Well, one hand and one bright-blue bionic limb that attached just above the elbow on his left side. “A Doll? You went all that way just to bring back a rusted Doll? We could’ve dropped a line down the pipe and had one of those on the ship in an hour, Captain. Damn waste of time just to scratch an itch.”
His voice was familiar, sharper without the static interference of the comlink. Jun ignored him, clomped down the ramp to shove past, knocking his shoulder belligerently against Axel’s, which only earned him a bark of laughter.
“When you said you had to go pick up something in the Core to help us with the job,” Axel continued, “we were thinking more along the lines of some kind of badass laser cannon. Not”—he gestured along the entirety of Theo’s person disdainfully—“this.”
Jun scowled, waving Theo down into the cargo bay as if he were directing a landing pod. “This is Dr. Campbell. He’s going to help us.”
Theo offered an abbreviated bow, trying not to gawk at the assembled Crew as he smoothed both hands down his wrinkled jacket and straightened his cravat. “Pleasure to make your acquaintances. I do apologize for my disheveled appearance; Jun abducted me directly from my office. I’m afraid I’m not at my best. It’s lovely to meet you all, regardless of the unusual circumstances.”
Axel’s face lit up, pale-green eyebrows rising as he turned to Jun. “Oh. Sorry, Captain. You had me worried for a minute there. I thought you were getting us mixed up in the Doll trade. Turns out you were just abducting innocent, unsuspecting people directly from the Core for totally unrelated reasons. Cool.”
Jun dropped down to focus on opening one of the cates surrounding the dinghy. He pressed his hand to the scuffed scanner panel and waited for the series of beeps. “You know I don’t trade.”
Axel assessed Theo again, tossing his words over his shoulder at Jun as he took Theo in like livestock. “Well, I also thought I knew you didn’t kidnap adorable little redheads, but here we are.”
Theo perked up at the compliment, flicking his cuffs into place as he smiled at Axel and moved slightly closer. “You truly think I’m adorable?”
Axel turned to Jun with a ringing laugh. Jun remained bent over the crate but stopped moving, shoulders hunched. Axel still seemed to be speaking to Theo, but aimed his words directly at Jun. “Sure I do, dollface, and I’m willing to bet I’m not the only one.”
Jun yanked a surge launcher out of the crate and aimed it casually in Axel’s direction, which only made him laugh harder before turning back to Theo. “The name’s Axel, your resident handsome, sexy, hilarious ace pilot.” Two voices snorted derisively at the description, one of them belonging to Jun. “I’d be happy to show you around. You must be dying for some conversation after being cooped up with Captain Chatty all the way here.”
Jun continued to pile items on the lid of the crate without ever acknowledging his companions.
Theo considered his forbidding profile, then leaned in to Axel conspiratorially, pitching his voice to be heard over by the crates. “It wasn’t all bad. Portions of the journey were particularly stimulating, I would say.”
Jun’s ears slowly tinted red as he dumped his assembled weaponry into a battered canvas duffel bag with a clatter, maintaining a pointed focus on his task.
The other two members of the crew waited in silence that grew somewhat ominous the longer it stretched on, both pairs of dark eyes trained on Theo. Axel gestured at them.
“These are the Valdez siblings, Marco and Boom. Marco’s alright, but steer clear of Boom if you want to keep all your limbs intact, gingerbread.”
Axel waved his bionic limb cheerfully as Theo stared at the siblings, who both shared the same clear olive skin tone and shiny black ringlets but were so different in build it was laughable.
Marco stood as tall and broad as Jun. His hopelessly stained shirt was missing the sleeves, leaving his arms, corded with muscle and streaked with engine grease, in full view. He noticed Theo’s attention to them and flexed with a wink and a kiss, earning a glare from Jun that could have melted steel. His trousers had been cut off at midthigh as well, the hems frayed down to his knees. Well, knee. His right leg appeared to be composed entirely of dark, grease-stained metal.
Boom stood at least a head shorter than Theo, her petite figure barely contained by her extremely short garment. Comprised of thick, alternating strips of leather and mesh, it ended scant inches after her legs began. Only a small stretch of muscular thigh showed past the hem before disappearing beneath heavy-soled leather boots, the tops of which were folded down to expose a row of shiny blades tucked against her skin. Glowing augments adorned the backs of each of her small, elegant hands, with thin lines of metal embedded from wrists to the last knuckles.
Boom rolled her eyes and cocked one shapely hip to the side, her faintly glowing hands gesticulating lazily. “Oh shut up, Ax. You lost that arm before you even met me. Captain’s gonna be pissed if you scare off his little Doll with your incessant bullshit.”
Her clothing and demeanor were so far outside of the scope any woman Theo had ever met. It was fascinating.
Exciting.
Delightful.
He drew his hand slowly through the air between them, indicating her fantastic manner of dress. “Is that sort of ensemble en vogue in the Restricted Sector? How absolutely marvelous. You appear both completely terrifying and utterly magnificent, madam. I do so envy you your style. Monochromatic has never been so appealing, and I must say, you wear it well!”
Boom cast him a suspicious glare, then sneered over her shoulder at Jun. “Is he for
