The woman didn’t run. “Permission to come aboard.”
I waved her in and watched her climb the ramp. She moved like a soldier, efficient and light on her feet. She looked around with a scowl. “If you have a MechE now, they’re shit,” she said without prompting.
“Thanks,” I responded drily. “And you are?”
“Anja Harbon. I spent six years as an FHP grunt and survived. That was followed by four years as a mechanical engineering specialist. I was booted out after I punched my commanding officer.”
“Did they deserve it?”
Her smile was fierce. “Yes.”
That smile told me that she’d happily punch them again. “Are you going to have a problem following my orders?”
Her eyebrows rose. “Are you going to give me stupid orders?”
“Quite possibly. We’re going to Valovia with a squad of Valoffs. Most would argue that was stupid at the outset.”
“I looked you up,” she said quietly. “You’re the reason my company made it out of Rodeni.”
I shook my head. “It wasn’t just me.”
Shadows darkened her face. “No, but you’re the one who volunteered to risk everything, and your entire squad went with you. You won’t have to worry about me following your orders.”
Memories crept around my mental block. I’d volunteered because it was that or die. It didn’t make me noble—it made me reckless. I’d snatched victory from the jaws of defeat, but only at a terrible cost. General Fletcher wasn’t the only one who thought I was a monster.
“Show me the rest of the ship. Hopefully it’s in better shape than this,” Anja said with a wave around the cargo bay.
I laughed, shaking off the memories. “Don’t get your hopes up.”
Anja muttered the entire time I showed her around the maintenance level of the ship. In the engine room, she patted an open maintenance hatch and murmured, “Poor baby. I’ll fix you up in no time.”
After the tour, we returned to the cargo bay to discuss details. When she quoted me an extremely low salary requirement, I raised my eyebrows and waited.
She broke eye contact. “I need to leave this station,” she said. “I’m not in legal trouble, and it won’t affect my performance, but by taking me along, you’d be doing me a favor.”
“Am I going to have a crime syndicate on my ass?”
She shook her head. “Nothing so dire. Just a messy breakup. This station is only so big, and I don’t have the funds to leave right now.”
“Will trouble follow you?”
“No.” A wealth of bitterness infused that statement, and I got the feeling that the breakup wasn’t Anja’s idea.
“If you were going to fight a Valoff in armor, where would you attack?”
Her eyes narrowed. “At a distance or up close?”
“Both.”
“At a distance, the armor is nigh impenetrable. A high-powered plas pistol or rifle can occasionally punch through, if you get lucky. Up close, a plas blade will penetrate under the jaw or up through the groin joint, but it’s hard to get it right.”
Either her story about being in the military was true, or she had done her research about Valovian armor. Either way, it was enough to give her a trial—and to help her get off this station.
“We leave in the morning, and we’re heading to Bastion. Prove yourself on the way and I’ll hire you for the full job. Fuck up, and I’ll leave you at the station with a week’s pay and a ticket to wherever you’d like to go.”
She smiled faintly. “Sounds like you’re incentivizing me to fail.”
“Maybe,” I agreed, “but I don’t want anyone on my ship under duress—it only leads to more problems later, so I’d rather find out early. My systems engineer will be digging into your history tonight, so if you have anything you’d like to add, now would be the time, because she will find it.”
Anja looked down and away, avoiding my gaze. Ah, so there was something else. I waited for her to gather her thoughts.
“It was the station master’s wife,” she blurted. She looked up, distress clear. “I didn’t know who she was, or even that she was married. We dated for months. I thought . . .” She trailed off, swallowed, and shook her head. “It doesn’t matter. The station master found out and shadow banned me from every available job, ship, and resource. If I stay here, I’m as good as dead.”
And if I gave her a lift, the station master would likely ban me, too.
The commanders who oversaw the space stations scattered throughout the galaxy had an enormous amount of power over the people under their care. The best treated it as the responsibility it was and ensured everyone prospered. The worst let the power go to their heads and declared themselves supreme ruler, helping a select few who then maintained the status quo while everyone else suffered. Clearly this station’s commander fell into the second category.
I sighed. Getting shadow banned sucked, especially at a station like this that was the only thing around. But there was nothing for it. I couldn’t leave her behind.
“I’ll work for free,” Anja offered gruffly. She was fighting hard not to show just how desperate she was. “I can fix everything on your ship by the time we arrive at Bastion. You won’t owe me anything other than transport.”
“We leave in the morning. The terms remain the same: a week’s pay if you want off at Bastion or if you fail. Otherwise, we’re headed to Valovia, so bring your weapons and gear.” I paused in thought. “In fact, bring everything you have.” I waved an arm around the mostly empty cargo bay. “We have room for it. If you decide to stay on, we’ll figure out what to do with it.”
She nodded once, sharply, and turned to leave. She paused at the top of the ramp. “Thank you,” she murmured without turning around. She didn’t wait for me to respond before she continued on her way.
I activated my subvocal mike. “Kee—”
“I’m on it,” she confirmed. “So far, her story checks out. I’ll let you know if anything comes up.”
“Thank you.”
The initial payment had landed while I was in the middle of interviews. I still couldn’t quite believe it, but I’d authorized Eli and Kee to buy what they needed. Eli was still out getting supplies, so I headed into the main part of the ship to take stock of my own equipment. I wouldn’t mind another weapon or two before we hit Valovian space.
A few meters into the ship, Luna leapt at me from her walkway along the top of the wall. Used to her antics, I snagged her out of the air, and she grumpily chirruped at me. When we were in space, I wore a padded shoulder guard that she could jump onto without ruining my clothes or skin. And she was smart enough to know not to jump on me without it, but we’d been on this station for a few days, and she was getting bored.