What in the star blazes had he done?

Jackson knew leaving the ship was a bad idea. The Federation guys would be out looking for him. He needed to stay off their radar. Instead, he’d followed a crazed woman around the docking lot and brawled with Dokka traders. The fight had attracted attention, and he had no choice but to grab the woman and run. He carried her past his ship across the lot, circled around, and then slipped back when no one was looking.

By the time he lowered the steps and carried her inside the dimly lit hatch, he realized she’d passed out. He set her bag in the passageway and carried her to the captain’s quarters. Lochlann would have to forgive him for laying a dirty lady on his bed, but he needed the built-in ship medical units to take a look at her. With power diverted, the medical booth wouldn’t be operating at full capacity, if at all.

“Computer, activate personal medic,” Jackson ordered.

“Yes, Grumpy Warrior,” the computer answered in a neutral tone.

Jackson grimaced. Viktor was up to his old tricks. The man liked to randomly program the computer response systems when he was bored. Before this, he’d been “The Amazing Space Cadet,” which wasn’t exactly a compliment since “space cadet” basically meant “newbie idiot.” Before that, it had been “Comet Kisser.” Wait, no—“Lord Not-Gettin’-Lady-Action.”

A light buzz indicated that the medic was working. A mechanical arm lowered from an opening in the ceiling. The unit could normally be accessed from anywhere in the ship, but the current power supply made this room the most likely to work. Plus, it had a comfortable bed, which seemed better for a woman than the crewman quarters he had.

The room had manacles hanging over the back of the bed and a cage constructed in the middle of the floor. He didn’t like to think of what might have gone on here before the ship had found its way to them. Ships were too expensive and hard to come by, so they couldn’t exactly be picky. Why else would there be a personal medic that went to every room? It would have been costly to install the extra resources needed to run the unit. Normally ships only needed a medical booth.

The arm went to him first and flashed a light at him.

“Computer, scan subject on the bed.”

“Yes, Grumpy Warrior.”

Jackson had seen people come in from outside the complex, but rarely were they as grimy as the woman on the bed. She was filthy, covered in a layer of dirt. When she’d passed by the security feed, he’d watched her more out of boredom than concern.

He tried to see past the layer caked on her skin. There was something appealing about her face that caused him to stare. Her hair was dark and fell to her shoulders. His gaze passed over the slope of her nose to parted lips. He had seen much beauty in his travels, enough to know that there was not one definition of perfection. Beauty was fleeting, and he had never put much stock in it. When he’d gone out on military ops, he’d seen some of the most physically beautiful people do some truly horrible things. And he had met creatures that some people thought were too hard to look at who had the gentlest hearts.

What kind of creature was this woman he’d saved? She’d clearly been up to no good as she sneaked in to steal from the traders. So why had he risked the Federation finding him for a thief?

Jackson laughed at himself. That was like the black hole calling deep space dark, or the space pirate calling a thief an outlaw. He was hardly innocent in the ways of petty crime.

He watched the mechanical arm move so lasers could scan the motionless woman. The light danced over her face and neck before skimming over a dusty long-sleeve shirt. The material was dark and clung to her skin. A pair of turquoise overalls covered her chest and legs. The color wasn’t exactly stealthy. He wasn’t sure what she’d been thinking when she’d tried to steal the bag.

“Report,” the computer voice droned. “Medic shows three fractured ribs, bruising along the torso, foreign obstructions in the lungs, scraped skin, dehydration, extreme sun exposure, and twenty-three minor cuts. Would you like to proceed with treatment, Grumpy Warrior?”

“Yes.” Jackson frowned. He knew she hadn’t been banged up that badly in the fight. Had his run around the docking lot caused fractured bones and bruises? Being gentle hadn’t been his main concern at the time, but he hadn’t tossed her around that hard.

The mechanical arm lowered itself beside her face and a long needle extended to pierce her neck. The succession of light hissing sounds indicated that medicine was being pushed through as it injected her with multiple substances. He trusted the unit to do its job, so he didn’t bother to ask what the computer was giving her. The needle retracted.

“Medical booth required for further treatment of internal injuries. Please restore power and proceed to the booth at once, Grumpy Warrior.”

“Computer, is she in pain?” Jackson asked.

“Analysis of nervous system indicates she is, Grumpy Warrior.”

“Can you help that?” he inquired.

“Yes, Grumpy Warrior.”

“Do it,” he ordered.

“Yes, Grumpy Warrior.” The arm realigned itself on the opposite side of her neck and pierced her skin a second time to inject her.

“And kill Viktor while you’re at it for making you annoying,” Jackson grumbled.

“I’m sorry but murdering registered crew members is not in my protocol,” the computer said, and Jackson moved his lips to mimic her. This wasn’t the first time he’d made the request. “Your request is being reported to the ship captain for possible disciplinary action. Please stand by, Grumpy Warrior.”

The woman moaned and stirred on the bed. Her eyes opened briefly. They were a deep brown with large green flecks. She blinked once and then closed her eyes. He watched but she didn’t move again.

“Jack!” The sound of footsteps punctuated Captain Lochlann’s cry. Out of all the crewmen, Jackson had sailed the high skies with Lochlann the longest.

Jackson hurried out of the room to see what was happening. The lights flickered, and he felt the vibration signifying that the engine tried to start. “I’m here.”

Lochlann slid to a stop by his door, not even seeming to register that Jackson had been in his room. The captain looked like a human, but in his search, his eyes had shifted to a bright yellow, giving away the fact he was a dragonshifter. The yellow was a sure sign he’d been using his enhanced senses. “Those Federation guys you beat up have called for reinforcements. They’re sending more men to try to apprehend you. Viktor found a part that should get us up and running. We won’t be the fastest ship, but if we leave now we should be able to get you out of here before they arrive.”

“What about the supplies? The medical booth’s cartridges need to be restocked, and we need to be able to do more than limp along in the deep black.” Jackson would die before he went back, but that didn’t mean he’d let this crew—his family—fly into an uncertain sky.

“We’ll figure it out,” Lochlann said. “I need you to go to the cargo hold with Dev to unload the heavy equipment. Rick and Lucien found buyers. Cover your face before you go. Do your best to stay out of sight.”

“If we have a major accident, there won’t be enough medicine to cover the—”

“That’s an order,” Lochlann said, cutting him off. “I heard your protest, Jackson, but I don’t give a flying saucer. A threat to you is a threat to us. We’ll figure the rest out from the sky. Go help Dev. Hurry.”

Jackson didn’t answer but hurried toward the cargo hold. Every little bit of weight they dropped helped. Dev already had a pile started near the hatch of supposed items to be sold. He’d also pushed a large crate as far as he could, which was only a few feet from the wall.

“Loch sent me to help.”

“I need that cargo we scavenged on Sintaz,” Dev said.

“The lab equipment?” Jackson began looking around for a crate.

“No, the snow suits,” Dev said.

“Really, the suits?” Jackson asked in surprise. “We use those.”

“Not anymore,” Dev said. “No cold landings for us for a while. It’s either snow suits or a working secondary generator.”

“They’re over here.” Jackson went to gather the suits. “I compression packed them behind the load of circuits we found in the Zonar District.” He tossed a small disc of vacuum-sealed clothing toward Dev. The man caught it easily. Jackson continued to toss the clothing discs until they were all added to the stack.

“Now all I need are the crystals we liberated from Fajerk, the fractal hypnosis disc—”

“And are you serious? We finally unloaded the fractal disc?” Jackson was surprised. They’d carried that thing around since he’d first joined up with his current crew.

“Some Corge thinks it’s pretty.” Dev took a box off a stack and moved it aside. “And with that, we should have everything Viktor needs to get us into space.”

“You mean limp into space,” Jackson corrected.

“We’ve flown with worse,” Dev reminded him, not appearing concerned. “This is the life we chose. This is the life we live.”

Jackson knew the man wanted to mean it, but things had changed with Dev since he’d fallen in love. Violette could well take care of herself, but that didn’t stop her husband from worrying. Jackson couldn’t blame his friend. As a half Bevlon, half human, Dev had a hard hand dealt to him in life. He was cursed as a demon by humans, and the Bevlon looked at him as weak. Violette was a well-deserved bright spot.

“You know it’s not the same as it was. When it was just the crew, yes, it’s true we all knew what we signed up for. But you have Violette to think about now. Lochlann has Alexis. I won’t have their lives risked for—”

“Did you just say I wasn’t a member of this crew?” Violette Craven Stephans’ voice carried with it a familiar wryness. She was a beautiful woman with vivid green eyes that were always full of mischief. Her words were often clipped short but always sounded secretive, if not a little mocking.

“What, no,” Jackson tried to backtrack. “You’re a woman and—”

“Thanks for noticing,” Violette inserted. “But I already broke Dev’s curse. I’m not doing yours as well.”

“Wh-what? No, I didn’t mean…” Jackson tried to explain. “I know you’re the fire element with Dev.”

Rick had insulted an ancient spirit, Zhang An, and she’d cursed the five crewmen present at the time to find love within one of the five Lintianese elements—water, earth, fire, metal and wood. One element for each crewmember. If they didn’t recognize their sign, they’d be forever alone.

Evan, who was now settled on the same planet as Captain Samantha, had found Josselyn encased in stone on an ice planet. So she was clearly earth or frozen water. Dev was obviously fire with his demonic heritage. That one was easy. Lochlann had thought Alexis was a droid when they’d first met, so she could be metal. But then, they had also crash landed a ship at the time, nearly running out of oxygen, so that could mean she was connected to earth.

So what was left? Maybe wood. Maybe water. Maybe earth. Maybe metal.

In truth, Jackson hated thinking about it. There was no deciphering the vague clue. He wasn’t sure he wanted to fall in love. Companionship would be nice, but he realized the odds of a man like him settling down were not great.

He thought of the woman lying in the captain’s quarters. She would make a nice companion. Of course, he was judging that wholly on how he imagined she might be once she woke up and washed off the dirt.

“Did you hit your head? I’m a little worried about you, Jackson,” Violette teased.

Jackson again attempted to explain what he’d been saying. “You married Dev—”

“You’re stating the obvious.” Violette walked across the cargo hold to her husband. She lifted up on her toes to kiss him and her hand grazed Dev’s neck. He saw the scar that ran down her forearm, but she never talked about how it happened.

“Hello, my star,” Dev whispered.

“You married Dev, so you inherited this ship and crew, you didn’t sign up for it,” Jackson inserted quickly before the woman could interrupt.

“I’m going to pretend the Federation guys hit you in the head and forget you said that,” Violette stated. “Because I know you didn’t just say I wasn’t as invested in this life as the rest of you.”

“I didn’t—” Jackson threw up his hands. “Think what you want, woman.”

“He means to protect you,” Dev said, finally trying to help his friend out. “He means no offense.”

“Sacre!” Violette swore under her breath before saying, “Then he needs to stop acting like the women on this ship are delicate rays of sunshine in need of saving from their shadows. I earned my place in the deep black. I captained a ship full of ruffians.”

“What’s riled you up?” Alexis appeared in the doorway, as if by some fortuitous bad luck timing.

“Nothing,” Jackson said, suppressing a groan. “Dev, come on, let’s get this heavy cargo out of here.”

“Why just Dev? Don’t you think girls can help carry boxes?” Violette asked.

Jackson tucked his head and moved to a crate. He wasn’t going to answer. The weight of the cargo would take all of his and Dev’s strength combined, and even then, they’d have to slide it down the loading plank to the floor.

Dev laughed. “Leave the poor man be, my love.”

“Fine,” Violette said, her voice instantly changing to playful. “Jackson, I’m teasing you. I know what you meant. I also know that not one of us questions the decision to get you out of here.”

Jackson breathed a little easier.

“Dev, Lochlann wanted me to tell you that we should be up in the air in about an hour,” said Alexis. “I accessed the records for the ship, and I think Viktor and I have come up with a workaround. But it means the comms will be down as we divert power to the life support systems, so he’ll need you to come to the cockpit the minute the cargo is delivered and the hatch is fully secured for takeoff.”

Dev nodded and made a gruff sound of agreement.

Alexis tried to leave, but Jackson stopped her. “What about the medical booth? Will it be functional?”

Alexis arched a brow and looked him over. Finally, as if deciding there was no pressing reason as to why he’d asked, she relaxed a little. “I’ll see what I can do. I have to work on the life support systems first, but I can probably get it up and running sometime after takeoff.”

Jackson nodded in understanding. That would have to do. Alexis left.

“Jackson, if you can get the bulk down the hatch, I’ll help Dev deliver it. There’s no need for you to be seen outside.” Violette reached for a handheld device her husband carried and read the list of sold items to herself. She looked around the cargo hold before saying, “The fractal hypnosis disc is tucked behind the ESC food packs. We had to hide it from Lucien. He kept trying to hypnotize his brother.”

Violette kissed her husband one more time before going to retrieve the item.

Jackson thought of the woman passed out on the captain’s bed. He wasn’t sure why he didn’t mention her to his friends. They wouldn’t be happy that he went outside and risked exposure, but that wasn’t it. If he were honest with himself, he didn’t want them to make her leave. He wasn’t sure what was going on with the Dokka traders, and she was in no condition to defend herself if he dumped her unconscious body on the docking lot and left her.