Queen & Commander (Book One of the Hive Queen Saga)

Chapter Eleven: The Passenger

Saint Christopher, please bless our travels. Don’t let me mess this up.

Today, they’d disengage from the spaceport and head out on their own. Luciano had to get the ship safely from one place to the next.

He took a brief shower, the last one with spaceport water, and dressed in his most fashionable brown loose trousers, tucked into his calf-high boots, and a bright orange tunic that proclaimed his allegiance to Dyfed Mining Co. He definitely looked good. When Rhiannon saw him this morning, she’d be amazed by the improvements in his attitude and his clothing.

Without doubt, she’d comment on his positivity. Maybe her eyes would linger on his emblazoned chest. He might be shorter than the other men in her Hive, but he was a hell of a lot more muscular.

“All hands, all hands.” Rhiannon’s voice came over the PA. Today, at least, she tried to warn them all to listen before getting to the meat of the message. The previous day’s announcement about heading into the concourse for Beltane had been more abrupt. “Let’s head down to the dining area. I’ll bring our new passenger to meet you. See you there!”

It wasn’t the most professional sounding address, but the friendliness made Luciano smile. He bounced on his toes and took off running.

His toothy smile faded when he entered the dining hall and saw his compatriots. Alan and Gwyn hadn’t bothered to show up. Victor leaned on the metal table, looking bored. At least Gavin had a positive demeanor, though that came from dreamy wistfulness as he gazed off into nothing.

“Good morning?” Luciano tried.

“Definitely good,” Gavin agreed, joining the here and now. “If we weren’t here, we’d be in school.”

Luciano smiled, though his teeth stayed firmly under his lips for it. He’d never understood what people had against school days. After working so hard to make it to Dyfed from Nuova, he’d show up even if he had to drag a priest saying Last Rites behind him. “Should only be about second period.”

Showing some life, Victor paced next to the table. His bony frame made him seem small, even though he was the tallest person on the ship. Luciano’s mother would have called him spindle shank.

“No one knows to look for us yet.” Victor watched the door like a demon at the entrance to Hell, expecting escape with the next damned soul’s arrival. “This passenger needs to get here so we can get out.”

Sharp clicks, not quite in syncopated time, interfered with Victor’s staccato rhythm. Gavin grabbed his friend’s sleeve, dragging him back to form a miniature receiving line. Luciano wished he’d got Victor to stand straight too, instead of slouching, but that didn’t matter.

Luciano was facing his taller crewmates when the door slid open and Rhiannon entered the dining hall. He tried to catch her gaze, to see if she noticed his presence and his outfit, but her eyes flitted over the room, taking in nothing.

She preceded a middle aged, portly man with ash-brown hair who was taller than Luciano, but definitely shorter than the other two present. The man used his long nose to full effect, measuring the three Devoted against it and finding them wanting.

Having dismissed the boys as beneath him, the man turned his back on the room and addressed Rhiannon.

“Young lady,” he began.

How dare he! She was a Queen, his Queen, and should be spoken to with respect. Youth or not, any Queen of Dyfed outranked the officious buggers who stalled out in middling politic. Why, Luciano wouldn’t be surprised to hear the man hadn’t been allowed to Devote. He could easily be one of the masses that weren’t important enough, smart enough, talented enough, to join a Hive. A real Hive member would be significantly higher up in government.