The others were just starting to file out when the crewman, she didn’t know his name, grabbed her ass. She moved out of the way, freeing herself from his grip but he persisted. Shalia picked up astack of dishes quickly and held it between herself and the Dohrag.
“Excuse me,” she said, hoping he’d give up and go back to work with the others. But the others, she realized, had stuck around, and were watching with predatory interest.
“Your runes have all healed,” he said with an appreciative leer, looking up and down her body.
“I, uh, really need to get this cleaned up,” she replied, moving to get around him.
He shifted his stance, blocking her path and nearly forcing her out into the hallway. The others laughed but didn’t move to get involved. Shalia thanked the stars for that small bit of luck. She stepped to the other side with her load held in front of her like a battering ram but again he moved and stood in her way.
“Look, I’m supposed to get this all sorted. It’s the commander’s orders.”
“Commander’s not here, is he? Now come here and let me get a better look at that healed-up skin of yours.”
Shalia tried pushing past him, but the man grabbed her arm, spinning her into the open doorway. The tray and all of its contents went flying. Flying right into the massive chest of Commander Valin. He stood there, rage blazing in his eyes, anger radiating off him like an invisible flame. He glared at Shalia but only pushed her aside.
“Sir, I didn’t know?—”
Valin yanked the man off his feet and slammed him into the wall.Hard. The others stood absolutely still, stunned.
“Your meal break is over, and you shirk your duties playing grab-ass with the prisoner?”
“I was?—”
“You were doing what? Not your godsdamned job, that’s for sure. You have work to do, do you understand me?”
“Yes, I?—”
“Shut your mouth! That was not a question. You do your job. Period.”
“Yes, sir. I’m sorry, sir. It won’t happen again.”
Valin released him, dropping him back to his feet. Shalia hadn’t even realized it, but the man had actually been holding his underling off the ground without much effort. He was even stronger than she’d realized. As if he could sense her stare, he spun on her, glancing angrily at the food smeared on his uniform.
“And you! This station ran smoothly until you were thrust upon us. Clean this mess up and stay out of my men’s sight! A godsdamned distraction, you are, and one I shouldn’t have on my ship!”
Unlike the foolish crewman, Shalia simply lowered her gaze, kept her mouth shut, and quickly set to work picking up the pile of plates and food. Whatever was going on with Valin, she didnotwant to be on the receiving end of that rage.
Valin stormed off, leaving everyone standing there watching, not uttering a word.
That night, Shalia placed his tray on the deck outside his door and knocked. “Your dinner is here,” she said, then hurried back to the kitchen.
Valin opened the door, retrieved his meal, then locked himself in his quarters. He ate without pleasure, his mind racing, his gut churning with unease.
“What is happening to me?” he wondered as he removed his boots then his shirt as he prepared for bed. “I feel so… I don’t even know how to describe this.”
He had already taken himself to the medical unit and done a scan. He hadn’t contracted any illness that the machinery could detect. He was perfectly healthy so far as it could tell. But something was wrong. Different. And whatever it was, it was weighing on him every waking minute of every day.
Valin glanced at himself in his mirror and did a double-take.
“No,” he gasped. “No, this is impossible.”
He gingerly touched his chest, the lines of his familiar runes suddenly changed, moving of their own accord. And not just any rune, but his Infala. It was impossible for his kind. He’d neverheard of such a thing. But now, somehow, his Infala had come alive, reacting to its other half. He’d been with this crew for a long time. There was only one new variable.
The woman.
She had triggered his Infala’s awakening. Started the impossible. This female he couldn’t stand, the one upsetting the delicate balance of the world he’d worked so hard to create.
“No,” he growled. “I will not let this happen! My life’s work!”
