The third time it happened, I started to get annoyed. The guy looked and smelled normal, so I wasn’t sure why I was getting the cold shoulder. I didn’t have to be soul mates with whoever I sat next to, but I needed a place to sit so I could attempt to eat this crap before my shift started. I didn’t have time for their juvenile behavior.

“You can sit by me,” someone said behind me. The slime in his voice made me cringe.

I chose to ignore the offer, not even looking back at him.

Worst case scenario, I could always take my tray to my bunk.

“Maité!”

I stumbled at the sound of my name. It didn’t sound like Ahiga or Matthew, and I assumed they’d be in the Officers’ Mess. Who else here knew me?

I spun, scanning the faces and trying to find the source.

“Over here!”

My mouth dropped open. “Holy shit,” I muttered under my breath.

John Santiago was a short guy, but thick and made up for his height by lifting some insanely heavy weights. His head was shaved, but he didn’t have as many tattoos as some of the other ABQ Crew guys. None of them showed in the standard SpaceTech tank and pants that he was wearing, but the matador fighting a bull on his chest was memorable. The over-the-top expression on the matador’s face used to crack me up when we sparred. I wasn’t sure why he’d gotten that particular tattoo exactly, but the guy loved to laugh and to make everyone around him laugh. So I figured that had a lot to do with it.

He was smiling big, showing me a mouthful of pearly whites, and I felt my shoulders loosen. “¡Tanto tiempo!” he said, bumping my forearm with his.

It was good to see a friendly face. “No kidding. It’s been what…three years?”

“Yo! Move down!” he yelled at the guy sitting next to him.

There was some grumbling, but a few guys slid down the bench, opening a seat next to Santiago. I’d been trying to ignore everyone else—I’d had enough hostile looks—but as I put my tray on the table and sat down, I saw Ahiga sitting across from me.

“What are you doing here? I thought officers didn’t mix with workers.” It came off a bit ruder than I wanted, but I didn’t want to come across as friendly anyway. Not when SpaceTech was watching.

“You know her?” Ahiga asked, ignoring my question.