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Asshole didn’t miss a trick, did he?
Katsuki leaned forward in her chair. “Is this it? We’re ready to go?”
“No, I called you here because I wanted to have a karaoke sing-off.” Qhasheik snorted and rolled his bright-red eyes. He stood in the middle of the rounded navigation area, the soft-blue lights of the counter blinking around him. “Of course, the Asipiti Jump is ready to go. Here’s your chance to back out. As I said before”–He twirled a small cylinder between his fingers as he eyed each one of them–“I can’t guarantee this will work. I’ve done all the tests I can think of, but we won’t know until we’re in the Jump itself.”
“Enlighten me on the risks.” Zamush’s gravelly voice had a drawn-out drawl.
The muscles in Jelena’s lower stomach quivered.
“I’m so glad you asked. Let me enlighten you…”
Jelena groaned at the same time Katsuki and Abiditan did. “You’re gonna be sorry now.” She glanced at Zamush. Her heart thudded when his piercing gaze settled on her.
“Can we skip the narrative and just get on with it? We don’t have the next two centuries for you to go into one of your mind-numbing explanations.” Abiditan’s drawl rivaled Zamush’s.
“Party poopers.” Qhasheik quit twirling the tool and set it on the console in front of him. “Okay, here’s the buck-naked version.” He sat on the edge of the navigation console and addressed Zamush with crossed arms. “We’re going to attempt what is called a micro Jump. Instead of the week it would take for a normal Jump, this one will be pretty much instantaneous.” One shoulder lifted in his version of a shrug. “We’ll either arrive near where we calculated Akurn will be, or we’ll end up crushed in folded space. I think we’ve got a fifty-fifty chance either way.”
“With a guarantee like that, why worry?” Zamush pushed away from the wall. “When do we leave?”
Qhasheik gestured to the empty chairs lining the round room. “Find a seat, my man.” He nodded in Jelena’s direction. “You better put that bug somewhere so he’s safe.”
“Stop calling him a bug. You’re not a bug, are you, precious?” Jelena gave Shther a kiss on his snout. She’d made a pouch especially for him that she wore tied around her waist. Keeping her touch gentle, she plucked him off her shoulder and nestled him inside. “You stay there, baby, and I’ll let you out as soon as I can.”
The apple-red lizard’s four pink eyes blinked independently as if he understood.
She shrugged her shoulder to make sure BoD’s harness was secure. You all good back there?
Ready to go.
With the navigation console around him, Qhasheik took the command chair in the middle. “Computer, secure the crew in their seats.”
“Yes, master.”
Jelena kneaded her bottom lip with her teeth to stop from laughing at the subservient, feminine tone he’d programmed into the computer.
“Dammit, Qhasheik! What’ve you done to the computer?” Katsuki snarled at him. “You’d better change that back if you know what’s good for you.”
“Ah, myressei. You never let me have any fun.”
Jelena chuckled as a protective shield covered her in the chair.
Katsuki had an ornery streak as wide as the galaxy. If Qhasheik knew what was good for him, he’d better get rid of that sexy voice.
“Okay, boys and girls. This is it. See you on the flip side.” Qhasheik raised a steady palm over a lit part of the console. “Or not.”
Before anyone could comment, he ran his hand in a counterclockwise circle before dramatically placing his palm on the flickering white light. After one heartbeat, he took his hand away and clenched his fist. His head jerked as he glanced around, his red eyes wide as he smacked his lips. “Holy shockers, Batman. We’re still alive!” He flung his arms wide with a howl. “I love it when I surprise myself.” He dropped his hands with a self-satisfied smirk. “Ha! Who deserves to be made into an action figure now?”
Qhasheik and his obsession with Earth’s pop culture.
“Wait. Nothing happened.” Katsuki crinkled her nose.
Abiditan deactivated his chair’s protective shield and swiveled his chair to face Qhasheik at the navigation console. “Analyze where we are.”
“Oh yeah. Right.” Qhasheik nodded and waved to open a transparent monitor with a visual of the surrounding space.
Jelena wanted to see. She deactivated her own shield and stepped up to the console next to Katsuki.
A 3D representation showed a distant Jupiter with its ever-present red storm.
