Interlude 1.1, Page 3

were some advantages to low gravity, being able to haul a lot of stuff being the main one. Once she got back on board she’d head for the galley and set up shop, invite the courtesans one by one to pick up their items and reimburse her for the trouble and/or outbid each other on some of the neutral goodies she’d grabbed.

  She opened the hatch and looked out. The landing bay looked the same as it’d been before, the workers emptying cargo ships and moving heavy ore-filled containers to take their place. Jenny made her way back across the floor with ease, making sure to hit the metal tiles to keep grounded.

  She was within a few feet of the hatch leading back to the tube and the Belle when a man stepped in her way. Jenny paused, thinking it was another maintenance worker who hadn’t seen her. She waited for him to keep moving, to step off for the next metal tile set in the floor.

  He didn’t.

  He turned to face her, twirling an iron bar in his fingers. The cool stare told her he knew exactly who she was and what she’d been doing.

  “You been trading.”

  It wasn’t a question.

  Jenny shrugged. “None of your business.” She eyed the tall man, searching his grey coverall for some sort of identification.

  A small green rose pin in his lapel caught her eye and her stomach sank.

  The Green Rose Gang. Moshita’s crew.

  “You dealt with the Dragons. Now you can deal with us.” He grinned, showing off coffee-stained teeth. “Exit fee from the base. Credsticks welcome but we’ll take goods in trade.”

  “What?” Jenny shook her head. “You got to be nuts. I’m not giving you anything. I work with the Dragons and I never, ever paid anyone exit fees. Much less a bunch of jerks like you.”

  She’d heard of the Green Roses before, knew they were a small gang spread out over five, ten bases who loved to extract money from anyone they could with hopes of grandeur. Made up of thugs and punks who loved nothing better than to pick a fight they were small potatoes in the gang world.

  Problem was even small potatoes could put your eye out if you caught one the wrong way.

  “When Double hears about this the Dragons are gonna take you guys apart.” Jenny put as much bravado into her voice as possible. “They don’t like anyone messing with their clients.”

  No one knows I’m here other than Belle and she’s not going to call for help until—

  “Dragons ain’t going to know anything. Not unless you tell them and by the time they send an enforcer after us it’s going to be old news. No one cares about a grab here and there. They’ve got plenty of customers they’re not going to be upset if we take one or two for our own. Keeps the peace and keeps us in spare change.” He gestured at her with the bar. “One hundred creds to let your ass out of here.” He leered at her. “And I’m willing to take something else in trade if you ain’t got the money.”

  Jenny shook her head. “Not gonna happen.” She put her hands on her hips. “I pay you here and the next ship that comes in is gonna get tagged and the next and the next. The Guild don’t play that game.” She scowled at the large man. “I don’t play that game.”

  “See that makes it sounds like you got a choice.” The thug took a step forward, towering over her. “You’re outside the ship and outside the Guild’s reach.” He gestured toward the other workers who were all studiously ignoring the discussion. “They ain’t gonna help you.” He grinned. “So let’s start with—”

  The hatch behind him swung open fast enough to clip him on the shoulder, pushing him aside. He stumbled but stayed upright, one foot keeping him linked to the metal tile. The other came down outside the square on the cool ceramic surface.

  “Let’s start with you saying goodbye to my mechanic.” Captain Sam Keller stood in the doorway. She reached out a hand to Jenny. “You’re late. Get your ass up here and back to the ship.”

  Jenny grinned, seeing the tall redhead standing there in her olive-green jumpsuit and leather jacket. She was unarmed in accordance to Guild regulations but her glare held a thousand laser beams and each and every one of them were aimed at the punk recovering from the metal shove.

  “Aye aye Captain.” Jenny took the offered hand and hopped up into the tube leading to the ship. She ducked behind the captain, eager to get out of the way.

  The punk recovered and glared up at the captain. She didn’t flinch, didn’t give an inch. Jenny didn’t know much about Sam Keller’s past before she showed up to take charge of the Bonnie Belle. But she did know the woman was a military vet, a survivor of the Hub disaster with monsters under her bed still shadowing her dreams.

  And she was a kick-ass captain who didn’t take any shit from anyone.

  The man rubbed his chin. “You got no rank here woman. You run the Bonnie Belle and nothing else.” He laughed. “You ain’t even a real captain. You sit there and let the computer do all the work. Get a blow-up doll to do the same thing, be less trouble.”

  “Possibly.” The redhead conceded. “But can your blow-up doll do this?”

  She lashed out with one mag-boot and kicked him in the chest.

  It wasn’t a hard kick but enough to pull him up from the tiles and send him flying free in the low gravity. He dropped the iron bar as he flailed for a handhold, anything that would stop him from crashing into something nearby.

  Jenny couldn’t resist laughing as he flipped end over end, finally slapping against the broadside of a storage bin with his head down. The greenish tinge on his face had Jenny grinning broadly, imagining the mess if he threw up here and now.

  “And that is that.” Sam turned to Jenny. “Let’s get you back inside. I’ve got my presentation in a half-hour and I’ll need your help to get into that damned leather outfit.” She pulled the hatch shut and locked it, cutting them off from the landing bay.

  “Where did you learn to do that?” Jenny moved ahead of the captain. “That was a perfect kick. Just enough to tip him over.” She pointed down at her boots. “He had one foot anchored but the other off. When you pushed him he didn’t think ‘bout that I guess.”

  Sam allowed herself a chuckle. “Used to do that trick to the rookies all the time back in basic training, teaching them how to wear mag-boots. You have to know where your feet are at all times and if you have one on and one off you’re going to get pushed off and spin like a top.” She nodded at the hatch behind them. “Damned punk. No one talks to anyone in my crew like that when I’m around.”

  Jenny nodded and made her way down the corridor back towards the ship. “I got you those new romance novels you asked for. Five of them in trade for the three mysteries. Good exchange rate. And we got strawberries for Kendra’s Landfall fruit salad.”

  “Really? That’s fantastic. Well done.” Sam laughed. “Day’s looking great so far. Let’s go make it better.” She cracked her knuckles and opened the main hatch to the Bonnie Belle. “Let’s go make some dreams come true.”

  About the Author

  Sheryl Nantus was born in Montreal, Canada, and grew up in Toronto, Canada. A rabid reader almost from birth, she attended Sheridan College in Oakville, graduating in 1984 with a diploma in Media Arts Writing. She met Martin Nantus through the online fanfiction community in 1993 and moved to the United States in 2000 in order to marry. A firm believer in the healing properties of peppermint and chai, she continues to write short stories, poetry and novels while searching for the perfect cuppa.

  She loves to play board games and write haiku, although not usually at the same time.

  She has published multiple books with Samhain Publishing and Carina Press. In 2011 she won two second-place PRISM Awards from the Fantasy, Futuristic and Paranormal chapter of RWA for her steampunk romance, Wild Cards and Iron Horses and the first volume of her superhero romance trilogy, Blaze of Glory.

  In 2013 she won a third-place PRISM Award for her paranormal romance, Blood of the Pride.

  Other Titles by Sheryl Nantus

  Blaze of Glory trilogy

  Blaze of Glory

  H
eroes Without, Monsters Within

  Heroes Lost and Found

  Blood of the Pride series

  Blood of the Pride

  Claws Bared

  Family Pride

  Battle Scars

  Tales from the Edge series

  In the Black

  In the Void

  Stand-Alone books

  Wild Cards and Iron Horses

  Enjoy this story? Looking for more Tales from the Edge?

  Come on by and visit the Bonnie Belle in this exciting new science fiction romance series!

  IN THE BLACK

  Book one of Tales from the Edge

  When Sam Keller left the military, she ran to the far end of the galaxy. Now she captains the Bonnie Belle, a spaceship full of courtesans who bring a little pleasure to hard-up men on mining colonies. When one of her girls turns up dead, it’s Sam’s job to find out who killed her, fast.

  Marshal Daniel LeClair is as tough as steel and quick on the draw. But when his vacation gets replaced by an assignment to help find the killer, he can’t help angling for a little action with the saucy, hard-charging Sam. She’s got brains, attitude and a body he wouldn’t mind investigating.

  Sam, six months lonely, might just indulge him. But the Guild that owns the Belle wants the case closed yesterday. With pressure coming from all quadrants, Sam and her marshal clash over false leads and who’s on top. But when the killer threatens the Belle again, romance will have to wait. It’s a captain’s job to