Priestess of the Eggstone Read Online Free Page B

gag. I pushed the tray into the disposal slot.
    “Do you want me to take the ship in?” I asked. “No offense, but you look beat.”
    “Are you well enough?”
    “I’m fine.” I was, really. The dizziness was gone. Other than an irritating itch in my shoulder, I felt better than I had for several weeks.
    The warning buzzer shrilled through the tiny cabin. Jerimon jumped, knocking the salt shaker to the floor.
    “You look like the one who needs to be in bed,” I said as I stood. “Go on, I’ll take care of things.”
    Jerimon’s face was a battlefield for warring emotions. Guilt won. “I’m sorry about getting you into this, Dace. If I’d known they would come after you, I never would have signed on. I really thought I’d shaken the Sessimoniss.” His eyes were meltingly contrite.
    My heart beat faster as he gazed at me through long, dark lashes. A cynical little voice in my mind wondered if he had that effect on all the women he looked at that way.
    The alarm chirped urgently. We were about to hit normal space and the ship wanted a warm body in the pilot’s chair. I slipped past him, into the cockpit.
    Jerimon heaved a sigh as he climbed into his bunk.
    I spent a very busy few minutes as the ship emerged from hyperspace, shutting down the hyperdrive and booting the sublight engine. Everything came up green. I glanced at the viewscreen. The shimmering light of a gas giant glowed not far away. I checked the beacons. According to the signal, Viya Station orbited the gas giant. I pulled on a headset, then cycled through the radio channels, listening to snatches of talk.
    “Viya Station,” I said into the mike after I’d set the channel to official frequencies. “This is—” I hesitated. I just couldn’t bring myself to say the name of the ship. “This is a courier flight for Belliff, Inc., requesting docking instructions.”
    “What is the name of your ship, Courier?” a male voice replied through a burst of static.
    “Why does it matter? Belliff should have filed flight plans.”
    “I’ve got seventeen of them here. Repeat, what is your ship name?”
    I swallowed hard. “Twinkle.”
    “Please repeat. I thought I heard Twinkle.”
    “You did.” I waited through the inevitable snickering. “Just give me the docking codes.”
    “Twinkle.” He said it as if he couldn’t believe it. “I got a ship named Twinkle here, Jerrie.”
    “Yeah, tell it to Belliff,” I said. “Docking codes and a course, please?”
    The proximity alarm shrilled. I muttered profanities as I shifted my ship away from the path of a huge ore tanker. “Can you stop laughing long enough to give me an approach path before I get smashed?”
    “Viya Station, who is this unauthorized twit in our approach lane?” A new voice cut across the snickering.
    “It’s Twinkle,” the man said, emphasizing the name of the ship. “Sorry, Brit. I’ll get her out of your way.”
    “Give me the codes,” I said. Another freighter crept up behind me; I kept half an eye on the blip on my scope.
    Numbers scrolled across the screen as Viya Station finally transmitted approach and docking codes. Space around the station was very crowded and busy. I cut in the autopilot and let it make sense of the twisted approach path. Another alarm went off. I was in the path of yet another tanker.
    “Viya Station, this is Twinkle,” I snapped into the com as I shut off the autopilot and veered out of the way. “What kind of crap did you send me?”
    “Twinkle, you’re deviating from your path.”
    “Because there’s an ore tanker in the one you just sent.” I vowed to myself that I would hunt this jerk down and bloody his nose after we docked.
    “You are in an unauthorized lane, Twinkle.”
    “At least there aren’t any other ships in it. Check your equipment and give me a decent approach path.”
    “If you don’t resume the approach pattern you were given, I’m going to have to fine you.”
    “I’d rather be fined than dead. The