Lost Flyght – Chapter 25

The sight of the Lee home ship is comforting after a day spent aboard Marcelo’s shuttle.

“Never thought I’d think of space or a spaceship as home,” I say as Marcelo eases his ship into the lane for docking. His AI takes over and brings us into position.

“Home is wherever you find your loved ones,” he replies. “Here. There. On a ship or on a planet. The good thing about your personality Ms. Vivian is that you’re extremely flexible.”

“Really? You think that of me?” I glance at Gus.

He looks up from his datapad. “He’s not wrong. I’ve seen you under pressure. You handled my mother just fine, didn’t you?”

I chew on the skin around my thumb and stare out the window at the advancing hull. Anxiety scratches at the back of my head. I should spend more time digging into why she allowed him into my network. There has to be a reason I haven’t considered yet.

When the door opens to our egress to the public walkways. I’m not surprised to find Jinzo there, but I am surprised to see Ken.

“Hey! I wasn’t expecting you!” I drop my bag and throw my arms around his neck. Jinzo clasps hands with Gus, and the two whisper to each other.

Ken’s hug is tight. “The hot sauce practically disappeared before my eyes, so I decided to come back early.” He shifts away and gives me a full kiss. “Mmmm, I missed my nights with you.” He raises his eyebrows a few times, and I laugh.

“I missed you too. Well, I have news. Gus is officially part of the network now.” I keep my arm around Ken while extending a hand to Gus. He slips his fingers into mine with a shy smile. “Which means, the calendar needs to shift.”

Jinzo and Ken both hug Gus and welcome him to the family, and I marvel at what the time since Tomu betrayed us has brought. These men are devoted to me, to me. I don’t deserve them.

“The schedule. Got it,” Jinzo says, stepping back from the huddle and nodding to Marcelo hovering on the outskirts. “I’ll make the adjustments. Vivian, we need to talk about the ship.”

“Just… give me a moment.” I’m still marveling. “Bring it in for a group hug!” I throw my arms out wide, and the guys laugh as they come in to hug and rap each other on the back. It’s a giant meat sandwich, and I adore every second of it. Thank goodness they all get along. When I clear the entanglement of arms, Marcelo is smiling. I think he’s happy with his work.

“Okay. I feel better now.” I smile at them and turn to lead the way. “So, what’s on the agenda for today? Jinzo, the ship?”

Jinzo sighs and his face is resigned. “It’s a mess. Carlos and Skylar are handling a few new problems that cropped up today, but even I’m at a loss as to how to fix the things that mysteriously break every day. We’ll have to go over everything later once you’re settled in.” He drops his voice to a grumble. “Assuming the ship doesn’t implode before then.”

“That’s not good. Should we go now?”

“No,” he says, handing me off to Marcelo. “We should stick to the plan.”

Marcelo approaches me now, letting the guys fall in line behind us.

“Lunch now with Ms. Hera Lee. Debrief about our upcoming trip back to Ossun for the AI, and arrangements to sign the contracts for all three men… Let me tell you that I’ve never been witness to a triad contract signing like this.”

“Is it unusual?”

“You could say that. I’m in contact with your parents and family about a party to celebrate. Nothing big or fancy. Don’t worry. I’ve been coordinating with Skylar.”

“What did she tell you about the ship?” I ask, dropping my voice. It’s good to get a second opinion. “Will we be able to leave soon?”

“She’s hopeful.”

Hopeful is not the answer I was looking for.

Now, I’d rather skip the lunch and go straight to the Amagi to talk to Skylar and Carlos. I glance over my shoulder a few times, aiming my thoughts in the direction of the ship, and Marcelo’s hand cups my elbow.

“It can wait,” he says in a low voice.

Ken trots up next to us.

“I’m also here with good news. I have my first financial contribution, ready to transfer.”

“Really?”

There’s so much to talk about with the guys. My discussion with India, with Nina Correa, the possibility that the bank will move the auction up, and how much it’ll all cost me. I need to know how Jinzo’s sale of the Taurus is going now too.

“Really. I have a whopping 700,000 credits for you.”

“What?” I press my hand to my chest and stop walking. 700,000 credits will put a sizable dent in the debt I owe.

He taps his index finger on my forehead. “Hello, Vivi? Are you listening?”

“Yes, I’m listening.” I smack his hand away, annoyed but amused. “I just don’t believe it.”

“Believe it. It’s the first of many.” He takes my hands and kisses the backs of them. “I meant it when I said Flyght was for you.”

I’m walking on clouds all the way to the bridge and Hera Lee’s guest dining room. The room is less intimidating now with everyone milling about. The sea of people part, and Asteria peeks around Jinzo with trepidation, perhaps worried what I’ll think of her since I know she talked to Jinzo when she returned here.

But I cross the room to greet her with a broad smile. I open my arms, and there’s a moment of shock on her face before she does too, and we both meet in a hug.

“Thank you for everything. It all worked out so well, and you did the right thing by helping to look after me.” I loosen my hold on her and pull away to grasp her shoulders. “I really appreciate it.”

“Well, now,” she says, dropping her eyes to the floor and blushing. “That’s not necessary at all. I only did what I do for my family.”

“And that’s why it’s so important.” I lean in and kiss her on the cheek.

She looks ready to melt away.

Hera Lee approaches us both. “It’s so good to see everyone getting along. It’s been ages since we brought someone into the Lee family who gets along with both Jinzo and Asteria.”

“Mother,” Asteria admonishes Hera with a smack of her hand. “I am not that bad.”

“Asteria, do not make me reiterate all the times I had to drag you from stores and meetings and church ceremonies because you had lost your mind.”

I watch this exchange with a quiet smile.

“Yeah, like over twenty years ago.”

“And I will never let you forget it,” Hera says with a wink. The two laugh, and Asteria rolls her eyes, leaning towards me.

“Old family joke.”

Jumbles of people crowd the long dining room table. I’m introduced to Jinzo’s entire family this time, all of Hera’s husbands and consorts on the ship, and all the brothers and sisters from those unions. So many people are presented to me, it makes my head swim. And I’m so bad with names I end up giving half the people nicknames. I’m afraid one of these days I’m just going to open my mouth and call someone Mr. Penguin and then I’ll be sunk.

When I finally sit down to eat soy flavored rice noodles, dumplings, and spicy pork meat, I’m exhausted from being on my feet for more than two hours.

“You look like you could use another massage,” Gus says, wiping his mouth after eating spicy pork. He puffs a few times and washes down the peppery meat with a long pull of beer. “Hoo, that’s on fire. This family knows good food.”

“I think I need a massage and about twenty hours of sleep. Any chance I’ll get it?”

He looks around the table at everyone eating. “Unlikely. I see five individuals just dying to talk to you.”

I smile and nod at the people across the table, friends of Asteria’s, who are now making their way around to chat with me.

“Yeah, I guess I have a lot more socializing to do.” I angle in close to Gus before the people reach us. “Can you gather Jinzo, Ken, and Marcelo to leave soon? I think it’s time we all sat down as a crew to discuss what’s ahead.”

“Sure,” he says, standing up. “Twenty minutes?”

My wristlet buzzes, and I raise one finger to Gus as I rise from my chair. I turn my wrist over and see that Carlos is calling.

“Just a moment, please,” I beg of the people approaching me. I turn my back to them and stare out the picture windows of the dining room to the space of Lee Shipyards beyond.

“Hi, Carlos. What’s up? We’re having lunch in —”

“Captain, sorry to interrupt, but we have a code red situation here. I’ve put the ship on lockdown. You need to come right away.”

“What’s the matter?” I turn to Gus, and he steps forward, sensing my concern. I lower my voice to a whisper and tell him to round up the guys right away.

“We have a catastrophic failure of the entire ship, but I’m beginning to suspect it’s because our code has been… infiltrated. The code, or I don’t know. Maybe spies have been sneaking on the ship? I’ve checked every log twice and haven’t seen anything. You need to come deal with this right away before it gets any worse… I need to know, um, I need to know what to do. I don’t know what to do.”

His sixteen-year-old eyes stare back at me through the vidcall. He’s too young to be making authoritative and final decisions.

He needs his captain.

He needs me.

“I’m gathering everyone, and we’ll be there right away. Keep everything on lockdown until we get there.”