Strictly speaking, the Danaus didn’t need a third crew member. I’ve never had a problem with manual labor, and being the captain just means I get to make the decisions; it doesn’t stop me from loading and unloading cargo. And as far as maintenance is concerned, I’d rather get my hands dirty than trust the Danaus to anyone. She’s temperamental and likes to give me scares at the worst possible moments, but she’s a good ship and she’s mine. If anyone is going to play with her insides, it’s me.

Jay is pretty good at carrying his weight as well. I’ve got to say, when I first hired him I didn’t expect him to last long. He’s a good pilot – he’s a great pilot – but the tattoos around his neck made it clear that he never had to work with his hands. I’m also sure he never suspected that anyone can survive on food squares for weeks at a time. I bet he’s more used to fancy food served fresh from the field. He never complains, though. He has looked at the food with everything from disgust to annoyance, but he has never complained, not about what I feed him and not about being asked to help loading cargo when we have big jobs. I like that about him.

The problem is, it’s not the only thing I like about him, far from it. And I know it’s a bad idea for me to take a close interest in Jay. Not because he’s my pilot and I’m the captain. That doesn’t matter one bit. But what does matter is the tattoo on his neck. One of these days, the Lodge is going to come looking for him, and if he doesn’t go quietly it’s not going to be pretty.

This, ultimately, is why I took on Wil during our last stop – well that and the fact that Wil was ready to work practically for free as long as he got to be on a spaceship. I had a feeling, right from the start, that the two of them would hit it off. I figured that if they got together I would stop looking at Jay too closely. I’ve never been one to hunt another man’s game. Steal things, yes, but not someone’s affections.

What I never expected was that they’d be so open about it. The Danaus isn’t a big ship, sure, but they could still manage to be discreet if they only tried. But they don’t try, or not that hard. And now, not only am I still lusting after Jay, I’m also starting to develop a thing for Wil, too.

That can’t possibly end well.