Even though the window of the common room overlooked the cargo bay, Rebeka Mino wasn't seeing the space below, empty and ready to carry ore when they reached their destination — Tartarus, a paltry pit mine of a moon in the middle of the Badlands. Instead, she examined her reflection as she ran a hand over her newly shaved head. She'd forgotten about the old wound on the left side of her scalp, even though she'd had close-cropped hair in the past. Dropping her arm, she turned her attention to the small crew reflected in the glass. Too small, even for a snug ship like the Lyra, but they were all the ship could afford. A burly stevedore to lade the ore would be nice. Rebeka sighed.
Kandi's hands moved with purpose, her eyes intent, as she reassembled the blaster she'd just finished cleaning. Ish sat beside her, tossing deep-fried crickets in the air and catching them in his mouth. In between bugs, he regaled Kandi with one of the derring-do legends from his home world. Tink pretended to read something on her tablet but glanced at Rebeka's back every few seconds, all while stroking the cat in her lap when he pushed his head into her hand. Grim's green eyes stared at Rebeka in the reflection.
Their two new recruits sat on the other side of the table. Severn repeatedly lifted his gaze from his tablet to scan the crew, clearly trying to find an in. Meanwhile, Alek leaned back in his chair, eyes closed and boots on the table. Rebeka watched his chest rise and fall for a few seconds. He was doing a poor job of feigning sleep.
Tink let out a fake cough into her elbow, and Rebeka's gaze flashed to her reflection before glancing down at her coffee. She clutched the mug tightly, letting the warmth seep into her fingers, and sighed. None of them would like what she was about to tell them.
She turned to the common room — combined mess, galley and rec room — and joined them at the table, spinning the chair around so she could lean her arms on top of the backrest. Before she said anything, she looked at each of them in turn, coming at last to the two new crew. Severn's eyes were focused on her. As were Alek's, open now, though he copped a casual posture, with his hands behind his head and his feet still on the table. Rebeka frowned.
"Boots off my table." He looked as if he was going to say something, but sat up straight instead, dropping his feet to the floor. Rebeka glanced sidelong at Tink. "I've found us a contract, ferrying a load of zinc ore from Tartarus to Nyx," she said, getting it out in a rush. But before she'd even finished, the complaints began.
"But I thought —" Tink started, but Rebeka silenced her with a sharp look. Tink was the only one who knew about the other contract that had been on the table.
"But nothing." Rebeka grimaced as Tink suppressed the smile that crept into the corner of her lips. "Contracts are thin at the moment. Sometimes we have to work for our supper."
"It'd just be nice to have something a little special for supper," Ish said. "Bugs are getting old." He looked at the bowl of crickets with less enthusiasm than before.
"Something a little less back-breaking for my first job would've been nice." Severn glanced around at the others with a half smile. "Ease into things."
Looking for validation, Rebeka thought. Why do the Adonises always need validation?
"How about something a bit less dirty?" Alek tipped forward to slap the computer tech on the back. The tech scowled at him.
"You're welcome to leave, if our honest work is not to your liking." She locked eyes with Alek.
"No, no he's not." Ish shook his head, shifting his gaze between the pilot and her. She kept staring at Alek, ignoring Ish's protest, until the man looked away.
"Nah, wouldn't miss it for the world, dodging asteroids and ne'er-do-wells through the badlands." He grinned his lopsided grin, revealing perfect teeth, and got up from the table. "Besides, you'll need me in the cockpit to steady the ship during loading."
"No," Tink said, standing as well, cat in her arms. "Even if we can't land, the ship has servos. Cass can handle it. As Kandi said, we can use a little extra muscle." She punched him on the arm then strode out of the room. Rebeka frowned as she watched Alek watch Tink leave.
Then he turned back to the room. "Who's hungry? I make a mean custard bug scramble."
Rebeka's stomach growled in response, despite herself.