Page 7 of Full Speed to a Crash Landing

“You have to understand how unlikely it was that you were here,” the captain continues. She doesn’t like being in the wrong, and she’s the type of person who wants to talk her way into being right. She’s had too many people believe her just for speaking, and it shows. “It seemed clear that a distress signal from this location, at this time, would be sabotage, and...”

“And yet it wasn’t,” I say simply.

Her mouth closes.

“Do you know what it’s like to count each breath?” I continue. “Do you know how it feels to pick up a ship’s signal, toknowit’s in range, and to be ignored, all while your last oxygen tank gets lower?” I huff a bitter laugh. “I’ve always known the risks out here. You think I haven’t considered them when I’m a single person on an old ship? Something goes wrong out here...I know how that ends. I just...” I shake my head, the tip of my tongue on my teeth. “I expect to die alone if something goes wrong in the black. I just never thought I’d have an audience who watched without even answering my distress call.”

I’ve made Ursula realize the full depths of how wrong she was. I’m not sure what Rian’s role on theHalifaxis, but no one has higher authority on any ship than the captain. It was her call.

And she made it wrong.

And we all know it. Without question. Even her.

“Ms. Lamarr, I cannot express how sorry I am—” she starts.

“And you won’t even give me seconds.”

The captain blinks at me, stunned, and there’s little nervous tic near her left eye as she stands up, grabs my food tray, and goes over to the dispenser to get me another round of those lentils. “And some leaves!” I call to her.

“It’s spinach,” she says.

I shrug. A leaf is a leaf, but green stuff? Damn, that’s expensive. “Double spinach, please!”

Rian smirks at me. “You’re good,” he says while Ursula busies herself with the dispenser.

“I am.” I grin at him. “At what?”

He doesn’t answer. Those eyes of his. They don’t miss a thing. I shovel a spoonful of lentils into my mouth as soon as the captain drops the tray in front of me.

“How did you know that theRoundaboutwrecked?” Rian asks. He doesn’t seem impatient that I have to chew; he speaks like this is idle conversation.

“Looter to looter?” I motion him closer, as if I’m going to whisper a secret, then shake my head. “I’m not telling.”

“We’re not looters.” The captain’s voice brooks no argument. “We’re here to salvage—”

I shrug. “Salvageis just a few letters away fromscavenge. I bet they have the same roots. Probably French. Wild that a country that doesn’t even exist anymore can fuck up our language so much.”

Rian frowns, and a cute little wrinkle forms on his brow. “I don’t think you’re right about that.”

“We are not here to argue etymology.” The captain’s voice rises a notch. She can’t stand this. She’s so to-the-point about everything. She may be short, but even I didn’t realize it was going to be this easy to take her measure.

I cut her a little slack. “Roundaboutwasn’t reported. That means it’s up for grabs.”

“Yes,” Rian allows. “But not by you.” When he sees myexpression, he grins. “Perhaps if your ship hadn’t been breached, maybe you’d be our competition.”

“Maybe?!” I gasp, clutching my chest with one hand and scooping up more goop with the other.

“But as it stands, you’re just our guest, and that means you can’t...” He struggles to find the right word.

“Loot,” the captain supplies. “You can’t loot.”

“You can hire me,” I say. “I work for cheap. Just feed me and cut me some profits.”

“No,” Ursula says flatly.

“I got nothing better to do,” I assure her. “Plus, I amverygood at my job.”

“No,” the captain says again. She stands, turning to Rian and ignoring me completely. “I’ll grant her refuge but nothing else.”

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