(I don’t understand what everyone is so excited about… it’s just tacos)

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CHAPTER THREE

Seriously, It’s Only Tacos

PNV PERSEVERANCE, ANAT SYSTEM

Blue was nearing the end of her limited patience. The short jump to the Anat system had gone without incident, and she’d spent most of her time reviewing the aircrew notices that had come out while she’d been on leave, ALS-71 Rhino Emergency Procedures (EPs), and the local airspace procedures.

The rest of her time had been spent fending off the nosy as fuck Lieutenant Serella “Killi” Killowen.

Blue braced her elbows on the battered metal table bolted to the deck in the center of the mission planning room and glared as the other woman slung herself into the chair across from hers. Killi’s grin was nothing short of smug, and it took everything Blue had not to throw her slate at her. She’d been so careful sneaking out of their shared bunk and had figured she’d have at least another hour of studying before she was discovered.

Supposedly, Killi was her best friend, but if she didn’t stop pestering her about Campbell, she was going to be in the market for a new one.

“Oh come on, is that really all he told you?” Killi gave her an arch look. Short, curvy, and with a tumble of black curls barely kept in check and bottomless green eyes, Killi had the innocent look down. Too bad it was a lie. “Can’t you pump him for more gossip?”

Killi made a crude gesture with one hand and cackled at Blue’s sour expression. She hadn’t noticed the shorter woman in the crowd waiting to board the Perseverance back at the orbital naval shipyard, but Killi had most definitely noticed her. More specifically, she’d noticed who Blue was with and had decided to entertain herself by making Blue’s life miserable. Killi was lucky there weren’t any good options for a replacement best friend. Yet.

Grumbling under her breath, Blue closed out the single-engine EP checklist she’d been reviewing. Memorization wasn’t the point. The point was to refamiliarize herself with the various checklists so she could find what she needed quickly in the event of an emergency—real or simulated—for her upcoming eval flight. She had another dozen to review before they started mission planning for tomorrow’s training drop, but it was obvious Killi wasn’t going to let her.

“Don’t give me that look,” Killi said teasingly, accurately interpreting Blue’s annoyance. “You’ve got that shit locked down. You’re going to do great.”

“I’m going to do great because I’ll be properly prepared,” Blue shot back.

“I’m sure Campbell will appreciate that you’re prepared.”

“You’re ridiculous,” Blue said in an exasperated growl, but she couldn’t hide her amusement.

“You mispronounced jealous.” Killi’s grin promised she wasn’t actually serious. “I mean, who wouldn’t be—you’re with Ensign Hotness!”

Blue managed not to roll her eyes at Killi’s exaggerated dreamy sigh, but only because she was trying to break the new habit.

“I’m not with him. We’re just going out drinking tomorrow night at Gunrunner’s.” Blue shot her friend a sly smile. “The only question is whether we end the night in his bunk or mine.”

Killi’s eyes widened. “Oh no you’re not.”

“Relax.” Blue snorted a laugh. “I’ll give you warning if it’s ours.”

They’d long since worked out a system if one of them needed the room for reasons, but Killi pinned her with a horrified stare.

“Girl, you cannot keep a guy like Campbell on the hook if you don’t play the game a little.” Killi shook her head as if disappointed in Blue. “You can’t just go for it.”

“The hell I can’t.”

Irritation shot through Blue, and she set her slate down on the table slightly harder than necessary. The sharp snap echoed off the metal bulkheads.

“I’m not playing any games, Killi. Besides, who says I want to keep him long term? The man’s a fuckboy. There’s nothing wrong with that, but he isn’t relationship material.” Her nails bit into her palms as her control frayed a little more, and she drew in a deep breath of recycled, sterile air to calm down. “And for that matter, I don’t want a relationship. You know I’m not sticking around any longer than I have to, and there’s no future with a Navy guy like Campbell. Not when the Survey Corps will keep me in the far reaches of the known galaxy.”

“Right.” Killi bit her lip and glanced down, her delicate fingers tracing random patterns on the scuffed surface of the old table.

Blue’s gut twisted and she felt like the worst friend ever. She’d met Killi at Legion inprocessing, and they’d been inseparable ever since. They’d survived Basic Training together, pulled through flight school together, flown their first year of service in the Bronze together . . . but Killi had commissioned into the Legion via the standard track. She had nine more years to go, whereas Blue only had three before she could shift over to the Survey Corps.

To her credit, Killi always tried to be supportive of Blue’s dream, but she also flat-out admitted to being a selfish bitch. She wanted Blue to stick around, and she hated it when Blue talked about leaving.

With a low sigh, Blue reached across the table and took her hand. There were still traces of glittering green nail polish around the edges, evidence of Killi’s tropical vacation. In hindsight, Blue really should’ve spent her precious leave with her best friend on the beach rather than being harassed by her mother. Missed opportunities.

“You listen to me right now.” Blue tightened her grip. “It’s you and me, ride or die. Whether we’re breathing the same stale recycled air or messaging each other like crazy from different systems—you’re never getting rid of me.”

Killi flipped her hand over and squeezed her back, eyes shining with a touch of moisture.

“You’re damn right.” In the next instant, her mercurial friend flipped a mental switch and was all mischief again. “But so am I. Trust me on Ensign Hotness. He can get all the tail he wants, but you brushed him off the last deployment. Now he’s chasing what he couldn’t get. So, girl, make him chase.”

“Copy chase.” Blue snorted a watery laugh, and then checked her wrist comm as it pinged an alert. “Come on. We’ve got just enough time for chow before mission planning. Tragarz said they’ve got tacos today.”

“Oh, heck yes!” Killi shoved back from the table and smirked. “Just remember—no tacos for Ensign Hotness.”

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Missed the previous snippets? No worries, I got you covered.

• Snippet 18
• Snippet 17
• Snippet 16
• Snippet 15
• Snippet 14
• Snippet 13
• Snippet 12
• Snippet 11
• Snippet 10
• Snippet 9
• Snippet 8
• Snippet 7
• Snippet 6
• Snippet 5
• Snippet 4
• Snippet 3
• Snippet 2
• Snippet 1