Star feels like slipping into a comfortable pair of shoes. Straik's ship might be state of the art for aliens, but after three years of haunting these halls, I feel at home here. Even the musty smell of the air filters makes me feel safer. I take a deep breath and then look at the others. "Why don't you guys go split up the fruit in the kitchen? I'll show Adiron where he's going to be sleeping."
"You can't wait to be alone with me again," he says, delighted. "I accept." And he holds the crook of his arm out like we're going to go for a promenade. "I'd love to take a stroll."
I want to roll my eyes at him but I'm slowly becoming charmed by his irreverent attitude. He doesn't take himself seriously, that much is clear, and he brought fruit for the girls after seeing how much I enjoyed it. I raise an eyebrow at him. "There better not be the fruit that makes you drunk in that bag."
"Sweetfruit?" He shakes his head. "Nah. No one eats it plain. We just juice it. And I wouldn't bring that. I don't need to interrogate you again. We're friendly now."
As if that solves everything. I glance over at the others, but they're heading toward the kitchens. I want to sit down with them and find out what they think, but I also want to pick Adiron's brain. I want to know the reason he was so quick to volunteer, and if he's got an ulterior motive.
I also want to do that without scaring the others—especially Helen—so I'm going to peel him off from the group and see what I can find out.
Ruth clears her throat behind me, and I glance backward. She makes a quick gesture of typing, and I realize she's going to watch me on the monitors—one of the few things we know how to operate. I nod at her. She's got my back. Then, I turn to Adiron and gesture that he should walk at my side.
The big guy looks a little disappointed that I won't link arms with him, but he shrugs and follows me. "Where are we headed?"
"I'll show you."
We head down one of the halls of the Star, and I keep a careful distance between us. Adiron just watches me instead of looking around, so if he's a spy, he's a shitty one.
I open the door to one of the empty rooms, where the crew used to stay. We've ransacked it for useful stuff, but there's still a clean, made bed and privacy. "You'll be staying right here," I say to Adiron.
"Is this your room?"
"Why would I let you stay in my room?"
"Because I let you stay in mine?"
There's a boyish eagerness to his expression that turns my irritation into laugher. It's hard to get mad at a man who approaches the world with such puppyish enthusiasm. "Nice try, but no."
"Can't blame me for trying." He shrugs, still grinning. "I like hearing you laugh, by the way."
I just shake my head at him. I wish I knew how to read him better. I find it hard to believe that someone like him—a pirate—is so lighthearted and chipper. That solving the problems of the universe is as simple as he makes it sound. "I wish I had more reason to laugh."
"You will," Adiron promises me. "You're with me now."
"You assume we're going to decide to go with you," I point out. "That we're not going to stay here and take our chances."
His expression falls. "I know you don't trust me, but it really isn't safe. Your best bet at any sort of life is to come with us. I promise you, no matter what happens, you're safe with me."
"I want to believe you, but I don't know if I can." I spread my hands. "Whatever decision the four of us make changes the lives of a hundred and thirty-two people. That's a heavy weight to carry."
"I understand." He pauses for a moment and then the impish grin returns. "So can I see your room anyhow?"
How can I resist? I move down the hall, heading for my door. "There's not much to see. All I have is what I've scavenged from what our captors left behind." I open my door and gesture that he can walk inside. He does, and I know my room is neat and tidy compared to his. There's a pretty glass bowl that I found in someone's room that I snagged, just