The Star Thief (Star Thief Chronicles 1)
Page 18“Good. I thought I might take you on a tour of the Athena now before you get settled in. We’re in the pre-FTL check phase so I have a few minutes.” Although he spoke to Myka, his gaze flicked to Renna.
She nodded. “Sounds like a good plan. Myka and I could use a snack, too. We’re both starving.”
“First stop, galley!” Finn gestured to the corridor with a flourish. “Right this way, honored guests.”
Renna’s heart twisted at the lopsided grin he gave Myka. It was the same one he’d given her ten years ago, when she’d shown up dirty and hungry at Blur’s warehouse. The same flourish he’d used as he held the door for her. She put out a hand to the cool wall of the ship to steady herself.
Stop it.
The mess hall was a long room along the port side of the ship. Several large community tables filled the space, and a service area lined the wall. A matronly woman in a crisp white apron stood guard over several pots of soupy liquid.
“My mate and I are looking for some grub; got anything space-worthy?” Finn asked with an over-exaggerated wink at the woman.
“You must be our new passenger—Myka, is it?” The woman’s plump face beamed. “I’m Mary Wilson, but you can call me Miss Mary, if you like.”
The boy nodded. “Pleased to meet you, Miss Mary.”
“Are you going to stay here? Or finish the tour?” Finn asked, slanting Renna a reluctant look.
The last thing she wanted was to be alone with him again, but the sooner he realized she wasn’t going to let him push her around, the better off everyone would be. She glanced at Myka, who nodded.
“Sure,” Renna said. “I’m curious to see the rest of this beauty. This is one of the Infiltrator models, right?”
Finn led her away from the mess hall. “The Athena’s one of the newest starships in the fleet. Specially designed for MYTH operations with a near-silent quantum core, she’s equipped with special cloaking material to get us in and out without detection.” Finn ran a hand along the seamless metal wall, caressing it like he might a woman.
She forced away the image of his hand caressing her like that and cleared her throat. “It’s gorgeous. Think Dallas might get me one, too, after this is all over?” She said it flippantly and then wished she hadn’t when a shadow passed over Finn’s handsome face. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean… I’m sure he’s fine. He seemed like a tough old guy.”
Finn shook his head. “Dallas’s one of the best. I’ve known him since I first joined MYTH. I hope he made it out.” His tone made it very clear he didn’t want to talk about it. Instead, he led her to the bow of the ship where the pilot and first mate were prepping the Athena for the jump to hyperspace.
“This is Flight Lieutenant Mark Kojima. He’s one of the best. Kojima, this is Renna Carrizal.”
The guy looked about twenty-one or so, a few years younger than Renna. Finn let someone so young pilot his ship? But she hid her surprise and smiled at him as she held out her hand.
“Thanks. You handle this bird better than most of the pilots I’ve flown with. The way you escaped those cruisers with the thrusters was genius. I don’t think even Herceg could have done it better.”
Kojima’s eyes widened. “You’ve flown with Herceg? He’s a legend! Did you know he was the first to jump to hyperspace without needing the core fusion generator?”
“I was actually on the Bluebird when he did it.”
Kojima opened his mouth, but before he could respond, Finn crossed his arms, his uniform jacket stretching over his shoulders. “Enough chatter. Back to your post, Lieutenant. You can compare flight notes with Miss Carrizal later.”
“Yes, sir!” Kojima saluted, but winked at Renna when Finn turned around.
“Nice to meet you,” she called before following the captain down another passageway.
The ship’s interior seemed to be one long oval, with an elliptical corridor running the entire length and another smaller corridor in the center. The floors were made of corrugated metal, polished to a high shine, and the walls had been covered in some sort of thick polythene plastic to heat the space and cut down on the ship’s noise.
It was gorgeously designed and obviously top of the line. Renna had some serious ship envy. Since the Seralline job two years ago, she’d had to stay out of sight, which meant giving up her own ship. It had been too easy to track. Using public transport or renting with a fake ID was safer. But someday…
“Staff quarters are on the lowest deck. There should be no reason for you to go down there.”
She arched an eyebrow. “Whyever not? It’s not that big of a ship. I’m sure I’ll be down there once in a while.”
Finn stopped in the middle of the corridor and turned his cold blue eyes to her. There it was again, the brief pause as he studied the scar on her neck. He’d always been fascinated by it, especially since Renna never talked about how she’d gotten it.
He dragged his gaze back to her face. “I’ve already told you I don’t want someone like you on my ship—or fraternizing with my crew. I know you, Renna. I know how you work. But Dallas says you’re the only one who can figure out who these people are and help stop them, so I have no choice.” He lowered his voice and leaned close enough that his scent washed over her again. “Let me remind you: There’s a chain of command here, and I’m at the top.”
So much for working together. Whatever he thought he knew, she wasn’t some raw recruit now. She was the best thief in the galaxy, and he damn well needed to remember it.
Renna lowered her voice to match his tone. “I don’t mind you on top, darling. It’s when you start pushing me around that we’ll have a problem.” She smiled at him coldly. “So I’ll do my job, don’t you worry. Just don’t expect me to play by your rules. You know I was never very good at following orders.”