to live with it. “Maybe. But I’m the kind of spacefaring Robin Hood who wants to keep, uh, faring through space. Not get stuck terra-forming on a rock on the wrong end of ungoverned space.”
The lawyer nodded. “Oh, I know. Have you told Nokx about this?”
“No.” EJ looked at the door where Nokx would reappear in the very near future, unless his little shindig with the captain went poorly. “He already looks at me like I’m an untrustworthy stowaway. If I actually admit I did the things... well, some of the things they say I did, he’ll think I’m just using him to stay away from the gen ship.”
“Using him?” Gemma asked, eyebrow arched.
“That can wait,” Violet muttered. “Although we will definitely get back to it.”
“Get back to what?” EJ didn’t want to know, but if their time ran short, she figured it would be better to prioritize the important stuff and leave the rest for much later.
“The reason Nokx doesn’t want to leave you alone in a room with another male,” Violet said. She looked around the large bay, frowning, and drummed her fingers against her chin. “Well. I think I may know the people you’re talking about. It is entirely possible that one of my former crewmates was the cause of the kerfuffle, as you called it, that set Caihiri on its head.”
EJ blinked. “What?”
“Yes,” the lawyer said. She glanced at the door. “A friend was betrayed and the Slasu were going to sell her, so my crewmate went to the surface to rescue her. Of course, she took a Xaravian with her so nothing went to plan and they ended up killing many Slasu, some Tyboli, some Caihirans, then some more Slasu. Afterward, my crewmate took control of a former Fleet ship and gave it to three space chickens and a Xaravian bartender so they could continue to free females from the Slasu wherever the Slasu ended up.”
“Space chickens?” EJ’s heart beat very loudly in her ears. That certainly sounded like Bula. Metallic feathers and round black eyes and a tendency to... cluck. Not that EJ would have ever said anything to Bula’s face, not when her pointed face and razor-sharp beak could have pecked her to death. Plus, there was more than one occasion where the bodies of the slave-trading males simply disappeared. EJ walked in too early once and saw someone’s leg disappear into Bula’s beak. “That might...”
“What were their names...” Violet made an annoyed sound. “Mirti and something. Foola or Nula, I think.”
“Bula,” EJ breathed. Finally, someone else knew about the work she’d been doing. Whatever crimes she’d committed, they were in the service to a higher good. “Bula is the one I met with, but she has sisters: Thula and Mirti. All three of them have been very busy.”
Violet snapped in triumph. “Yep. Those are the ones. Rather frightening, to be honest, but I cannot fault what they do. I believe Griggs is still in contact with them, one way or another, so perhaps we could signal them and you could transfer to their ship. Then Faros will get his way of not having you on the ship and you won’t have to go terra-form an awful ball of rock.”
EJ held her breath. “Really?”
She hadn’t really considered working for Bula full-time. EJ had preferred being on the ground somewhere so she could make life harder for all the slave-traders. She’d never thought floating around in space was a desirable way to spend her time after leaving the Fleet. Of course, that was before she had to pick between space and dying hard work on a barren planet.
“I’ll see what we can do,” Violet said. “We’ll just need a little time to reach the Galaxos and see whether Griggs can signal the space chickens.”
“Space chickens,” Gemma said, shaking her head. She grinned and raked her auburn hair back from her face. “This I’ve got to see.”
“Mmm,” the lawyer said. She tilted her head as she listened, then made a motion to indicate someone approached. But she added, “They call their ship the Lovelace. After Ada, of course.”
EJ wanted to jump up and down with excitement, and not just about the ship’s name—although that was a pretty fantastic choice for Bula’s ship and crew. She couldn’t contain the relief that she wouldn’t have to go back to the gen ship and deal with the punishment for her alleged crimes. Although...
The door to the hall slid open and a big Xaravian she didn’t recognize stepped through,