Page 61 of Gladiators of the Vagabond Boxset

Kitan

That tiny little hand on my arm felt like the heat from the sun. To go from that moment in the cargo bay, where she was so scared of me she could barely get her name out, to this. To have her voluntarily touching me? That made me feel ten feet tall.

When we arrived in the med bay, she seemed to drift even closer to me. Her body was pretty much completely swaddled and obscured in oversized clothing, making her look bigger than she was; still, she felt far too small next to me.

She eyed the Doc with apprehension for a brief moment but seemed calm enough about letting him near to remove the collar. She only bit her bottom lip for a brief moment when Luka came close with his tools, but then she settled her bright blue eyes on me and didn’t blink.

When the collar dropped away, her whole body shuddered—a sure sign of the pent-up emotion inside her.

I found myself drifting even closer to her and silently offering her my hand.

I didn’t really expect her to take it, but she did.

I understood how she felt at that moment—many of us here did, of course.

But I hadn’t been conscious when the Doc removed the collar.

I’d simply woken up at some point and realized it wasn’t there: the nightmare was finally over.

Sharing the moment with her was like feeling it anew for myself.

For a moment, she looked at my hand, and I wondered what she saw. The rough pads on the inside? The thick fur that covered the outside? This was nothing like my hands in skin-form. In that form, they’d be nearly the same as a human hand. Was she repulsed by me?

Then she put her slightly grubby fingers in my hand and hung on tightly, her blue eyes shimmering with emotion, and I felt tall again. She really did trust me. What an amazing thing. I vowed then and there I’d always make sure that she felt safe with me. I never wanted this feeling to go away.

Abigail dashed into the med bay, and I felt a combination of relief and worry—maybe with Abigail here, Chloe wouldn’t want or need my comfort anymore.

Abigail paused just inside the med bay, her eyes widening at the sight of Chloe perched on the medical cot.

Luka had wisely stepped back a little; he’d been very sensitive to the new woman’s skittishness and hadn’t asked a single question. He was far more patient than I was.

“Hi there, I’m Abigail,” Abby told Chloe as she slowly approached.

“Guys, maybe you should give me a moment alone with her?” She sounded even more friendly and warm than usual, and I felt relieved.

Surely, Chloe would like Abigail, and she’d settle in here in no time at all.

I didn’t question at all why I wanted Chloe to feel at home with us, and while I didn’t like being asked to leave, I did want what was best for her, so I would.

Except, she tightened her grip on my hand and tilted her head up, her blue eyes sending me a panicked look as she shook her head.

“You want me to stay, Chloe?” I asked, feeling warmth in my chest at being needed.

At her quick nod, I turned to look at Abigail.

The dark-skinned human looked surprised but not bothered by this.

“Hi Chloe, are you okay with the guys here? Or would you feel better if the Doc stepped out while we talk?”

The small human shrugged, the motion barely visible beneath the bulky layers of her form-covering clothing.

“Hi,” she murmured. “I don’t mind. I have nothing to hide.

” I noticed how her small fist tightened around the rusty pipe she was carrying.

“I’m not scared.” Little liar—she was scared, though not as much as before.

I was impressed by her bravery so far. I couldn’t imagine what she’d been through.

Enslaved by the pirates, it was no wonder she’d hidden the moment the Krektar boarded.

“All right,” Abigail said, and she carefully sat down at the foot of the cot, leaving plenty of distance between her and Chloe.

“Can you tell me how you got here?” When Chloe didn’t immediately answer, instead first looking at Abigail and then biting her lip, Abigail hurried to add, “No judgment here. We’re not upset about finding you aboard; we just want to help. ”

“Twelve years ago, I woke up on the Ever Golden,” Chloe said.

I knew that was officially the name of this ship right now—I’d used the call sign to communicate with ground control on Xio for one—but we were soon getting a new one, so none of us had started to think of this ship as such.

Then her other words penetrated, and I had to struggle to keep a growl contained.

Twelve years ago? Chloe was already so young—she’d have been a child then!

I felt sick to my stomach, thinking about what the pirates might have done to her all that time.

Abigail said nothing, merely maintaining a carefully friendly and neutral expression.

While Luka stood across the med bay with his back to us, appearing to work on a screen—possibly reviewing readouts he’d already taken from Chloe—I noticed him surreptitiously aim his handheld scanner in her direction.

“The pirates didn’t know what to do with me since I was just a kid, and I kind of made it seem like I was much younger. I don’t think the pirates had ever seen human children, so they didn’t think to question it. I thought maybe that would keep me safe, and it sort of did...”

What did “sort of” mean? I wanted to know, but I wasn’t going to ask.

I doubted that Abigail would, either. “That was clever,” Abigail said.

“Did you live on this ship all that time?” She eyed the pain collar that lay discarded on a tray nearby.

Chloe gave a nod and looked back at me once, quickly.

I couldn’t read her expression that time, but I thought maybe she was looking for reassurance.

“Their nav sort of took me under his wing. Old Basra trained me, and I’ve navigated for them since he retired a few years ago.

” I felt my heartbeat speed up at that bit of information.

She was a nav? Was she any good? The bond between a good nav-and-pilot duo was the stuff of legends…

The thought that maybe Chloe and I could form such a pairing held unimaginable appeal.

“Wow,” Abigail said, “You’re a nav? If only we’d found you before we reached Xio! We never would have needed to get Diamed then…” She looked at me for a moment and winced. “Sorry, Kitan. I know she’s a Sune like you, but there’s just something about her…”

Abigail was not wrong. Besides, I didn’t much like most Sune and did my level best to avoid others of my species whenever I could.

Other races might not know much about the secret to my split tail, but a Sune did.

They would rat me out to the Sune priests in a heartbeat.

So I shrugged. “It’s fine. I don’t like her either.

She’s a passable nav to work with, but I’d rather fly solo than deal with her for long. ”

Now Chloe’s mouth dropped open, and I was momentarily derailed when I focused on the soft, pink pillow of her bottom lip. Then her softly spoken query penetrated my suddenly lust-addled brain. “You’re a pilot, Kitan?”

I couldn’t help myself: my fur fluffed out, my chest expanded, and my mouth split wide into a happy grin. “The very best, of course.”

Chloe grinned back, the first real sign of mirth I’d seen on her, and she suddenly looked far more relaxed.

Abigail, however, flinched a little and gently said, “Uh, Kitan, no offense, but maybe tone down the display of fang for now?” Startled, I closed my mouth and raised a brow in question.

“You resemble an Earth predator a lot, and that kind of display can mean aggression. It’s sort of startling to us humans. Sorry,” she explained.

Ah, that explained why Tori always squeaked and ran the other way the moment I smiled at her.

I should have known. It wasn’t uncommon, what Abigail was saying; many species considered a show of teeth a sign of aggression.

But for just as many, including humans, it was a sign of good humor too, and that’s the philosophy I’d been acting on.

“Oh, apologies, Chloe. I didn’t mean to make you uncomfortable,” I hurried to reassure my little stowaway.

Except she’d smiled back at me, hadn’t she?

Now I was the one confused; she was even still holding on to my hand.

“It’s fine, Kitan. I like your smile. I’m more used to non-humans anyway. Old Basra was a Rummicaron.” I winced just thinking of a Rummicaron’s smile. They had rows upon rows of sharp, jagged teeth, and their faces were blunt and leathery, with small, beady eyes.

No, even my hybridform had a more appealing smile than that. I grinned at her. “Aw, so I’m an upgrade in that case—not that that’s saying much.”

Abigail had clearly followed this exchange closely and now shrugged.

“Forget I said anything in that case. Teaches me to make assumptions. I’m no good at this stuff, far too blunt.

Give me numbers over people any time.” She shrugged and smiled to soften what she said, and I could tell that it actually made Chloe feel more comfortable.

That made me happy—one step closer to her settling in, right?

And she was a nav! I couldn’t wait to fly with her.

It was going to be perfect—I just knew it.

***

Chloe

I was worried when the tall, beautiful Black woman with the pretty braids came in, that I’d be unable to talk to her—that she and I wouldn’t be able to relate, and that she’d judge me for my filthy appearance and my unfeminine ways.

For a moment, I felt like my prediction on human interactions was coming true: Abigail was beautiful and feminine, with her hair done to perfection, and her beautiful, dark skin shiny with health.