41:03:13 GrS

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Lyra opened her eyes and sat up slowly. It took her a moment to remember that she was aboard the Skipjack Chimera. Overcast light streamed through the broad window that looked out from the captain's cabin. She stretched and yawned, feeling better for the rest. Her gaze swept over the stateroom. It was downright luxurious for a light freighter but the bare, off-white walls cried out for some hangings to lend a splash of color and texture.

I'll keep my eyes open. Her mind immediately conjured memories of home, shopping in the market quarter's bustling bazaars with Allegra and her parents. She shivered at the thought of returning to Inusagi after so many years. I don't want to disappoint him, but...

Lyra shook her head to clear it, slipped out from under the covers, and padded into the shower. Taz had been thrilled to show her that it had running water, something he still found luxurious. She cleaned up and dressed in the clothes she'd brought from Allegra's Heart.

In the seven months since she'd joined Rixon Charter Service, their compact YV-929 had become more of a home to her than any posting she'd had since she'd left Inusagi. She took a deep breath, a hand on her chest. Can I leave her, and Rei and Sera, after we've been through so much?

Taz came through the door bearing a thermoflask and cups. He set them on the cabin's modest table, nudging the holoterminal keyboard and his study materials for the Accredited Ship Master's course to one side. "Morning, Ensign Nimor."

"Morning yourself, Officer Oktos." She brushed her hair and tied it up, pushing the thought to the back of her mind. "You were up early." She glanced at his pad, displaying a page from the BoSS Manual Of Emergency Operations for Commercial Starships. "Studying?"

He nodded while he poured steaming, rose-colored liquid into the cups, then gathered his pad and the Astrogation for Beginners reference cards, stacking them with the rest. "Sorry about the mess." He scratched his stubbled chin. "It's been a while since I've had to study for anything."

Lyra sat next to him and sniffed at the cup. "What's this?"

"Red lantis tea." He held out a bowl with lumps of driftcane.

Lyra dropped five of them into her cup and stirred, then took a drink. She lifted her brows at the light, herbaceous flavor with just a hint of peppery sharpness. "Your idea?"

"No, but the last owner must have really liked it. There's a ten-year supply in the hold."

Lyra smiled at his jest and took another sip.

"So, this room could use some color, don't you think?"

She gave him a narrow look. "Did you read my mind, Oktos?"

Taz raised innocent hands. "Reiko said you're a nester so I figured you'd want to... make it more like home."

She stopped in mid-sip. He must be reading my mind.

"What do you think about the ship?" he asked, looking expectant.

"I haven't seen that much of her yet, but... this cabin's nice." She slipped her fingers between his, quivering when she recalled making love to him last night. We could do that again... She shook that delicious thought from her head, not without difficulty. "Give me the tour of your ship, Captain Oktos."

"It's our ship, Lyra. Yours and mine."

"Our ship," she echoed, ignoring the trepidation tangling in her stomach. "Has a nice ring to it." Our ship. Our cabin. Our bed. If I want it to be.

While she finished her tea, Taz cleaned up and shaved. Then he took her around the Skipjack Chimera, finishing in the cockpit.

She looked around. "Layout aside, this is a CEC ship through and through." She started to sit in the copilot's seat.

"No, no," Taz urged, "the pilot seat's yours."

"Are you sure?"

"You're her pilot, at least until I get as good at flying as you are."

"Hah. You'll never be as good as me, Oktos."

"Ouch," he feigned a cringe. "You should be nicer. I have a fragile ego, you know."

Lyra stepped close to him, feeling flirtatious. "Yes I do," she admitted with a kiss. Taz relaxed and started to wrap his arms around her but she pulled away suddenly and took the pilot's seat, looking impish. "How did she run on the way here?"

"Um, great, after some repairs and Reiko's work on the system controllers," Taz blurted, sitting beside her. He was getting used to Lyra's playful affections, but sometimes she still caught him off-guard. "Not sure I'll be able to keep her running in top shape without Rei-aktuu."

"Genius like hers is hard to find."

"Don't I know it! Probably the best we can do is to buy an astromech or a tech droid."

Lyra nodded. "The good ones can be expensive."

"Speaking of that," he cleared his throat and turned in his seat, looking like he was struggling with something. "Mind if I ask you a question?"

"Sure."

"That chip you gave me. There's... a lot of money on it."

"That's not really a question."

"No, I don't suppose it is."

The amused glint in her eyes faded. "I meant to give you a different one," she mumbled and fidgeted in the chair.

The tale has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.

"It's drawing on a trust at the Bank of Aargau. Rei said it's not the kind of place that'll give an account to just anyone."

"No, I guess not." Lyra felt distinctly uncomfortable.

"You don't have to answer if you don't want to."

"It's okay," she said slowly. "The truth is, it's family money. My family—my mother's family is... affluent."

"I see."

"They set up trusts for Allegra and me when we were born, with rights of survivorship if one of us..."

"Lyra," he softly interrupted, "you don't have to say anything."

"I'm fine," she replied, barely a tremor in her voice. "Her trust came to me. My mother's, too."

Taz gave her hand a squeeze. "Anyway," he brightened his tone, "I ended up spending more than I expected to." His smile was earnest. "I kept records. I'll pay you back as soon as I can, every millicredit."

She returned his smile. "Don't worry about it, Taz. My mother's family... weren't always kind to us." She grimaced, thinking about the complexities of that relationship. "I'm sure my aunt's accountants want to take it all back but inheritance laws are pretty strict on my planet."

"Don't take this wrong, but what are you doing running around the galaxy with a bunch of former Rebels?"

Lyra shrugged. "I guess I like slumming."

"I'm trying to be serious, Lyra." He leaned back in the copilot's chair. "There's got to be plenty of jobs for a good pilot at KTS or one of the passenger lines in the Core—"

"Trying to get rid of me, Oktos?"

"Of course not. You know I'm not." He screwed up his mouth, on the verge of exasperation.

Lyra sighed. "I could sign on with a big passenger line, get a nice, regular route, maybe even my own command. But there's something to be said for a small operation like ours. There's variety, and there's no one telling us what to do or where to go."

"But with that kind of money you could live carefree, in luxury."

Now it was her turn to be exasperated. "Look, the money in those trusts is mine by law but I didn't do anything to earn it and I definitely don't want to live off it. That would be admitting they were right."

"What do you mean?"

"Forget it," Lyra grumbled, feeling moody. The dressing down she'd gotten, the excoriation and endless insults from her aunt's family when she left for the Imperial academy, screamed in her memory. Even after nine years she could feel the sting.

Taz hesitated for a moment before asking in a low voice, "Is that why you haven't gone back? To visit Inusagi, I mean."

Lyra nodded after a few seconds but said nothing.

Taz reached across the navigation console and squeezed her hand. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to push you about the money. We don't have to go to Inusagi if you don't want to."

"I know," she said, smiling a little. "I'm here because it's where I want to be. As for the money, it's there whether I want it or not. So as far as I'm concerned, use as much of it as you need. You don't owe me anything."

Taz smiled, looking more like his normal, upbeat self. "You're amazing and beautiful, Lyra."

"Stop flattering me, Oktos," she chided, but she didn't mind how it felt to hear him say it.

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It wasn't until late afternoon that they finished moving everything from Allegra's Heart. Sera and Rei walked up the Skipjack Chimera's boarding ramp on Sansone 521 carrying their duffels, Yuzu trailing behind with even more luggage. Ariel and Kalli followed, sharing accelerated digital discourse. Sera headed for the crew cabin but Reiko steered her into one of the passenger berths instead. Then she guided them all through the ship, pointing out every reconfiguration she'd made. In the galley, Taz got busy cooking dinner.

After they'd eaten Kallista poured whiskey for Sera and Taz, and oryza wine for the others. The engineer curled up on the couch beside Sera, who sipped from her tumbler. She wore an amused look watching Ariel float around, poking into every corner of the ship with the curiosity of a spukamas cat.

The former commando set her glass down and put an arm around Reiko. "She's quite a ship, Doc. Could use a few more guns, though."

The corner of his mouth curled. "With the Flex Tube launchers she can handle all kinds of ordnance."

"Nice work scoring those plasma torps, by the way. They can be hard to come by, not to mention expensive." She thumbed toward the ceiling. "That set of wesk thirty-four turbolasers is nice, too. She'll punch above her weight if you need her to." Sera waved Yuzu over and whispered instructions. He went to their cabin and emerged after a minute with a gift box and one of the bulky cases he'd lugged aboard. He handed the items to Lyra and Taz.

"What's this?" asked the medtech, surprised by the weight.

"A little something for you. Open it." Sera wore a subtle grin.

Taz heaved the case onto the table and slid the latches to pop the lid. Inside were a half-dozen blasters; two DT-15M carbines, pistols that matched the models Taz and Lyra carried, plus a pair of concealable, stealthy PK12 blasters. He looked at Sera, amazed.

"Found those somewhere," she winked. "Thought I'd give you a start filling your arms locker."

Taz lit up. "Thanks, Sera!"

"One of the carbines has an underslung projectile launcher, so I threw in a box of micro-grenades."

"Expecting us to get into a shootout, Rendix?" carped Lyra, looking askance at all of the hardware. One was enough for the next few decades.

Sera chuckled at the pessimistic pilot. "Nope, just like to be prepared."

"And what's in here?" Lyra looked wary as she shook the featherweight package, "a knife or something?"

"Open it and see," Sera responded, looking inscrutable.

She removed the top. Suspicion evolved into delight as she lifted out a pale blouse. It nearly matched the one she'd ruined during the fight in the Griffon. Lyra looked at the tall woman. "You didn't have to do that, Rendix."

Sera only smiled. "Can't have my pilot looking like a blurrg rancher."

Lyra didn't say anything but she felt a rush of heat in her cheeks. She keeps surprising me. "Thanks."

Sera waved her fingers, wearing a subtle grin. Beside her, Reiko smiled too, but the expression looked forced. Sera leaned into the padded cushions, absently teasing Reiko's dark hair. "Gotta admit, it's a little strange to be a passenger instead of a part of the crew." She kissed Reiko's head. "I think I'm gonna enjoy it while I can."

"Me too," Reiko agreed, snuggling closer to Sera, her narrow eyes fixed on Lyra.

"Anyway," Lyra smirked at Taz, "if you're done playing with guns let's talk about getting this cargo to Enarc. What's our route, mister astrogation student?"

Taz matched her sarcastic look. "That's Captain astrogation student."

"Provisional until you pass your Ship Master's exam," Lyra reminded him.

"And probationary for five months after, I know, I know," Taz frowned while he tapped the holoprojector controls on the big lounge table. He cleared the practice test he'd taken earlier in the day and activated the astrogation program. A galactic map appeared, dotted with star systems and crisscrossed with hyperspace routes.

He ran his finger along the course he'd plotted. "We'll make the Randon Run to the Trax Tube, then head coreward at Daalang and take the Gamor Run to Merren." As he spoke, the map turned and tilted, following a glowing red plot. "After that, a short hop along the Harrin Corridor to Milagro where we pick up the Corellian Run as far as New Cov. Then it's a straight shot down the Duros Run to Enarc." He tapped out a rhythm with his fingers on the table, looking pleased with himself. "Easy."

Lyra gave him a sly smile. "Alright. Not very creative but you've stayed on major routes so it's a safe choice. Transit time?" She'd already figured it in her head but she wanted to see how close he'd gotten with his calculations.

Taz scratched his cheek. "Sixty-seven hours. Under optimal conditions, I mean."

"Close enough," she admitted, looking equivocal. Too much praise'll just go to his head.

Taz's eyes suddenly lit. "Hey, isn't the Alui sector academy on Enarc?"

"Yeah, it is." Lyra fiddled with the blouse in her hands.

"Are you not looking forward to going back?" probed Reiko.

Lyra made a half-hearted shrug. "I was... different when I was a cadet. Angry."

"Not like now," Sera deadpanned.

Taz touched her hand. "We don't have to hang around."

Sera added. "Yeah, we can handle the transfer, Nimor."

"No." Lyra cut the air with her hand, sounding sterner than she intended. She let out a long breath and assumed a gentler tone. "I appreciate it but I need to put the past behind me, especially that part."

She brightened her expression and fixed Taz with a more customary smug look as she activated the holotable's gaming mode. "Come on, all of you. Team-play Terrago. Thirty millicredits per piece!"