Born of Legend (17 page)

“You don't have the creds for it, either.”

“I'm still family.”

“Which is why I didn't want to trouble you. My job is to take care of my children, not burden them.”

She rolled her eyes at her father and his archaic principals. “Family helps each other.”

“Anyway,” he said, changing the subject, “we met for the labor estimate an hour ago. When we opened her ship up, there was nothing on it to be repaired. The ship runs better now than when she first bought it. Come see for yourself.”

Ushara notified Zellen that she was taking her lunch break. Curious about the matter, she left her office and followed her father through the station, toward the north hangar where Oxana's freighter had been storage-docked since her father had hauled it in weeks ago.

While the station was governed by the laws of the Gorturnum Nation, each of the hangar maintenance and repair crews was an independent company that had an individual owner or boss. Gunnar was their direct overseer, or Chief Pit, who rented the hangar from Trajen and contracted with each company owner to keep the Tavali ships flying and cargo moving in and out of the station. He also helped fence “liberated” League merch, as well as moving legit cargo, and set up auctions for it. But his main job was to inspect the ships and hangar to ensure all ran smoothly and according to Tavali Code.

Last she'd heard, Jullien was working as one of Gunnar's base maintenance sweepers who ran and maintained their ground equipment and facility's systems. He was only cleared to clean and load ships if one of the other crews needed a hand.

But it was possible his position had changed.

Ushara had purposefully avoided talking to or about Jullien since he'd left her parents' home. It was a sensitive and sore topic for everyone, especially given the fact that she had yet to ask him to leave the base as she'd promised her family she would.

More than a dozen times, she'd started to, then chickened out. She just couldn't bring herself to hurt him. Not after the way he'd been treated by everyone else.

He had nowhere to go and she knew it. Not to mention, the small matter of a huge death sentence that hung over his head. It just didn't seem right to turn him out, knowing what waited for him on his own.

And why should she make him leave? He didn't bother anyone. He kept to himself, like a phantom ghost.

Case in point, as they went through the hangar in search of him, there was no sight or sound of his presence. While the other mechanics and engineers worked in boisterous teams or crews and chatted or obnoxiously played music, Jullien was forever solitary. A whisper of a breeze who clung to the shadows. He was only seen by others when he wanted to be found. Which was almost never.

After a few minutes of futility, she pulled out her link and called up his work file.

“Is he not on this shift rotation?” Her father stepped closer to look over her shoulder as she continued to read the schedule. “Is something wrong? Why are you frowning like that?”

“It's just…” She held her link out for him to see it. “He requested a transfer to Sheila's crew.”

“Sheila?” His tone held shocked contempt. “Why would
anyone
want to work for
that
bitch?”

Ushara couldn't imagine. Everyone hated the old surly Tavali. Most quit after a day or two spent under her blistering insults.

No one had
ever
requested a turn on her crew. Most ran screaming out of the hangar whenever they were forced to work it.

“Are you looking for Dagger, Admiral?”

Ushara turned at the quiet, timid voice of a young woman who couldn't be more than twenty-two or twenty-three. Tiny and frail, she had short black hair and bright blue eyes. By her rank patch, she was a bait, a regular member of The Tavali. “We are. Do you know where he is?”

“He's not in trouble, is he?”

The concern in her voice sent a severe and unexpected wave of jealousy through Ushara. One that made her want to hurt the young woman. She hadn't felt such an urge in a really long time and it took her a moment to get a handle on her emotions. “No, he's not in trouble. Are you his woman?” Well that came out before she could stop it. And it was a lot sharper tone than she'd intended.

Her father's eyes widened in shock.

The girl blushed profusely. “No, ma'am. Nothing like that. I just don't want to see him in trouble for doing something so kind. I was about to be fired and I really needed this job to feed my daughter … my husband owes a lot of money for his tithe. And everything I did made Sheila angry. She was always yelling at me and insulting me, giving me the worst assignments she had. Making me work late hours when I needed to be home. So Dagger switched crews with me to get her off my back. I don't know what I'd have done had he not taken it. It's so much better now. I can actually eat a meal and not throw it back up.”

Ushara smiled at her. “I'm glad you're better. Do you know where I can find him?”

The girl glanced around before she leaned in to whisper. “Today's actually his day off. But he's been donating his after hours and off days to the Snitch Fund. You'll find him working on the
Jolly Harlot
, east quadrant. And speaking of, I better get back to work before Gunnar catches me slacking.” She rushed away.

Completely shocked, Ushara met her father's equally stunned expression. The Snitches had been the married couple who had founded their Nation aeons ago after their daughter Tavali and her crew had been wrongfully arrested and slaughtered by a corrupt government. They, and a group of other independent freighters had joined together to form a coalition to protect each other from those out to exploit and prey upon honest independent pilots and freighters who didn't want to work for corporations or governments.

The Tavali had come a long way in the centuries since. But one thing remained the same.

They would fight and die for one another. You messed with one Tavali, you messed with all Tavali.

And the Snitch Fund was one of many programs they had to protect the families of their fallen, or those injured in battle. If someone had a ship they needed repaired and they couldn't afford the service or parts, they could apply for assistance and be added to a waiting list. Those with the skills and means then donated creds, labor, and parts as they saw fit to the fund. Or, in the case of punishment, they could be compelled to donate service or fees.

But it was exceedingly rare for non Tavali to participate in the program.

Ushara arched a brow at the expression on her father's face as they made their way through the hangar. “What's wrong, Paka? You look like you've swallowed your tongue.”

“No. Just eating a large bite of humble pie. And it's sticking in my craw as it goes down.”

She was tasting some of it herself as they finally found Jullien in a solitary corner, working on a really old freighter's cooling system.

His hand still bandaged from the beating, he was forced to hold an e-tablet at an awkward angle to accommodate his injury so that he could work. A faint bruise also continued to darken the skin of his eye and cheek, and he favored one leg over the other.

Even so, he was still incredibly sexy.

All of a sudden, he dropped the tablet and lunged at the ship. “Careful,
sprytan
. If you don't—” His words broke off as steam poured out and covered him, scalding his arm. Ignoring the heat, he grabbed a smaller body and yanked it up, out of harm's way.

It wasn't until that body was clear that she realized it was Vasili.

His breathing ragged, Jullien searched Vas's body for harm. “You okay?”

“I'm sorry! I'm sorry!”

“It's all right. It's fine. Are you hurt,
sprytan
?”

Terrified, Ushara ran forward. “Vas!”

Jullien immediately put himself between them. Literally. He cradled Vas behind him with one arm so that she couldn't reach or even see him, at all. “It's not his fault.”

She tried to step around him.

He refused to let her near her child. “He didn't do anything wrong. It's all my fault. Not his. Don't hurt him.”

Ushara paused as she saw the panic in Jullien's eyes and she realized that he actually thought she was going to harm her own son. “Jullien, it's all right. I just want to make sure he's okay.”

Warily, he lifted his scalded arm and allowed Vasili to pass under it to reach her.

Vas approached her sheepishly. “Are you mad?”

She narrowed her gaze at him. “What are you doing here?”

Jullien moved to his toolbox and wrapped his forearm in a gel cloth. “He's been coming after school for help with math.”

“And after I finish it, Jullien's been teaching me some things about engines and systems.” Biting his lip, Vas frowned at Jullien. “Did I hurt you?”

“Nah, it's okay. It happens. I forgot to warn you about releasing the steam pressure on the valve before you loosened it. It didn't get on you, did it?”

“No. I'm fine.”

Her father approached Jullian with a frown. “Let me see your arm.”

“It's fine, Gůr Tana. Just a steam burn. Not my first. Doubt it's my last. I'm just glad I got Vas out of the way in time. Sorry I was careless. I won't let him around the ships anymore.”

Tears welled in Vas's eyes. “I can't come back?”

His gaze suddenly empty, Jullien appeared equally as upset by the thought, but didn't speak.

Ushara hesitated as she realized the two of them must have really bonded over the last couple of weeks. How strange. Her son was so incredibly standoffish. Vas rarely made friends with anyone. For that matter, he seldom spoke.

Even to her.

“Are you pestering Jullien,
m'tana
?” she teased.

He glanced at Vas. “He's no bother.”

“Are you sure?”

Jullien nodded. “Positive. I've been getting my work done on time. Even with my hand busted.”

“My grades have never been better. You can check with my teachers. Jullien's really smart, Mum. He's shown me all kinds of ways to understand math that I never knew.”

Jullien scoffed. “I don't know about all that. I barely passed most years. All my teachers did was tell me how stupid I was when I was in school.”

“Yeah, but you explain it a lot better than any of my teachers do. I actually get it when you show me. I have no idea what they're talking about when they do it during class.” Vas picked up his tablet and handed it to her. “See. I've already done all my homework for the day.”

She gaped at the sight. “So you have. I'd been wondering about that.”

“And
I
did it. Jullien just shows me how so that I can understand what it means. He makes me figure it out for myself and double check the answers. He won't do it for me 'cause he says that only cheats me and my future.”

She kissed his cheek. “Okay. Well, tell you what. Why don't you and Paka go grab something to drink and let me talk to Jullien for a minute, okay?”

Vas scowled. “You're not going to yell at him, are you? 'Cause it's not his fault that I've been coming to see him. He told me to tell you and make sure you were okay with it.”

“I'm not mad at anyone, Vasi. I just want to talk to him for a second.”

“Please don't yell at my friend, Ma. Not for something I did.”

“Vas…”

“C'mon,
tana
. Let's give them a few minutes.”

Reluctantly, he left with his grandfather.

Jullien sighed as he watched Vasili leave and waited for the raw ass-chewing he was sure Ushara had planned for him. “It's okay, Admiral. I'll be the bad guy and run him off from now on, so you don't have to. I understand. You're his mother. I'm the one he should be angry with. Not you.”

“What?”

“That's what you wanted to say, right? Warn me to stay away from your kid before I ruin him with my darkheart ways. Sheila's already warned me that it doesn't look right, but since we're always in public and out in the open bay, in front of others, I didn't think it would hurt anything to help him with his homework during my breaks. I know what it's like to grow up without a father or a brother, or another male to talk to at that age, so I was just trying to be nice to him. But don't worry. I won't do it again. Unlike me at his age, he has uncles and a grandfather who loves him. I'll stay away from your kid. No problem.”

Shaking her head, she closed the distance between them and took his arm in her hand so that she could check his injury. She grimaced at the raw, angry skin where he'd been scalded while saving her son, yet hadn't even raised his voice at Vasili. Instead, he'd been patient and kind.

Caring.

Protective.

Things he'd never been shown.

“That wasn't what I wanted to talk to you about.”

“No?”

“No. I wanted to ask about my sister's ship. Do you know how it got repaired?”

A slow becoming red stain crept over his features.

She glanced up at him from beneath her lashes.

He looked away.

“Jullien?”

He tried to pull out of her grasp, but she held him fast.

“Why won't you answer?”

Refusing to meet her gaze, he let out a deep breath. “It was the least I could do after what your parents did for me while I recovered. I owed them for the food, medicine, and bed.”

“You didn't owe my sister.”

“I know. But I overheard your father talking about the loan while I was there so I knew it would keep him out of trouble.”

She still couldn't get him to look at her. It was as annoying as it was sweet. “When did you work on it?”

“At night. After work. Days off.”

She winced at the hours he must have spent on it alone. He would have been working on it until dawn to get it done so fast, especially with his injuries. “And the parts? Where did you get the creds for those?”