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“Yes, Jeeves,” Tinsley said in an exasperated tone.
Dante was glad he wasn’t the only one annoyed with the AI.
“The section of the hull where the storage bays are located has taken severe damage, resulting in a thirty-six percent breach. The hyperdrive mechanism has sustained some damage, too, and it’s unsafe to use without repairs. And thruster B, as you know, is critically damaged.” The AI’s voice would have been better suited to dictating a cake recipe than reporting on grave damage to a ship.
“Where’s the closest maintenance station?” Dante demanded. He was beginning to panic that the ship might be dead in the water before they could get it serviced, in which case they’d be screwed for the time being.
“That would be Substation Aldorim, just a short distance from here,” Jeeves replied.
“Punch it in,” he told Tinsley.
Part of him wanted to ask Jeeves if they had enough power to get there. The other part of him was sick of interacting with the virtual butler. He much preferred the standard Iris model, but he wasn’t about to tell Tinsley that. Right now, his main focus was to keep everyone alive. If they ran out of gas, they’d run out of oxygen circulation, and if the hole in the hull didn’t get repaired quickly, entropy would rip it open even further.
With one hand controlling the remaining thruster and his other hand operating the ship’s rudder controls manually, he managed to slowly steer the ship toward the substation with only a minimal amount of shaking. Thankfully they made it, but it was a rough landing, and he got the feeling he may have caused even more damage as they docked.
“Oof,” Tinsley said, wincing as a loud crunch accompanied their landing.
Dante cringed, knowing this might come back to haunt him, but he’d be able to assess the damage once he exited, and he set off to disembark. Tinsley would hold down the fort on the ship.
“We should see what can be done about the ship as quickly as possible,” he told her, holding out a hand to help her out of her seat.
She took his hand and squeezed. It was a soothing balm in what was shaping up to be a rough journey.
Chapter 9
Tinsley was standing on the empty bridge of her ship. It felt a little surreal for her to be alone after all the drama of the past two days. How quickly life changes, she thought.
She’d been informed it could take days for the repairs to her ship to be completed. She felt more alive than she had before, in part because of the chase and firefight. But she knew even more than that, the proximity of a certain hot Lorr warrior was the predominant reason for the changes happening within her.
Their inability to make progress in the mission made her feel powerless. She knew that every moment they lost, the risk became greater of something devastating happening to Maraliza. She thought of her regret at not being able to prevent her own sister’s death, and she was determined not to let that happen again.
An idea came to her suddenly.
“Jeeves, call my father please. Lorenzo Adams,” she said.
Within moments, a holographic image of her father appeared before her. “Tinsley, my darling, how are you?”
Tinsley spent a few minutes giving her dad a slightly edited version of the recent events in her life. When she told him about Dante’s missing sister, he was as furious and upset as she had been.
“I’m proud of you, my jaanu girl,” he said when she’d finished, using the Hindi word for “my life,” which he had called her since she was a kid. “If I can do anything to help, you let me know.”
“Well, actually, pitaji…” When she wanted something, she used Hindi terms of endearment, a fact he knew.
“Uh, oh—am I going to regret making that offer? What do you need?”
“No, no, I don’t think you’ll regret it.” She paused, knowing it was a big ask. “Could I borrow the Thunder Bolt?”
“My new toy?” Tinsley’s dad looked a bit crestfallen on the monitor, and she felt guilty. Still, she didn’t back down. “The Thunder Bolt is my third favorite child, after you and your brother.”
“I know, Papa. And I would treat your ship like my own child. My ship came across some technical problems, and I just need something for a short while that’s fast, so we can rescue my… friend’s sister.” She felt odd calling Dante a friend since he felt like one of the most important people in her life already. “We need something fast, and the Thunder Bolt certainly fits the bill. Plus, it’s got great cloaking, which would keep us safe.”
“Okay, shahad.” The Hindi word for honey. “But you’ve got to look after it,” he agreed with a sigh. “I’ll bring it over myself if you send me your location. I’ll get to give my little girl a hug before she goes risking her life for a noble cause.”
“Thank you, Daddy. You’re amazing.” Tinsley let out a breath that she hadn’t realized she’d been holding in.
Now all she had to do was let Dante know he’d be meeting her dad this afternoon once he got back from the space station.
The Thunder Bolt was a replica of one of the first spaceships from Earth. Her dad was a history buff, and when the limited-edition Thunder Bolt came out, he was one of the first to have his name down for one. He loved that rocket ship. Although he’d said it was his third favorite child, Tinsley knew she wouldn’t have to do much for the ship to ascend to first place.
