To my surprise, her small hand reached out to my big, swollen paw. Her fingers intertwining with mine, and she held my gaze.

  “Devin… I’ve been kind of wondering if I’m not good enough for you. Back on Proxima b, Lt. Quinn handed me over to you—but you never seemed to want me. That’s why I’m upset. The only thing lower than a captive is one who disgusts her captors.”

  I laughed and slipped an arm around her shoulders. “You don’t disgust me or bore me,” I told her. “Far from it. I’ve been kind of busy fighting for this ship, you know?”

  “We left Naiad weeks ago. We’re halfway to Mars, and still you haven’t come down to medical to take me back.”

  I wasn’t sure what to say. I’d been under the impression that she was happy working for Sharaf. Perhaps I’d made an assumption…

  Her eyes searched mine, as if looking for something, and then she closed them and leaned close.

  That was it for me. I hadn’t been dating anyone, not even Freya, who was kind of distant these days.

  Ana’s lips met mine in a tender, yet passionate kiss. I wrapped my arms around her body. She felt great pressing up against my chest.

  When we finally pulled apart, Ana rested her head on my shoulder. “Promise me you’ll get me out of Sharaf’s lab,” she whispered.

  I kissed her hard. It was impossible not to. “I’ll give it a shot,” I heard myself say.

  We stepped up the kissing after that, and I failed to notice the sound of footsteps echoing through the corridor. It wasn’t until I heard a sharp intake of breath that I realized we were no longer alone.

  I looked up, and my heart sank as I saw Freya was standing nearby. She didn’t look happy.

  “Devin...? Is that Ana hiding behind you?” Freya snarled. “You little bitch!”

  I gently untangled myself from Ana, but she stubbornly tried to cling to me. I took a step back. “Hey…! What a surprise! I can explain, Freya—”

  “Can you really?” Freya cut me off. “Well, you don’t have to feed me any lies. There’s nothing to explain, Devin. You obviously prefer girls who live in the dirt—and stink.”

  Ana surged forward, and I had to hold her back. I was mostly worried for Freya—she was going to get a solid beat-down if these two ever went at it. Ana was thin, but she had muscles like cables under her skin. She reminded me of a feral cat I’d picked up once by accident.

  “Look Freya,” I said, “I didn’t mean to hurt you, but you’ve been ghosting me for weeks.”

  “Yeah… well… I’ve been busy.”

  “Okay, okay… it’s complicated. I get it.”

  “Complicated?” Freya scoffed, her anger building. “No, I don’t think so. I don’t call kissing another woman right in front of me complicated. You’re unbelievable, Devin.”

  Ana hugged up against me and glared at Freya. “You’ve lost this man,” she said to Freya. “You’ve been scorned. Save what honor you can and leave us in peace.”

  Freya’s glare shifted to Ana, her voice cracking. “Well, congratulations. You got what you wanted. I hope he’ll be worth it.”

  She hurried away, and I was glad to see her leave. I’d thought for sure there was going to be fur flying if she’d stuck around another minute longer.

  Ana and I made a day of it after that—and then the day turned into night. The night was artificial, of course, as aboard any spaceship such distinctions were invented for our comfort. Space itself was like an endless night.

  I tried not to think of Freya as I made love to a wild-woman on a regular basis. Pretty quickly, Ana managed to erase her rival from my mind.

  * * *

  As Borag docked at Mars, we were all revving our engines, ready to run off the ship. It had been a long voyage—too long. We’d been informed there would be no cash bonuses this time because we hadn’t done much mining or brought home much we could sell—but we hardly cared. We just wanted to get off Borag, find a nice place to eat and drink and pretend we were human again.

  Being cooped up on a spaceship for nearly a year takes its toll on people. We’d paid that toll and then some. We’d been through so much, and now we were finally back to a real planet where you could walk around and feel real gravity.

  I was down near the main airlocks, standing with my arm around Ana. I’d bought her a check-out ticket. She was going to be allowed off Borag and into a civilized city for the first time in her life.

  But then, before those damned doors could open, Captain Hansen called me to her quarters. I listened to her summons, slack-jawed.

  Ana knew right off something was wrong. She was staring at me, suspicious and curious at the same time. “What is it?” she kept asking, but I was waving her off, turning away from her.

  The doors opened, and everyone began to flood out into the docking tubes. They were whooping, and cheering, and jumping up to punch the shivering plastic roof.

  Ana didn’t move. She was staring up at me, trying to figure out what had gone wrong. “Is it that witch, Sharaf? I should have cut her. I knew it. I told myself every night, ‘Ana—’”

  I shushed her again, and her mouth got very small and pink. That was a warning sign. I’d been with her long enough to know that by now.

  “Captain?” I said. “What’s this about, ma’am? I’m about to—”

  “Corporal, you’re required to accompany me to Interplanetary Excavations.”

  I closed my eyes and sighed. Another babysitting job? Now?

  Of all the times I’d spent following Captain Hansen around playing bodyguard, I’d only really gotten into a fight once—that was at Mars City, after a similar meeting. Therefore, I couldn’t really call her paranoid. Oh, she was paranoid—but she had her reasons.

  My eyes drifted down to Ana as Captain Hansen told me to wait at the main doors. I couldn’t just leave her to drift around Mars. First off, that wasn’t technically legal. Secondly, she would probably get into it with someone. If anybody local even suspected she was a pirate—the shit would hit the fan for sure.

  “Say, Captain?” I asked before she could hang up on me. “I’ve got someone with me—someone special…”

  “That’s very interesting, Corporal. She’ll have to wait.”

  “But ma’am? Maybe we could take her down with us? What do you say?”

  Captain Hansen didn’t answer right away. She must have been checking up on things. When she did speak again, she made a puffing sound. “Are you talking about that pirate? She’s a prisoner still, technically... You do realize that don’t you, Starn?”

  “I wanted to talk to you about that,” I said. “But, in any case, I can’t just leave her on the space station.”

  “Gods no. Hold on a minute.”

  Feeling a bit relieved, I dared to smile at Ana. “Hey, we’re changing our plans a bit. I’ve got one more duty, and—”

  She poked a finger into my ribs. A hard finger. “I don’t want to be shoved aside again. I don’t want to stay on the ship with Sharaf, she’ll give me a broom or something.”

  “I have a solution,” Captain Hansen said in my ear. “I’ll meet you at the space elevator.”

  That was it, she disconnected. I was baffled, but after about two minutes of listening to Ana’s disappointments, I figured out what Hansen had meant.

  “You are such a tool, Starn.”

  It was Ledbetter. He had done an about-face and headed to the docking tubes. Captain’s orders.

  “What are you doing here?” I asked him.

  “As if you don’t know. The captain decided I’m going to play nursemaid to your pirate. I don’t know why she can’t just have me walk her ass around Mars City. I can fight.”

  I squinted at him, putting things together.

  “I don’t want to go with this weakling,” Ana complained.

  “Skinny, and she comes with insults. You can pick them, Starn.”

  Right about then, I saw someone moving along down the docking tube to our left. That was the special tube, used only by officers and officials. That shadow, that figure… Yes, it had to be Captain Hansen herself.

  “Shit… Ledbetter, take care of her. I’ll be back in a few hours—don’t get her drunk, you’ll be sorry.”

  I left those two glaring at me and rushed down the tubes. It wouldn’t do to leave the captain standing around waiting at the elevator. When you’re a low-level enlisted man, you wanted to be at your post before your officer showed up. Always.

  Somehow, I managed to hustle my way past a dozen slowpokes who were gabbing and drinking already. There was a party atmosphere everywhere on the station, but I wasn’t part of it. I was rushing around and all-business.

  About ninety seconds after I reached my post in front of the elevator, the captain came sauntering up to me.

  “Starn, I need you to accompany me to Interplanetary Excavations, Inc.’s headquarters. We’re going to meet with the controller and… explain things.”

  “Yes, ma’am.”

  We walked across the quiet streets to the intimidating skyscraper that housed the corporation’s headquarters. There weren’t many ground vehicles in town. Most of those that existed were for the purpose of transporting heavy loads. People walked a lot on Mars, but with the low gravity, it wasn’t much of an effort.

  The corporate building towered over the Martian city, as if it was working hard to exhibit power and influence. As we went through security and check-in, I could feel Captain Hansen was worried about something.

  That didn’t make much sense to me, since we’d made a lot of amazing discoveries on this voyage. Someone had to consider intel valuable.

  “Dammit,” she said suddenly. She hadn’t spoken much since we’d left the space elevator.

  “What is it, ma’am?”

  “Blackwood… he’s already been here and gone.”

  The security guy led us to the elevators, and we stepped inside. We began to ascend, and I felt a knot forming in my stomach.

  Good old Blackwood. He’d been a thorn in my ass for years, now. Apparently, Captain Hansen didn’t like him that much, either.

  I was wondering why having the ship’s accountant along might be a bad thing—something worth cursing about. Of course, the trouble had to be money-related—it always was. But wasn’t the ship’s accountant supposed to handle all that?

  I dared to glance at Hansen, and I could tell she wasn’t feeling good about the situation. Blackwood wasn’t always on her side, I knew that much. I didn’t think he was an assassin—but he wasn’t close buddies with the captain, either.

  Captain Hansen and I stepped out of the elevator and into a cold, sterile office. The company controller squatted near some big floor-to-ceiling windows in the back of the place. He was a stern-looking man in his sixties, and he sat behind a massive desk. As we approached, he turned toward us in his chair. His fingers steepled together as he regarded us with an icy glare.

  “Captain Hansen…” he said. “I’m perturbed that you thought it necessary to bring along one of your thugs.”

  “Your city streets are dangerous, Controller,” Hansen responded.

  He released a wheezing laugh. I figured he didn’t believe that was why she’d brought me. I didn’t believe it, either.

  “I’ve been reviewing the reports from your recent... adventures, shall we call them? You’ve returned with some rather troubling accusations against Accountant Blackwood and Commander Kaine.”

  Captain Hansen stood straight. “Yes, sir. I have evidence that indicates Blackwood and Kaine falsely accused Commander Nichols of attempted mutiny. Then, they had her spaced without a proper trial. Their actions constitute a gross violation of protocol, and they must be held accountable.”

  The controller’s expression remained impassive. “You do realize that pursuing charges against them could have serious repercussions for you and the rest of your crew?”

  So that’s what this is about, I thought to myself. Captain Hansen had made a move to kick out Kaine and Blackwood. That was only reasonable. She should be able to do it with a single scrawled signature on a tablet.

  “What do you want me to do about it?” Malkin asked.

  “Start an investigation, of course. Immediately.”

  The controller’s gaze shifted, and his eyes narrowed. “All right. There will be an investigation,” he said. “Let me assure you of that much. Human Resources will handle this, and you must have faith in their office.”

  “HR?” Captain Hansen said with clenched fists. “That’s not acceptable. Sir, this isn’t a situation for HR to handle. It’s a criminal matter.”

  The controller shook his head. “Nonsense. Here at Interplanetary, we take care of our own.”

  “Sir, I cannot in good conscience allow this injustice to stand. I have a duty to my crew and to the memory of Commander Nichols to see that the truth is revealed and those responsible are held accountable. Accordingly, I’m going to file charges against them with the Martian Justice Department.”

  The controller leaned back in his chair, his eyes cold. “Very well, Captain Hansen. But you must understand that the company will regard your position as one of insubordination. If you proceed with these charges, you will be risking your career and the livelihood of your entire crew. I suggest you think long and hard about your next move.”

  Captain Hansen hesitated. “Can you assure me your investigation will be both swift and meaningful?”

  “I can indeed,” the controller said with a false smile. He ruffled through some plastic computer papers on his desk. “In fact… ah yes, here it is. I’m happy to announce your fears can be safely set aside. HR has completed their investigation into the matter. Both Accountant Blackwood and Commander Kaine have been found innocent of any crime. While their actions were certainly... questionable, I have decided that they will not be facing any disciplinary measures in this instance. Further misunderstandings, however, will not be met with such leniency.”

  Captain Hansen’s face turned red, anger boiling beneath the surface. “Malkin, that is simply unacceptable. They falsely accused Commander Nichols of attempted mutiny and had her spaced without a trial. How can you let them get away with that?”

  The controller’s expression remained impassive. “As I’ve said many times before, our primary concern is the profitability of Borag—and the well-being of our investors. This discussion has already caused enough disruption. What we need to do now is put the matter behind us and move forward.”

  Captain Hansen stared at the controller in disbelief. “If that’s how you feel, then I have no choice but to resign my commission. I cannot continue to serve under a system that protects criminals and disregards justice!”

  She turned to walk out, but the controller cleared his throat meaningfully. “I’m afraid that won’t be possible, Captain. You see, you owe the company a rather sizable debt for damages incurred during your recent escapades.”

  Captain Hansen froze, her eyes wide with shock. “What? That’s absurd! I’ve always done my best to protect Borag and her interests!”

  The controller leaned forward, his eyes narrowing. “Nevertheless, the company has determined that you, personally, are responsible for a significant portion of the recent financial losses incurred. Until that debt is paid, you will continue to serve as captain of Borag—or you will be subject to dismissal and prosecution.”

  Captain Hansen’s frustration had reached the boiling point. She marched forward and slammed her hand on the controller’s desk. “That’s absurd! Show me these so-called numbers. Let’s see just how you’re claiming that we’ve failed in our duties!”

  The controller raised an eyebrow, unfazed by her outburst. He tapped on his datapad, and a holographic display appeared before us, showing a complex set of three-dimensional spreadsheets and graphs.

  “Very well, Captain. As you can see here,” he pointed at a particular column, “the materials and resources you brought back from your mission barely cover a fraction of the expenses incurred. Not to mention the fact that Borag suffered extensive damage, and we lost a significant number of personnel. You cannot deny that these losses are real and have impacted the company.”

  Captain Hansen scrutinized the numbers, her eyes darting back and forth as she tried to find a flaw in his argument. “But... we went through hell and back out there. We fought off pirates and cyborgs—and we discovered an alien artifact. You can’t possibly expect us to come back with a massive haul of ore every time.”

  The controller leaned back in his chair, his eyes locked on Captain Hansen. “While your experiences may indeed have been challenging, Captain, the bottom line is what matters to the company. Your personal trials do not negate the financial losses we have suffered. You are responsible for the well-being of Borag and her profitability—and right now, you owe the company a considerable amount.”

  Captain Hansen clenched her fists, her face flushed with anger.

  I knew I should keep my mouth shut. Up until that very moment, I’d managed it—but this was too much. “Mr. Controller, sir, with all due respect, we did everything we could out there. We faced unimaginable threats and managed to bring most of our people back alive. Surely, that has to count for something!”

  The controller glanced at me in surprise. He seemed shocked to hear me speak, as if it was a novelty of sorts. Then his eyes narrowed, and he looked at Hansen again reproachfully. “Really? You’re going to resort to threats from your hired goon? That’s beneath you, Captain. I’m disgusted by these tactics.”

  Captain Hansen turned and glanced toward me. She gave me a shake of her head. I backed off, feeling my cheek muscles bulge under my skin. My one big arm was twitching now, and I hoped no one would notice.

  “Borag has underperformed, Captain Hansen. You and everyone aboard will be held accountable. To that end, the company requires you to accept our judgment regarding this frivolous charge against Blackwood and Kaine. We need our top officers to function as a team—please stop squabbling amongst yourselves. You need to stop jacking off!”

  That was it. No justice was offered. The controller agreed to pay for our repairs, recruitment and training. Then, he said, we’d be assigned a new mission to perform. One that was designed to be highly profitable.