He wondered how welcome he would be on the bridge. It’d been a long time since he’d been on a ship of even the Argo’s size. The courier transports on Odyssey Station just couldn’t compare. To hell with it.
He left his quarters and took the elevator to A Deck. As he approached the bridge, the ship’s engines started pulsating with the full might of its power. His eyes lit up stepping through the hatchway. Like the rest of the ship, it had changed little. Tears to the upholstery, scorch marks on the consoles, and dimmed monitors. It was worn and near obsolete. But there was a strange warmth to it. And it wasn’t because the climate-control system was up too high.
Through the viewport at the front of the bridge, the Argo had cleared the station and passed the final marker. She was now in orbit of Vesta III.
“Plot an exit course and take us to half thrust.” Tyler ordered from captain’s chair, giving his instruction to Kevin, who was at the helm in front of him.
Kevin did so and pulled the ship to starboard. Vesta III disappeared, and the blackness of space came into full view.
Tyler activated the intercom on the small command console next to his chair. “How is it down there, Aly?”
“The engine’s making all the right noises. At least for now,” she said from the engine room.
“Good enough. Get strapped in.”
“Will do.”
On the starboard side of the bridge, Althaus sat at the operations station, staring daggers at Jason.
“Is the course plotted for Frontier’s Reach?” Tyler asked.
Kevin did one last check on his navigation monitor. “Course plotted.”
“All right, everyone. Standby for FTL.” Tyler buckled up and swiveled around in his chair, noticing Jason standing at the hatchway. “You might want to take a seat. These things aren’t as smooth as the cruisers you’re used to.”
Jason had spent too much time on CDF ships where the gravity network would keep your body firmly planted during an FTL jump. He forgot the Argo wasn’t quite as modern and pulled down one of the emergency seats from the bulkhead to strap himself in.
A smirk appeared on the side of Tyler’s face and he returned his attention to the viewport. “All right. Let’s go.”
Kevin punched in the FTL sequence and pushed the lever on the helm. The power from the engines heaved, shaking the whole ship around them. The stars through the viewport spun and twisted. With one final rumble, the Argo exploded into FTL.
The force of the jump slammed Jason into the back of his seat. Maybe this trip won’t be so bad after all.
Then he looked across at Althaus.
Or not…
Ten
Jason gently lifted his cards. With a seven, nine, and jack in his hand, and a queen, six, eight, and ten on the board, he’d landed a straight. Peering across the table, he knew he had Kevin easily beat. Jason assumed he had a pair, two pair, possibly trips. And Kevin only had so many chips left.
To his right, Aly wasn’t fairing any better. She, however, had been smart and withdrew from the last round of betting. Kevin was stubborn. He was taking it all the way. Jason waved casually toward the middle of the table at the growing pile of chips.
“I’m all in,” he said.
Kevin shook his head. “Your luck has to run out sometime.” He gazed down at his hidden cards and then at the community cards on the table before turning toward his daughter, who merely shrugged.
“Hey, no coaching,” Jason told him jovially.
“All right, all right.” Kevin grabbed the rest of his chips and pushed them in. “Let’s see what you’ve got.”
Jason flipped over his cards.
“Unbelievable!” Kevin mucked his cards into the middle of the table in disgust.
Jason pulled the pot toward him and stacked his chips up high. “A pleasure doing business with you.”
“This is the third night in a row you’ve cleaned me out.”
Aly giggled. “You’d think you’d have learned by now when to quit.”
“You can’t talk.” Kevin pointed at her stack. “It’s only a matter of time.”
Aly put a hand over her chips. “Oh, no, I’m running while I can.”
Jason’s stack resembled large Centauri skyscrapers. “Where’s your sense of adventure? You might be able to win your money back.”
“You’re incorrigible.”
“Thank you,” Jason said with a large grin.
Kevin got up from his chair. “Well, while you continue being incorrigible, it’s time for this old guy to hit the sack.”
Jason put the cards together in one nice neat pile. “I trust you’ll be back tomorrow night?”
Kevin rolled his eyes. “I’ll see you both in the morning.”
With Kevin gone, Jason waved the deck of cards in Aly’s direction. “Are you sure I can’t convince you to a few more rounds? It’s difficult playing Cerberan Poker by one’s self.”
“You’ve got enough from me for one evening.”
“What about some ping-pong?”
Aly checked the clock above the chess table. “I don’t know, I need to be up early to get some things done in the engine room in the morning. I should probably go to bed.”
“Damn.” Jason put the cards in the middle of the table. “You used to be fun. What happened?”
“I got older.” She laughed. “I have responsibilities now.”
Jason remembered the simpler times that were his teenage years aboard the Argo. Then footsteps echoed from the corridor, interrupting his train of thought. Tyler walked past and peered in with a sideways glance. He quickly continued on his way.
Jason turned back to Aly, who appeared to notice the unease on his face. “You two haven’t talked much, have you?”
“Here and there. The odd word over dinner and on the bridge. I didn’t want to force
