Page 30 of Rescued

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HEROD

The coordinates showed up on my console shortly after Adreax ended the video call. We were already headed in the general direction of Divoron, but it was a big planet, and the coordinates would get us to the proper meeting place. According to the nav panel, we were about two days and nineteen hours away. Begrudgingly, I accepted that this meant three more days with Nikathy peering over my shoulder, and zero time alone with Caimbrie to discuss what was about to happen, assuming she wanted to discuss it at all.

“Take a break, mate. You deserve it,” Nikathy urged with a sly smile. “I’ll keep an eye on things.”

I sighed. “You think I trust you with my ship? I’ve seen the way you treat your ships. This old girl can’t handle that kind of abuse.”

“Ah, come on. I can be real gentle… when I want to.”

The innuendo made me writhe with disgust. Of all the smugglers I knew, Nikathy had a particular penchant for making me uncomfortable.

“Not a chance.”

“Well, if I can’t get you to give up the captain’s seat, perhaps I can interest you in a different proposition.”

“What kind of proposition?”

“I heard a little rumor about the Patrol recently,” Nikathy teased, waiting for me to bite.

“So have I,” I shot back, rolling my eyes. Why did the man have to be so difficult all the time?

“They’re running low on a particular material they use to power their ships. They’ve put out a call for anyone who can get them deliveries.”

I scoffed at the idea. “Working for the devil himself, Nikathy? I would’ve thought that beneath you.”

He gave me a scandalized look. “Me? No! I would never. But as you know, supply and demand go hand in hand, and when the Patrol started soaking up everything that was available in the market, prices went through the roof.”

“And how did you manage to get your hand into the cookie jar?” I asked wryly.

“I did what any good businessman would do! I filled every warehouse and ship I had with the stuff, and now I’m sitting on a proverbial gold mine. The Patrol needs it, and I’m not selling. At least, not until a few of my demands are met.”

This sounded like a dangerous game, which probably explained the lockdown at the port, and why he was hiding out.

“You know they’re not going to let you get away with it.”

“Of course not,” he said with a laugh. “But that’s why I have a network of quick-thinking smugglers who can handle things. And that’s what brings me to you.”

I sighed, bracing myself to hear his next grand scheme, knowing that I wasn’t going to like it.

“The key to keeping this racket going is making sure that the goods are never in one place for too long. But as you can imagine, it takes a lot of manpower to move this much material every few days.”

“Get on with it, Nikathy. What are you actually proposing here?”

He paused for effect and I was ready to wring his neck when he finally spoke in a whisper.

“I’m proposing that we need a bigger ship. A very, very big ship, if you will.”

I turned, and he was watching me, waiting for my reaction. Exasperated, I threw my hands up in the air.

“Well, I guess we’re just out of luck then. You might have noticed that I don’t happen to have a very, very big ship, now do I?”

At this, he burst into an obnoxious laugh, and for a moment I marveled at how relatable he seemed, but then he was grinning wolfishly at me again and the feeling passed. He was still a dangerous friend to keep.

“I’m talking about stealing a ship, you idiot. Since I sucked all of the excess fuel out of the market, they’ve been slowly reducing their fleet. They’ve placed a handful of ships in temporary retirement because they can’t afford to keep operating them. It would be my biggest accomplishment to date, and I couldn’t dream of a better navigator to have aboard than you! Please tell me you’ll consider it.”

“What’s in it for me?”

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