"Where in the galaxy is Luyten's?" Honey asked.
"Near Procyon," Strawberry said. "Our ship hasn't visited any of those star systems over there. We could probably establish a route under our new name without anyone questioning us. The stations are smaller and less sophisticated, but that is better for us right now anyway."
"Why Luyten's specifically?" I asked.
"They are usually hurting for good food. Records say they pay the highest prices in their quadrant for what we are hauling. They orbit this strange planet that doesn't rotate. Crops would burn up on one side and not receive light on the other. Most of their agriculture is station based and can't keep up with the demand of their population. There are even documented periods where they had to ration their food strictly. It got so bad that there were riots."
"Why would we want to go where there are riots?" Cinnamon asked with an uncharacteristic snarl. She was being adversarial with my first officer. But it was a good question.
"That was years ago," Strawberry answered like it was common knowledge. Maybe it was. How the hell would I know?
I just knew that I was getting sick of this quarreling. I was going to have to shut it down before it got any worse, even if it meant bending Strawberry over the captain's chair for some rough rear entry. But we needed to settle on where we were going first. And I strongly wanted it to be where my first officer suggested. Give her a win since she felt like she was losing somehow.
"In your opinion, Luyten's is our best shot?" I asked. After she nodded, I added, "And you can navigate our path?"
"Of course," she shrugged.
"Our ship has never been there," Honey started to say.
"The Arketa, um, the Mavdaios has those star charts, updated just twenty-seven years ago. Galactic movement will not have affected those much. Plus, there are well established nav-holes all along the way."
"How many holes do we need?" I asked. I had been under the impression that we only needed one to exit our realm of existence here, then another to rip back at our destination. Surprisingly, I didn’t even think of the potential sexual reference in my inquiry.
"It is a longer trip," she explained. "We'll have to rip-jump three times. But it is no big deal. The whole thing will be plotted in advance. At each waypoint we'll recalculate before the next jump. It is standard stuff."
"For an experienced navigator," Cinnamon mumbled. I didn’t like seeing this side of her. Bonding with the dragons might be a good thing long term, but not if it placed a barrier between her and the rest of the crew.
"That's enough!" I shouted, scaring all three ladies sufficiently for them to jump in their seats. "This childishness will stop! You are all adult women fully capable of handling your jobs. I have confidence in every one of you. I trust you to do the same with me. I made my decision regarding the dragons in the galley, and though it sounds outrageous, I think it was fair. If they fail the test, we'll use that as a reason to shut down other requests. If they don't fail, we'll make adjustments, just like we always do."
I stared each of the normally attractive women down. This attitude they had coming on almost made them ugly to me.
"Honey, take over here. I want to talk privately with each of these two. Strawberry, Cinnamon, go to your rooms and I'll be with you shortly."
I knew that I sounded like a dominant parent, but it appeared to me that was what the situation called for. My outburst told them that I wasn't going to put up with their shit any longer. One-on-one visits with each of the two major culprits could potentially squash this issue.
Having just recently become captain, though, this was a risk on my part. They all looked bewildered by my demand at first, then Honey got up and went to a forward station to do the job as I requested. A few seconds later, Nav-Berry walked out looking less pouty than before. Shortly after that, Cinnamon left.
I collected my thoughts briefly, then followed after Cinnamon. She had been my number one girl all along. It was her that brought me back to the ship when I was struggling to survive on dragon land. And I knew what she needed right now.
"I'm sorry for yelling at you," I told her. From her facial expression I could see that she was prepared to be stubborn. My apology took her by surprise. "I know that you didn't do anything wrong when you stood up for Dawynda's rights. In fact, I'm proud of you for doing it. But you are not coming across as professional right now. I don't want anyone onboard to doubt your ability to play a valuable role in our future as a team. Do you understand?"
She nodded, looking like a chastised little puppy. Adorable, but frightened.
"I love you so much, Cinnamon," I said as I took her in my arms. Holding her tight I said, "I just need you to play nice while I get Strawberry back under control. Can you do that for me?"
"Yes," she whispered. When I released the embrace to look her in the face again, she nodded and assured me that she would her absolute best to get along. I gave her two strong kisses with obvious specific intent, then stepped back into the hallway.
When Strawberry's door opened, she was sitting on the side of her bed looking even more upset than my spice girl. Her arms were crossed, and her head was down. The fact that her feet didn't touch the ground due to her short stature made her look like a child having a tantrum.
"You have been bad," I told her.
"Excuse
