NaNoWriMo Story Snippets

72. Excerpt from ZAMPATA: BECKY/SETH

A prequel no one asked for, but too bad! ;) I started it and I want to finish it. Basically, a prequel to ZAMPATA about Becky and Seth falling for each other. At the moment, it doesn't completely fit with the Sasha 5+1, so it'll need a lot of editing.

"What do we need two enforcers for anyway?" Seth didn't like griping any more than Roman liked hearing it, but he couldn't help himself. The meeting with the new prospect had left him feeling antsy. The Shield were a team; they were brothers. "Why do we need outsiders?" he added sharply. "We travelled as a trio for how long? And we were just fine."

"Extra hands rarely hurt," Roman replied, loading up a cart of supplies. "And it definitely won't hurt to have some different perspectives on board. Having Sasha along will open up business with the Courts." He didn't sound entirely convinced, though—or enthused. "And she's good at negotiations. And Bayley's an incredible mechanic."

Seth shot him a sharp look. "I wasn't complaining about them."

Roman met the look and returned it tenfold. "I'm aware. So what do you have against Becky then? Because I don't hear you debating Dean's merits."

"Please, debate away." Dean sat on a cart at the top of Zampata's loading ramp and rode it down to the docking bay floor, skidding and falling in a heap. "I'd rather stay planetside and fight, but someone's gotta look after you two pretty boys and I only got two hands. Good thing Becks has two as well. She can guard one of you, and I can guard the other." As he dusted off his pants, he grinned up at his Shield preferences. "Any preferences? Real ginger, fake ginger?"

Seth ignored him. "I know you said 'on-ground operations' or some shit like that, but... there's you and me and Dean. And Sasha." He wasn't entirely keen on having a Manager on board—at least not one he had hired more than once—but Roman and Dean seemed cool with it. He knew Sasha and Dean had been involved, but Seth didn't think Roman had been with anyone since his wife's death. "And Bayley."

Roman rolled his eyes, shoving another box Seth's way. "You know we'll need you to stay on the ship sometimes in case we need to make a hasty getaway. Same with Bayley. And Sasha...." He cleared his throat awkwardly. "Well, some situations might not be safe. And don't forget that she's still primarily a Manager. She could be off doing... her own things."

"And by things," Dean piped up, "you mean people who will pay her more than what you paid for Zampata, right?" Then he paused. "Wait. I remember when you bought this heap. That's not saying much."

"Don't call her a heap!" Bayley's voice rang out from the ship. A moment later she appeared at the top of the loading ramp, covered in grease and grime. "Did anyone clean the engine? Ever? Or the cores or—"

Dean shook his head. "If it's a maintenance question, just assume the answer is no. It'll probably save some time."

Roman smacked Dean's arm hard enough to make him wince. "We did upkeep. Some. Sometimes. I mean, it's hard running a ship on a skeleton crew, you know? We did our best. We don't have a huge budget right now," he added, running a hand through his hair as he sighed. "But if there's stuff you need—and I mean absolutely need to get Zampata going, let me know and I'll see what I can scrounge up, okay?"

Dean perked up again. "There's a deathmatch tournament down in Bardach," he reported. Seth could tell from his enthusiasm that Dean had been itching to sneak it into their conversation somehow. "Just announced. Big pot too. If I won, you could take seventy perfect for repairs and shit...."

"And the other thirty would go to dental repair?" Seth finished dryly, taking the cart Roman had loaded and pushing it up the ramp.