Page 53 of Phoenix's Last Heist
She returns with a fierce stare of her own, until her lips twitch and a grin of pure sunshine lights up her face.
“It wasn’t exactly a threat,” she finally admits. “And Jorla was a slug! He was lazy, stupid, never kept up with his paperwork and didn’t give a shit about the men. I deserved this job, anyway. I’m certainly better at it than anyone else on this floating garbage pile. Isn’t that right, guys?”
The two Drellers flanking her at the bottom of the landing platform grunt in unison.
I bark a laugh. “Stars, I missed you, you grumpy hag!”
“You libidinous terror! I can’t believe you stayed away for so long,” she chuckles, striding toward me with arms outstretched.
“It’s good to see you,” I exhale, breath squeezed out of me in Evie’s iron-banded hug. “I’m sorry about Jorax. That was rotten of me.”
Evie pulls back to cast a disapproving look at me.
“I don’t appreciate the selfishness, but I was more worried than anything. Jorax wasn’t particularly smart, and you were scraping the bottom of the barrel with him. Still, he was a good worker. I was sad to lose him. Sadder it kept you away.” She chucks my chin with her fist.
“I was a proper asshat to do so,” I nod.
“I take it this surly tower of sex is the aforementioned scorcher?” Evie smirks, gesturing to a confused, concerned Orion.
“Ranger Asterth,” he says, inclining his head in greeting. “Orion to my friends.”
“Well, I sure do hope we can be friends,” Evie says, fanning herself and flashing me her favorite are-you-serious look. “Let’s head into my office. You can tell me more about the mess you’re currently inhabiting, and I’ll see what I can do for you. Jerrin, head down and see if we have any available space in the barracks for a couple of refugees.”
“You’re the best, Evie. I’ve got something onboard just for you,” I say, relief easing some of the tightness in my shoulders.
She snorts. “If you think you’re going to sauce me up on that wretched Zorium moonshine again, you’re mistaken. Just because I live and work on a salvage station doesn’t mean I go without life’s little comforts. I’veupgradedsince you’ve been here last, Pinky Pie.”
“Well, color me impressed! I’m ready to be dazzled,” I say with a laugh. “Before we go in, any chance you can have one of your mechanics take a look at theAldrin? There was a lower hull breach and I think she needs a patch. I’m having Ada run a full diagnostic now.”
Evie nods and gestures to the remaining Dreller, who hurries off to do her bidding. She eyes Orion with interest, flashing him a blinding smile full of fangs, and links arms with him to lead us into the station’s main floor.
“So, Ranger Asterth! I hope you’ll tell me all about Xylothia. I’ve always wanted to go, you know. I hear the temples are some of the most impressive forms of early engineering this side of Andromeda.”
The pride and joy radiating from Orion’s smile would melt tungsten—igniting a flare of jealousy that burns just as hot within my chest. How come he’s never looked at me like that? Oh, right, because whenever we talk, we end up fighting or doing something dangerous. Or maybe because he’s a prime specimenof super hotness who oozes honor and the only thing I ooze is boner juice.
“Yes, my jurisdiction actually covers three of our biggest temples, including the Terrestrial Temple, the Temple of the Lost Sea, and the Celestial Temple. Each one honors a different Xylothian deity,” he replies, clearly warming to Evie and her rapt interest.
“Is it the Celestial Temple that has the map of all those legendary star systems?” Evie asks, steering us down a winding corridor of rusting, creaking metal. Red-gold light filters up through the grates in the floor and makes the condensation on the walls glitter like jewels. The air in the station is too warm and thick with cloying, metallic-tainted humidity that doesn’t seem to bother Evie, Orion, or the dozens of Drellers doing various tasks to keep things running smoothly.
I tug at the collar of my jumpsuit and blow a cool stream of air down my front, irritation rising along with my temperature.
“It is,” Orion says. “In fact, that’s actually where I ran into Lyra.”
“No shit! Let me guess—stealing something? Our Lyra can be a slippery fish,” Evie tosses a wink over her shoulder at me. “How’d you manage to catch her?”
“I knocked her out with my plasma rifle,” Orion chuckles, the synesfores on his neck shifting to a soft purple that almost matches Evie’s skin.
Evie grips Orion’s shoulder to keep her balance as she laughs uproariously at my expense. Their jovial bonding and the sticky heat of the salvage station make me sourly wish I’d taken my chances with Kraxis and the rest of his lizard vermin aboard theEdax Deorum.
After what’s become the longest hallway of my life, we finally reach a massive hatch with a heavy iron bolt. Evie wrenchesthe lock open one-handed and ushers us into her office with a welcoming sweep of her arms.
“Come in, take a load off, and tell me why you look like shit and your fucked-up ship is parked in my garage.”
14
orion
Mess Hall Confessional
