Free Atrophy by Jess Anastasi Page A

Captain.”
    “Lianna, remind me again why I haven’t dumped you out the hatch while pulling hard gees?”
    “Because no one else can backward engineer the latest tech onto this old junker of a ship like I can.”
    “Right. When we make the Rim, remind me get you to draft up a ‘help wanted’ ad so I can threaten you with it next time you decide to shoot your mouth off.”
    She turned her attention to her comm as officers in the spaceport gave the all-clear for launch, but he caught the edge of a smile tilting her lips. Hell, when had his crew stopped taking his threats seriously?
    Rian pushed his hair away from his eyebrows and leaned back, his chair squeaking slightly as it moved under his weight. A small thrill chased under his skin. He and his crew were about to brazenly fly away from Erebus with an inmate onboard. Yeah, it went a little way to improving his mood.
    That, and the knowledge he had the opportunity to access some type of cargo significant to the Reidar. Whatever it was, he’d take it from Rance and then he’d use it against the bastards.
    Either that or he’d destroy it.

    T annin leaned against the large dining table in the middle of the common room as Zahli pointed out where things were in the modest galley. He should have been paying attention. He didn’t want to have to go looking for someone to show him how to use the condiments dispenser when he wanted a drink, or how to turn on the food replicator when he got hungry.
    But the ship had started shimmying beneath his boots and through the galley viewport, he saw the buildings of Erebus’s spaceport tilting and then moving away. His grip tightened where it held the edges of the table, as if that could keep a lid on the apprehension and disbelief coursing through him. How many nights had he dreamed of this exact moment? Now living it, everything seemed underwhelming. There was no feeling of exuberance, no sense of victory, no sentiment of rightness. Just a hollow doubt that it could last.
    His neck felt taut and he still had a stinging twinge in his shoulder. Of course, that was far better than the burning ache when Rian had first stabbed him. That little scene went right along with everything he’d ever heard about Sherron.
    But the sonuvabitch had agreed to let him stay onboard. Or at least agreed to pretend he didn’t know about it. After spending the past twelve years relying only on himself, and considering he’d been betrayed by people he’d trusted, he’d never thought there might actually be people in the universe willing to help him.
    Still, the guy definitely lived up to the apparently not-exaggerated stories. He had to admit, if he hadn’t been on the wrong end of that knife, he would have been impressed by the captain’s skills. Maybe escaping Erebus on the ship of a guy like Rian Sherron wasn’t the best option, but it was the only one he had. And to make it off Erebus, he would have done a deal with pretty much anyone, including the few people in the galaxy more psychopathic than Sherron. So he’d play it smart, try to keep out of the guy’s way, put up with his shite when he did have to deal with the captain, and definitely avoid any kinds of pointy objects when Rian was around.
    “Tannin?”
    With some difficulty, he turned his attention from where the buildings of Erebus were getting smaller and smaller, to look at Zahli. She’d clipped her thick hair back, but a few stray strands had escaped to frame her expressive features and beautiful dark blue eyes. In the clear light of the galley, he could see a sprinkling of freckles across her nose. They were faint, but visible, and every single one gorgeous. He couldn’t ever remember meeting anyone like her, even before he’d landed on Erebus. There was something sweet about her, some indefinable, wholesome quality that he wanted to lose himself in.
    She smiled and closed the short distance between them, her body moving like music, a sensual, primitive rhythm she probably