Page 2

2

Short-Lived Relief

*Ren*

T he docking bay hatch slammed behind me. Within seconds, I engaged the unlock sequence and tapped my neck, activating my personal comm device.

Yeah, I’d made fun of Arda when she first opted for a transplant, but after it saved her ass on that Garcuk ship, I’d changed my tune. You never know where a little extra tech might come in handy. Like now.

“Mission accomplished, Capt. Let’s blow this joint.”

“I knew you’d come through! You wanna celebrate before we leave in the Oraxis Station mess? My treat.”

Normally, I was never one to turn down a free meal. Just not when I still could feel phantom eyes on my back like a hellish caress.

“Is there any way we can get the fuck outta here instead?” I flinched and a million anxious thoughts flooded my mind. Arda would demand I explain. She could even insist on staying. Then I might have to actually talk to that scumbag instead of just injuring him.

But Arda barely paused a second before she replied, “Got it. Fucking off as we speak.”

I sighed. Arda was the best. She had my back, no questions asked. That was exactly why I was doing this. Well, one of the reasons. Fact was, I understood her plight all too well. She deserved the full truth about her family lineage.

If only we could all be so lucky…

But the relief was short-lived. A clatter near the hopper drew my attention, and I instantly tensed. Wait… I cocked my head, listening carefully. The bang repeated and my pulse soared. That wasn’t next to the hopper. It was coming from inside.

“What the actual fuck?” I abandoned Karsen beside the docking bay hatch and stalked across the shuttle bay. The Verne shifted, and since Arda was fucking off in the cockpit, I knew exactly who I was about to kill for messing with my baby.

My hands clenched into fists as I spotted a pair of massive legs peeking out from underneath.

“Lux, if you’ve messed up a single bolt on my baby with your four-fingered hands—” Arda’s alien mate slid out, and the panicked expression on his normally stoic face made the words die unsaid. “What’s wrong?”

“It’s Smudge. She’s stuck in the engine.” He dragged a hand through his long golden hair, silver eyes flashing with distress.

Holy crap. Did his lips just quiver?

You can tell a lot about a man by how he treats his pets. Lux loved his like a baby.

“Move. I’ll get her.”

Karsen caught up to us. “Did I hear that right? Is Smudge—”

Lux cut her off. “Stuck. Yes.” He hopped off the rolling platform, and I didn’t waste any time taking his place.

“Don’t worry. I’ve got this.”

Karsen wrung her hands. “Arda asked for an update, but I better stick around and make sure she’s not injured.”

“Her cries are not those of pain, merely annoyance. I do not think she’s injured.”

I heard Lux’s reply, but my vision filled with the hull as I slid under the hopper. I bit my lip, wishing I could see the conflicted look on his face as he debated ignoring Arda’s wishes. The only thing Lux loved more than Smudge was Arda.

He sighed. “Give my mate her update. The Verne is small. We’ll hail you if we need you.”

“Okay. If you’re sure.” Bootsteps faded away.

I thrust a hand out. “Laserspanner.”

“Do you see her yet?” Lux whined.

Yep, you read that right. The seven-foot-tall alien lord who’d been hired to represent his entire species in diplomatic relations with Earth just whined like a toddler. If I weren’t so eager to save Smudge, I might have laughed at how much of a puddle Lux became over his ugly alien pet.

Smudge was definitely not winning any pet food endorsements anytime soon. Honestly, though, she was actually kind of cute. Like a cross between a bunny and a cat—only one that was hairless and as gray as a faded oil stain.

“Not yet.” I unlocked a panel with the laserspanner. “Don’t worry. I’ll find her.”

Fact was, I wasn’t just worried about Smudge. I had to save the poor hopper’s wiring from being clawed, nibbled on—I shuddered and choked down a gag—or worse, turned into a litter box.

I’d always been more comfortable around machines than people, but the obsession I had with the hopper—hell, with the whole Verne —ran deeper than most. I wouldn’t be able to fall asleep tonight without assessing the damage and plotting a dozen different scenarios to fix them with the limited supplies we had on board.

The panel slid off, and I set it on the floor beside me. Then I stuck my head inside, breathing a huge sigh when I spotted Smudge immediately. “I see her.” The little critter was acting strangely, purring like a freight train and rubbing against a warming block in the engine’s center.

Luckily, she was close enough for me to grab her. I tensed, waiting for her to dart away the moment I touched her. That was her normal skittish response to being startled.

Not today. I grabbed her torso, and she whipped around with a bloodcurdling hiss.

I snagged my hand away instinctively. “The hell?”

Smudge speared me with a look that made me shiver. Then she went right back to rubbing against the warming block.

Lux choked out, “Was that Smudge? What did you do to her?”

“I barely touched her.”

“What are you waiting for? Pull her out of there.” Lux’s voice shook with worry.

“Give me a sec.” I buried my shock and reached inside. The silly fucisera might want to rub on the engine all day, but I couldn’t let her. She could get hurt in there.

I grabbed her as fast as I could and pulled her out of the engine. She hissed and flailed in my arms. Pain shot through my hands as her claws sank into my flesh. “Shit. Take her!” I rolled out from under the hopper’s hood and shoved Smudge at Lux.

Lux snatched her out of my arms, and she instantly quieted. But while she’d stopped hissing and scratching, she wasn’t at all still. She squirmed, trying to leap out of her daddy’s arms.

Lux frowned. “I think she’s trying to go back inside.”

Ignoring the stinging cuts on my hands, I slid back under the hull. “I’ll reattach the panel real quick.” We didn’t need her jumping in there and getting stuck again.

“I will put her in her carrier.”

Minutes later, I slipped out from under the hopper and found Lux staring at Smudge inside her carrier. She yowled, alternating between throwing herself at the locked door and rubbing herself against the sides of the box.

“What’s up with her? I’ve never seen Smudge act like this.”

Lux shrugged. “I have no clue. I would call her vet, but with the time difference, everyone on my home world is likely sleeping at this hour.”

I glanced at the clock. “I know someone who can help who’s a lot closer than Pheria.” I grinned, strolled to the comm unit in the corner of the docking bay, and placed a call to Earth.

“Hello, Zenda speaking.” My former crewmate happened to be one of the best animal scientists on Earth. If anyone in this system knew what was up with Smudge, it would be Zen.

“Something’s wrong with Smudge,” Lux blurted before I could sneak out a greeting.

“Oh no. Is she hurt?”

I cut in when I heard the panic in her voice. “Hey, Zen. She’s fine physically. Just acting really strange, and the vets on Lux’s home world won’t be open for hours.”

“Hey, Ren.” Zen sighed. “Okay. I bet I can help. I did a lot of research on fuscieras when I was trying to convince Smudge to warm up to me. Describe her symptoms.”

“I found her snuggling with a warming block inside the hopper’s engine just now. And when I pulled her out, she scratched the hell out of me.” I waved at Lux, urging him to bring the carrier closer. “And listen to the racket she’s making.”

Lux complied, and after a moment’s silence, a sound I hadn’t been expecting echoed through the comms. Stifled giggling.

“Why are you laughing?” Lux scowled.

“Sorry,” Zen replied. “It’s just, I think I know what’s happening.”

“Care to enlighten us?” How Zenda could know sight unseen, with only a few symptoms, what was bothering Smudge was kind of freaky. But that was why I’d called her. She was smart as hell and obsessed with animals. Even alien ones.

“When fuscieras reach sexual maturity they seek partners during times of peak fertility. I’m willing to bet the warming block was the closest thing Smudge could find to hump that was the right temperature for a fusciera.” Zen cleared her throat. “Put simply, Smudge is in heat.”

“What?” Lux barked, his eyes widening.

I chuckled as the critter’s actions began making sense. “You can relax, Lux. Your baby is just horny.”

Lux’s scowl deepened, and the stare he sent me was so hot it could melt lead.

Zenda giggled. “She’s right. It’s perfectly natural and nothing to worry about. Let me send you some of my research, Lux. Then you’ll know how to help Smudge through her heat since you won’t be around any males of her species. I can answer any questions you have, as well.”

I backed away. That sounded like more information than I needed to learn. “I’m gonna leave you to it.” I lifted my scratched hand. “I better have Karsen look at these.” The hopper’s repairs could wait until the alien biology lesson ended.

“Tell my sis I said hi!” Zenda insisted. “Arda, too.”

“Will do. Later, Zen. Lux.” With that, I made my escape. I strolled down the Verne ’s central hall, passing the white walls accented with silver and dotted with a handful of doors—including the empty med-bay—on my way to the bridge.

Karsen was probably still filling Arda in on what went down on Oraxis Station. I’d grab her and ask her to fix me.

As soon as I drew close enough to the bridge hatch, their voices murmuring proved my guess true. I picked up my pace, ready to deal with the stinging cuts. Then I stopped short, and my stomach sank.

“I’m telling you, Ren was acting really weird,” Karsen said. “She deliberately spilled that fluid. Then she said she didn’t hear him afterward. There was no way she didn’t hear the guy yelling for her. He called her by name, even.”

Arda replied softly, “I know Ren keeps things close to her chest, but trust me, Kar. If she didn’t want to talk to that guy, there must’ve been a reason.”

My speeding pulse slowed a tiny fraction. At least Arda was sticking up for me.

“What could be enough of a reason to make the guy eat it like that? You should’ve heard how hard he fell. And the way he screamed afterward. I bet he broke something.”

If only she knew… But with how judgmental Karsen was being, I wasn’t feeling inclined to share the full story.

Arda’s voice rang with confidence. “I trust Ren. Sure, she doesn’t like men, but she’s never been the type to go around dropping dudes for the hell of it. I’m willing to bet this guy deserved it. She’ll fill us in when she’s ready. Let it go for now, okay?”

“If you say so, Capt,” Karsen replied grudgingly.

And… that was my sign to leave. Suddenly, the cuts were the least of my worries. I couldn’t step onto the bridge and face my crewmates’ questioning stares. I’d dredged up about as many memories from the past as I could face for one day.

I spun on my heel and hightailed back the way I’d come. I paused outside the docking bay, but with Lux still in there chatting with Zen, I couldn’t escape to my happy place just yet. So I opted for the next best thing.

The hatch to my quarters opened without a sound. Sighing, I settled on my bed and stared at the blank walls. The room wasn’t anything special. Honestly, I didn’t spend much time in it. My waking hours were normally spent in the docking bay. Or the engine room. Anywhere I could keep my hands busy and my mind occupied.

Here, my mind tended to wander. And today that was the last thing I needed. Not when all I could think about was Cassidy and how much I didn’t want to see her.

We were twins, but only in the genetic sense. I hadn’t been close to Cassidy since the day we were torn apart as children. When she’d returned looking for me as an adult, I’d been less than receptive to her attempts to reunite. Especially after her engagement—and the awkward visit when I met her fiancé.

I shuddered, forcing the memory aside. What the hell was the matter with me today? I couldn’t go two seconds without being bombarded with another memory I’d do anything to forget.

A knock on the door made me flinch. “Who is it?”

“It’s me.”

My skin prickled and my shoulders tensed. “What do you want, Karsen?” I wasn’t in the mood for her sunshiny bullshit after she ratted me out to Arda.

“Lux told me Smudge scratched you. I need to take a look at you.”

“I’m fine. Go away.”

She was silent for a moment, and I started to wonder if she’d actually listened. But then her voice rang out again. “Don’t make me bring Arda in on this. Or I can order the Verne to unlock your hatch with my medical clearance.”

Karsen might be younger than me, but she was as stubborn as Zen. Didn’t know why I even bothered trying. “Fine.” I crossed the room and opened the hatch. “Come in. Let’s get this over with.”

Karsen peered around curiously as she walked inside, carting a portable med kit. My fingers twitched as I realized this was the first time she’d seen my room. Kar had only replaced Zen a few months ago, and we weren’t exactly besties yet.

Couldn’t say that I blamed her for not being super close. I wasn’t exactly the best at making friends. Been the same story my whole life.

“Nice room. A bit plain, but—” Karsen stilled as her gaze trailed over my bed. “What is that? Or should I say who ?”

I followed her gaze. “Oh, that.” She was staring at the ridiculous pillowcase I’d been gifted on my last birthday. It featured a headshot of an old Earth film star from the nineteenth century. He was on a beach, flashing a sultry look, his black shirt half undone and showing off an impressively hairy chest, despite not being what most women—me included—would consider classically handsome.

“It’s Nicolas Cage,” I answered nonchalantly, sinking back on the bed.

Karsen’s brow furrowed. “Ooo-kay. He a friend of yours or something?”

I chuckled. “No. It was a gag gift. From Zenda.”

“That sounds like my sister. But why him?” She eyed the pillow once more before kneeling and digging into her med kit.

“When we first started working on the Verne , she talked me into watching this ridiculous old Earth flick from about a century ago called Face Off . I mean, the movie wasn’t terrible, if you could get past the crazy premise.”

She grabbed my arm and attached a portable med-bot. “Which was?”

I smirked. “The two main characters literally change faces.”

Karsen giggled. “People back then really believed that was plausible? That’s still not possible, even with all our medical advances.”

“Yeah, I don’t know. The plot’s not important, though. Me and Zen got into a debate about who was hotter out of the two main men. She said it was the other guy, John… something. I can’t remember. But I liked my man Nick better.”

Karsen snorted. “I kinda want to see the other guy now.”

I leaned in. “Spoiler alert—he’s got nothing on Nick.” Truth be told, neither of the guys really got my motor going. But it had been fun arguing about it with Zen. Looking back, that was the moment our friendship first blossomed.

“If you say so.” Karsen side-eyed Cage’s chest hair and shook her head.

“Anyway, for my birthday, Zenda tracked down this gem from an antique shop.” I grabbed the goofy thing with my free hand and squeezed it. “We all had a good laugh about it.” I grinned as the memory washed over me.

I might not have the closest family, but the friends I’d made on the Verne were the best. And I would do anything to keep them, even make nice with Zen’s little sister when she thought the worst of me.

“Listen, Kar.” I frowned at my boots. “I’m sorry about how I acted back there when we were leaving the Oraxis. But that engineer… let’s just say I would’ve rather cut off all my fingers than talk to that asshole.”

“You have history. I get it.” The med-bot chimed three times, and Karsen pulled it off my hand, revealing smooth, scratch-free skin. “If you ever want to talk about it, I’m all ears.” She smiled softly, and all the suspicion from before left her eyes.

Maybe she doesn’t think the worst of me after all…

I sighed. “Thanks. I’ll remember that.” But I wouldn’t be taking her up on that offer. Not unless hell freezes over.