“Not a real one,” I laughed. “Oh my god, is it going to suck us up in a beam of light?”
“It can,” he said, “but it’s not legal to do that with sentient lifeforms.”
“But like… cows maybe?”
Yiri frowned, probably taking in the definition of cows. “Why would I want to light-lift livestock into my cruiser?”
“Hey, you tell me, buddy,” I chuckled. “Rumor has it that’s what these things do. Only I don’t think it’s just cows. There have almost definitely been a few of these zipping around the countryside breaking your little no-sentient-life laws on Earth. Oh. But maybe it’s legal there?”
“It isn’t,” he said, frowning as a metal disk detached from the underside of the saucer and floated down to us. “Step onto this.” He guided me onto the disk, and my feet stuck to the surface like magnets. As soon as we were both standing on the disk, it began floating upwards. My stomach swooped, and I latched onto Yiri’s side, wrapping my arms around his middle. His arm settled around my shoulders, and I felt a little more secure as we drifted toward the vessel and a round hole that was opening up to let us through.
“It’s kind of like we’re going in through its butt,” I said, trying not to giggle like a ten year old. But the way the round opening moved, sizing itself perfectly to admit us, was uncannily like a sphincter.
Yiri chuffed and rolled his eyes. “That’s what Evik says.”
“You see it, though, right?”
“Yes,” he admitted sourly, “I see it. Don’t tell Evik I said it, though.”
We emerged into a cylindrical room with windowless metal walls. There were a few metal crates on one side, and directly in front of us was the flying thing with Mr. Darcy and all my luggage. Yiri tapped on the control pad, and it beeped.
“Get him, if you want,” he said. “We’ll unload the rest in the living quarters.”
“Hey, Mr. Darcy,” I said in my most soothing voice as I opened his carrier. “How was that ride? Are you okay?” He let out a plaintive yowl as I scooped him up, but started purring right away when I hugged him to my chest. “You’re alright, aren’t you? Hmm?”
We followed Yiri through a sliding door that opened into someplace very familiar. I recognized the black couch and the windows along the wall, currently blacked out. But the bed looked different. I was pretty sure the one I’d seen in our calls had been metal with black sheets, pillows, and blankets. This one was made of some kind of wood, and the linens were a medium gray.
“Is this your room?” I asked, looking around.
Yiri rubbed at the back of his neck. “It’s the only bedroom on the cruiser,” he said. “The bed is yours. I can sleep on the couch if you want.”
“Oh.” I looked at the bed again. It was plenty big enough for two. Yes, he was massive, and it might be a little bit cozy, but it would be a much better fit for him than the couch. Unless he didn’twantto sleep with me. But that was crazy, right? He’d made it clear that he found me attractive. Why wouldn’t he want to sleep with me? “Do couples not share a bed in Venastea?”
“Some do,” he said. “It’s up to the female.”
“Oh. Well, you can sleep in the bed. If you want. I can sleep on the couch if I need to, but you’ll never fit.”
“You will not sleep on the couch,” he said with such simple matter-of-factness, he might as well have saidyou breathe oxygen.
I narrowed my eyes at him. “Neither will you.”
He nodded. “I’ll show you the rest of the cruiser,” he said. “Come with me.”
He led me through two other rooms, which comprised the other two-thirds of the saucer part of the vessel. The first was a kitchen with a small table for two, and the last was a bathroom. This one, unlike the ones on the BMM vessel, had buttons, although some of the labels seemed to have worn away with use. Yiri pointed out the necessary things, and then we were back in the bedroom.
“This is the access to the control room,” he said, tapping a panel on the wall. Another door slid open, revealing three steps up into the glass-domed space at the top. I followed him up, peering around at all the screens and control panels laid out in a circle. At the center was a single swiveling seat. There were buttons and blinking lights, everything looking a little old-fashioned. Not analogue. It was a spaceship. But maybe the spaceship equivalent?
“Close quarters up here,” I noted.
“These old vessels were meant for only one to two passengers,” he said.
“How old is it?” I wondered.
“This one’s about eighty years old. Eighty Venastean years.”
“Wow. It’s in good shape,” I said, impressed.
If I hadn’t glanced at him, I might have missed the way his face lit up for a second before he locked it down.
