“Precisely.” Freddie leaned in close, his lips tilting up. “If he breaks it, who will give him the bill?”
“Not me, thank you very much,” I replied, realizing that this wasn’t bad. In fact, it felt almost easy, sitting with him while we watched a purple giant sway from side to side with his tiny drone. Easier than I’d thought it would be. Maybe we could become friends. Partners, even. Vertical, fully clothed work partners.
“He asked for you,” my work partner told me. “He said you’d know what to do. Do you know him? His name? Whenever I ask, he bellows, ‘Not worth night soil!’ and starts sobbing again.”
I watched the Argosian twirl the drone in circles, the crystal chandeliers above them casting kaleidoscopic shadows around his feet. His face was wet, his shoulders hunched, his steps surprisingly graceful. “I don’t know his name. But I do know him. He and I, we. Well…”
“No.” Freddie’s eyes popped, his jaw hanging open. “And you’re still alive?”
I snorted. “Not that. We weren’tworthyof each other.”
“Thank your lucky stars.” He shook his head, and I appreciated the lack of judgment in his tone. Then again, we did meet usingSquee. Maybe he messed around as much as I did. Maybe more. With how spectacular he was, it would make sense. “Never got his name, though?” he asked.
“Never came up. Or if it did, I don’t remember. I was drunk. Argosian ripple.”
“Oof,” he said, sympathizing. “Worst hangover of my life, that stuff. Never again.”
We both flinched as the Argosian wailed something in his native tongue. My VC translated: “Our rows were to travel together. Our seeds were to burrow into the soil as one. Now all isrot.” The last word came out as a growling sob, followed by a tremendous burp.
“That sounds like heartbreak,” I said.
Freddie nodded in agreement. “Those were old Argosian mating words, often recited at the ceremony for hand joining. Obviously, something has gone wrong.”
“Hmm,” I murmured, pretending my knees weren’t shaking. I didn’t think the Argosian would hurt me. But I didn’t imagine he’d be dancing with a million-credit robot like it was his prom date either. Strange things happened on this ship.
Steeling my nerve, I pushed back from the table, readying myself to go to the enormous, distraught, intoxicated male. But Freddie’s fingers wrapped around mine, holding me back, making my skin tingle.
“Do you want me to come with?” he asked.
The Argosian swayed and spun, slumped over now, the full weight of his head resting on the serving drone’s tray, pushing the weight limit of its thrusters to the max.
“No need,” I replied. “Walk in the park. And Elanie’s just arrived. She’s all the backup I’ll need.”
“I will pretend not to feel unmanned by that statement,” he said evenly as he let me go, his fingertips sliding away.
Elanie commed.
Like all Bionics, Elanie was strong enoughto incapacitate almost any being in the KU, even the inebriated mountain of muscle waltzing over the ballroom floor.
With a sharp inhale, I stood, looked down at Freddie, and said, “Wish me luck.”
His eyes sparkled, crinkling at the corners. “Sunny, I have a feeling you are far too good at what you do to demean it with something as fickle as luck.”
My heart stuttered mid-beat, fluttering around like a stunned bird after flying into a window. I wasn’t uncomfortable with compliments, but I never sought them out. I got all the external validation I needed from a job well done. His praise, though? How genuine it was, how warm? It tempted me to bask. And when he winked and said, “Now go save our serving drone,” my wobbling knees had nothing to do with the Argosian.
Once Elanie arrived at the table, I pulled myself together, focused on the task at hand—I could bask later—and started across the ballroom.
The Argosian’s voice resonated, echoing off the metallic surface of the serving tray his head was still slung over. He sang a mournful song now. One that—according to my VC—was about a once lush field that had gone fallow because nobody had taken the time to water it.
Once I reached a spot a few feet from him, I quietly, carefully, cleared my throat.
He stopped singing.
I held my breath.
Freddie whispered over a shared comm.
Not whispering, Elanie added,
