Opalina Outpost

Chapter 8: Regrouping

Ravi stared at the lumpy ceiling in his new room. He'd barely gotten a few hours of sleep, and he'd given up on getting any more. He was fucked.

No, he'd been fucked, which was why he was now more fucked, and Lio was an asshole, and Goddess, he'd done everything the man wanted that night— The downward spiral he'd been battling for hours started again.

He rolled out of his bed and staggered across the tiny room to bathroom. Cord lights buzzed on over the mirror as he locked eyes with his miserable expression. Stupid. So fucking stupid. Why couldn't he just have had an awkward, embarrassing night with a stranger he never saw again? Someone he never wanted to see again. Not some gorgeous creature who'd strung him out all night like he knew every half-hidden desire Ravi rarely risked explaining. A gorgeous creature who also turned out to be a lazy, lying, jackass.

Before he ventured out to Opalina, he'd considered what a bad start would look like. This was way, way worse than any of his nightmare scenarios. He'd slept with one of his recruits. Another guy he should never have touched in the first place. So much for not repeating old mistakes.

Trying to keep himself from vomiting up pure shame in the toilet, he paced back into the bedroom and found his slate for work. He finished drafting his checklists and the day's schedule just before dawn. In the morning quiet, he crept out of the room and posted the schedule on the only announcements screen in the tunnel.

Another hour, and his pulse had barely slowed, but it was time to put on a com's professional mask. Fuck Lio, he wasn't ruining this. He went to meet Jossen in the hall and transferred a copy of the checklists to his subal. Jossen looked bleary, but he did his best to stifle his yawns, and Ravi couldn't fault him for having a normal sleep schedule. He probably made better decisions in bars, too.

He cleared his throat and handed Jossen an air-amplifier. "Alright. Time to wake everyone up." In his frenzied planning, he had calculated every task the outpost needed to complete to prepare for an inspection. The crew was going to spend the next few days doing several months' worth of cleaning.

Amplifiers blasting, they started at opposite ends of the tunnel, slamming on doors and rousting the crew from their bunks. There was a lot of cursing, and Duhar plunged into the hallway wearing fuzzy slippers and swinging what looked like a crowbar. Ravi ripped it out of his hands before he hurt himself.

"We're not under attack. Basic uniform today, recruit," he said. "No need to get your dress uniform dirty."

Duhar rattled his head back and forth like he had water in his ears. "We have a dress uniform?"

"Just get changed and report to the subal for your assignments." Ravi looked over Duhar's bulky shoulder as more doors opened and the crew emerged. Most of them looked befuddled and dismayed, except for Aziri, who was livid. Unwillingly, Ravi found the figure he least wanted to see. Lio leaned against the door to his room, his hair messy from bed. Unbearably soft, dark waves slipped loose over his shoulders.

He spun blindly and retreated to his office. Jossen could ensure they would all get started. Safely out of sight behind the closed door of his office, Ravi leaned against the wall and took deep breaths of the musty air.

He had a plan. Stick to the plan. Since the day he'd found out about the position, he'd thought about how to present himself at the outpost. How to assume command. Opalina needed someone who was firm, uncompromising, and ready to rally the most unlikely team in all of Suzerain Aureli's territory. He was supposed to be radiating authority and surety, not hiding. How the fuck was he supposed to radiate authority to a guy who'd made him beg in bed the night before?