Page 12 of Stolen Fire (N.O.A.H (Nostradamus Outerspace Advancement of Humanity) #2)

Cifer glanced toward his cell door. A moment later, the wriggly pup—who seemed to have grown—pounced forward, held back by the big gray security male, Dez. “Mind if we visit?”

“Could use the company.” Cifer sat up.

Dez opened the door, and Princess bounded in, raced to Cifer, and sniffed him all over. Cifer wrestled the pup off his lap, then his bed, and then off his lap again.

“She seems to think you have something for her.”

Cifer shrugged. “I may have given her a treat the first time we met.”

“Ah, that explains it.” Dez pointed at the empty half of the bunk with a questioning expression.

“Have a seat.” Cifer hoped the unsettled concern that flowed through him didn’t show on the outside.

Dez remained quiet, and the low hum of the air recirculators filled the space. “How’s it going with helping Blaize?”

“Good.” Wasn’t it? “I mean, I think it’s good. I was able to help her reattach the lighting ballast and with a couple other tasks.” Was Dez there to end the arrangement? Did Blaize not feel comfortable enough to tell him?

“Captain asked me to visit. Make sure you understood the trust Blaize is giving you by letting you help her in the most sensitive areas of the ship.”

“Blaize and the captain have nothing to worry about. I’m happy to have some activity. And to be honest, it’s a lot easier for me not to be in hiding the entire trip.” Even though technically he still wasn’t in his true form.

“Before this arrangement, when Blaize was bringing things to you here, she mentioned that you had a lot of knowledge of the ship. May have even been getting out of the cell.”

Cifer stroked the back of his neck. How could he explain without lying?

“I did a bit of roaming before I was discovered. But once I agreed to be held in the cell, I haven’t…

escaped.” True, he never completely left the cell, although he may have stretched the boundaries.

“I would never hurt anyone on the ship. I’m not violent.

I don’t contract for violence. I do contract to recover items. Sometimes items of dubious provenance or by dubious means, I’ll admit. ”

Dez nodded and sat silent for a moment. He glanced up at the grate over the bathing alcove where the orb Cifer had stashed to keep from handling it too much glowed a soft-pink radiance. “Tell me about this.”

“I don’t know much.”

Dez waited.

Cifer understood the silence game, even used it. But in this case, he was not on equal footing. “There was a contract put out by the royal family of Hiargus.”

“Don’t know much about that planet.”

“Never been there myself, but I hear it’s a nice place, natural resources aplenty. But they tend to spend more time investing in other planets, keep to themselves.” Cifer was speaking from research. He hadn’t been there yet.

“Pretty far from Kolben.”

“What isn’t?” Cifer laughed, but Dez stayed quiet.

“This orb that I’m transporting, they use it somehow in their royal marriage ceremonies.

Some wayward prince got his hands on it and tried to sell it, but he got picked up for other bad behavior and accepted a sentence on Kolben.

Not sure he fully comprehended the situation.

I have to get the little shiny ball back home in time for the next royal wedding, or all hell will break loose. Theoretically.”

Dez narrowed his eyes and glared at the grate.

“In fact, besides paying for my transportation to Cassan, I’d like to discuss contracting The Treasure to take me Hiargus.”

“Seems like overkill to book a ship this large for such a long trip.”

“The length of the trip is what makes the ship compelling. Not sure where else I’d find a ship with a greenhouse and a chef.”

“Chef?” Dez laughed. “Hardly. Just a better cook than anyone else on board. Believe me.”

“How did you end up on Kolben? I understand there was a contract to deliver you? I mean, why would you ever leave Din’ Gale?” Another planet Cifer had only researched but been intrigued by.

“Kolben wasn’t my original destination when I left home. I lived on Baxianous with the man who bought my lifetime servitude. His heirs sold the contract.” Dez crossed his arms, his missing hand noticeable. “The purchasers contracted Cyra to deliver me.”

“And you two stuck to that plan?” It was obvious they were partners, lovers.

“She’s honorable. As am I.” Dez gave Cifer a pointed look that didn’t quite land. Cifer was honorable as well, within his own code of conduct, which admittedly had some gray areas.

“Are you planning to settle down on Din’ Gale now that you’re not bound to the Kolben contract?”

Dez chuckled. “My mate is committed to her ship and her crew. And I am committed to her.”

What would that be like? To have a person you would sacrifice your life and family for? Cifer would never know personally, since he had no family left to sacrifice for. At least, none he could ever return to.

“What about you?” Dez nudged Cifer, tearing him away from what would have been a series of dark thoughts. “Your people? Or planet?”

Cifer considered using his standard blow-off answer about the Universe could only handle one of his species. But Dez had been honest with him. “My planet of origin is on the far side of the galaxy. At one time, a wormhole connected it to the rest of the NOAH planets, but that no longer exists.”

“You can’t do a long journey? We went to Kolben from Din’ Gale without using the ER bridges.”

Cifer smothered his lost-child emotions. “Sadly, no ship capable of that particular journey exists. Even if I could find or build one, it would require cryogenics to make the trip without the bridge.”

Dez nodded. “That’s expensive.”

“Very. Even the old NOAH ships can’t make those long distances anymore. The solar arrays are too degraded, and no one wants to manufacture them. And that assumes there would be sufficient solar energy to capture, and I’m not sure there would be.”

“Morgual—a planet near Din’ Gale—had processing plants for the recycling of old cells. Pretty toxic remnants in the frames alone, and the cells, once they degrade, aren’t really viable again.”

Cifer nodded.

“It’s funny. The NOAH ships were designed with the most advanced technology of their time. But no one considered the long-term impact of sending that—well, junk isn’t the right word, but…”

“Most of the ships connected to make the core for Cassan.”

“Hard to use solar panels with a distant sun. Could have settled the orbit closer to one or more of the solar systems, but they didn’t have any idea which planets would be successfully terraformed.”

“Unintended consequences. Morgual wouldn’t be quite the disgusting planet it is if they didn’t try to recycle or reuse those panels.”

“But if NOAH hadn’t used those panels, you and I wouldn’t be here.”

Cifer tilted his head and considered. “It’s possible life would have formed on these planets anyway.”

“A thing observed is a thing changed. Hawthorne effect.”

“What’s the solution?” Cifer asked. “Avoidance?”

Dez shrugged. “Patience and acceptance. There’s no avoiding the fact that your actions, even the mere act of observation, can have consequences you didn’t intend.”

Was Dez hinting at an effect from Cifer’s observation of Blaize?

“The best you can do is dampen the effect by taking considered action rather than reacting without a goal in mind.” Dez sat quietly after his say.

Cifer wasn’t sure if he agreed with Dez or not. So much of his life had required responding to the unexpected. The unintended consequences of someone else’s actions. Did the method really matter, as long as he achieved the outcome he required?

After another few moments, Dez stood and went to the door of the cell. “Take care with her.”

Did Dez mean “take care” to make sure they didn’t form a strong attachment? Cifer had no intention of hurting Blaize physically or emotionally, but he wasn’t ready to give up his life.

Cifer was still replaying his conversation with Dez when Blaize appeared.

Her beauty took his breath every single time.

Another reason he should keep their attachment as colleagues or at most friends—his appearance, his true self, did not make females gaze on him with desire.

His current form was more useful, but what would be the point of starting a relationship or finding a life partner with whom he couldn’t be his true self?

Better to stay disconnected and avoid heartbreak or other unintended consequences. She was too fine a person on every level to hurt in any way.

“Feel like stretching your legs?”

If she had any idea how far he could stretch… “Sure. What’s on the agenda for today?”

His cell door opened, and she stood back.

“Cable spot checks. I want to visually inspect every line we have. Usually, we’d do that in port on Cassan, but Cyra has other deliveries, so we won’t be there long enough.

Figured we could start now, and with two people working together, we might have a chance of getting through most of the visual inspection before we land, and I can order anything we need.

I know crawling around in tight spaces and getting dirty isn’t really appealing, but… ”

Tight spaces and getting dirty with her actually sounded quite appealing. He grinned as he followed her through a corridor toward the crew quarters. She continued to explain her plan, and he let the melody of her voice flow over him.

“Sound okay?”

“Perfect.” He grinned with his lips closed to hide his teeth. “Where shall we start?”

She selected a tool from her kit, bent down, and opened a floor panel. Cifer appreciated the way her coveralls caressed her hips. She glanced up at him. “Ready?”

More than. “Yep.”

She dropped her legs into the hole, sitting on the edge.

Cifer sensed a hesitation. “Want me to go first?”

She bit her lip. “No, I’ve got it.”