Leila of the Rogue [Book Four]

Stormy Weather

  Stepping back into the bridge of the ship, I glanced around and couldn't see Ro anywhere but the crates were gone. Sighing through my nose, I walked up to the main control panel and slid my hand over a screen. A display popped up, and I pressed a button, causing the metal guard over the front window to roll back.

  I could already hear the storm outside, the rumbling thunder in the clouds, and the small objects thrown by the wind hitting the side of the ship, and now I could see it as well. It was a dark, muddy grey outside, plants and pebbles tumbling across the window along with dirt and dust as lights flashed from far overhead. Like nearly all the other planets we had landed on, I didn't know the name of this one either, but then again, did it really matter? I mean, the longest we were in one place was a few days, and then we were moving again so that whoever was after Ro wouldn't catch up.

  Taking a few steps back, I plopped down in the large seat by the control panel and simply watched the storm outside. The walls rattled from the booming thunder, and I was grateful to that Yautja for warning us to stay put. Flying through that would have killed us, and if not, would've left us stranded on this planet with a busted ship.

  "Clean up the mess by the door." Ro's voice rumbled as he stepped past me and brought up a few displays.

  "Why don't you do it?" I questioned and saw that he was plotting another course to travel as planets and stars filled the displays.

  "Because I told you to, runt." Rolling my eyes, I hauled myself up, and Ro brought up another display and slid his finger across it, bringing up our fuel levels and engine stats. Going over to a panel on the wall, I smacked my hand on it and a small door slid open. Grabbing a broom from inside, I set to sweeping up all of the dirt by the door.

  It seemed a bit absurd to me that with their advanced tech they wouldn't have something akin to a Roomba, but Ro had explained having something like that onboard could actually be a hazard during flight or in a battle, so old-school cleaning methods it was.

  Sweeping the broom back and forth, I slowly collected the dirt into a pile and glanced up at Ro.

  "Hey, Ro?"

  "What?" He didn't turn his head away from the displays as he zoomed out on a map.

  "Do you really only keep me around to fix and clean stuff?" I asked while leaning on the broom and resting my chin on the end.

  "No."

  "Then why else?"

  "To build things." He waved a finger. "The tech we traded for the supplies was actually built by you."

  "That it?" I felt like sighing, but honestly, I couldn't be too surprised. Every reason Ro gave to not trade me had to do with my tech and weaponry skills and nothing more. Oh, and the fact that I could fit into tight spaces.

  "If you want to say something, then say it." Ro glanced over his shoulder at me, but I couldn't tell what expression he had due to the Bio-Helmet. I could see my reflection in the eyes of the helmet staring back at me, and I saw the somewhat disappointed expression on my face.

  "I was just asking." Lowering my gaze, I went back to sweeping and gathered up the dirt into a dustpan.

  "Are you still upset about being called a pet?"

  "Nah, I'm over that." I replied and the bridge went quiet as I finished cleaning up. When I was done, I went back to where I had been sitting before and slouched while looking outside. Ro was still watching me, not saying anything while seemingly observing for a moment. He then turned back to the displays, and with his hesitation to go back to what he had been doing, I assumed he was thinking about something.