Distant stars were glittering outside the cockpit of the Grimalkin, a tapestry of tiny dots in an otherwise perfect void. The three inside were united in stunned silence.


    ?Well“, Grubs said after a long while.


    ?That“, Twitch added, trailing off.


    ?Guess“, Red spoke slowly, with a pause before continuing: ?Looks like. I mean. Guess we won’t be going home now. I mean not soon.“


    Twitch’s shoulder slumped even lower. ?Yeah“, he said, ?Valarie won’t like that.“


    Grubs shot him a look. Then understood. ?She’s not the only one.“, he added.


    They looked to the stars for a while, lost in thought. The barely audible background sounds of the ship filled the space their silence had opened. The slow flicker of information passing over the displays in the cockpit provided the only visual change for a long while.


    Finally, Red slapped the sides of her chair and pushed herself out of it: ?Too bad we couldn’t make contact on the other side of the wormhole. That’d left us with more options.“


    Twitch looked at her sideways, while Grubs nodded. ?Not enough stuff left as payment for another transit.“, the crew’s mechanic explained to the younger man.


    Red pointed a finger at him in a gesture of agreement. ?That“, she said, ?So the only human space we have within range is the Junkstorm. Grimalkin wasn’t built for long-distance travel.“


    ?Plus“, Twitch continued, now back on track, ?Our supplies left are for 12 days, 15 maybe. Water and air recycling will keep up longer, but food and power will be an issue.“


    ?So it’s gotta be the Junkstorm, but it can’t be Bloom. And we must assume Black Sails has the same situation.“, Captain Red summed up, now a twinkling in her eyes: ?I have an idea.“


    Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.


    She paced over to the navigation console where a local star map was being holographically projected into the space above it. It was more crisp and clear than the one they all were used to on the Rusty Bolt. With a few gestures she panned and zoomed into a specific, labeled region.


    ?We go to ground where they’d never suspect us. We aren’t in the Rusty Bolt. The Grimalkin is properly registered and all.“, she pointed to the yellow star in the middle of the holographic map, he finger tracing a faint line through the display. ?We land on Erulas, resupply there, put in some maintenance work that we can drag out if needed, and wait how the situation evolves.“


    Grubs looked at her with wide eyes as Red put a sly smile on her lips. ?That is one daring move.“, he acknowledged. His voice remained firm, sure.


    ?Why not Dephyr or Dangorod?“, Twitch wanted to know. He was still sitting in the pilot’s chair, the creme-white upholstery standing out in contrast to the dark console in front of him.


    Red thought for a while. Then she answered: ?We aren’t sure if they are involved in all this or not. The planets are competitors, like different countries on the more densely populated planets. And also, I have some friends on Erulas. Not best friends, but enough of a reason to visit and close enough that they might help us out with a few basics.“


    She swiveled the navigator chair around and sat down, facing the other two.


    ?When will Yezz answer us about the Felindar connection?“, Grubs changed the subject. He had a habit of doing that as a sign that he agreed with something and had nothing else to say about it.


    ?I hope she picked up on the hint.“, Red sighed, ?I obviously couldn’t state it plainly.“


    Grubs continued: ?Right. But why was she so adamant getting the lab report immediately? Sure, the marines on Bloom are an issue. But what does the lab report solve?“


    They had all been there during the call, so Grubs knew that Red had no more information than he had. But she dealt with their fence more often than any of them, so maybe she had some insights that he had not. But she had to disappoint him. ?No clue.“, she said, ?She’s well connected within Bloom as well, so maybe someone else can use it. But I don’t know.“


    Again, silence filled the cockpit. This time, Twitch ended it, turning around on his seat towards the pilot station. ?Alright“, he said, ?Let’s plot a course to Erulas. Any favorite port?“


    Red’s smile widened. ?Why not go the whole way in? Let’s visit the capital.“