that opened up five kilometers away, in the middle of a different forest. From there, we took off.
Jenny’s eyes went wide as we flew through space. “I don’t think I will ever get used to this.”
“To what?” I asked, glancing her way.
“The ease of travel.” She laughed softly. “Do you know about airplanes?”
“Rudimentary means of flight for humans.” I shrugged. “I’ve heard of them.”
As we flew, she regaled me with stories of airplanes and airports, and all the difficulties she had experienced in travel. She told me about lost luggage, security lines, chaotic gates, and once sitting between a bleating goat and a cage of parakeets. I listened, fascinated.
“And yet, you still insist you love to travel?”
“Of course I do,” she said, smiling. “I love new cultures, new foods, new people. It’s the best thing ever.”
“You know,” I said, eyeing her with a grin, “Pioneerwould be a great ship name.”
“She’sCheesecake,” she said firmly. “Deal with it.”
At least I’d tried.
“That’s Halla,” I said, pointing ahead. “We will be there in just a few minutes. Do you want to let them know we’re coming? I can probably patch into their private channels now.”
She shook her head. “No, not yet. I don’t want to risk any other ship picking up the signal.”
A woman’s soft voice came onto the speakers. “If you prefer a coded communication, I am happy to provide it.”
Jenny flashed me a gregarious smile. “Thank you,Cheesecake, but I’ll wait.”
“As you wish.”
As we flew closer, Jenny pointed to a glimmering vessel outside the ship. “What’s that?” she asked.
“That’s a Gorrk ship,” I explained. The ship was like most of their type. Amorphous, with flashing pink cells.
“Gorrk…” she tested the word in the Ladrian language she’d been injected with when she’d arrived on Halla a while ago. “That’s what Treg is, right?”
I nodded and smiled, thinking of my gelatinous friend. “Gorrks are always flying in Ladrian space. Their government thinks if they are seen often enough, then we will stop thinking of them as unusual.”
Jenny tilted her head. “Their bodies are made of jello. When does that stop being unusual?”
I chuckled. “The first time I saw actual jello, I freaked out. I thought someone had cut up a Gorrk for dessert.”
She burst out laughing, clutching her stomach. “Oh god. I don’t think I can ever eat jello again.”
We broke atmo on Halla and flew over the forest that led to the only city on the microplanet. Faithless, so named for the lack of faith in its citizens, was now the home of Sarah Hollinger, the leader of the faith, which made me wonder if she was going to change the name anytime soon now that the previous warlord, Rex Terian, was dead.
The atmo port we had taken was near the city, so it wasn’t long before we were at the city gates.
I frowned the moment they came into view. “That’s…different.”
Jenny glanced out the cockpit windows, her brows furrowed as well. “Yeah, weren’t the gates taller?”
