Chapter 20

Interstellar space, en route to the Kratta System

Timestamp 7 / 7 / 2293

04:00 Sol standard time.

Jack ran the keycard across the lock to Lucinia’s quarters and ducked in. She was currently out, so he took liberties and started up a pot of coffee, expecting her within a half hour or so. In the common area, she had a small kitchen complete with a single sink, hotplate and a minifridge. It was capable of handling simple meals, but she rarely used it. Inside her fridge sat a few drinks, some cream and a couple of plastic containers with fresh fruits. Despite being the Captain, Lucinia wouldn’t indulge in a bunch of luxuries that the rest of the crew could not. The extent of her indulgence was primarily on what her quarters provided. Jack occasionally felt self-conscious for taking advantage of it. He sat at her workstation and pulled out a tablet, looking over some items for sale on the League-wide marketplace. When Lucinia entered, she had a worn expression on her face but cheered up some when she saw Jack and smelled the fresh coffee.

“You are a miracle worker,” she said as she poured a cup.

“Contrary to popular belief, I do use my brainses every now and then,” Jack smiled as he stood up and showed her the tablet. “What do you think of these?”

She looked on the screen and saw a pair of kissing cranes, stuffed animals sewn together at the beak in a cute kiss.

“Uh...” Lucinia bit her lower lip.

“Yeah, look, they’re really cheap! I mean look at ‘em, they’re so ... us!”

“What was that you said about using your brains a moment ago?”

Jack burst out laughing. “I know you don’t go for that stuff, this is what I really mean,” He swiped the cranes away and showed her a winning bid on a pair of tickets to her favorite orchestra, ‘Solar Symphonia’.

“Ah! Is this for real?” Lucinia took the tablet and looked closely. “Jack...”

“Yeah?”

“This orchestra is impossible to get tickets to. It is always sold out over a year in advance.”

“Yep.”

“These tickets are only two months from now.”

“Look where, too,” Jack nodded his head.

“Oh, wow, Karderak Prime. At the South Sands Resort...”

“Yes ma’am.”

“Are you messing with me?”

“Me? Never!”

“Jack...”

“Well, I figured I ought to take Kaz there since it’s where we first meoomph.” He stepped back and laughed as she back handed his belly. “Better make sure you got a clear schedule for that. These tickets cost me a fafillion lucs.”

“Consider it cleared.” Lucinia wrapped her arms around him and gave him a kiss. “We all could use some rest. I’ll make it a couple of weeks down time for the crew. Give them a chance to travel and visit relatives or just relax on the beach.”

“I could use it,” Jack grinned. “Being worked into an early grave around here.”

Lucinia smirked and kissed him again, before stepping back to down her coffee and head off to get changed.

A few minutes later, they sat together in the common area of her quarters, sipping fresh cups of coffee.

“Things going ok?” Jack saw Lucinia still carried a tired expression.

“Things are ok, Jack,” Lucinia assured him. “Just some stress and concern over meeting the contract on time.”

“We have time to find the drone ship,” Jack spoke confidently. “Most contracts we’ve done in the past barely see a day cycle before we’re done.”

“That is true,” Lucinia took a sip. “However, the nature of our quarry is very different. With the missiles, we can strike them. We need to find them before we can do that, however.”

“Yeah,” Jack nodded. “I understand.”

“Any worries or concerns circling around the crew?” Lucinia inquired.

“Nothing of note,” Jack shook his head. “Most of the stuff I’m seeing is of a personal matter.”

“Anything serious there?”

“Nothing serious, no,” He looked at her. “What about your end?”

“Nothing of a major issue,” Lucinia replied.

“Get any more info on what’s going on with the aft cargo hold?” Jack asked.

“Nothing worth mentioning,” Lucinia replied. “Nyka’s camera has not caught anything other than the standard fare. Lights turn on and off occasionally, sometimes there’s some interference on the camera itself. Nothing else to speak of.”

“The plot thickens...” Jack laughed.

“My ship’s a bit broke, I want it fixed...” Lucinia stated.

“Speaking of broken ships,” Jack cleared his throat. “Are you alright with me hiring Spurius to do some extra work to my Scapa? I hadn’t the time to fully service it before I left Artema and it could use some work.”

“Yes, that is ok. Can you work out a plan with him so he can do the work, and maintain his duties?”

“I can, “Jack nodded. “It’s nothing that could affect my capability to use it in the immediate future, but it will need to be done at some point. Gonna need to see what kind of parts are available at any ports we stop at.”

“Does it need a lot of work?”

“No, not really,” Jack shook his head. “Some basic maintenance and some parts are wearing out.”

“If you need Nyka’s help, you can talk to her too. Just make the arrangement like the one with Spurius.”

“I will,” Jack assured her.

“Zakia and Andor might be able to help too,” Lucinia offered.

“Zakia possible, Andor, Eh...” Jack shook his head.

“Not a fan?”

“Not a Frenon fan, no,” Jack shook his head.

“Well, whatever you feel you need to do, make it happen,” Lucinia nodded.

They lay on the bed a short time later, still clothed and on top of the blankets. Looking up at the glowing art on the ceiling, Jack cleared his throat.

“You asked for my company tonight. Was there something specific you wanted to talk about?”

“In the fight today, I killed someone,” Lucinia replied, tearing up as she felt the realization sink in. “I saw them in the window, and I fired my gun at them. I saw them fall back from a wound that had to be fatal, it had to be.”

“You might not have killed them,” Jack tried to assuage her.

“I hit them in the eye...” Lucinia let out a deep breath.

“Oh,” Jack bit his lip momentarily. “They were trying to take Pri. They were willing to kill us to take her and turn her into a pit slave, it’s what they do.”

“I know, I understand.” Lucinia answered. “It’s just...”

“Doesn’t make it feel any better but knowing that they were going to harm or kill someone you care about, eases the conscience a bit. On my part it does, at least.” Jack said.

“Sita and Cardox, they seemed happy about the fight. Is there something I’m not understanding about what happened today?” Lucinia looked at him and he shifted to better face her.

“They’re coping in their way. Both have nearly a decade of combat under their belts. The fact they survived unscathed would be cause enough for their celebration. I don’t think they worry too hard about the lives they took, after a while you grow cold to it.”

“I don’t want to get like that, Jack.” Lucinia said quietly. “It scares me to think people can get that way. We have had very little in the way of gunfights in our line of work, I want it to stay like that.”

“I agree,” Jack replied.

“This mission became contradictory to its intent. The whole intent of purchasing these missiles was to keep you safe on board. Instead, the whole team became caught up in a conflict. I had to hear it from Proculus about how dangerous that was. I finally had to put him in his place which left a bad feeling between us.”