As I approached the small vessel, I was surprised to see a familiar face. “Hey, Santiago. What’re you doing here?”

He straightened from where he was bent over an open panel in the side of the ship. Bare wires and circuits spilled from it, nearly touching the floor. “Hola, chica. Gettin’ this ready for ya. Giving her a little extra juice. Just finishing now. I’ll close her up in a sec.”

“Thanks. I didn’t realize you were a mechanic here.”

He nodded as he wiped his hands off on a rag sticking out from the pocket of his navy jumpsuit. “Was on Earth, too. That’s why I got offered this job. Figured it’d be a good fit and way better than twiddling my time away in a cell. That would crush my soul, you know?” He frowned at me. “You going out there scares the shit out of me, so I wanted to make sure you had the best. Skipped breakfast and everything.”

I was touched. For Santiago, that was quite the sacrifice. Skipping wasn’t just about the food, but it was about missing time with other people. He wasn’t happy unless he was holding court somewhere. Even on Abaddon. “Appreciate having your help. I hope this ship will do better than she looks right now.” I motioned to the wires and parts on the deck. “She seemed to turn on fine yesterday during training.” And I wasn’t sure that was true anymore.

He grinned. “Oh hell yeah. Got a couple other good ships, but this one is the best of the bunch. She’ll run, but I was trying to give you a little more power. Maybe if you had some extra oomph, it might make a difference if…” He trailed off as his ever-present grin slid from his face. “Look, Maité.” His voice had lost all its humor. I’d never seen him so serious. “I’m just hoping you being what you are, you’ll be quicker to react to whatever goes wrong up there. And if the ship is quicker, too, maybe that will make the difference you need to stay alive.”

Me being what I was? How in the hell did he know? “Excuse me?”

He stepped closer, saying the words just loud enough for me to hear them over the other mechanics working away. “No twelve-year-old can beat a grown man without being something special.”

My mouth dropped open, but I wasn’t sure what to say. I couldn’t believe that he knew about me and never turned me in. I knew that the Crew had my back, but I didn’t realize how much they watched out for me. “You really knew? You all knew?”