“Captain.”
Tanin looked at Alred, then up to the wire that was coming from above. Like the one he’d attached to the chest, it ended in a circle. He grabbed it and approached Garnet. Goldie was standing beside her, just outside of the spinning rings, both of their wary faces glowing in the pale light. So different from the light that had bathed them in the casket.
Tanin held up the disc attachment. Showing it to her before slowly approaching and aiming it at the collar around her neck. Garnet tilted her head slightly, giving him better access, but she kept her gaze on him until the device attached, magnets keeping it in place.
“Physical scan in progress,” Alred declared, once in both languages, as his light form vanished, leaving the three of them alone in the medbay. Tanin had waved off Sorbet and Tebros before they could follow them inside, not wanting to overwhelm the females any further.
His crew was, no doubt, highly curious about their guests, but he couldn’t satisfy their curiosity until he finished his inspection.
Anything that came onto his ship needed a complete inspection to make sure he knew everything that was here. No matter what.
“I found the automated imprinting program, so I can get them to speak Standard. But that’s the only thing I can imprint. I’ve already explained that it might make them pass out, but that it’s vital for communication. They’re not happy about it, but they understand.”
“Good. How’s their scan so far?”
“It’s definitely a scan.”
Tanin gave the ceiling an unamused glare.
Alred laughed. “I told you, I don’t know this machine, or healing. I can only note the most obvious things. Even this imprint is only possible because imprinting Standard is considered to be a vital, emergency sort of procedure that should always be able to be performed. Just in case. The scan isn’t done yet anyway.”
“Get ready for the imprint then. And figure out how to unlock the collars.”
“Heading into the collar now.”
Tanin moved to the console that controlled the mediring. There was a great deal of information displayed as Garnet was scanned, but he didn’t really recognize much of it. Like Alred, healing sciences weren’t his strength either.
But there was Garnet displayed on the 3D hologram. The scan perfectly mimicking the real thing to the cellular level. It could go deeper, he was sure, but that required a degree of proficiency none of them possessed.
The females were chatting. He couldn’t understand their tongue, but the syllables falling from their lips were sweet and charming.
How long had it been since they’d been around females? Sometimes, Tanin would let everyone have a night or two of fun on a station they stopped at, and there were always females there willing to trade love for credz for a few marks.
But that wasn’t the same as actually being around a female. Having her infect your life. Your surroundings. It was a dangerous thing to get accustomed to, or a male might start having foolish thoughts.
He and his crew were a company. They lived on this ship, yes, but they were nearly constantly working. It was stupid to try to bring a female here. To let her get comfortable. Females needed safety, stability, and a certain level of comfort and beauty they sometimes couldn’t spare. Just a few tendays ago, their life support had gone on the fritz and it had been freezing for days before they could buy the part they needed to fix it. Before that, their food synthesizer began spoiling all the food it created, and they’d starved for days before they could replace it. It was still better than where they came from, but it wasn’t an easy existence they chose.
No. This was no life for females. Especially not fragile human females. The moment Alred came out of their collars, he’d have him comm Sway and tell him to find a peacekeeper ship or station to drop them off at.
Though, now that he thought about it, what was taking Alred so long?
Tanin turned from Garnet’s scan – he didn’t see anything flashing like it might be dangerous, so he assumed it was going fine. Instead, he looked back at the collar. It was still attached to the transfer cable, but what was taking Alred so long? There weren’t many things capable of capturing him or even stumping him. So what-
“Captain!”
Alred’s voice, distorted in panic, rang out before his light form burst into life beside him. He had no face, but he still managed to appear frightened.
“I-It’s a ring! It’s a-THAT!”
“Calm down,” Tanin frowned, turning to him. “You’re scaring the females.”
“They should be scared. Those are Vletch Rings!”
“What?” Tanin’s stomach dropped. “You’re joking. That’s not funny.”
“Who would joke about this?! ThoseareVletch Rings!”
Tanin looked past his form to Garnet. She was halfway sitting up, trapped in place by the medirings, giving the two of them a concerned glare. She might not understand what Alred was saying, but his tone clearly indicated that something was wrong.
