and then he craned his neck to watch
the Captain whenever he strode out of the bridge and through the
main deck.
Despite the intrigue of finding out what Josh was
doing, it slowly dawned on her that she would have to stay in this
seat for the next seven days, pressed between him and the wall.
Realizing the best and only thing to do would be to
sleep through it, she settled down and tried to get
comfortable.
Soon enough she drifted off.
The last thing she thought as her mind wound down
was that it could be worse. She didn’t know how, but surely it
could be worse.
Chapter 7
He was still fuming. But he also had to work. He
paid close attention to the Captain’s movements. He also took every
chance he could to explore the ship.
No, that
was a lie – he didn’t take
every chance to explore the ship – he’d only staked out the place a
couple of times on the way to the bathroom. He wanted the
opportunity to explore more, but something was holding him
back.
Something exceedingly stupid and pathetic.
Miss Mimi Chester.
She was
asleep, and as dumb as it sounded, he didn’t want to leave her
alone. He’d seen a few of the other passengers casting her certain
kinds of looks. Looks Josh knew all too well – he’d been a pirate, and he knew the exact kind
of greedy glint you’d get in your eye when you saw a soft
target.
Even though this transport had left from Earth, not
all the passengers had departed from there. Some had already been
on the vessel. So it wasn’t entirely impossible that there were
bona fide brigands on board. Especially not considering the Captain
was a potential smuggler.
She’d gone and wandered into a pretty dangerous
situation, and she was fast asleep, unable to protect herself
should anyone make a move for her stuff.
The
longer he sat there and the more she snuffled softly, the more
resentful he felt. He shouldn’t have to baby sit her – he had a real mission to complete.
He’d overheard her talking to the Captain before, and he knew she
was off on her first real assignment. Well he could bet it was
something pathetic, and something that didn’t justify wasting his
time.
Eventually he couldn’t take it anymore, and he
elbowed her in the side. Not too hard, but hard enough to see her
rouse.
She made an entirely cute “hup” sound as she bolted
awake.
She looked at him.
“Turbulence,” he muttered.
“Oh ....” She leant her head back against the wall
and closed her eyes.
“You’ve already been asleep for eight hours.”
“I’m hoping to make it seven days.”
“Nobody can sleep that long.” He crossed his arms.
There was something about this woman that made him want to cross
his arms permanently.
“You want to try me? I can sleep for days if I want
to. And I’m gonna. Because it’s certainly preferable to being
conscious for this journey. Now, goodnight.”
“I don’t think so. Wake up and stay awake. I’m done
watching you.”
Mimi pulled her head from the wall and looked at
him. Slowly her sleepy eyes widened with alarm. “Sorry? You were
watching me while I slept?”
“I was watching over you,” he corrected through an
awkward grumble. “Now it’s your turn. You need to keep your wits
about you; you’re not on Earth anymore.”
“What are you talking about?”
“Christ, can you really be this dumb? You know
before when you didn’t want me talking about your dad,” he lowered
his voice, even though it would have been fun to see her reaction
as he blurted it out once more.
Mimi
turned from him and quickly surveyed the other passengers. Her eyes
locked on a few particularly suspicious looking ones – the same ones he was sure were
criminals. “Oh dear,” she said quietly.
“You should never have booked a ticket on this
transport,” he pointed out indignantly.
“I
didn’t exactly have a choice – it was booked for me. There’s so much traffic going to
the Interstellar Baking Championship, that this was the only ride
they could
the Captain whenever he strode out of the bridge and through the
main deck.
Despite the intrigue of finding out what Josh was
doing, it slowly dawned on her that she would have to stay in this
seat for the next seven days, pressed between him and the wall.
Realizing the best and only thing to do would be to
sleep through it, she settled down and tried to get
comfortable.
Soon enough she drifted off.
The last thing she thought as her mind wound down
was that it could be worse. She didn’t know how, but surely it
could be worse.
Chapter 7
He was still fuming. But he also had to work. He
paid close attention to the Captain’s movements. He also took every
chance he could to explore the ship.
No, that
was a lie – he didn’t take
every chance to explore the ship – he’d only staked out the place a
couple of times on the way to the bathroom. He wanted the
opportunity to explore more, but something was holding him
back.
Something exceedingly stupid and pathetic.
Miss Mimi Chester.
She was
asleep, and as dumb as it sounded, he didn’t want to leave her
alone. He’d seen a few of the other passengers casting her certain
kinds of looks. Looks Josh knew all too well – he’d been a pirate, and he knew the exact kind
of greedy glint you’d get in your eye when you saw a soft
target.
Even though this transport had left from Earth, not
all the passengers had departed from there. Some had already been
on the vessel. So it wasn’t entirely impossible that there were
bona fide brigands on board. Especially not considering the Captain
was a potential smuggler.
She’d gone and wandered into a pretty dangerous
situation, and she was fast asleep, unable to protect herself
should anyone make a move for her stuff.
The
longer he sat there and the more she snuffled softly, the more
resentful he felt. He shouldn’t have to baby sit her – he had a real mission to complete.
He’d overheard her talking to the Captain before, and he knew she
was off on her first real assignment. Well he could bet it was
something pathetic, and something that didn’t justify wasting his
time.
Eventually he couldn’t take it anymore, and he
elbowed her in the side. Not too hard, but hard enough to see her
rouse.
She made an entirely cute “hup” sound as she bolted
awake.
She looked at him.
“Turbulence,” he muttered.
“Oh ....” She leant her head back against the wall
and closed her eyes.
“You’ve already been asleep for eight hours.”
“I’m hoping to make it seven days.”
“Nobody can sleep that long.” He crossed his arms.
There was something about this woman that made him want to cross
his arms permanently.
“You want to try me? I can sleep for days if I want
to. And I’m gonna. Because it’s certainly preferable to being
conscious for this journey. Now, goodnight.”
“I don’t think so. Wake up and stay awake. I’m done
watching you.”
Mimi pulled her head from the wall and looked at
him. Slowly her sleepy eyes widened with alarm. “Sorry? You were
watching me while I slept?”
“I was watching over you,” he corrected through an
awkward grumble. “Now it’s your turn. You need to keep your wits
about you; you’re not on Earth anymore.”
“What are you talking about?”
“Christ, can you really be this dumb? You know
before when you didn’t want me talking about your dad,” he lowered
his voice, even though it would have been fun to see her reaction
as he blurted it out once more.
Mimi
turned from him and quickly surveyed the other passengers. Her eyes
locked on a few particularly suspicious looking ones – the same ones he was sure were
criminals. “Oh dear,” she said quietly.
“You should never have booked a ticket on this
transport,” he pointed out indignantly.
“I
didn’t exactly have a choice – it was booked for me. There’s so much traffic going to
the Interstellar Baking Championship, that this was the only ride
they could
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