The Battle of Castle Nebula (The Cendrillon Cycle Book 1) by Ricker Stephanie

Author:Ricker, Stephanie [Ricker, Stephanie]
Language: eng
Format: azw3
Published: 2014-12-20T16:00:00+00:00

The Laika had a triple bulkhead around her outer hull, making her extremely resilient to hull breaches. For an ensign who had been forced to read over ship schematics for the past week while in the company of a certain ship designer, the triple bulkhead was also terribly useful for circumnavigating the ship unseen.

Bruno opened an access port in an odd corner of the life support section of engineering. Katrin eyed the tiny opening with disfavor.

“How did you even find this?” she asked.

“Humphreys has been over every inch of this ship,” Bruno said wearily, “which means I have too. You’d be amazed what tricks the Laika has up her sleeve.” He craned his neck to look up at the walls. “Pretty sure this is hidden from the cameras too, since I caught Humphreys drinking whiskey down here once when he was supposed to be on duty.” He gestured inside at the narrow passageway extending into the darkness. “Ladies first?”

Katrin snorted. “Not a chance. In you go, Ensign.”

Bruno ducked his head and stepped inside, flicking on the light on his commlink. “Just be sure to seal that hatch behind you.”

The clang and hiss of the hatch seal told him she was already on it. “Lead away,” she said, her voice echoing oddly in the tall, narrow space. Bruno had to angle his shoulders as he walked to slide through the passage.

“My quarters are along the outside of the ship,” he said, trying to avoid getting tangled in his coat as he walked, “and we can come out of the hull right next to them.”

“It’s like you’ve been planning this,” Katrin said, her voice heavy with suspicion.

Bruno shrugged. “We all have our little fantasies.” He turned his head in the narrow space to look at her by the light of the flashlight. “I really miss you,” he said. The words came out more vulnerably than he intended.

Katrin tilted her head, and her tiny smile grew. “I miss you too.”

Bruno cleared his throat and turned his head to face front again. “Only about ten minutes’ walk left,” he said.

Katrin groaned.

They popped out into the hallway near Bruno’s quarters more like twelve minutes later, if Bruno was honest. He swept Katrin inside and locked the door, vowing to scrub the hall camera later if at all possible. He doubted it had caught them, but it was better to be safe than sorry.

“I really can’t believe that worked,” Katrin said, sounding mildly astonished. She set her case on the small table and looked around his relatively luxurious quarters. Ensigns rated not only their own quarters, but also a wall cooler for food items and a tiny sitting area.

“Have a little faith in your husband,” Bruno reproached. He came up behind her and kissed the back of her neck. “Now, Dr. Lorengel,” he murmured against her skin, “would be an excellent time to celebrate our success.”

Katrin hummed in agreement.

Preoccupied, Bruno didn’t register the peripheral noise of the override chime on his door until it was too late.

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