“What is going on?” Niri calls as she enters the ship’s main narrow passageway. She gasps, flattening herself against the wall as she sees me with the furry, bleeding monstrosity. “What the kef is that thing?”
“This planet?” I growl. “It’s not uninhabited.”
“Is that one of the locals?” Niri asks, her eyes wide as she hurries back toward med bay. Inside, I can hear the hum of her computers as they power up. “Did he talk to you?”
“No. It’s complicated.”
“I see. I don’t know if he’s going to fit on the diagnostic bed.” She moves to the control panel and taps a few buttons, and the metal bed rolls out of the compartment with a soft hiss.I heft my burden onto it and stagger backward the moment he’s out of my arms. Gods, that thing was heavy. I glance down at my enviro-suit and it’s covered in blood. I unzip it and begin to unbuckle my way out of the cumbersome thing.
Niri busies herself with the creature. When the legs don’t tuck into the bed itself, she gives up on sending it through the diagnostic scanner and takes out a handheld, moving it over the creature.
“I can tell you what’s wrong,” I say gruffly as I pry the insulated boots off my feet. “I keffing shot him. He was charging at us.”
“Us?” Niri turns and frowns at me. “What are you talking about?”
“The girl.” Her brows go up, and I turn, realizing that my new friend didn’t follow me into the med clinic. “Shit. Be right back.” I shove the filthy enviro-suit aside and race back into the hall, looking for her. If Trakan sees her…
But there she is, standing near the doorway that leads to the bridge. She’s admiring one of the wall panels, touching a light as it flashes up on screen. It’s a weather reading of the outdoors, and I’m pretty sure she can’t read what it says, but she seems fascinated by it. I move to her side, and she jerks in surprise at the sight of me. Must not hate me too much, though, because she immediately starts purring again, and that makes me feel better.
“Tisik,” she says, pointing at the screen. “Vo?”
I have no clue what she’s saying. “Do you like the lights? Or do you want to know what it says?”
She sighs heavily and gives her head a little shake. “Ne vo.” She gazes at me, frowning as she studies my chest. I rub a hand over it, wondering if there’s something wrong with my crew jumpsuit. It ain’t much to look at, but considering I spend ninety-nine percent of my days in space with onlythree other people, I don’t much care what I look like.
And it’s not like a naked chick’s gonna be a fashion critic, right?
She pats my chest, and then looks up at me, frowning.
“Are you wondering where my clothes went? They’re still here. Speaking of…” I untuck my shirt and pull it over my head, then offer it to her.
She takes it and raises it to her nose, gently sniffing it. After a moment, she pets the fabric and gives me another curious glance. Her fingers reach out and she touches my chest, the scars over my heart-plating, and the line where my flesh meets the bionic arm. It’s making my body respond, and I need to shut this shit down fast before I remember that it’s been well over three years since I slept with a woman. I take the shirt and pull it over her shoulders, then help her work her arm through the sleeve. She giggles, the sound light and achingly sweet, as I button her into it.
Once I’m done dressing her like a toddler, she’s, well, she’s covered at least. My shirt hangs off her like a tent, but at least she’s no longer naked. I’d say I’m glad she’s warm, but I don’t think cold has been a problem for her, period.
Her hand touches my arm, her fingers stroking my skin. “Chahm-pee?” She wiggles her nose and then mimes galloping with her hands.
“Is that your pet? Come on. I’ll take you to him.” I clasp her hand in mine, and she squeezes my fingers. Hate that she feels so keffing right with her little fingers tucked against mine.
I lead her to med bay, and she sucks in a breath at the sight of her animal laid out. Niri’s put away her diagnostic machine and has a screen in front of her face, directing the surgery manually. “You blew a hole right through his keffing guts, dumbass,” Niri tells me as I return. “Lucky for you Icould remove the part of the liver that you blew up without him going toxic, though it’s tricky given that he’s an animal and our machines aren’t prepped to—” Her words trail off as she sees the girl with me. “Who the kef is that?”
“I don’t know,” I say bluntly. “She came up to me outside.”
Niri studies her, then sets the machine on automatic as it works at stitching up the wound in the unconscious hairball of a creature. “She’s wearing your shirt. She naked under that?”
“Loincloth.”
“In this snow? Is she crazy?”
“I…think she lives here.” Something tells me she’s not crazy, just…wild. “Didn’t Trakan say this place was uninhabited?”
“According to planetary surveys, yeah. You think she’s a shipwreck survivor? She looks like us. Clearly mesakkah.”
“Sa-khui,” the girl chimes in, misinterpreting Niri’s words. She taps her chest. “Sa-khui.”
“Is that your name, sweetie?” Niri asks, pulling the girl away from me and moving her to a seat. She takes out her hand scanner and begins to run it over her.
“Sa-khui,” the girl repeats again, and taps her chest. Then she pats Niri’s arm. “Sa-khui.” She gestures toward me. “Sa-khui?”
