Chapter 18

Thank fuck for the short layover at that shithole of a way station. Of late, it seemed every port they stopped into had some kind of commotion happening. Stricter inspection of cargo. Flaring tempers.

It had all started a few weeks ago at La'zuun and followed them.

The latest port had a stolen vessel being argued over by authorities and the pirates who claimed it. The entities with stern expressions were less concerned with the entrepreneurs who'd acquired the ship and more with where said pilot went. Someone wanted the thief of the slick, emerald-skinned craft.

The rumor mill at the docks claimed a father was looking for his daughter. The reward was sizable. Seemed like an awful lot of expense to go through for a runaway kid.

Crank stomped out onto the elevated platform that gave him a view of the entire engineering section, what some called the bowels of the ship. He knew it for what it truly was. The brains and heart.

And they were beautiful.