Page 263 of Gladiators of the Vagabond Boxset

Arianna

After sleeping in a bed for the first time, I felt like a new person.

It was much easier to ignore intrusive, negative thoughts after a good night’s sleep.

Three nights in a row like that, and I was feeling practically like a new person.

I wondered if that stint in the creepy stasis pod had made me extra tired, it had felt very hard to move for a while, like all my muscles were fatigued.

I hadn’t found any more food, nor had I found anything that resembled a kitchen.

I could only assume it was inaccessible, in one of the broken parts of the ship.

A little bored, I walked around the ship, wondering if Da’vi would be annoyed if I tried to call him again.

I was lonely. Before this crazy space-napping, I had spent most of my days in the shop, working on cars or doing admin for my ex-con boss.

I was used to the background noise of rock music, clattering tools, and men cursing or sharing banter.

I missed that. I even kinda missed my second job, bartending for the only local pub in town.

Calling Da’vi started to sound like a good idea.

I hadn’t heard from him for days now. I wanted to know if he was still coming; I wanted to hear his deep voice rumble in my ear.

I also wanted to know what he looked like—very badly.

Just from the sound of his voice, I knew he wasn’t human, but what did he look like? My first alien?

Picking up the chunky balls of some kind of yarn that I’d found in the cargo hold, I took my work with me to the bridge.

I’d try to sit there for a while and work on my attempt at “finger” crocheting an actual sweater from the stuff.

That way, I could try giving Da’vi a call while I worked, maybe he wouldn’t mind a little chat.

I knew so very little about him, and I wanted to know more.

What did an alien do? He was on a ship, and he’d talked about brothers and making repairs…

My entire body was shaking when I pressed the button to call him.

I felt like I’d held myself back and controlled my impulsiveness really well for the past few days.

I was kind of proud of myself for that, but having no one to talk to was driving me crazy.

I wasn’t sure if I would manage to stay sane if I had another three weeks of isolation like that ahead of me.

“Arianna, everything all right?” Da’vi’s voice rumbled over the com line so suddenly that I dropped the strands of yarn I’d hooked around my fingers, trying to pull through a loop. I hadn’t expected him to answer the call so quickly, as if he’d been waiting for me.

“I’m fine, just… lonely. I’m sorry to bother you about that.

I just have no one else to talk to. If you don’t mind, can we just talk for a bit?

” I hurried to say. I held my breath as I waited for his reply.

I wasn’t sure what I’d do if he said no—work on this stupid attempt at a sweater some more and try to figure out the symbols on the consoles so I had something to read?

The pause on his side seemed to last forever, but then he made a rumbling noise, definitely not his pet; it had the same two tones his voice had.

“You can keep the line open with me. I must keep working on the engines, or we won’t get to you in time.

We’ll keep each other company.” I was more than happy with that solution, so I settled into my chair, chunky yarn piled in my lap as I worked and talked.

Talking to Da’vi was a bit like pulling nails.

He gave monosyllabic answers or just grunted in reply.

At least I was very adept at making small talk and filling awkward silences.

It seemed difficult, but eventually, I did manage to learn things about him—like that he was Kertinal by race, and he’d admitted to having two horns and a freaking tail, which I thought was really fascinating.

He was the ship’s mechanic, and that made me feel so much more at ease in his company; it was unexpectedly familiar.

“So, you mentioned brothers. How many do you have? What’s it like to live with your family on a spaceship?

” I couldn’t imagine living with my family—they’d drive me utterly crazy in no time at all.

Half the time I had any kind of negative thoughts, it was like one of my family members was talking to me.

I hated how much impact they had on my life, even though I hadn’t been back home since the day I’d turned eighteen.

It was quiet for a while, except for a clinking noise, much like a tool being put down.

Then Da’vi sighed. “Not my actual brothers—my gladiator brothers. We escaped together and live on the Vagabond.” Gladiators?

I struggled to understand what he meant, while chariots pulled by white horses flashed through my mind.

“You mean you fought for sport?” I asked tentatively.

He called the other gladiators his brothers?

I guess that made sense, that kind of thing had to breed close ties, just like being in the military, perhaps.

I just didn’t much like the idea of such a violent profession; it seemed so barbaric to fight for entertainment.

I mean, that’s why I always walked out of the room when my father watched his boxing matches too.

I was a total pacifist, except for that one time I punched the kid bullying my younger brother. I had never committed an act of violence in my life. I still very clearly remembered how mad my brother had been about that, too. It hadn’t even been worth it; I’d learned my lesson.

“Yes, for entertainment,” he said. “And against our will. Gladiators are either criminals who chose it over serving time, or slaves. We are all former slaves.” His words shot a chill down my spine.

No wonder he was such a growly grump. This man had seen shit, been forced to do things he didn’t want.

I wished I could reach through the connection and give him a big hug.

He sounded tough, but that had to be horrible.

When I offered any kind of sympathy, it wasn’t a surprise when he just responded with a growl, unwilling to say anything else on the subject.

I was struggling to come up with a suitable topic to talk about next when I heard a new voice, low but cultured.

“I know you’re really busy, but… do you think we could try to hook up the stasis pod in here?

Akri says he’ll have better access to it from some kind of panel here. ”

I had no idea what this newcomer was talking about, and I was surprised I could even hear what he said.

That hadn’t been the case with voices I’d heard in the background previously.

Holding my breath, I listened intently. Was Da’vi going to mention that he had me on the line? Would he make introductions?

“Hmm,” Da’vi grunted, sounding even less friendly than he did to me sometimes.

“You want the beryllium cables to hook up Akri? Think you could get somewhere?” he asked, and to my shock, yet another low voice responded affirmatively; though this one sounded electronic, like it was computer-generated.

Somehow, it was a surprise to discover that Da’vi really did have company on his spaceship, even though he’d just been talking about them.

“Leave it in the corner, Doc. I’ll hook it up when I have a moment,” my gruff mechanic grunted at his ‘brother.’ I wondered if that cultured voice belonged to a former gladiator too.

And that mechanical voice? My brain was conjuring up a Darth Vader–like guy in a suit, injured from fights so he had to speak through some kind of device.

“Thanks, Da’vi. I’m at my wits’ end trying to get that pod working again. There’s been a sharp decline in brain activity on my scans, it’s not a good sign,” the Doc said. His voice was warm and filled with concern, the polar opposite of how Da’vi sounded, even when he made an attempt to sound nice.

There were no replies, no other sounds for quite some time. I wondered if that meant the Doc had left again. What about the computer-voiced person? Da’vi hadn’t said anything about me, was I supposed to stay quiet?

When Da’vi interrupted the silence, I almost jumped out of my skin.

“You okay there, Arianna? You’re awfully quiet.

” I sighed in relief, warmth filling me.

He sounded like he actually liked it when I talked to him.

Or was that a complaint that I talked too much?

I shook my head to shake the thought. No, that gruff voice sounded a little concerned.

“I’m okay, just wasn’t sure if your friends had left or not…

if I was supposed to speak with them present.

” I held my breath again, thinking about his answer.

Was he keeping me hidden? He had assured me he was coming to rescue me, but I hadn’t heard from or spoken to any of his shipmates.

I had some experience with boyfriends or family being ashamed of me, preferring to keep me hidden.

I wasn’t sure what to think if Da’vi felt like that about me too.

The silence that followed—common when talking with him—felt much longer than it really was. “No, they can know about you. They do know about you. We voted for your rescue, remember?” he said. Then I heard a snorting noise. “I figured you noticed by now that I suck at social interactions.”

That admission was like popping a balloon for me; I felt like I just deflated on the spot.

That self-deprecating tone, that little hint of amusement at himself.

It wasn’t me; it was him, was what he was saying.

It just made me melt inside; it just made me want to reach out and help him, to ease that social strain he felt.

I was so glad that he was willing to admit that to me, that he didn’t even sound all that embarrassed about it, just stating a fact.

“That’s okay, Da’vi, I like your company,” I said, smiling at the screen, trying to ignore the tangled mess I’d made of my last few “crochet” stitches. Trying to do that kind of craft without an actual hook wasn’t easy when I had alien yarn to work with.

He made another snorting noise, followed by a low chuckle that sent tingles up my spine.

“That’s because I’m your only company.” I couldn’t help but laugh at what was clearly a joke.

I was pretty sure I wouldn’t enjoy hanging out with that cultured, posh-sounding Doc nearly as much as I enjoyed Da’vi’s company.

The Doc was educated and fancy—definitely not my kind of person.

Da’vi was exactly the type of person I enjoyed being with.

If he’d let me call him every day while he made his way here, I’d be a happy girl.

I knew it was weird to enjoy the company of a guy who often didn’t say much at all…

but as long as he didn’t mind me chattering at him, it was a little like being back in the repair shop on Earth.

Where I’d talked the ear off my old, grumpy boss, who’d prompt me if I fell silent for too long.

Maybe Da’vi would talk more if I asked him about technical stuff, maybe he could teach me how to understand the consoles on the bridge of this ship.

I was immediately excited by the thought of maybe learning something, a skill with which I could help myself out here.

And heck, maybe if I learned a thing or two from Da’vi, I wouldn’t be completely helpless after this rescue, either.