“It was two times, if you count the online sys-net date you had with that prostitute who wanted to see you strip.”
Erick flushed, then silently cursed himself for doing so. “That was more than six years ago. I was just a kid. And she wasn’t a prostitute.”
“Sure she was. Her business information and how to pay her flashed up on the holodisplay after she hung up on you.”
“I mean, I didn’t know she was a prostitute in the beginning. One of my guild mates in Galaxy Invasion said she was a nice woman who liked smart—oh, never mind. That was years ago.”
Jelena grinned impishly as she stepped into engineering, and he vowed to tease her over some embarrassing moment later. After ten years, he had just as much material on her as she did on him.
“Guess what?” she asked, apparently willing to drop the embarrassing discussion. Her grin widened as she met his eyes, and she grabbed the long ponytail that hung over her shoulder, twirling the end.
Jelena had grown up while he’d been away at his university, developing the expected womanly curves and such, but he still tended to see her as the little kid he’d met shortly after first coming aboard the Star Nomad. In moments like this, she seemed more like twelve than eighteen. Part of that was the mischievous glint in her brown eyes, and part was the fact that her pink hooded shirt promised that “this girl” hearted the ponies racing underneath the letters.
While Erick was considering whether he should guess, four cats sauntered into engineering after Jelena, one pausing to rub against her legs, and the other three heading straight to their favorite mousing spots.
“You’ve decided to celebrate turning eighteen by getting a new cat?” he asked.
“Even better. I’m getting a ship.”
“A ship? Like a model you can float around the duck pond?” He waved toward the corner of the cargo hold that held something of an engineering miracle, an enclosed pond with fake turf around it for the egg-laying ducks and chickens. At the touch of a button, it could be enclosed and made air- and water-tight during takeoffs, landings, and periods of gravitational flux. Sometimes, Erick felt like he was flying through space on Dr. Doolittle’s island.
“No, silly. A real ship. Mom and Leonidas have finally decided that my suggestion is brilliant.” The glint in her eyes turned to a full-fledged gleam.
Erick arched his eyebrows skeptically. He’d heard her arguing on numerous occasions that the family business should take on a second freighter—and that she should captain and pilot it—but he had yet to hear her parents agree with her.
“I thought Leonidas wanted you to go to a university somewhere and learn how to do something useful,” he said.
“Flying a freighter is useful. All the people who like to eat, drink, and be clothed appreciate having cargo delivered to their moons, planets, and space stations. And—” Jelena wrinkled her nose, “—I had enough schooling when I studied for my pilot’s exams on Arkadius, thank you very much. Not to mention all that Starseer practicing Grandpa makes us do. And I took tons of sys-net courses growing up. While you were partying at that land-kissing university of yours, I was learning about math and history and geography, and not nearly enough about animals. Also, I had to train with Leonidas in the gym every day. And babysit for my little sisters all the time.” Excited shrieks came from somewhere deeper in the ship, the cries of said twin sisters, no doubt. Jelena rolled her eyes. “I am so ready for my own ship.”
Erick thought about pointing out that she could escape her home life for a while if she simply followed Leonidas’s plan for her and went to study at a university. He was her stepfather, not her real dad, but he clearly wanted what was best for her. Erick had witnessed him leaving brochures in NavCom and the mess hall about various planet-based higher-education facilities. He’d even found a couple with veterinary programs.
“Mom and Leonidas said we could go look for a used freighter here on Dustor,” Jelena said. “But you have to come along to check out the engine and make sure we don’t buy moldy takka.”
“I have to come? Leonidas mentioned a day of leave.”
“It won’t take long. We’re already at the docks, and there are supposed to be used ships for sale at the end. And Erick, surely you don’t want me to be responsible for bringing moldy takka back to the family.”
One of the fatter cats strolled between Erick’s legs, purred, and looked expectantly up at him. All four were strays that Jelena had found at various stations and space bases, and since her special Starseer talent was communicating with animals, he felt certain she was manipulating it to gaze imploringly at him.
Erick sighed and picked up the cat. “I’m sure Leonidas would be disappointed if I let you buy anything substandard.” He looked around the engine room of the eighty-year-old Star Nomad. “Or at least anything more substandard than this ship.”
“Don’t let Mom hear you say things like that. She loves the Nomad. Besides, the ship runs good and has lots of upgrades. We could do that with our new ship.”
Our?
Erick carefully kept his thoughts clear of possible jobs on distant planets. He kept barriers up around his mind, as all trained Starseers did, so Jelena shouldn’t be able to read his thoughts, but she knew him well enough to tell when he was hiding something.
“Let’s go then,” he said. Even if he planned to leave, he could make sure Jelena had a good ship so she would be safe on her freight runs. All three sun gods knew she’d run into black holes’ worth of trouble out there if her parents truly let her take off on her own.
