Which, as Aiden viewed it, was the only real upside to the attack. Petty of him to think that way, but maybe there was something to the idea that what goes around comes around.
Unfortunately, the Ishivi had a point. Which was why he nodded reluctantly. “That's why we're going to make a stopover.”
“Are we?” Belix said skeptically. “Even with the heat on us and nothing useful to sell?”
“We are. Luckily we don't need any real repairs, just a restock of food and maybe some fuel and raw material for fabricating slugs. That doesn't take a station or major planet.”
Barix groaned, guessing what he had in mind. “Please don't tell me we're going there. I still haven't got the stink of manure and fertilizer out of my uniform from our last visit. And I have a sneaking suspicion those backwater hayseeds use the two for the same purpose.”
Aiden grinned. “That's right. We're going to Callous.”
Lana stared at him in confusion. “What?”
“Callis 1,” the gunner helpfully explained. “Nicknamed Callous for the hardworking reputation of its people, although usually disparagingly for some reason.”
“It's a colony world far from any major trade routes or rift hubs,” Aiden interrupted impatiently. “Established about forty years ago by a group that included retired Preservationist veterans. They picked that planet deliberately, wanting to be far from the war and the depredations of the Movement.”
“They succeeded,” Barix grumbled. “If they were any more backwards in that place they'd be violating the laws of physics.”
“But they have what we need,” Aiden said firmly. “And they've always been a safe port. Besides, word is they hit a patch of trouble recently and could use another charitable donation. We can give them the junk we stripped from the pirate wreck, see what they can do with it.”
It was Belix's turn to groan. “And give them a small fortune in chits while you're at it, right?”
He reluctantly turned to acknowledge the elfin woman. “It's not your money, what do you care?”
“I just hate it when you go all Stag on us.”
He pointedly looked away. “If nobody has any real objections, we're going.” Apparently, nobody did, so he turned to the gunner. “Get us on our way there.”
Chapter Ten
Friendship
Aiden returned to the bridge the next morning thoroughly rested, after a long massage from Ali and then a blissful night holding her in his arms. Among other things.
“Status?” he asked the gunner as the young man relinquished the pilot's chair to him.
“On course. ETA to Callis 1, one day, seventeen hours, fifty-six minutes. As per orders, I am no longer giving precise time in seconds or smaller units of measurement.”
Yeah, instead you just remind me of that order. Every time. Aiden swore the young man did it in some passive aggressive bid to irritate him, although Belix insisted construct conditioning discouraged them from doing that sort of thing.
Then again, she might just be screwing with him too.
As he settled down in his chair and pulled up a report of the night's events on his display, he noticed Lana was up early as well. She was studying at her terminal, eyes bleary and hair tousled as if she'd just got out of bed. He wondered if she'd had trouble sleeping after the pirate attack; it was an understandable response, especially if she'd been awakened by it into full-blown panic.
“How are your efforts to learn the engines coming along?” he asked her.
She looked up, startled, as if just now realizing he was there. “Good morning, sir,” she said around a yawn. “I've got a good start on basic maintenance and operations, I think.”
“Good. Belix should be asleep at this hour, so head down there with the gunner and keep working on it.”
The young man immediately swiveled in his chair to face him. “Sir, I would have no objections to spending my free time instructing Lana under most circumstances, but may I remind you that my shift is almost over and it's time for my own scheduled sleeping period? Also, your policy is extra rest for those with high-stress jobs after a battle such as this one, which I have yet to be allotted.”
Aiden bit back a curse. It was hard to complain about the gunner calling it a day when he practically forced the young man to work double shifts, but it still irked him. Looked as if he was going to have to find something else for his new crew member to do for a while.
“Dismissed, then,” he said curtly. The gunner saluted and departed the bridge, and Aiden slumped back in the pilot's chair and got back to his reports. “Go ahead and keep studying,” he told Lana. “Let me know if you need me to point you to any new material.”
“I should be fine,” she replied around another yawn. “Dax gave me an extensive study regimen that I'll probably spend weeks going through, assuming I worked nonstop the way he seems to.”
As usual, Aiden tensed slightly at hearing the young man's name. A slightly uncomfortable silence settled after that, although not necessarily because of her mentioning the gunner. Mostly because he couldn't seem to think of something to say that wouldn't make him sound like an idiot, or cause her to dislike him.
He would've thought that after having Ali for a year he'd be more comfortable with women, but it wasn't in any way the same. For one thing, it was impossible to make a mistake with his adult companion; she might try to correct his behavior for his own benefit, but she wouldn't hold it against him or refuse to forgive him. She certainly wouldn't start hating him.
As it turned out, interacting with a robot who remained loyal and supportive no matter how often or badly you screwed up was terrible practice for interacting with real women. Almost worse than nothing, in some ways.
Unfortunately, his only real interaction with a woman other than
