“Don’t feel bad about that, Ram. Those guys have more spies and surveillance than we can even imagine.”
“But not enough to catch a stowaway?” Rampage glanced around anxiously. “Where is that saboteur now? Here? Or did they get off the ship? Are there more of them?”
“I don’t know. I wish I did.” Swift didn’t like those unanswered questions any more than Rampage did. He had a mate to worry about now, after all.
“Did you read the evening brief?”
“Earlier,” he confirmed with a nod. “Why?”
“The line about the transport schedule being cut back?”
“What about it?”
“It started as a rumor, down in the bachelor section, but I checked it out, Swift. It’s true.”
“What’s true?”
“Two more pilots are missing.”
Swift sat up straighter. “What do you mean? Two more?”
Rampage nodded. “The ship you brought back with Tirade? That pilot went missing—and now two more. At least,” he added. “Who knows how many others are gone from the rest of the fleet?”
“Missing could mean a lot of things, Ram. Someone ran off with a girl they met or decided they weren’t cut out for this anymore or—.”
“No.” Rampage shook his head. “These aren't pilots going AWOL. This is something else.” He leaned forward. “One of the guys on my floor works on the bridge. He told me their chips were working fine. Normal bio reports. And then?” Rampage drew a finger across his throat. “Spikes in blood pressure and pulse. Like they were being chased or in a fight. Then? Dead.”
Swift swallowed hard. “That man shouldn’t be telling you what he saw on the bridge.”
“Spare me the lecture.” Rampage drank deeply from his beer bottle. “He was scared shitless when he told me, and I don’t blame him. If someone is hunting down pilots on Calyx? If someone stowed away on your ship? If pilots are dying? What the hell is going on, Swift?”
“I don’t know.” And he didn’t like admitting that. “But I’m going to find out.”
“Be careful,” Rampage warned. “You’ve got a mate now. She doesn’t need you to be a hero. She needs you to come home safely.”
“I’m aware.”
“Listen, speaking of Alys...” Rampage nervously rubbed his thumb along the bottle he held. “I ran into someone when I was on the Mercy a few days ago.”
“Who?”
“Shear.”
The mention of the battle engineer hit Swift like an avalanche.
“I didn’t realize he had been out of this sector for nearly three years.” Rampage rubbed the back of his neck and grimaced. “He asked about my rescue, and your name came up and I mentioned you had Grabbed a woman and—.”
“Shit.” Swift fought the urge to let loose a string of far worse expletives. “Shit!”
“I’m sorry, Swift. I shouldn’t have said anything.”
“I’m not mad at you. I’m mad at myself.” In truth, he hated his past self. He abhorred the miserable, rotten bastard he had been. He was ashamed of it.
“Did you…? Was it a trade?”
“Yes. It was stupid of me. Selfish. I bought back all the trades I’d made—.”
“Except for this one?”
“Honestly, I had forgotten all about Shear. He’s been gone so long, and so much has happened, he just sort of slipped my mind.” Swift scrubbed his face with his clammy hand. “He’s going to be impossible to convince to cancel the trade.”
“Why?”
“Because the original trade was between me and Torque, and he bought Torque’s trade.”
“Why?”
“Shear was coming to the Valiant, and Torque wanted the assignment. So, he offered Shear his collection of trades for the battle engineer slot here. Shear ended up on the Implacable.”
Rampage winced. “After what he survived—.”
“Exactly,” Swift replied in a defeated tone. “He won’t give up his claim to my mate that easily.”
“You have to try,” Rampage insisted.
“I will!”
“Why did you do it in the first place?” Rampage asked, exasperated.
“I didn’t understand what it meant to be a mate. I was younger and stupid.”
“Now, you’re older and still stupid.”
“Thanks,” he grumbled.
“If you can’t get Shear to back down…”
“What?”
“Alys seems conditioned to please her husband. She would go to Shear and do…whatever he wants without much of a fight.”
“It would destroy her.” Swift couldn’t bear to even think about that outcome. “I would rather be branded as a liar and swindler and cheat.”
“He won’t make it easy on you if you renege.”
“I’m his shoes, I would probably do the same.”
“You wouldn’t,” Rampage declared and drained his beer. “I’ve taken up enough of your time tonight. I should go.”
“I’m glad you came tonight.” Swift saw the brief look of disbelief on Rampage’s face. “No, really. I am. It was nice, and I know Alys enjoyed cooking for us. She misses taking her family and taking care of them.”
“Well, there are dozens of pilots down in the bachelor section who would be thrilled to join their superior for a home cooked meal,” Rampage suggested.
It was a good suggestion and exactly the sort of thing Orion would approve of from one of his officers. The admiral was always talking about unit cohesion and mentorship.
Swift walked Rampage out into the living area of their quarters and spotted the neatly packaged meal waiting on the table. “Looks like you’re getting the leftovers.”
“I can’t take those.”
“You’ll hurt her feelings if you don’t.” Swift picked up the package and pressed it into Rampage’s hands. “Take it. Enjoy it.”
“Thank you. Tell Alys dinner was delicious, and I’m honored she offered me a place at her table.”
“I will.” Swift saw Rampage out and then finished his beer. After tossing the bottles into the recycling shaft, he turned off the lights and made his way to their bedroom. “Rampage wanted me to tell you that dinner was delicious, and he was honored to be invited.”
“That’s sweet of him.” Alys had changed into a nightgown and had her tablet propped up on her knees. Without looking up, she said, “I’m learning about gravity and how we are able to walk through the ship without floating.”
Taken aback, he asked, “You weren’t taught about gravity?”
“No.” Her gaze remained glued to her tablet. “I always had questions about things like this, but I wasn’t encouraged to ask them.”
Swift frowned. “That’s awful.”
“That’s life.” She raised her gaze to him. “Will our daughters be allowed to learn these things?”
“Yes.” He began to undress to join her. “Our daughters will have the right to choose any path they desire. They aren’t required to participate in Grabs or mate. More women in my generation have gone to specialized schooling to be doctors and scientists or politicians.”