Read Matt & Michelle 1: The Fugitive Heir for Free Online Page A

the Curvy Cutie , the Blue-Eyed Blonde, and any other name based on my body parts.”
    “Well, what do you suggest we name the ship?”
    Michelle pondered for a moment before a smile brightened her face.
    “How about naming it after both of us while still keeping it kind of obscure?”
    “Okay. What did you have in mind?”
    “Let’s call it the M&M .”
    An hour later, my spaceship finally had a name.

 
     
     
     
     
     
    CHAPTER FIVE
    Rockville Station
     
    Ten days, four wormhole jumps, and four of what Michelle had taken to calling ‘parental pointings’ later, I could feel my nerves unraveling. This was supposed to be so simple—we would hop around our part of the galaxy, I’d point two or three times, and we’d narrow our search down to one or two star systems. Life had not cooperated.
    It turns out that arms not only are not precision directional instruments, they’re downright horrible ones. Four pointings into our search and we still had twenty-three possible star systems to consider. Yeah, we had eliminated billions of other stars, but this was going a lot slower than I had expected.
    “Don’t beat yourself up over this, Matt. We’re making progress, even if it’s not as fast as you’d like.” Michelle kneaded my shoulders as I maneuvered the M&M to dock with an out-of-the-way station in an out-of-the-way star system. “Your shoulders are as hard as the ore they mine in this system.”
    The comm crackled. “Starship M&M , we have you in the station tractor beam. Stop all engines and let us bring you in.”
    My hands flew over the control panel. “Roger that, Rockville Station. All engines stopped.”
    “You’re currently fourth in line for refueling, M&M . Figure on a wait of four T hours. We’ll comm you when we’re ready for you.” An amused tone entered the voice crackling from the comm. “Why not stretch your legs a bit and see the sight.”
    “Sight, singular?” I asked.
    “You’re on the ass end of nowhere, boyo. We’re lucky we’ve got one sight. Every bar on the station has a view of it, but the best one is in a joint called Ore Sons.”
    “Let me guess, Orson is your cousin.” Anyone who ever watched vids knew how this sort of thing worked.
    “First, it’s Ore. Sons. As in sons of the ore. I’d say it’s a miner’s bar, but all of them are miner’s bars around here. Second, I don’t have a cousin named Orson.”
    “Sorry, Rockville Control. I guess I watched too many vids growing up.” Maybe the guy was part owner of the joint. Still, it couldn’t hurt to stay on the good side of the local authorities. “Do they serve food at Ore Sons? Shipboard rations get old real fast.”
    A laugh sounded from the comm. “Ain’t that the truth of it? They sling the best burgers in the system.”
    With a soft clang, we completed docking with the station.
    “You’ve convinced me, Control. I’ll tell ‘em you sent me.”
    “Mighty kind of you, M&M . Please enjoy your stay on lovely Rockville Station.”
    I flipped the comm off and leaned back. Michelle’s hands kept working on my shoulders. It felt really good, but I was too restless to truly enjoy it.
    Standing, I wrapped an arm around Michelle’s waist. “How about I treat my best girl to a burger and fries?”
    “Gee, Matt, you take me to all the best places.” In contrast to her sarcastic tone, Michelle’s eyes lit up. “You know, I’ve never been on a space station before. This is kind of exciting.”
    I took Michelle’s hand and led her toward the hatch. “Have you ever been to a shopping mall?”
    “Of course.” Her tone implied an accompanying eye roll.
    “The only difference between a shopping mall and a space station is what’s outside of it.” After we buckled blasters to our hips, I cycled the airlock and we stepped out of the ship for the first time in a week and a half. “And space station air has a stronger recycled smell to it than spaceship air.”
    Walking through the docks, I