Starship: Rogue

Chapter Eighteen

Adlai sat at the table in the conference room, spinning from side to side in her chair. Her mind was so full of everything she'd seen and learned that day that she couldn't sit still. Her thoughts whirled into one endless stream and she couldn't make sense of most of it, even if she'd wanted to.

The Red Night, Karn Vail, the Rangers' seemingly endless budget, the beauty of the building she sat in, the amount of resources available for their mission–it all was so overwhelming that she was beginning to develop a stress headache.

The others had all slowly migrated to the living quarters they'd been assigned, but Adlai stayed put, staring out the massive, floor-to-ceiling windows at the city beyond. In the dark, each window was a pinprick of light, most glowing golden, but many brightly colored.

Reflected in the water of the bay, a myriad of ships' lights flickered in the ripples, some cast by the ocean-going vessels, some by airships, starships and shuttles. The Golden Gate Bridge itself was more brightly illuminated than anywhere else, its red towers practically sparkling. Adlai loved it.

The Hub was almost silent, now that everyone had either gone home or gone to bed, but, out of the quiet emerged the click-clack of a pair of heels, and, a minute later, the door swung open. A girl Adlai didn't know but recognized from the video conferences stepped in.

Adlai's jaw dropped. Rowan followed the other girl in, but she didn't look like Rowan. Adlai had never imagined that Rowan would voluntarily wear a dress, but she was. It was midnight black lace over brilliant red, with a keyhole neckline that only hinted at her cleavage, and clung to her hips then flared out girlishly. Rowan wore her hair down, with blood-red lipstick and dark, shimmering eyeshadow. To finish the ensemble off, she wore tall, black heels, except the heels was a red-and-black snake that coiled up the back of the shoe.

The other girl was dressed similarly, but in a clinging gold number that was barely in shouting distance of her knees. Her makeup was equally dramatic, but her shoes were simpler–strappy and gold, they laced up almost to her knees. This girl looked like she belonged in dresses, but preppier, more demure ones.

Adlai realized she'd been gawping to the point of rudeness and shut her mouth, quickly turning away. Still, Rowan was wearing a dress! That was enough to warrant a double take in her mind.

Rowan grimaced. "What? I'm not allowed to wear a dress, now?" she snapped, mostly to the other girl. "Jesus fuck, what is it with you people?"

The other girl laughed. "I just didn't think you were one for dresses," she said apologetically. "Don't get your knickers in a knot!"

Rowan glared at her. "Oh, and you're an authority on everything about me? Carter, you've only known me, like, a month." Then, to Adlai, "Hey, Fletcher. A bunch of us are going out, and we came to see if anyone wanted to join us. You in?"

Adlai's first reaction was to refuse, but when would she ever have the chance to go out clubbing in a city as posh and wealthy as San Francisco again? So she squashed down her reservations and said, "Sure, but I don't really have anything to wear."

"Oh, that's not a problem," the girl called Carter said dismissively. "Neither did I, but Ripple lent me this, and you're about the same size as us."

"Closer to my shoes size," Rowan pointed out. "I'll have something for you." She did something with the bracelet she wore, then, to Adlai's surprise, spoke into it. "Ripple, pick something out for Fletcher to wear, yeah?"

Carter leaned conspiratorially closer to Adlai. "Comms bracelet," she explained. "Rangers' special issue. We all have them. You might get to use them for this mission, too."