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was now white and green. I dropped my food, getting up and out of the way in one swift motion. Scully dived for the garbage bolted against the ice box. The air filled with the sound of gloppy stomach contents splattering against a plastic bag. I lost my appetite.
    “Jessie, why did you assault one of my crew members with an oar?”
    “He saw me. How was I supposed to know he wouldn’t try and hand me right back over to Tethys?”
    “You came from Tethys’s ship?” Sauna said over another bout of Scully’s vomiting. “Que horrible.”
    Jessie’s face hardened.
    “What’s it like over there? What does he do when he’s not chasing us around?” Sauna scooted closer to the edge, dragging his plate over the lacquered wood, and present the remainder of his potato wedges to Jessie. She gave them a ravenous look before snatching one up. I positioned myself in front of the hall leading to the stern, keeping one eye on Jessie, and the other on Scully. I’d eventually have to hunt down Cancer, our ship’s medic, the only man banned from ship fights. Sutures were your own job when he had dead men to tend to, unless you couldn’t reach the spot.
    I backed up two steps and opened up a tall, thin door concealing folding chairs. I took one out, then carried it over to Scully and nudged him with it. He pulled his head out of the garbage, then he stuck his rear in the air as I set he chair under him. I returned to my post across from Jessie. Scully resumed vomiting as Jessie spoke.
    “It’s not as nice as it is here. I don’t know what he does. Shipping, I guess. He kept me locked up all the time.”
    “How did you escape?” I asked.
    “I kicked the door until it broke,” she said, eyes hardening with bad memories.
    “An iron door?”
    “It took months. The frame was rusty. Eventually Tethys had a hard time shutting and locking the door because I’d bent the frame that bad.”
    “No wonder you can kick so hard,” Mido said as he added some diced vegetables to the grill. “You’ve been practicing.”
    “A lot.” Jessie snatched another potato wedge and shuffled back out of arm’s reach of the table. Not sure what her deal was. I wanted to tell her to sit down but I’d let her be for now. She’d been through enough already.
    “How often did you get fed on Tethys’ ship?” Mido asked.
    “Once or twice a day. I used to get more food snuck to me until they all learned I’d give them bruises in place of the sexual favors they wanted.”
    “You don’t have to worry about that anymore,” Mido said.
    “I hope so. I’m tired of stupid people and I’m tired of starving.”
    I said, “However, a few members might need some reminding that you’re not here for their pleasure. It might take a few painful lessons for them to get the picture to leave you alone. But don’t hold it against them. We’re all just men. We can go months at a time without so much as hearing a woman’s sweet voice.”
    “I’ll cuss you out with my ‘sweet voice,’” Jessie warned. Mido and Sauna laughed.
    “That reminds me,” I said, unfolding my arms. I crossed the galley and headed for the stairs to the main deck. “Sauna, assign Jessie one of the empty bunks once she’s fed, then show her where the showers are and get back to the engine room.”
    “Yes, Captain.”
    I stopped at the base of the stairs and looked at Scully, whose face was quite green and grey, and the back of his head a bloody mess. I headed for the wheelhouse to make sure we were still on course. The compass read that I was bearing a little too far south by one degree. I un-wedged the wood, turned the stick slightly, then put the ship back on auto pilot and met up with Sam at the bow. The sun was finally out in full force, turning the chill wind hot and humid. I unbuttoned my trench coat.
    Rammus and Sam were carrying supplies to their appropriate locations around the ship. I informed Cancer via my old-fashioned sound system about his new patient. Hopefully