Free Derelict: Halcyone Space, Book 1 by Lj Cohen Page B

rich, coming from a drug lord in the making."
    Heat blazed to his face. "You don't play with someone's life."
    "I'm not. I'm saving it." Ro turned her back on him.
    "Fine. Do what you need to do." Micah strode back across the room to his corner. He would finish the comparative assay and be done. Done with this lab. Done with Daedalus. Done. He was smart. He was patient. He'd find another way to burn the cartel that destroyed his life.
    ***
    Yawning again, Nomi glared at the clock display. Its blinking numbers glowed 1530. She should still be asleep. Groaning, she dropped her head back on the pillow, waiting for the alarm blare she'd set this morning when she stumbled into bed after leaving the commissary. Loneliness hit her worse than the terrible hours, the foul coffee, or the distant staff. Maybe that's why she took the risk at breakfast with Ro.
    "Daedalus, ping Maldonado, Ro."
    Ro's voice answered and brought a brief smile to Nomi's face, until she realized it was a personalized away message. "Working. Urgent calls only."
    "And I got up early for that?" Maybe she could catch her at the end of her shift or something. "Okay then, locate Maldonado, Ro."
    This time the AI's generic voice responded. "Common space. Reading room."
    She hummed as she dressed, layering her crisp gray uniform over a deep red tank top. The rich color highlighted her eyes and her space-pale skin. She stopped to check herself in the mirror, making a face at her own reflection. Chances were whatever she felt for Ro wouldn't be reciprocated.
    It didn't matter. If she didn't start meeting people, she'd end up going insane. Just six weeks apart from her family and friends and she already understood the depth of her mistake, but she had a debt to pay.
    "Well, then," Nomi said to the empty room and utilitarian furniture. Even her old dorm room had more personality. "Let's go see what Ro's doing."
    Striding through the station, Nomi forced herself to nod at the other personnel. At least the hallways showed some sign of life at this hour. By the time Nomi's shift started, she'd be lucky to interact with even a handful of people.
    She kept walking until she stood outside the reading room, where she paused to tug her uniform top smooth. The door slid open and Mendez stepped out. "Commander," she said, startled.
    Mendez frowned, reading her ident badge. "How are you settling in, Nakamura?"
    "Well, thank you."
    "Excellent." The commander's dark gaze took her in and dismissed her just as quickly. Nomi watched as she disappeared into the station before entering the reading room. "Ro?"
    The small space had an old-fashioned holo-set vibe, as if someone researched historical libraries and recreated an ancient Victorian sitting room, complete with gloomy lighting, antique chairs, and shelves lined with reproduction paper books. The lights brightened as she stepped deeper inside. "Ro?"
    Silence rang in the empty room.
    "Daedalus, locate Maldonado, Ro."
    The AI's voice echoed. "Engineering sub-level three."
    That had to be wrong. There was no way Ro could have made it from the reading room all the way across the station and down to engineering. Besides, they would have passed each other in the nexus. Was there some glitch in the AI's localization subroutine? "Locate Nakamura, Konomi."
    The same bland voice answered her. "Common space, reading room."
    "Huh." She swept her gaze around the empty library, wondering. "Ping Maldonado, Ro."
    "Working, urgent calls only," the message repeated.
    "Message Maldonado, Ro."
    "Recording."
    "Ro, this is Nomi Nakamura. I'd like to ask you a question when you're free. Please ping me at your convenience."
    Maybe the senator's pretty-boy son would know where she was. "Daedalus, locate Rotherwood, Micah."
    "Main cafeteria."
    Maybe he'd have a line on that coffee he'd promised. She left the cluttered reading room behind and returned to the spartan station, happier than she'd been in a long while. It would be good to talk to someone — even