Nokx (The Sraibur Crew #3) - Layla Nash

Chapter 1

EJ

Ellie Jane—EJ if anyone asked—never had an issue getting onto a spaceship. It was always getting off the ship that was a problem.

Which was exactly the problem she faced disembarking from the generational transporter before it took her any farther into ungoverned space. EJ hadn’t signed up for the gen ship like most of its passengers, but after getting convicted of piracy and theft on a spaceport full of damn liars, she had been marched onto it without a chance to escape.

EJ crouched behind a rack of survival suits in the cargo bay after the gen ship, called the Hollbrd, docked to resupply at a different spaceport. She had no idea what Hollbrd meant but figured it must have translated to ‘the slowest ship in the fucking universe’ because it took forever to do anything. Maneuvering, docking, plotting a course, transiting space... Everything took forever on the massive ship.

But at least the size of the ship worked in her favor. There weren’t quite enough crew to cover all the necessary positions, so sneaking about got easier as they got busier. Docking operations were complex and a drain on resources, since half the crew had to go out to acquire the supplies and get them to the ship, while the rest were working to repair the ship from some damage done while lumbering through an asteroid belt.

She exhaled and kept her focus on the two security officers who lingered near the open doors in the cargo bay. She just had to get past them and then she’d be on the spaceport with a much better chance of getting to some place she actually wanted to be. EJ had seen enough on the gen ship to know she didn’t want to be exiled with anyone on it.

EJ’s heart beat faster as something distracted the security officers on the other side of the bay. She’d only get one chance. If they spotted her, she’d be dragged back on board and locked up in the brig for however many years it took to reach the planet the gen ship occupants were meant to develop and terra-form. And since she’d never wanted to be a dirt farmer, she had to get off the Hollbrd. Immediately. There was no telling when the next opportunity would come along—or if it even would.

She eased around the survival suits and sidled along the hull to a stack of crates that provided convenient cover. A little closer. She just needed to get a little closer to the doors and then she could jump down.

EJ held her breath and waited until the security officers’ argument turned more heated, fully engaging both of them, before she started toward the door. She’d learned the hard way that sprinting to freedom usually meant tripping over something, running into something, or drawing attention with too much movement. Better to take her time and move deliberately, smoothly.

It was the one lesson she’d taken from her time in the Fleet.

She walked slowly but with purpose, trying to keep crates and equipment between her and the security officers, and didn’t start breathing again until she’d lowered herself from the ramp and down to the dock. Then she had to worry about all the crew doing resupply. They were still out purchasing everything the ship needed, which bought her some precious seconds to get away from the ship. She’d spent enough time in hiding around the ship that none of the crew should recognize her.

EJ’s heart steadied a bit once she was on the dock and got some distance from the Hollbrd, finding some of the crowds that kept the port busy. Unfortunately the port wasn’t open to all passengers; she’d have to pass through an immigration checkpoint and health screening before getting off the docks, and since she didn’t have travel papers... Her choices were limited.

If her time in the Fleet taught her to be deliberate, deserting the Fleet taught her many more lessons. Choosing a target was one, and surviving in all sorts of places was another. EJ landed on her feet. It was what she’d been known for her entire life. No matter the circumstances and the odds, EJ survived and managed to carry on.

Of course, all that “carrying on” ended up with her fleeing from multiple authority figures and ship crews, including the Fleet itself and the powerful Information Ministry. Which led directly to her current predicament of trying to break out of a gen ship in the middle of ungoverned space.

She sighed and merged

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