Page 18 of Trusting Warik (Hissa Warrior #9)

Chapter 18

Warik

Warik approached the broken door to the grow room with slowing steps. While Shift had managed to get the door to the room closed during the explosion, it had taken a droid, Malk, and Warik all working together to get the door open again. After that, the door no longer functioned.

“Tell me about Torl,” Malk said, his voice carrying through the open door and into the hallway.

“We live in Ronl, that’s the city at the south pole of Torl,” Nisha said.

The yearning in the young Hakmin’s voice made Warik stop in the hall to listen in.

“You can’t live on or near the equator,” Shift said. “It’s way too hot. That's why everyone lives at the poles. The south pole is way better because we’ve got all the artists and concerts.”

“The north pole is nice too. They’ve got the mountain range that gets snow almost every year,” Nisha said.

“What about where you live in Ronl?” Malk asked. “What’s it like in that part of the city?”

“We live above the shop, Best Fixes. It’s on Tech Row. That’s the area you go to buy or repair stuff like data pads or droids. We’re a smaller shop, but we stay pretty busy.”

“We’re only small because you refuse to hire help,” Shift grumbled.

“But I’ll be there to help from now on!” Malk said, clearly excited.

“I’m happy to teach you everything I know,” Nisha said. “But it’ll take years. Are you sure you want to be away from your family for that long? I’ve got some credits left. You could help them start a new life on Yalfic.”

“I won’t go back there until I have the type of skills that make me valuable everywhere," Malk replied, his young voice hard. “I don’t regret telling my family to sell me, but I never want to be that vulnerable again.”

“We’d never let that happen,” Shift said. “Even if you want to go off on your own, we’d make sure you could also contact us, no matter where you are in the universe.”

“You can do that?” Malk asked, sounding intrigued.

Warik heard movement. “See this?” Nisha said. “It’s how Shift keeps in contact with her brain way back on Torl and how she talks to me. The first thing we’ll do is make one for you.”

“Yes, I want that,” Malk agreed quickly. “I don’t want to ever be alone again.”

Warik sympathized with the young Hakmin. Even when you had a loving family and community, they could be unceremoniously ripped away from you in the blink of an eye. It was hard to find assurances in this universe, so why not grab them when offered?

“We might not be able to go back to Torl right away,” Nisha explained. “We have to get all these children to Hissa and help Warik’s people first.”

“I don’t care as long as I can stay with you, Warik, and Shift,” Malk said.

“Oh, I don’t know about Warik,” Nisha said, and he heard the worry in her tone. “He, um, he’s got a whole life and career with his people. We might not see him much on Hissa.”

He could tell by her tone that this was the first time she’d thought about their future. In contrast, he’d been thinking of nothing else ever since she’d woken up healed with no memory of her near-death experience.

Nisha was Decanted. When they found out, his government would want her to live on his homeworld for at least six months so males could court her. She hadn’t been a slave so they technically couldn’t force her, but he was sure they’d find all kinds of ways to make it impossible for her to leave.

She’d be especially valuable for her knowledge. Males would mob her, vying for her attention. They’d inundate her with presents and do anything to get her attention. With all that fawning, it was impossible to imagine she’d still be single by the end of the six months.

Why are you lurking out here?

Shift’s voice in his ear startled him. It was only years of training that kept him from making any sounds of surprise. He took several silent steps away from the door until he was sure he could speak and not be heard. It was then that he saw a scutter moving further down the hall. That was how Shift saw him.

“I wasn’t lurking, I was thinking.”

That’s an odd place to do your thinking. What’s going on, Warrior?

Should he confide in Shift? She might have insight into Nisha to share.

“I’m worried about our future,” he said vaguely. Maybe he could get information out of Shift without giving any away. It wouldn’t be the first time he’d participated in an unequal exchange of facts.

Worried in what way? Shift asked. Ardent is on their way and should be here just before and during the time the kids need to be Decanted. We’ll have help soon; we won’t lose any children.

“There is still the entire trip home,” Warik pointed out, admitting a worry he’d harbored for a while. “The Kaklan ships out there would do almost anything to get their hands on these children and Nisha. They attacked two Hissa warships to get at a single Decanted human.”

I wouldn’t worry, Shift said. You’ve got me. Now that I’m integrated with Assist, I've been monitoring all channels. There hasn’t been anything said about Kaklan ships or even about this ship. I promise I’ll know if something is going on. Early knowledge can be the key to success.

“I couldn’t have said it better myself,” Warik said, admiring the AI for assigning herself a duty he hadn’t thought to ask for. “I’m glad Nisha is going to come with us all the way to Hissa.”

As if we could pull her away from those kids before she was sure they were safe! Shift scoffed. She’s her mother’s daughter, she’d never abandon them.

He desperately wanted to ask if she'd abandon him. What would happen when she was faced with a sea of happy, cheerful male faces giving her compliments and gifts?

He’d lost his ability to show emotions naturally long ago. These days, he had to think about it, or his face didn’t reflect what he was feeling. Who’d want a cold, remote person like him?

All that male attention was unlikely to happen if he never revealed Nisha was Decanted. Although it was probably only a matter of time until someone did the math regarding her mother’s age versus Nisha’s age. He’d been an idiot not to notice it earlier. Any way he looked at it, there was a good chance he’d lose Nisha on Hissa.

Unless mating marks appeared on her before then.

If his mating marks appeared around her neck and shoulder, it might keep other Hissa away. That’s all he needed. Except if that was going to happen, they should’ve shown up by now.

Even worse was hearing her talking about going back to Torl after the children were all safely delivered to Hissa. A home far away from him.

What did he have to offer her? Poor emotional communication skills? He couldn’t compare himself to many of the other warriors who were quick to talk about their feelings.

There was one thing he could offer her she’d never had before: explosive sex.

Perhaps if he could make her feel enough pleasure, she’d want to stay on Hissa with him despite his emotional deficits. He could offer her a large domicile, a workshop, and safety for Malk and Shift too. Would that be enough or would she insist on going back to her old life?

Could he even risk asking her to stay? Her rejection might break him.

…and that way, she can help you guys set up a Decanting center and work on the genetic makeup to help you rebuild your population. She’s sure she can make the next group of Decanted children half and half instead of mostly human with a little bit of Hissa. Isn’t that great!? Shift’s exclamation made Warik realize he’d missed most of what she’d said.

“Wonderful,” he agreed and latched on to Shift's last comment. “How long do you think that will take?”

Maybe a month, although that depends on a lot of factors, Shift said. Four or five months at the most. Don’t worry, I’ll be a good AI and stay hidden. No one’s going to get in trouble.

“I wasn’t worried about that,” Warik said. The AI was the least of his concerns. “What about Nisha’s shop on Torl?”

That’s sweet of you to be concerned. Shift’s tone turned a little high pitched, as if she was a human teenager, then dropped back down to normal as she explained. We knew this wasn’t going to be a quick trip, so Nisha subleased it to a Lorkin back on Torl. The guy has the shop next door and was awarded a huge contract with a local mining company, so he needed a lot of space for the next year. It works out great because if we finish on Hissa early, we’ll have some time to do a Devisha Run before going home. I’m really glad Nisha has Malk now. I hated doing those runs when it was only the two of us.

He wanted to ask what a Devisha Run was but had a more pressing question. “What do you mean you didn’t like when it was only the two of you traveling?"

Oh, well, you know humans are almost universal breeders, right? Shift asked.

Warik already hated where this was going. “I wasn’t aware they were compatible with many other species. I thought it was only the Hissa and Kaklan.”

Nope, regular-born humans are breeding compatible with lots of species, it’s just that the Decanted humans are compatible with even more. That’s why the company got so many orders for young adult slaves. So much ewww there. But anyway, we traveled to some places that were about as lawful as Valkavin and Nisha almost got kidnapped a few times.

A wave of protectiveness washed over Warik. He wanted to rush into the grow room and sweep Nisha into his arms and make her promise to never travel without him.

If they mated, he could always be there to protect her.

But she could die. She almost did already. He’d be alone and broken. It was an even worse situation than her rejecting his offer to stay on Hissa.

So many emotions, and he couldn’t handle any of them. Self-preservation had him shutting them all down and looking for the cold peace that had kept him sane for so many years.

Warik? Nisha and Malk are wondering where you are , she said.

“Tell them I’ll be there when I get there,” Warik said. “I need some time to myself. You can go.”

It was a cold way to treat Shift, and she reacted predictably. I’m not your servant.

A scutter appeared out of nowhere and rammed Warik in the ankle before continuing down the hall. He heard an odd sound from the implant and then the type of blankness that told him Shift had shut down the communicator completely.

Good, he needed to concentrate, not listen to her endless chatter. He didn’t miss the feeling of an active link. No, he was fine like this. Absolutely fine.

***

Nisha

Warik was acting weird.

Correction, he’d reverted to the cold bastard he’d been when they’d first met. Nisha wasn’t a fan.

What made it really odd was that he wasn’t dispassionate or distant all the time. Each night, they had passionate sex that turned Nisha into a boneless heap of satisfaction. Then he’d gather her close and hold her until it was time for them to get up.

“The old Warik shows up when we leave the bunk room,” she muttered, sitting up from where she’d been hunched over the control unit of a grow tank. “It’s like he’s got a split personality or something.”

What are you talking about? Shift asked. Right now, all of Shift’s droids were helping Malk and Warik fix a part of Assist. It was good that help was coming soon because this place was trying really hard to fall out of the sky.

“Warik has been acting kind of stony again, you know, like he was when we all first met,” Nisha explained. “But when we're in the bunk room, he’s sweet and demonstrative again. What’s going on?”

He was rude to me the other day, Shift admitted. I haven’t talked directly to him since. I thought we were becoming friends but suddenly he got all icy and mean.

“That’s not like him,” Nisha said. “Not that it’s an excuse for being mean to you, but something’s got to be going on. Did he apologize?"

No. Could it be the stress getting to him? Shift asked.

Nisha was doubtful. “Maybe. I’m going to talk to him. He should at least apologize for being mean to you.”

Do you think he doesn't like us anymore? Shift sounded hurt.

“No.” Her denial lacked strength. “We haven’t done anything wrong.”

It might not be about us, Shift pointed out. This could be all about him. He’s being cold to Malk, and I know that kid never did anything to upset him.

“That’s true,” Nisha said. “I tried to talk to him earlier, but he said he had an urgent task and rushed away. Do you think I should try again?”

Shift hesitated before answering. It might be better to wait until after we get back to Hissa. All the kids will be safe and none of us will be in danger of dying on this heap of junk!

“You’re prob–”

An alarm so loud it made Nisha cry out and cover her ears filled the room. “Shift!” she screamed, eyes watering from the pain.

Almost got it , Shift said. The sound stopped a moment later.

Nisha cautiously lowered her hands and sat up. “What was that?

Orbit degradation alarm , Shift explained. Nothing is critical yet, but we’re falling toward the planet faster than my original calculations predicted.

“How much faster?” Nisha asked with a bad feeling building in her stomach. When Shift didn’t answer right away, Nisha knew the AI had grim news.

If the Ardent doesn’t get here very soon, we might have to decide which children to load into the Hat , Shift said. At best, we’ll only be able to fit half of them.