“It will be done,” Dee-vi nodded gravely. “But we have already seen enough to make our decision. What would you have us do?”
Tiffany felt triumphant, seeing success at last. “What we do depends on what you have got. Miko’s the pilot. She needs to check out your drive. The specs also showed you having a hangar full of low-boost insystem ships. Is that true?”
Dee-vi nodded. “We have ships. In what condition I would not know, we never use them.”
“Great. I would like to see them.” Tiffany was already making plans that went beyond Floreal—thinking of that woebegone Choctaw girl in the Danse Macabre.
It was some time before she got to see the hangar—which did indeed have a row of insystem ships, sleek old-fashioned cargo lighters that looked good as new. By then Miko had passed on the habitat’s gravity drive. Floreal could be moved. And not just Floreal. If these ships worked as well, they could take everyone left in the B system with them. But that meant opening up the habitat to strangers, which would require still more diplomacy.
Ja-lan had joined them—there being no women’s mysteries on the hanger deck—happily looking over the line of ships. Tiffany could tell he liked the turn of events. Apex must have seemed pretty small to a man of his talents. Now Floreal herself was looking outward. Who knew what the future held?
Miko cautioned everyone not to get carried away. “We have to see if they will fly.” She cycled the lock on the nearest lighter. It worked. Miko nodded to Tiffany. “Want to check it with me?”
Sure. Her future plans depended on these ships. They cycled through. As soon as they were alone, Miko pulled her face down and kissed her.
Surprised, Tiffany managed to respond, then asked, “What was that for?”
“For everything. For giving us all a chance.” Miko leaned back against the bulkhead, her hand on the lock lever, keeping it from cycling. She nodded at the closed hatch. “You like him, don’t you?”
“You mean Ja-lan? Sure.” He was sharp, and sweet, and hung like a hippogriff. “What’s not to like?”
Miko hooked her finger into the waist of Tiffany’s gi, pulling her closer. “I mean, you really go for that ‘Ah shucks, I’m just a guy’ stuff?”
Tiffany looked puzzled. “Well, who wouldn’t?”
Miko rolled her eyes.
Tiffany braced her arms against the bulkhead, framing the smaller woman’s shoulders. “Look at me.”
“Gladly.” Miko smirked. They were only centimeters apart and in love. What else was there to see?
“I’m trying to save not just Floreal, but this whole forsaken system,” Tiffany told her. “Maybe even the overflow from Belt City. Which means holding off looters and wreckers, while convincing these people to risk everything for the sake of others. In the meantime, I have been beset by Jutes, Choctaws, Eridani slavers, and Bugs gone berserk. And I am in the middle of a relationship with another woman—something I have never, never done before. So am I really going to start up with some guy, just because he happens to be sweet, brave, and available? Who do you think I am? Superwoman?”
“Sometimes.” Miko rose on her toes and kissed her again.