She was always a pragmatic girl, despite the dreams she dreamed. She always thought of it like a staircase; the aspiration was the landing at the top, and each step was an obstacle or goal that needed to be surmounted to get to it.

She loved being free, and for better or worse, she’d come to see her freedom personified in bumbling, cowardly Ben Merasska. As long as he was around, she wasn’t so worried about things going bad. It was an emotional judgment, she knew it, but she couldn’t care. The only thing that really worried her was that one day he’d either get himself killed, or he’d fire her.

And then where would she be? She needed to hedge her bets, and rather than risk the galaxy on another kind soul, she’d rather bank on the one she’d managed to find.





When Ned left, she’d made her move, and it backfired badly.

“Shuvin,” Ben said, visibly trying to get a handle on himself. “What was that?”

“Ben,” she answered with what she felt was a cute impish grin. “That was a kiss. Pretty good, huh? There’s more where that came from.”

She waggled her brows. Ben couldn’t help himself — he laughed.

“You’re what, sixteen? Shuvin, I’m almost thirty. Did you forget? Cause I sure haven’t.”

“Aw, what? ‘Fraid you’re robbing the cradle? Abusing your position as Captain to get sexytimes from your young and beautiful and exotic mechanic? ‘Cause you totally can, you know. I’m down for it.”

“Lyanie’s gonna kill me,” Ben sighed. “I know it. I haven’t even done anything but I’m still gonna die. Shuvin, do you know the dating rule?”

Shuvin frowned.

“It’s the standard by which any healthy age gap can be measured. Cut your age in half, and add seven. You’re sixteen. Right now, by this time-honored and most equitable method, the lowest I can go is...”

His eyes unfocused.

“Sixteen,” she answered in a matter-of-fact tone, jarring him from his mental calculations.

“Really? Wait, no, no. It’s twenty-one. Two and a One. Put them together and they make twenty-one, which is the lowest I can go without calling myself a deviant.”

“So it works the other way too, right? Twice my age plus seven? I could go for guys as old as thirty-nine? Wow, you’re looking a lot less creepy when it’s put like that, huh?”

“No, Shuvin. That’s not how it works.”

“Nope!” she sang. “Can’t have it one way without having it both!”

“Shuvin!” he said, and she stopped. He let out a deep breath. “No. Even if you wanted this, which I don’t think you do,” he raised his voice to drown out her attempted ‘I do want it!’ “It would be wrong. I’d be taking advantage of you. All right? Not to mention I think you’re selling yourself short. There’s much better, younger guys out there for you.”

He’d walked off, and she’d been left feeling like she’d taken a couple steps backward on the path to security and freedom for her cute tight ass.

But looking back on it later, she realized he’d never looked at her like she was a child since that moment.