See How They Run

Jesusa Baker loves three things: big powerful engines, open space, and not getting attached. That last one has been under constant assault since she joined the crew of the Sentinel of Gems, as the quiet chief engineer inspires both friendship and desire in equal measure. But there’s no room for love in Baker’s too-messy life, especially when she knows how much of a lie happily-ever-after is.

April Rambova has pined after their fellow engineer almost since Baker’s first day, but life as one of the inhabitants of the Far Reach colonies means a body adapted for microgravity, and a life apart from the people who can walk the surface of the TriSystems’ worlds. Worse, it means a potentially shortened lifespan, and no one should be saddled with a partner who can’t promise forever.

When a trio of mice bring a potentially deadly disease onto the Sentinel, Baker and April are quarantined together. Close quarters mean fewer secrets, for April, Baker, and the mice. Now, someone wants the mice back, and is willing to kill to find them. And April has a choice: run toward the chance of happiness, or protect the people they love…

Originally published in the Pets in Space 6 Anthology.