Quantum Entanglement Pt. 02

Asteris Station

Sirius System

MIKA IWASAKI

The freighter looked bigger than I had expected.

I swallowed hard and adjusted the straps of my bags. Everything I owned was either on my back or hanging from my shoulder. What I couldn't carry had been left in the penthouse on Cyr. My brother could figure out what to do with it once everyone figured out I was gone.

"You're gonna have to move, miss. Can't stand on the loading dock unless you're on the clock."

I jumped and moved to the side, biting my lip as the woman steered her hauler around me. She glared at me over her shoulder and motioned for me to move, so I bowed my head and moved toward the Event Horizon.

Several men moved in and out of the cargo bay, each with a hauler hovering silently behind them. My steps were light enough that they weren't likely to hear me over the noise of the docks. Asteris Station was the biggest between Cyr and Vylara and had the traffic to back it up. Steeling my nerves, I took a deep breath and cleared my throat.

The largest of the men straightened and turned to face me. He was at least a head taller than me with jet black hair and sharp brown eyes. A smile tugged at the corner of his lips as he trailed his keen eyes over me.

"I'm looking for Captain Richardson," I said in my most commanding voice, though it had sounded much stronger in my head.

The dark-haired man's smile grew, sharpening the features in his face. "I know I was drunk last night, but I don't remember anyone getting married."

"Mar-- uh, no, I spoke to the Captain on the coms last week. I'm the new astrogeologist."

"Geologist." The smile on his face fell slightly. "You're Michael Iwasaki?"

I sighed and dropped my duffel bag to the metal grating below. "I'm Mika Iwasaki. We spoke about the astrogeologist position. I was hired and told to meet Captain Richardson at this dock at this time." With a groan, I pulled my handheld from my backpack and showed the man my documents. He scanned over them quickly before glancing back up at me.

"I could have sworn you were a man."

"Is that a problem?" It wasn't the first time I had been looked down on for being a woman, but I really needed this job. There was no other company willing to hire me and if they didn't honor our agreement, there was nowhere else for me to go. I'd die before I crawled back to my family.

"As long as you can find us a rock with something more than dirty ice on it, I don't care if you're a cyntrax." He flicked his eyes over me once more before turning on his heel and returning to his job. "Follow me, I'll show you to your quarters."

I drew in a shaky breath and suppressed the smile that tried to spread over my face. This was just the beginning. The bottom could still fall out of my plan at any minute.

"So you're from Cyr, huh?" The man shoved a couple bins to the side that looked like they could weigh at least as much as me without so much as a grunt. When he looked over his shoulder at me, I nodded. I didn't want to say too much about my past because that was a sure fire way to get me sent packing.

"Then what's a rich girl like you doing this far out in the black?"

My mouth dropped open and I stared at him like a fish out of water for a second before catching myself. "What makes you think I'm rich?"

He chuckled and shook his shaggy hair out of his eyes. His shirt was stained and ripped in a couple places but his skin was smooth and tanned without the scars common to merchant freighter crewmen, which suggested he wasn't exactly poor himself. It's not like skin treatments were common among the working class. Of course, he didn't seem to have a problem throwing heavy objects around so maybe he was just one of the lucky few born perfect.

"Those bags on your back," he said, jerking his chin out, "cost enough to pay for a year's worth of food on this ship."

I looked down at my bags and mentally slapped myself for wanting to hang on to something as trivial as luggage. When I raised my eyes back to the man's, I noticed how his lit up with the enjoyment of seeing me squirm. I had seen that look on my brother a thousand times and I'd be damned if I'd give this nobody the joy of making me feel small.

"Look, I can do my job better than anyone else you're gonna find on this pile of shitty sheet metal. There's not another astrogeologist within two light-hours with my qualifications and experience, so do you really think it matters how much money I may or may not have? If I'm here, I obviously want nothing to do with where I came from. So can you show me to my quarters and tell me where I can find the Captain? Or at least point me to someone who can."

The man stared at me for a moment before a wide grin erupted across his face. "I think you're gonna do just fine here." He turned again and bounded up the stairs at the back of the cargo bay. I blew out a breath before following him up.

The ship was much like any other I'd seen, though with a few more advancements than I'd expected. It was made from newer alloys and polymers common on military vessels and the screens looked brand new aside from a few scuff marks here and there. Considering that they'd likely had to deal with more than a few pirates out in the black, I would've expected more damage. Either they were good at avoiding fights, or they were really good at ending them quickly. I didn't see obvious signs of major weapons systems, but if they were running hot they wouldn't make a habit of displaying that when in a mixed use dock.

"How long of a contract did you get," the man asked.

"Three months with an option for a year if things go well."

The guy let out a wolfish whistle. "You must have some damn good qualifications then. Don't tell anyone else that. The most Garrett usually offers is a month with a six month option."

"So how long have you been here?"

"Well," the man started before a chuckle cut him off. He stopped at a blast door and typed out a code before running his hands through his hair. "You see, I'm a bit of a special case. I've been with Garrett for a few years now, but I'm sure there are days when he'd just love to throw me out the nearest airlock."

As the thick blast doors slid open, we were bathed in a soothing blue light from the bridge. Two other men sat at control panels no doubt working on their pre-flight checklists and paid no attention to me or the other guy as we walked in. A massive forward panel displayed a schematic of the system and a flight trajectory that would take us out of it. I stepped forward to study it while the man talked to the others in the room.

"Have either of you two seen Cap? I've got his new hire here and she's eager to meet him."

"Why?"

"Beats the hell outta me. Maybe she goes for the assholes."

The other guy chuckled. "I can be a jerk if that's what she wants."

"She just wants to get started on her work before she's too old to do it," I said, looking over my shoulder at the two men who were discussing me like I wasn't in the room. The guy who'd walked me in grinned and crossed his arms over his substantial chest while the other one sat back in his chair and gave me an appraising look.

"I'll think she'll do just fine here."

"That's what I said."

"If you're looking for the Captain, he's down in the mess giving Hoshi that what-for over his food order," a shorter blond guy said as he sidestepped around the others and took a seat at the far wall.

"Wonderful! Might as well get the true introductions out of the way before we get going so she can run while she's still got the chance."

"I'll leave the bay open just in case," the blond said without looking up from his tablet.

It wasn't like I had many options if this crew didn't work out, but at the same time I didn't want to get stuck with a captain that was impossible to work with. Still, I kept my face impassive so maybe they'd mistake my lack of options for emotional fortitude. As a woman in a male-dominated field, I had to take every chance to look tough.

"The crew quarters are down that corridor, but I think it's better if we go on and see the Cap before you put your stuff down. You know, just in case."

I looked down the corridor briefly but then had to halfway run to catch up with the guy again. Loud voices echoed off the metal walls as we neared what I assumed was the mess hall. I gulped, took a deep breath, and straightened my spine.

I'm going to stick this out. He can't be worse than my brother.

"You spent how many credits on fruit? I get that you're vegan, man, I really do, but the rest of us want meat! You're not the one out there drilling to the center of these god-forsaken rocks and you think we can do that on bean sprouts and tofu?"

"Bean sprouts and tofu have everything the body needs to survive, but that's not the point. I'm not feeding all of you assholes nothing but meat and potatoes just for you to come down with scurvy and die. This isn't 16th century Earth, Garrett! Why are you afraid of a cucumber? It's not going to crawl out of the fridge and fuck you!"

I stared at the two men as they verbally sparred with each other, unable to keep the confusion I felt from spreading over my face.