Zampata: five crew members Sasha had sex with (and one she didn't)

4. Bayley

Life on a space ship wasn't easy for anyone, especially when the ship in question was prone to breakdowns and failures like Zampata was. Privately, Sasha thought its crew was in similar condition and that's why they were all such a good fit. She did her best to help keep the human side of the equation running, but the mechanical was almost entirely Bayley's domain, and Sasha knew how draining that could be. Seth would have been the next best option to help her, but he was usually busy piloting the ship. Roman did what he could, but as captain, he had to deal with all the official matters: getting permission to land, negotiating docking fees, endless tedious details.

"Why don't you cross-train Dean and Becky?" Sasha asked as she handed Bayley yet another wrench. She couldn't tell the difference between them, so she was glad that they all had colour-coded handles. "I don't mean this in a bad way, of course, but when we're in the air and between jobs... well, there's not much for them to do on board."

"I've thought about it," Bayley admitted, setting one wrench down and picking up another. "But Becks is pretty much allergic to transportation—or is that the other way around? I love her to bits, you know that, but I would probably have to redo half of whatever she did, so there's not much point. And Dean...." She seemed to consider that possibility for a moment. "He might not be too bad. I'd have to talk to him about it; he'd definitely have to limit his... percussive maintenance. Normally I'm fine doing it myself, but I think I fucked up my shoulder during the tournament on Micoan."

"Bayley! If you're hurt, you shouldn't be doing this!" Sasha chided, pulling the tool tray away from the mechanic. "Is any of this absolutely necessary, or can Zampata fly without it?"

Bayley's gaze dropped to her hands. "It can probably wait. I mean, it's necessary, but not... imminently necessary, you know? I'm just used to having my hands busy and if I'm working, then I'm not thinking about my shoulder hurting."

"But if you're working," Sasha countered, "you're probably hurting your shoulder more. Let me see." Minding all the stray tools, she inched closer and rested a hand on each of Bayley's shoulder blades. "Bay, your left shoulder is so swollen!"

"Good thing I'm right-handed, then?" The quip was weak and Bayley knew it, but she still set down her tools and sighed. "I just want to be useful," she said.

"Bayley, where is this coming from?" Sasha wrapped her arms around her friend. "You're incredible. This ship wouldn't exist anymore without you. You're the glue that keeps the crew together. Without you... I probably would have left and started my own Court somewhere and Becky would have gone back on the Circuit."

"I guess I can't say it's the pain talking, huh?" Bayley rested her head against Sasha's shoulder. "It just seems like it never ends. I've replaced so many things on this ship that there's hardly anything left of the original, and yet it never seems to get any better. Something's always breaking or leaking no matter what I do...."

Sasha huffed out a breath and stood abruptly, pulling Bayley to her feet. "That's it. You're done for the day." She gestured around at all the loose tools and nudged some closer together with her foot. "How much of this needs to be put away before you can leave?"

"All of it?" Bayley blanched a bit under Sasha's steady gaze. "Well, I'm being honest. I don't want a wrench to go flying and puncture something, you know?"

"Fair enough. What's simple enough for me to put away?" Sasha conceded.

Bayley gestured to the colour-coded tools. "I have their spots colour-coded too, so it's easy to tell what goes where." While Sasha started putting away the wrenches with the coloured handles, Bayley finished up what she was working on and then stowed away all the extra components. "Can I do a quick walk just to make sure I didn't miss anything?"