Page 4 of Through Uncharted Space

And Dakota Jones was going to find it.

She stared at the planet. It was a shame the star map was currently undecipherable. It matched no known star maps. She touched the orb again, and the projection faded away. But she’d done her research and she had some hunches. She was pretty good with hunches.

Finding the Atocha Treasure would be everything to her. Her heartbeat sped up. She’d started life with nothing and since then, she’d gone from job to gig to scam throughout her entire thirty years. People had tried to swindle her and hurt her, and repeatedly stolen from her. Her jaw tightened. All she wanted was to live in luxury for the rest of her life. No hunger, no worrying about where she’d sleep, worrying who was going to take advantage of her next.

The Atocha Treasure was the key to that dream. Nothing—and no one—was going to stop her from finding it.

CHAPTER TWO

“Prepare to push away from Galaxy’s Edge, Captain Phoenix,” Dare said.

“Preparing now,” his sister-in-law, Nissa, replied from the captain’s chair.

Dare stood on the Sky Nomad’s spacious bridge, feet shoulder-width apart, hands clasped behind his back. He was flanked by his brothers. He watched Nissa and the crew working competently. He felt the faint vibrations of the ship’s engines beneath his feet.

Nissa turned the captain’s chair a little. She had some reptilian heritage and it showed in the golden skin that covered her bald head, and the patches of bronze, diamond-scale pattern on her forehead and cheekbones. “Galaxy’s Edge Docking Control, this is the Sky Nomad. We are ready for departure.”

“Acknowledged, Sky Nomad.” The rough voice of the space station’s controller came through the loudspeakers. “Prepare for docking clamp release in ten.”

As the controller counted down, Dare saw Justyn grinning from beside him. Dare’s youngest brother was a trader with the heart of a smuggler. He loved the adventure of each new journey they embarked on. Rynan stood on the other side of Dare, his arms crossed over his chest. He had a faint scowl on his face. Ry considered each new journey the opportunity for things to go wrong.

“Docking clamps released,” Nissa said. “Sky Nomad is underway.”

Through the viewscreen, Dare saw them move away from the space station. Behind him, he heard excited chatter.

He looked back and saw his passengers watching the pushback. All their faces showed eager excitement.

Except for Miss Johns.

As soon as she saw him looking, she turned her head and looked at the very uninteresting control panel beside her.

His gaze narrowed. Something about the woman rubbed him the wrong way. The plain looks didn’t attract him, and she appeared uninteresting and unlikely to cause any problems. He stared at the surprisingly smooth curve of her jaw, and wondered what it was about her that seemed off.

“Galaxy’s Edge, we are free and clear,” Nissa said.

“Good travels, Sky Nomad. Docking Control out.”

Dare shook his head, and focused back on the viewscreen. The Nomad came around, and ahead, lay the black of space, pinpricked by stars.

The vastness of uncharted space.

He looked to the screens showing his six convoy ships pulling away from the space station. He touched his earpiece. “Phoenix Convoy ships, fall into convoy formation.” He’d already met with all the ship captains and prepped them. He’d also warned them that he didn’t give second chances. They followed his orders, or they were out of the convoy.

Beyond the edge, everyone’s lives depended on sticking together and following the rules. His rules.

“Nissa, confirm all ships have correct course coordinates set,” he said.

She nodded at her navigator and the woman tapped on her screen.

Soon, they cleared the space station’s outer boundary beacons, and Dare was satisfied that all the ships were in line.

“Okay, we are officially on convoy.” He inclined his head at his crew, then looked at his passengers. “We have two hours until we cross into uncharted space.”

The passengers all clapped.

“As it’s our first night, we’ll have a group meal in the dining room to celebrate the start of our journey.”

There were more excited exclamations. Except, of course, for Miss Johns. She stayed silent.