“That should do it, Captain,” Hierax said from the science station next to Commander Korta.

He was acting very respectful and polite after his antics in engineering. Zakota and Ku were too. Those of the crew that Tala had injected with her concoction still seemed on edge and snapped at each other, but they weren’t leaping for each other’s throats or swinging knives at people. Soon, they would be able to get out of this nebula and back into normal space.

“Good,” Sage said. “Feed the location of the hidden mines to Zakota.”

“Already got them, sir,” Zakota said from the helm. “I can plot a course out of here now. Damn, I’m glad we waited. That many, Hierax?”

“So, it seems.”

“We would have hit one for sure. I’ll have to be careful, even knowing where they are.”

“Don’t take any risks,” Sage said. “We’ve taken enough.”

Sage gripped his chin as he gazed thoughtfully at the view screen, the ship’s running lights and the distant sun illuminating the purple haze out there. The gate was visible in the distance, though it would take them an hour to get to it at their slow, mine-avoiding speed.

He was half-tempted to check in on Tala again, though she surely didn’t need anything from him. She was busy operating on his crew. That was the reason he’d forced himself not to lose his temper at the way she’d tricked him. He understood that she’d felt she was doing it for his own good, but when he’d realized he was under the influence of something that dulled his mind and his reflexes, it had been all he could do to contain his fury. He didn’t even drink alcohol because he loathed having his senses dulled in any way. Out here, in command of his ship and his crew, he had to be sharp.

He didn’t think he’d been harsh with Tala, but maybe he should apologize? Or thank her more sincerely for the work she was doing. Even if he’d objected to that drug, it—or maybe the hormone injection—had cooled his irritation and made that itch less noticeable. He ought to go back down there and let her know he appreciated her.

Is that all you want to do?

Sage frowned at the question that came from the back of his mind, even if it was a pertinent one. Did he truly want to thank her, or did he just want a reason to go back and lock himself in that little office with her? To step forward and take her arm again, to touch her face. To kiss her again. He’d almost done that already, when he’d been standing so close to her in her office. Even though he’d been angry about being drugged, he’d also been impressed that she would dare do it, that she had come up to the bridge, fully intending to relieve him of duty if she’d considered it merited.

He would have a hard time dropping her off back on her home planet and flying away from her solar system. Forever. He would much rather keep her exactly where she was now, serving as the doctor for his ship. And working in a place that he could reach for an in-person visit in a mere thirty-seven seconds. Not that he’d counted.

A faint shudder rippled through the ship as a mine blew up as they passed. It was far enough away that it didn’t deplete the ship’s shields, but Zakota cursed.

“Talk about some touchy mines,” he grumbled. “All I did was look at that one.”

“You do have an ugly look.”

“Shut up, Ku.”

“Come over here and make me.”

They traded challenging looks, but neither got up. Their banter wasn’t as dark and surly as it had been before, and Zakota didn’t truly look like he wanted a fight now.

Thanks to Tala.

Sage was tempted to fantasize more about her staying aboard his ship, but that wouldn’t do any good, except to get him hard, and this wasn’t the place for that.

He drew his mind back to the present and to those mines. They were all Zi’i technology. So, what were they doing out here? Why were the Zi’i blocking access to the Scyllan wormhole? Or had the Scyllans purchased the mines from the Zi’i? If so, that was alarming, because it signified a relationship the Scyllans had always refused to have with humanity. Since they had never been willing to speak with anyone from the Confederation, trade had certainly been out of the question.

He hoped they wouldn’t find any surprises once they entered the Scyllan System. The Falcon 8 had to fly from one side of it to the other to reach the gate that would take them closer to the Gaian system. Thanks to intel and the old star maps from those early diplomats that had ventured into the Scyllan System, he knew there were six gates in total there, making it one of only a couple of systems in the entire galaxy with that many. Being near the center of the galaxy, it would have been a great hub to have access to, had the aliens allowed it. As it was, the Confederation only knew where four of those six gates went, all of them because they’d flown into the system by accident from the other side. That had been back when humans had been exploring the galaxy, taking every gate they could find just to see where it went.

One led to the Cronos System, one toward the Gaian end of the galaxy, and two went toward the opposite sides, one toward Zi’i space and one toward Confederation space.

“Be prepared to run the mine detector once we go through the gate too,” Sage said. “It’s possible the Scyllans have some caltrops sprinkled on that side too.”

“Won’t that be fun?” Zakota asked.

“I could shoot some as we pass,” Ku said. “Make them less of a threat for the next people who come through. Or less of an obstacle for us in case we have to come back this way.”

Sage flattened his lips. “We’re not coming back this way. We’re finishing our mission.”

He always finished his missions. So what if this one was self-appointed?

Besides, if he didn’t drop Tala off soon, he would have a harder time doing so. It was primal and savage, he supposed, but he wanted to keep her for himself. Because she was a good doctor and his ship needed one.

And because you want to have sex with her, that voice taunted him again.

Make love to her, he corrected it with a frown.

Do you love her? Or have you just been admiring her face? And her tits. And her ass.

He grunted in annoyance at the voice. It wasn’t as if he’d seen those things, except through her clothing, which wasn’t that revealing. He just liked the fiery look in her eyes when she argued with him. And he’d like to be the one to give her a place to practice her skills without the politics and manipulation she dealt with back home. It sounded like she would like that.

“That should be all you need of me, right, sir?” Hierax stifled a yawn and left Korta’s station. “I’m supposed to be off-shift now. I wouldn’t mind hitting my rack.”

“Don’t you have a mess to clean up in engineering?” Sage asked, thinking of the soot from the exploding booby traps he’d made.

“Already got my automatons working on that.” Hierax winked.

“What about that musical instrument I asked you to look up and make?”

“Uh, I didn’t look it up. Or make it. We’ve been busy.”

“Picking fights with each other, yes, but consider it an order to create it.”

Hierax scratched his head. “You going to play soothing music to calm the Scyllans if we run into them?”

“Perhaps.” That certainly hadn’t crossed Sage’s mind, but let Hierax think that he had some work-related reason for wanting a violin. He didn’t need his crew gossiping behind his back because he was having a gift made for Tala.

“You’re the boss, sir.” Hierax shrugged and walked out.

“Glad we have that established again,” Sage murmured, shifting to watch the view screen.

They were creeping closer to the gate, but so slowly that it didn’t look any larger on the screen. He ought to remain on the bridge as long as there was a threat out there, but Zakota wouldn’t fly any better with him hovering over his shoulder and watching. If anything, it might make him more nervous.

Maybe he would go down and visit Tala again. To more thoroughly express his appreciation.

His groin stirred at the thought of what that might involve, and he silently told it to knock that off. Just because Tala had shared some of her past with him didn’t mean she was interested in having him appreciate her. Not in that way.