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wasn’t going to go away on its own, his fist would be necessary.

    Aja brought food to Davi and Chief Wyer. She shielded the best she could but the engineer’s thoughts were too loud, too persistent, to ignore. It seemed the man had come to a decision.
    As she handed him a jug of genki juice, Aja listened. He’d take half the coin owed him; then he’d wait for her to go off on her own again. He’d tell the captain he needed to use the bird to scavenge a few more parts, but he’d double back and come after her.
    She watched the images pass through his mind as he raped her, beat her to death, and left her for carrion, for whatever scavengers inhabited this rock. He wouldn’t be anywhere nearby when the captain and Davi went searching for her. He’d already be done with her and off stealing a few loose parts he’d noticed the day before.
    By the time he returned, they’d have found her body and assumed some local had done the deed. The way Wyer figured, if the militia boarded, they’d have nothing to hide. No illegal cargo, no arrest. From his point of view, the captain was a fool for accepting this job.
    Aja sensed that although Wyer didn’t know why, he believed she was dangerous. He thought he could smell it. Now that she’d nursed the captain back to health, he figured they needed to get her gone if they were going to leave this rock in one piece.
    Davi thanked her for the food and drink. Aja nodded, then she turned on her heel and walked back toward the gangway, trying her best not to gag at the visions she seen in the Chief’s head. He was right about one thing, getting off the planet was going to be ugly.
    Aja went to look for Captain Aram. She owed it to him to discuss the situation before she killed his engineer.
    She found the captain in the cockpit, meticulously checking and rechecking his control panels. He had the com tuned to the military wavelength. He listened only. He made sure they weren’t broadcasting. She slid the door to the cockpit shut behind her.
    “Captain,” she said. “I need to speak with you.”
    Kyr turned toward her. “If it’s about what happened earlier, I apologize.”
    Aja suppressed a smile. “No,” she replied. “This has nothing whatsoever to do with what happened earlier. Though I must admit, I’m flattered.” She saw the man blush again and she felt almost giddy. “There’s no need to apologize.”
    Watching Captain Aram shower, she herself had experienced the same arousal. The feeling was beyond her control. It was the Blood link. Her mother, the Empress, had warned her about the possibility of such a response, but right now Aja had other, more pressing, concerns. There was no easy way to say what she had to say.
    “Tomorrow, Chief Engineer Wyer will murder me. I thought you should know.”
    Kyr burst into laughter. “Are you in the habit of blurting out things like that? Tomorrow Chief Engineer Wyer will murder me? I thought you should know? I assume this is your idea of a joke.”
    It was the response Aja had expected. “You assume wrong. He will wait for me to leave the ship. When I’m out of sight, he will suggest that he take the bird to pick up some spare parts he noticed somewhere near the settlement. He plans to swing around and intercept me. He’ll rape me. He will beat me to death. And he will leave my body for you and Davi to find. He believes you’ll assume it was the act of a local. I can kill him now; however, since he appears to be an integral member of your crew I am reluctant to do so without your agreement.”
    Kyr dropped down into the flight seat. “And I should believe this outlandish tale because?”
    “I speak the truth.”
    “How do you know this?”
    “Because I’ve seen it.”
    “You mean to say, you’ve had a vision?”
    “No. I mean to say, I’ve seen his thoughts and I’ve read his heart. This is his plan. He’s willing to accept half the coin and forgo the remainder simply to get out of this predicament alive. I