Page 109 of Tempting Cargo

My fists ground into my forehead until I surged upwards with the need to move, as if by pacing the small cage of a room I’d feel like I could dosomething.

Seven paces from side to side. Four from the back wall to the translucent purple holo-door. Five if I’d gone right up to it, but I’d seen Paiata’s spines twitching whenever I got close.

Left to right it was, then.

I stopped after a few hundred steps, tracing the far wall for any sign of escape.

“Wouldn’t bother.”

I jerked my head back at Paiata. “I’ve got to do something.” My eyes flicked to the doorway. “What’s this made of, anyway?”

I took a couple of steps, reaching out towards the glowing purple forcefield trapping us in, but Paiata yanked me away.

“Kri’s hairy arse, are you looking to get hurt? Can’t you feel the heat?” he said.

There was nothing but the tingle of cold plasma whenever I got close to it. “What heat? If anything, it’s a bit cold.”

“That’s impossible,” Muzati said. “It’s always hot. It’s a warning—if we touch it, we burn.”

Burns. First Aid. Medbay.

Medbay. The scanner was cold.

“You might,” I said, all out of fucks to give, my words escaping in throaty laughter. We hadn’t gotten this far only to be holed up in Shohari’s dismal family estate, then doomed to goodness knew what. “I have to test this. I promise I don’t think I’ll get burned.”

“Have you lost your mind?” Paiata’s grip on my upper arm was hard enough to bruise. “Plasma burns are excruciating. Cap will kill us if we let anything happen to you.”

“And this plasma feels like a hot stove to you, but not me. That has to mean something.”

I reached out with the knuckle on my little finger, edging it closer to the glowing barrier as far as Paiata’s grip would let me. “Still not hot. Trust me. Let me go.”

With more than a little grumbling, he did. Muzati crept as close as she dared, eyes wide in rapt curiosity.

Taking a breath, I darted in with my fingertips before immediately pulling away. “Nothing.”

Bolstered by the lack of crispy skin, I put my whole hand through and back again before anyone could stop me. The two kri’ith watched me with open mouths.

A grin spread across my face, and my crewmates followed suit. “Looks like I’m part of the rescue party again. Let’s get us out of here.”

I stepped through the portal.

My hands roved over my face and body, as if needing to check what my brain already knew.

“That’s a neat trick,” Muzati said.

I supposed it was. “Right, there’s a control panel here. What do I do?”

“What does it say?”

Damn. “I can’t read alien, remember.”

Muzati let out a mock growl. “You’re the alien, ulthbrain. Just shoot it.”

I glanced at the panel, then back to her. Really?

“Our weapons must be around here somewhere,” she said.

True. I crept down the corridor, empty but for the cell and another door. Readying myself to run if the room beyond was occupied, I pressed the door release.