Page 21 of Trusting Warik (Hissa Warrior #9)

Chapter 21

Four months later - Hissa homeworld

Nisha

The sound of children's laughter floated in through the open door as Nisha worked on setting up the last grow tank. They weren’t even that close but all the open doors to the building allowed the sounds to travel up the long halls, carried by a soft breeze.

You should take a break, Shift said for the third time. We could go outside and play with the children! Right now, they’re chasing each other. It looks like fun.

She didn’t stop what she was doing. “I’m almost done and then we’ll go play.”

They might be done by then, Shift argued. You can always come back to this, but the children have limited break time between lessons.

Nisha smiled at Shift’s whiny tone. “I know you really love those kids, but if we miss this break, we’ll go play with them at the next break. Or the one after that. Those kids never seem to get tired.”

I know, Shift agreed with evident excitement. Isn’t it great? You should really have a couple so we could play with them all the time. We could get one of those nanny droids and modify it to be faster and more agile over uneven ground so I could keep up with them even in the jungle. I could even take them out hiking!

“Don’t get ahead of yourself,” Nisha said with a little laugh. “We don’t even know if Warik wants kids.”

Why isn’t Warik back yet? I thought he’d return with those three Decanted women he helped recover on that Anavac moon city, Shift said. If you let me peek into the Hissa’s governing system, I’d know exactly where he is and when he’ll get back.

The mention of Warik made her remember how much she missed him.

No sooner had they arrived on Hissa with all the Assist’s Decanted children than Warik had to leave.

He’d been gone for months now, hunting down Decanted humans. The Hissa were stretched so thin on people and had so much to do that it could be hard to get information about him. When she asked, all anyone could say was Warik would be back soon—except no one could define “soon” for her.

If it wasn’t for Shift’s constant companionship, she might’ve been in tears each night because she missed Warik so much. In her mind, she knew that most of these missions weren’t dangerous, but every time she tried to sleep, her dreams turned to nightmares where she lost Warik.

The friends she’d made on Hissa had forced her to visit the menders several times because her face showed her lack of sleep. The menders sent her away with kind words but no answers because there wasn’t anything wrong with her. She knew they were correct—there was nothing wrong with her body. It was her mind that was a mess!

Nisha?

“I told you, no slipping into any Hissa systems, not even for a quick look,” Nisha answered. “We can't risk it. Warik would never hurt you, but he might not be able to convince everyone else you’re safe.”

I mentioned going into the governing monitoring system 3.26 minutes ago, Shift said. Since then, I asked you if you were finished and if you were hungry. What’s going on?

“Sorry,” she mumbled. Even with her superior Decanted genetics, the lack of sleep and constant state of low-level anxiety was taking a toll on her. “Maybe I should see if the menders have anything that will make me sleep through the night.”

Except then she might get stuck in a dream watching Warik die!

“On second thought, never mind,” she said. Giving up on finishing a project she should have been able to accomplish within a few hours instead of days, she stood and stretched. “Are the children still playing?”

No, they’re back in the lesson rooms , Shift answered. But I heard someone mention that Kamaril is out in the pavilion field running her minari. You could go visit with her and play with Shy.

As if summoned by her name, Shy slunk into the room. She warily looked around, as if expecting danger around every corner. Once the Hissa realized how valuable Kamaril’s minari could be, they’d encouraged her to breed and train them. They’d even gone a step further and bought minari from several breeders for Kamaril.

Shy was one of the ones brought back. She was an average sized minari, which meant she was massive with rows of conical teeth and six yellow eyes. Her four tentacles floated around her head waiting to grab prey and hold them still while her powerful jaw bit through them.

Unlike most of the other minari, she didn’t like playing or hunting in a group. Kamaril said it was rare but not uncommon for minari to be like her. She’d explained that Shy would eventually find a single person she wanted to be devoted to like the male Eager who bonded to Safena.

“Hello Shy,” Nisha said. She held out a hand but didn’t step closer. “Are you here to visit with me or are you looking for enemies?"

The way the minari circled the room, checking every corner before stepping close enough for a scratch, said Shy was here to do both.

“Shy!” Malk's shout made the minari shoot out from under her hand and run out the door. Nisha followed and found Malk on his knees, hugging the minari in the hall.

“Don’t run off like that!” Malk admonished the animal. “You scared me!”

Shy gave a little whine and pressed close to Malk as if to apologize. It seemed the minari had picked who she was going to bond to. Nisha couldn’t fault her choice. Malk would make a caring and conscientious owner.

“Oh, Nisha!” Malk said when he noticed her standing there watching. “Kamaril told me to take Shy for a long hike. I wanted to stop by here on the way back, but she sprinted into the building ahead of me.”

“She wanted to make sure it was safe for you,” Nisha said with a smile.

“Malk?” a small, black haired human woman stepped out from a nearby room. As if something might appear out of thin air and attack Istas, Shy bounded over to her and circled around, searching for hidden enemies. Once she was sure Istas was safe, Shy delicately took a bit of her shirt and tugged. The young woman laughed and let Shy move her until she was within arm’s reach of Malk. Satisfied with this, the minari slowly circled the couple, even giving Nisha the evil eye.

“Hi, Istas! I didn’t know you were here,” Malk said. “Sorry about Shy. She likes you.”

Hi Istas, I didn’t know you were here, Shift said in a poor imitation of Malk’s voice. Liar! I told you Istas was here while you were on your hike with Shy.

Malk was feeling scared and insecure on the way back to Hissa It had only taken a little convincing to get the menders on Ardent to put implants in Malk’s head. It took some subterfuge, but Nisha was able to make a relay for Malk out of a large data pad. It only took him a few weeks to learn how to ignore Shift.

Istas smiled shyly at him. “I’m almost done. I’m modifying the room's environmental control sensors to be more sensitive to smaller bodies.” Istas pointed at the room she’d come from. Years of working on her uncle's ancient hauler had made Istas into a talented electrical engineer. She was so good that Nisha gave her all the electrical tasks requiring a delicate touch or complicated re-working.

“I could wait and walk you home,” Malk offered.

“I’m not sure how long that will take,” Istas said.

“I don’t mind waiting,” Malk assured her. “I could…”

Nisha backed away as the two conversed. It looked like Istas and Malk might end up pairing off, and Nisha couldn’t be happier. They were both kind souls that would treat each other well. Even if this ended up being young love that didn’t last long, they’d treat each other with respect.

Her mother had once said young love was the best and worst experience everyone should have.

If Istas was a Decanted human, Nisha would’ve worried the Hissa would get upset at Malk’s interest, but there was no need to worry. At the moment, Istas was the only natural born human on Hissa. She’d asked to stay on Hissa after stealing five Decanted women from her uncle and rushing to the closest Hissa she could find.

Once Istas realized how horrible her uncle was, she’d refused to return to her family. Nisha was there when Istas had said “anyone who would condone my uncle's actions aren’t family to me.”

The Hissa had happily accepted her into their society. She’d assigned herself as Nisha’s assistant. It was a good thing too because Malk liked working with the minari or training with the warriors more than working with grow tanks or droids.

After the first week on Hissa, he moved into a domicile with several other warriors and spent most of his time training at the citadel. Nisha was delighted because he was so obviously happy.

Now that Istas was working with her, Nisha saw Malk a little more often. It was cute the way the two liked each other but were too shy to say anything.

They’re leaving and didn’t even say goodbye! Shift harrumphed. It’s like we don’t exist anymore!

“It’s not like Istas to leave a job unfinished,” Nisha said, wondering if she could sneak in and finish it for the young woman so she could enjoy her time off. Her data bracelet pinged. It was a message from Istas saying she was going to get food with Malk then come back later and complete her work.

I still don’t like that Malk didn’t say goodbye to either of us, and Istas didn’t check in with you. That’s so rude! I won’t talk to him now because he’s with Istas, but I’m going to give him a long explanation of why you don’t do that, Shift grumbled.

That diatribe ended with a pulse signaling Shift’s level of emotion — intense anger! Shift’s mood swing went from happy and urging Nisha to play with children to very upset. She’d been doing that for several days now, which was unusual.

“That’s a lot of emotion for something that isn’t a big deal,” Nisha noted. “What’s going on with you?”

There’s nothing going on with me, Shift answered. I’m not the one who abandoned us!

Nisha didn’t respond, she let the silence stretch between them as she started putting her tools away. It wasn’t long before Shift couldn’t hold it in anymore.

Warik didn’t even take the relay you made after he gave his to Malk! she raged. Then he sends those pithy messages with nothing personal. We get the same information updates through the Council as everyone else. Why can’t he include how he’s feeling? Or that he misses us? What if he doesn’t miss us? What if we’re not as important to him as he is to us?

Shift wasn’t saying anything she hadn’t thought of herself. This last month had filled her with doubts as the time between Warik’s messages stretched longer and longer and they contained less and less. It only made her nightmares worse, and she dreaded going to bed each night.

“Do you want to leave?” Nisha asked. “We don’t have to stay to help set up the first batch of grow tanks. The Hissa geneticists, menders, and techs are all going through the manuals we wrote and so far no one has had any questions.”

There shouldn’t be questions , Shift said. We were really thorough. I’m especially proud of the animation I set up to show the proper Decanting process.

“The animation was my favorite part,” Nisha agreed. “If they don’t need us, there’s nothing holding us here. We could go back to Torl and reopen our shop. By the time we get back, the sublease will have expired.”

Malk won’t want to come with us, I think he wants to become a warrior and go on adventures with the Hissa , Shift said. I don’t like it. The training is fine, but he could get hurt going out on a warship or gunship.

“He could get hurt back on Torl with us. Remember when the building behind ours exploded? If I'd been asleep, we both would’ve died.”

I’ll never forget that. I swear I could feel the fire in my circuits! Shift exclaimed. But that was a freak accident. Going into battle is something else entirely. I don’t like the idea of Malk going off to fight.

“I don’t either, but we don’t have the right to stop him if it’s what he wants,” Nisha reminded Shift. “If it makes you feel any better, one of the trainers said it would be at least another year before his training was done.”

Only a little bit , Shift answered. She went silent for a while, and Nisha settled down in a comfortable chair. She didn’t want to go back to her empty domicile, but she didn’t have the focus to work. Maybe she’d walk up to Women’s Village and spend time with the Kaklan sisters. They were always an entertaining group!

I’m not sure I want to leave, Shift said suddenly, startling Nisha out of her thoughts about Women’s Village.

“You mean leave Hissa?” Nisha asked.

I like it here. The kids are fun, everyone cares about each other and no buildings accidentally explode, Shift said. I’m still really angry at Warik for not keeping in better contact with us and being gone for so long, but I don’t want to leave or stay because of him. I want to stay because this is a good place to live.

“Is that why you’ve been encouraging me to grow a few kids?” Nisha asked. “You’re being more pushy than normal.”

Partially, Shift admitted. I love you. If you want to go back to Torl, then I won’t say another word about staying here. But I think you might want to stay also.

“When we first got here, I did,” Nisha agreed. “But I’m not sure anymore. I can’t do this with Warik again. I don’t want to be, but I’m mad at him. I don’t want him to leave again, but I don’t think I can ask him to stay.”

Why not?

“When he left, he gave me a barely there kiss, told me not to fall in love with any other male, then walked away. He didn’t tell me he loved me or anything like that, just gave me an order. I thought it was a type of loving admission, but maybe it wasn’t. If he’s only possessive of me, that’s not love.”

At least not the type of love we want, Shift agreed. I didn’t realize he’d done that. I was too busy trying to get Malk to sneak me onto his ship.

“Shift!” Nisha said, distracted by the AI’s admission. “It’s a good thing Malk said no. He knows the rules.”

Those rules are too strict, Shift grumbled. But maybe it’s good I wasn’t able to upload onto the ship. I might not be able to stay hidden if Warik did something stupid.

“Stupid?”

Kissing another Decanted human, Shift said, making Nisha wince.

“I hadn’t thought of that.” The sadness she’d been holding off with work or playing with the children and the minari almost swamped her. “If he doesn’t love us, why stay? He’s the one who searches for all the Decanted humans sold into slavery. He might find someone he likes better than us. I don’t want to wait around to see that, even if the sex is good.”

Even if you love him.

“Even if I love him,” Nisha agreed.