“So, is the alien chick hot, or what?” Rick asked, not taking his eyes off the viewing screen as he maneuvered the slow ship on a new course. The nearest place to hide was on a nearby fueling dock. The hope was that the larger vessel’s size would mask their presence to anyone who might be searching for them.

To Jackson’s way of thinking, if the Federation did follow them to the fueling dock, it would be the perfect place to turn himself over to the military without endangering his crew. Alexis was probably right. With his training, they probably wanted him to rejoin. He didn’t want to go, but this wasn’t about him. It was about protecting his family.

Rick turned in his seat when Jackson didn’t answer. “You know, you’re not a fun guy.”

“You’re an idiot,” Jackson countered. “And, yes, for a blue humanoid woman in stasis for the last countless years that we have flown this ship, she is very pretty.”

Rick grinned, winking at him before he turned back to his screen. In a low voice, he murmured, “Oh, yeah. Hot blue alien on board.”

Jackson bit back his laugh. He’d never let Rick see he was amused by him. They were alone in the cockpit. Violette had gone for food with Raisa and Alexis. Dev and Lochlann were in the cargo hold looking over inventory they might be able to part with on the fueling dock. Lucien was rescuing his brother from the wall. Well, to be precise, Lucien was supposed to be rescuing his brother from the wall.

“You know, I’ll deny this if you repeat it, but if this doesn’t work and you even dare try to join up with the Federation on this fuel dock, I’ll kick your ass. And if they take you, I’m coming to find you.” Rick didn’t look back as he pushed several buttons on the console before turning a dial.

Jackson appreciated the sentiment. He already knew Rick and the others would try to find him. “You don’t expect me to hug you or anything, do you?”

“You’re sexy, Jacks, but not my type.” Rick laughed. He began to whistle, as if he hadn’t a care in the universe. After several minutes, he said, “You’re making me nervous. Go breathe down your lady’s neck.”

Jackson grumbled a nonverbal answer and left the cockpit. He should have gone to help Lochlann and Dev, but instead found himself standing outside the dining hall door where the women had gone. Alexis and Violette leaned over the table in conversation. At his appearance, they both turned to him.

“I need you to show me this alien language,” Alexis said. “I could be searching my database for a match.”

“You heard the captain,” Jackson denied.

“Since when did any of us obey an order to behave?” Violette dismissed. “Just slip her in there and I’ll make sure the corridor stays empty, so you can come back out.”

As Alexis walked past him, she hooked his arm to make him go with her. He resisted, and she was unable to move him.

“What if I can save the woman in stasis, and we can shut down the lab safely so that we can power the ship and avoid conscripting you into service?” Her words were logical, and she knew it.

Jackson sighed heavily in response.

Alexis took that as an affirmative to her plan and smiled. “That’s more like it.”

This time he let her pull him into the corridor. “Where is Raisa?”

“Viktor finally made it out of the wall. He has Raisa looking at the propulsion system.” Alexis dropped his arm. “Why? Do we need her blood to get inside?”

“No.” Jackson held out his hand. “I need your knife.”

Violette reached into her boot and pulled out the weapon. She turned the hilt toward him and handed it over. “We should hurry before Lochlann and Dev finish in the cargo hold.”

“Serean. Irrelevant to the situation. Reexamine,” Alexis muttered as she searched through her mind for answers. She sat at the dining table, her hands flat on the surface. Her eyes twitched, and she didn’t really see what was in front of her. “Syog. Irrelevant to the situation. Reexamine. Feenik. Irrelevant to the situation…”

“Blast the stars,” Lochlann swore as he came into the dining hall. “Who sent my wife into a deep search?”

“Shh,” Violette hushed him. “I’ll tell you if you promise not to get mad.”

Jackson averted his gaze. He kept his arms crossed as he stood over Alexis to keep an eye on her progress. The lights flickered, and he heard Lochlann sigh. He understood the man’s frustration. His ship was falling apart around him, and pirates without a ship were, well…dock workers.

“…G’am. Irrelevant…”

Lochlann groaned. He pressed his fingers to a temple and rubbed as if fighting a sudden headache. “You went into the secret lab and she’s looking for a way to identify the language.”

“… Reexamine. Reticulans…”

“Maybe?” Violette gave the captain a tight smile as she waited to see his reaction.

Lochlann arched a brow at Jackson. “I should have guessed this would happen. Let me know what she figures out.”

Violette nodded.

“And you…” Lochlann pointed at Jackson with a stern look. “Check on Viktor in the engine room. See if he needs anything.”

“…Brinstoneman…”

Jackson uncrossed his arms and did as he was told. He was eager to see Raisa again, and he quickened his step.

“If we patch the burnt wires and reverse the power supply to that room, we would have more than enough energy to restore the ship to full power,” Viktor was saying as Jackson approached the engine room. The lights flickered, as if to punctuate the problem.

Jackson came into the doorway and found Viktor sitting close to Raisa on the floor, his head lowered as they spoke. Metal parts from whatever they were deconstructing were scattered around them in what appeared to be organized chaos.

Raisa nodded. “Agree. Or if we found a way to tap into the reserve.”

“Then all we need is to fix this propulsion system,” Viktor said. “We could be up and running in a matter of hours.”

“We could try welding the cracked casing, but I don’t think it will hold for long,” Raisa said. She lifted her hand over the metal objects and they rearranged themselves on the floor without her touching them. “I think we can do without the secondary propeller since it’s bent and will block airflow—”

Her words stopped when she realized Jackson was watching.

“Lochlann wanted me to see if you needed help with the heavy lifting,” Jackson said.

“You have to see this, Jackson,” Viktor insisted. “Show him.”

Raisa chuckled. She lifted her hands and willed the small parts to move. They slid around the floor.

“Isn’t that awesome?” Viktor clapped his hands and rocked back.

“He’s easily amused.” Raisa dismissed Viktor’s excitement and pushed to her feet. To his surprise, she came to him and lifted up on her toes to give him a kiss. He froze in place, not instantly returning the unexpected affection. She braced her hand on his crossed arms.

Viktor stopped rocking and cleared his throat. He averted his gaze as he reached for a part on the floor.

“What was that for?” Jackson dropped his arms and reached for her before she pulled away.

“Felt like it.” She shrugged.

“I see what you mean about the secondary…” Viktor began grabbing parts and rearranging them like a puzzle. “You’re a genius.”

“You can fix it?” Jackson asked.

“We won’t be the fastest ship in the sky, but we’ll go,” Viktor said. “Give us three hours. We should know then if this will work.”

“Possibly two,” Raisa said. “We’ll do everything we can.”

“I’ll let Lochlann know.” Jackson stopped Raisa from pulling away from him and leaned down to kiss her, harder and deeper than she had him. It was her turn to be surprised.