a list of available positions.”
Eyes narrowed in thought as she scrolled down the list, Evren searched for something she could do. At first, she had high hopes there would be some sort of research position but there was none. All she could see were positions related to actual fighting or off-world duties.
She didn’t want that.
She was about to put the datapad away and get dressed when one post popped up that got her attention.
“Shuttle cleaner. Four hundred and twenty credits daily. No experience needed just show up and work hard.”
Ship cleaner?
Not exactly what she was looking for, but it was something.
She hovered her finger over the ‘Apply’ button for a few seconds.
As her finger descended on the button, Evren bit her finger on the other hand.
A green message appeared next with the message: APPROVED. Next shift begins in 00:59.
The hell?
Evren’s eyebrows rose. She hadn’t expected it to be that easy.
And it looked like she didn’t have much time to prepare.
Rushing to her bedroom to get ready, she took a deep breath.
She could do this.
This was phase one of her re-independence.
Dressed in cargo shorts and a tucked-in vest, Evren followed the directions on the datapad.
Surprisingly, it was taking her in the direction of the market.
As she walked past Kyro’s residence, her eyes lingered on the building but with a deep breath, she continued on her way.
There was tension between them. She could feel it every time they were around each other now and the more time they spent together, the stronger it became.
She didn’t know how she was going to face him again. She’d told him their kiss meant nothing then she’d invited him to cuddle with her in bed.
She would facepalm herself if she didn’t need to see where she was going.
She also needed to see who and what was around her. The events of the previous day were still fresh in her memory, but she’d taken precautions. She’d carried the cutting instrument tucked into the waist of her shorts and nestled against her spine. As for added protection, she’d told the datapad to contact Kyro at her command.
If Shive planned to make a move, she was ready for him. Or, as ready as she’d ever be.
That’s why she’d loaded the route to this new job onto her datapad. Whatever she was following was like a GPS and it tracked her movements, telling her how long till she got to her destination and it took her straight there. No detours.
She wasn’t going to give Shive an advantage by getting lost.
The path she was following took her through the market and out the other end where she came upon a sort of parking lot.
Rather, it was a wide-open space of unpaved ground with several dirty, beat up space shuttles parked there.
Eyeing them, Evren squeezed her lips together into a thin line.
Yeaaa, this was going to be hard work all right.
She was just about to wander around and look for the alien running the place when a tall, beefy alien with pink skin walked from behind one of the ships and toward a rickety metal building off to the side.
“Ex-excuse me.”
Maybe she hadn’t been loud enough because the alien continued walking as if he hadn’t heard her.
He was dressed in the standard Restitution kit but his was tattered and old from wear. His black trousers were now gray and his white vest more of a beige color.
“Excuse me!” She hurried behind the alien, raising her voice to get his attention. He turned then and she almost gasped, fighting to keep her expression neutral.
He looked like a pig. Snout and all. Except that his hands weren’t hooves and he didn’t have those folded over ears. She couldn’t see his ears; he had none—just two holes on either side of his head.
He regarded her for a second. “You the new recruit?”
She guessed so. “Y-yes. I suppose so.” Smiling brightly, she extended her hand for a handshake.
The alien just looked at her outstretched hand.
“Guess you don’t do handshakes.” She withdrew her hand.
The alien grunted before jerking his head in the direction of the ship he’d just exited.
“Start with that one. Payment at the end of the day. Supplies are over there,” he said, jerking his head in another direction.
Turning to where he motioned, Evren saw the “supplies.” It was some machines she had no idea how to use.
Turning back to the alien to ask for his assistance in that regard, she was surprised to see that he’d already walked off and was almost within the