Luna jumped to the bed and curled into a circle, her fluffy tail over her nose. She watched me with one curious eye. When I pulled out my shoulder guard, her head popped up and she chirped at me.

I stripped off my shirt and armored vest, then replaced the shirt and strapped on the shoulder guard. As soon as it was in place, Luna launched off the bed. I smiled and braced as she landed perfectly on the guard. Her claws dug into the soft top without being able to pierce the flexible armor underneath.

“Ready?”

She chittered at me, so I set off. First, I checked the cabin next to mine. The bedroom was painted bright green, a leftover from Lexi, but all of the other personal adornments had been removed. A double bed dominated the space, with a small chair and side table tucked in the corner.

All of the crew cabins were included in the routine cleaning of the ship, so the room was clean, if bare. I pulled linens from the wardrobe and stacked them on the bed. Torran could put on his own sheets.

The double bunk rooms had a single bed built into the wall on each side, with a curtain that could be pulled to divide the space in half. The beds themselves also had blackout curtains so one person getting up wouldn’t wake the other. Each side had a small, built-in wardrobe and a pull-out chair. These rooms were cramped, which made the other common spaces on the ship more important.

Torran was bringing three people with him, but the agreement we’d signed allowed him to bring up to five. I prepared three rooms. There was no reason to double up until it was necessary. It would be far easier to keep the peace if everyone had a private place to retreat to when needed.

I also prepared rooms for Lexi and Anja. I was hoping to hire another mechanical engineer on Bastion, so I made up a third room next to theirs. The bathrooms would be the demarcation between Valoffs and humans.

Luna had stayed with me, exploring the rooms that she didn’t often see. I clicked my tongue and she leapt up to her perch on my shoulder. I stroked her head. “I suppose it’s time to figure out what we’re having for dinner.”

She perked up at the magic word. It had not taken her long to learn all of the food-related words.

“Come on, you little glutton. Let’s get you fed, then I’ll see what I can do for the rest of the crew.”

I often took cooking duty because I enjoyed it. Eli and Kee took turns at cleanup. I wasn’t sure if the Valoffs had ever washed a dish, but they were about to learn. Everyone on Starlight’s Shadow did their share—unwelcome guests included.