Betsy the mech was in pieces across the cargo bay. Copperfield was in the center, holding some of the scales leftover from their raid on the Ruby Estate. He leaned in to watch, not wanting to interrupt the process. It was one he’d heard about but never seen. Most of the classers on his Uncle’s crew had been strong enough to afford the more usual mods, if they had independent armor at all. High-quality metals, magitech add-ons and the like. But he knew, in theory, that the point of a mech was that it could be improved with almost anything, the armor not quite living, but far from inert.

  As he watched, the scales melted into the mech, Copperfield’s own [Mech Pilot] skill providing the necessary mana to fuel the process. The metal rippled and flowed, until scales in the same deep red grew out of the backpiece in Copperfield’s lap. The Swashbuckler gave it a good rap with his hand, and Heath figured that was his queue.

  “Looks great!”

  Copperfield’s grin met Heath’s own. “Thanks man. This is gonna be sick when we delve next.” He gestured over at the completed pile of armored pieces, now with additional bonuses worked in. “Stronger armor from the scales and the rib bones. That feather we got for killing the nightmare crow will give me what’s pretty much a single use of a [Dodge] skill every time the armor’s charged. Just one big jump. And I was able to merge that launcher we got from the station dungeon.”

  “Really? I thought you said it probably wouldn’t work.”

  “I didn’t think it would. Took my whole mana pool to make it happen, but we got there. It’ll be single use for now as well, with a full day of charge time. But a single grenade is better than none.”

  “Yeah no kidding.”

  “You finished up top?”

  Heath nodded, settling in and leaning back against a nearby crate. “We officially have a training room. And some other mods that are more for just in case scenarios than regular use.”

  “Oh, that’s dope. I suppose her highness is using it now?”

  He flinched at the nickname, just glad Ekaterina was too busy to hear it. Better that than at each other's throats. “Yeah. We tried it out, leveled up [Unarmed Combat] so we know it works. I’m figuring we’ll set a rotation so everyone gets equal time. That’s how my uncle did it.”

  His companion snorted. “Your uncle was nicer than most. My last ship, you had to pay for training room time. And it was mandatory for everyone to use at least two hours a week. But don’t worry, they take it out of your pay.”

  Heath felt his face scrunch up at the description but refrained from commenting. The last months had made it clear that all of them had reasons for being on the Loon, and he was trying to respect that fact by not prying too deeply into his crew. But this time he took the risk. “Uncle Walt was the best. I miss him.”

  “I feel you man, I miss my parents too.”

  They sat in silence for a few moments before Copperfield started putting everything away. Heath jumped up to help, and the cargo hold was once again passable.

  “Were your parents Spacers too?”

  “Yeah. Grew up in the fleet. Figured I’d die in it too but you know.” Copperfield made a vague gesture, as if to capture all of the infinite universe around him.

  The problem was Heath didn’t know, but was wildly curious. “I grew up on Baradas. Colony world a few sectors over. Well, I was born back in the Core, but we moved out when I was tiny, don’t remember anything. Your fleet, they were, um…” he trailed off.

  Copperfield barked out a laugh. “You can say it. Pirates, thieves, hustlers, mercenaries sometimes. All of the above.”

  “What was that like?” Heath dropped all pretense of politely avoiding the topic, but what little kid doesn’t harbor some fascination with pirates?

  “Growing up it was mostly fun. I stayed off the jobs obviously, so probably a lot like living on a cargo hauler. Just with more repainting and updating ship ids. When I got older, they offered me a chance to get a Class, and then work off the debt.”

  This book is hosted on another platform. Read the official version and support the author's work.

  Heath was uncomfortably aware of the similarities to his own story. Though his Uncle had been teaching him, not exploiting him. He had earned a salary just like everyone else on the Loon.

  “Yeah, honestly, that was pretty fun too. We didn’t do anything too bad, picked up a few levels, settled into the lifestyle. Eventually bought this lovely lady here.” He patted the side of Betsy’s storage bin.

  “Why’d you leave?”

  That was the first question that ruffled the Swashbuckler’s composure. He shrugged and looked away. “Things got rougher, meaner. Pay got worse. New Captain was a real jackass and the whole vibe only got worse once she promoted her buddies. We didn’t stop at big hubs very often, but she needed to offload some hot cargo, and Atala was the place to do it. Saw a chance and I took it.”

  “Damn. Should we be worried about vengeful former Captains?”

  Copperfield’s grin was back in full force at the suggestion. “Not hardly. Wasn’t worth enough to notice me at all. There’s plenty more where I came from.”

  “There certainly are not!” The Loon’s voice echoed through the hold. “Your courage and good temper are a worthy addition to any crew, and are treasured aboard this ship.”

  “What she said,” Heath responded into the awkward silence that settled after the ship’s pronouncement. He let the heavy topics drop and went to trading stories about different spacers they had met, and planets they’d seen, without going too deep into why they had been there in the first place.

  They were in the middle of marking out boundaries for a game of setback when the hatch opened and Jenny Mae came back in.

  Holding a gun half as big as she was.

  Beside him Copperfield let out a low whistle. “That’s quite the piece JM.”

  “Thanks. She’s a beaut, right? Got a great deal too. Figured since I was leaning into the Admin Skills, I should pick up something to beef up the delving. The cousins are going to be spitting jealous.”

  “Wow,” Heath said. In his mind he was angling to find a way to casually imply that Captains should get to try out different weaponry from the crew. Just to make sure it was safe.

  His musings were interrupted when Emerald staggered in, reeking of beer. Damp hair and shoulders told a story there. They said nothing as they stalked past the group towards the crew bunks. At least Heath noticed they did a double take at the sight of the gun in front of them before they left the hold.

  “It has grav stabilizers, four different firing modes, and a sight module that can pop on and off as needed.”

  Heath settled back and listened to Jenny Mae enthusiastically describing the different ways she would be able to take enemies apart the next time they got in a fight. Including but not limited to, hard vacuum mods, mana-signature locks so it couldn’t be stolen, or aimed at team members, an option to add magical damage, and a self-repair function.

  “The Gunsmith told me it should last until we rank up. And even then, it’s upgradable for a while before I need a new one.”

  “He was right,” Copperfield said. “That’s definitely a weapon that will last. Must have cost a handful of creds too.”

  Jenny Mae nodded and hefted the gun. “Almost everything I’ve earned so far. Except for a bit I sent home and the 15% invested holdback.”

  “Well damn me to nine hells. Something like that deserves a name. What about Skullblaster?”

  “Ooh. I like a name, but maybe something less…gross? The Duchess!”

  “What? No! That’s not intimidating at all. If you’re doing something that prissy, go classic. Starreaper.”

  “Starreaper was a sword. And this girl is most definitely not a sword. I mean I did pick up the bayonet attachment, but still. Rancher’s Revenge!”

  “No. Crone’s teeth, just, no. Help me out here Heath.”

  Heath was happy to oblige. Especially when he realized one of the bags Jenny Mae was holding held something savory and fried. He followed the others towards the mess hall, tossing out a few ideas of his own.

  “Vanquisher. Duster. Armageddonator.”

  They were still tossing ideas back and forth when Ekaterina joined them. The food wouldn’t keep and there was no sign of Emerald, so everyone else dug in, savoring the treat while they could.

  When they were finished, wiping off the last of the grease and crumbs from their fingers, Ekaterina brought up a topic Heath had been delaying. “Where to next? Our first delve bonuses are gone but we could probably reach the end of the Forest Path if we went back. Or possibly the Ruby Estate. I bet if we take the next month to improve our Skills we could go for a full clear. Do you know how hard that is still at mid-rank?” Spots of color had appeared on her cheeks, her hands flying as he gestured. It was the most animated he had seen her, making her appear her age for once, just as young and inexperienced as the rest of them.

  He glanced at the other members of the crew, both of whom had suddenly found the end of their fingernails fascinating.

  “That depends,” he started slowly. “We’ve all leveled up quite a bit. I would put us up against almost anyone in our level range. On the Rim.” He tacked on the last bit to preempt another lecture on how they were ignorant savages in a cultural backwater. “But we were never planning on delving full time. And well…” He trailed off but there was no one to save him. “We don’t really know your plans. Are you staying? Or go home? Or back to the others on your trip? Can’t really plan for delves if we don’t know who’s going to be on the team.”

  “I see.”

  She said nothing else for several minutes, and the silence broke Heath down. “We’d be happy to have you. If you want to sign on for a term officially.”

  He thought there were some faces the others made when he announced his offer, but he held firm. They would get over the friction. Probably. Hopefully.

  “What would such a term entail?”

  At his signal, Jenny Mae took out her pad and opened the standard contract. “You get a portion of the profits we make on the run, and agree to sign on for a set amount of time. That means you are a crew member and get treated as such, rights and privileges all included.”

  “And chores,” Copperfield added.

  “Hmm. And what time frame would you be asking for.”

  Heath hadn’t really expected her to agree and floundered for a moment. “A standard Empire year.”

  “Very well. I accept.” Pressing her mana into the pad, Ekaterina officially signed on. Temporarily.

  Heath was a bit shocked. He had expected her to demand passage back towards the Core worlds. And there weren't even any backhanded compliments thrown in.

  “I have found you all are a satisfactory team. And being forced to teach the uneducated has improved my own understanding.”

  There it was.

  “Good night all. I look forward to the morning.”

  Heath slumped back, eyes closed until Jenny Mae broke the silence.

  “What about The Posse Protector?”

  “Absolutely not!” Copperfield exploded.