Page 15 of Claim
“Carmen does some sewing and is ready to help.Sil wants to display some of his jewelry.And I will style the crew before you go out.You will all look amazing.”
He was still staring at the datpad.“Will that be enough?”
“No.”At her blunt assessment, he looked up sharply, and she shrugged.“Of course not.Looking the part isn’t enough.But you’ve already done the work.You have a cargo-hold of processed ore and Sil’s sung stones like nothing else in the universe, plus the maps you made of the Zarnox Zone where Roxy came from that could mean future work.All that isn’t just looking the part; it’s walking the talk.”
Finally he shifted his intent gaze to her.“Maybe there is a chance to save me after all.”
Too bad there was no way to save what had happened between them.Some split ends were so awful they just had to be cut off and swept away for good.
***
How nice that she was too busy to shrivel up in shame.
For the next two cycles, she scrambled to finalize the sketches, deputize anyone with a skillset that mattered, and start production.Calling all hands on theDeepWanderfor the Luster was very much like the pre-Christmas rush to stage three showings of the nativity play one after the other.
During the next uroondu, she sent a message to everyone who’d be making their showing at the opening ceremony and auction, asking them to come to the gather-hall for first fittings.Luckily, sinceDeepWanderwas a deep-space ship that only occasionally returned to port, it was set up for on-the-go fabrication.She was able to requisition all sorts of materials, from fabrics to pigments.It was going to be a great show.
A show that would determine the fate of the ship, the rest of their lives, their futures, and Mag’s freedom.
The rest cycle before the fitting, Kinsley stopped at June’s apartment to drop off some of Sil’s stone songs.“He hasn’t done the final polish,” she said.“But he so tired I made him go to sleep and hope you can use these for now.”
June added the ornamentation to the pile.And since they were orc costumes, it was a big pile.Carmen, who was finishing up her sewing, was almost lost behind the mass, although she popped her head out to admire Sil’s stones.
“Even if they’re not finished, these are beautiful,” she marveled.“Your life-mate must be singing his heart out.”
Kinsley trailed her fingers over the precious metals and gemstones before stepping away with a sigh.“It’s all laughter and longing, love and hope.Will it be enough?”
At the echo of Mag’s question, June gestured at the towering pile.“Well, it’s certainly a lot.”
Kinsley smiled at her though the expression was a bit wry.“You were always the most optimistic among us.”
June shrugged.“We all believed in another chance.That’s why we signed up with the IDA.”
Kinsley let out a hard breath.“Speaking of.Adeline was contacted by our intake counselor from the Big Sky outpost.It seems they might’ve gotten a whiff of some of the difficulties here, because they are reminding us that we can go back to Earth if we’d rather.”
Stabbing her needle into the cape she was hemming, Carmen wrinkled her nose.“Thisis home now.”
The three of them looked away at the same time, and June knew what they were all thinking: home, maybe, but for how long?
At the fitting, there were far more bodies in the gather-hall than they had outfits for.Of course everyone was fully vested in the outcome of their charade.
June jutted her jaw.It wasn’t a charade.Sil’s diamonds weren’t a lie just because they’d been carbon dust first.
Heat and pressure made diamonds, but if the stress was continued, even such hard shine might chip and shatter.The diamond might turn back to dust, theDeepWandermight return to its subsistence existence on the dimmest sectors of the galaxies, combing through debris, but they would lose their apex.
No matter how hard she set her jaw or her heart, that fear wrecked her.But she hid behind the optimism that Kinsley so admired.Considering the one-time con woman had been prepared to leave the ship, she was its fiercest protector now.
Across the hall, June saw Mag and Teq in some sort of intense discussion.When Teq gestured at the rest of the hall, she imagined she could translate easily enough.The crusher wanted his apex to say something to the masses, and Mag was clearly reluctant.He had commanded for years; why would he be reluctant now?
Because of that horrible Illgattoa?Because of her?Because he didn’t believe they had a chance.
The optimism that was nowhere near as easy to sustain as Kinsley seemed to think wavered inside her as Mag mounted the few steps of the dais to his throne.
Was he remembering their kiss there?The way his heavy weight had pushed her into the cushion, how her arms and legs wrapped around him like a hungry creature, the wild rush of their yearning breaths merging together.
She doused the tangle of yearning with a dose of cold, hard reality: he was king and she was a hairdresser.If they succeeded at the Luster, the orcs would bring more Earther brides, and undoubtedly there’d be a match for Mag.
And if they failed…
