Just because I had mind-blowing, amazing sex with an attractive human last night doesn’t change the fact that I have commitments. Or that I’m not a farmer.
Even so, I glance out the window again, watching her. It’s only been a day but it feels like everything is changing, and I’m not sure what to think anymore.
I need to focus on my goals. I can’t let myself be distracted.
With that thought in mind, I retreat to the bedroom and hook my personal comm—retrieved from the jail with my possessions when I left with Piper—to Piper’s network. I send out the encoded message to the va Sithai brothers, waiting for someone on their ship to pick up. A few minutes pass and I absently scroll through the latest news-cycles from Homeworld. Nothing’s of interest. I could care less about who’s in power or what political scheming there is. None of it means a thing out here on a remote farm planet, and that’s rather refreshing.
My communication is suddenly picked up, and a big face fills the screen. “Well, suck my cock and call me a praxiian, it’s Vordigar. About keffing time you answered, you ugly bastard.” It’s Adiron, an idiot grin on his wide jaw. “Didn’t you get our messages? We’ve been trying to reach you for a keffing week.”
“I was held up. Sorry. Bit of a snag at port, but it’s taken care of now. What’s the status of the job?”
A big hand lands on Adiron’s face and pushes him to the side. Mathiras leans in, scowling in my direction even as he holds Adiron away. “We’ve been waiting on you and all you can say is that you were held up? We need reliable partners on this mission with us.”
Adiron slaps at his brother, and off screen, I can hear another man chuckling. Ironic that these three idiots are talking to me about taking things seriously when they look as if they’re about to start arm-wrestling for control of the communicator like a bunch of children. “Like I said, bit of a snag. Is the job still available?”
“We’re approaching the Jintarr asteroid belt right now. You’re just in time.”
“I am?” I’m surprised to hear that. When we were talking about the job last month, there were no specifics. Just that the brothers were chasing down a rogue group of pirates and skin smugglers—slave traders. They have a personal vendetta against this group, but no one’s shared the details over the comm with me. Even so, they must have discovered something, because…Jintarr’s asteroid belt is not far away from Risda III at all. “You found the men you’re looking for?”
“Yup,” Adiron drawls.
“There’s an old mining station at Kafterra Prime,” Mathiras says, all business even as Adiron punches him in the gut. The third brother, Kaspar, goes around to Adiron’s other side and gets his brother in a headlock, one hand braced against Adiron’s horns to freeze him in place. They’re both grinning like keffing madmen while Mathiras tries to have a conversation with me.
These three don’t need another crew member. They need a referee.
“Kafterra Prime, okay,” I say. “Doesn’t ring a bell but I’m sure I can find it. You’re looking for a nav, right?” I did some navigation when I was back in the military, though it’s not my favorite thing.
Mathiras gives a sharp nod. “The station’s no longer in use and Kafterra Prime shows as abandoned. At least, it’s supposed to be.”
“There’s a distress signal on the moon, though,” Adiron adds, his voice choked thanks to his brother’s arm around his neck.
“That’s where we think the pirates are hiding out,” Mathiras says. “Sending out distress signals and luring in ships that come through. Seven vessels have gone missing in that particular sector in the last year. It’s obviously them.”
I grunt. “So the plan is that we swoop in and clean house?”
“Collect all those sweet, sweet bounties,” Adiron chokes out.
There’s something about that that sits wrong with me. Maybe those pirates are just trying to live a quiet life in a quiet place and keffing idiots keep showing up to try and collect on them. I think about my own troubles with that sort of thing lately and yeah, it just doesn’t feel right.
“We need a nav and another hand that’s good with a blaster,” Mathiras says. “Since we’re already in the Jintarr system, we can be at port on Risda to pick you up in a few hours.”
“You in?” Kaspar asks, releasing his hold on Adiron with a light slap to his brother’s cheek.
“Hours?” I echo. “That’s…”
“What?” Mathiras crosses his arms, frowning at me. “You said you’d be ready whenever.”
“I did,” I agree. But that was a week ago. I glance out the window as Piper comes into view. The floppy hat hides her face, but I watch as she pulls out a tool and pries open one of her drones, peering at the circuitry. I can tell by the look on her face that she has no clue what she’s staring at, but I can also tell that she’s determined to fix it, whatever the problem is.