She sucked in a breath, shocked and a little furious at herself for her totally inappropriate reaction. They had just escaped being eaten alive for fuck’s sake; this was not the time.
“I’m… I’m okay, I think.”
Ranek growled, and the sound only spiked her lust, especially when he buried his face into her neck and inhaled sharply. “Stars, female! You are the death of me.”
His words sounded odd, like he couldn’t pronounce them properly, and Maya immediately knew why. He’d gone into bloodlust to fight the creatures.
Maya shuddered. Bloodlust was what some Talleans called the berserker-like state they went into when fighting. Not all Talleans went into bloodlust, but when they did, it gave them enhanced senses and improved reaction time. Their fangs elongated, and their cheek creases unfolded so they could take on beasts much larger than themselves.
She’d seen it many times back on Reka 5, but usually it was because they were protecting the colony. The altered state also tended to make them crave sexual release, since the wiring for violence and sex was a little crossed in their species, as it was in some humans. Back at the colony, there’d been plenty of women, human and Tallean, willing and excited to help “calm” the males after bloodlust.
But there wasn’t anyone else here. And Ranek hadn’t been protecting the colony, he’d been protecting her!
Would that mean he’d want her to…
Commander Chaos snarled and lunged at the Tallean, and fear for the pup’s safety had Maya scrambling after it. She really didn’t know this guy. What if he took it out on the pup?
“I’m so sorry!”
There was movement, and the lights suddenly turned on. She squinted, and her arms went up to cover her eyes as her pupils adjusted to the light. When she lowered them, what she saw had her inhaling sharply.
The mining station was trashed. A thick layer of dust coated some of the surfaces, and debris littered the floor. There were discarded tools and random papers everywhere. The pipes overhead dripped, and the ceiling sagged in places. The walls were in no better state. There were claw marks marring them, and the culprit, the skeleton of one of the alien pterodactyls, lay crumbled in the corner. The air was still and smelled of mildew and rust.
A few storage crates with much less dust sat stacked against the opposite walls, clearly having been moved there more recently.
Ranek stood behind a counter, still stuck halfway in blood lust. His cheek creases had started to refold, but his fangs were still extended. He looked for all the world like the predator his species was. He’d gotten his hands on Commander Chaos and was holding him down on the counter, an amused smile on his face. It looked terrifying with his fangs still out.
“Relax, little one. I mean your human no harm.” He turned to Maya. “Your dragus pup is very protective.”
“He’s had a tough day. We both have.”
“I’d say. Now, female, tell me how you ended up in a swamp on Fortuna II.”
She did, starting with her planned trip to New Rhea, the words spilling out faster than she intended, and finally ending with the crash into the muddy water. As she talked, Commander Chaos calmed as he realized that Ranek wasn’t about to hurt either of them. He hopped down from the counter and started exploring the place.
“And then you showed up and hauled me out. And here we are,” she finished.
Ranek looked pensive. “You said you were attacked by pirates. Friends of mine were sent to this planet once after they were locked inside an escape pod masquerading as a storage room. Pirates awaited them when they landed. Are you sure the pod wasn’t programmed on purpose to come here?”
That had Maya frowning. “But that would mean the delivery company would’ve been in on it.” Her eyes went wide. Faith! Faith was still with them! “I need to contact my friend! Does any of the equipment here still work?”
She felt silly the moment she asked the question. Of course they didn’t. This place looked like it hadn’t been used in decades.She was surprised there was even light, though Tallean light tubes often outlived the person who bought them, and this place was probably powered by solar energy. But having power didn’t mean the equipment would still be working.
“No. But you can call from my comm.”
Well, duh. Why hadn’t that even crossed her mind? She clearly needed sleep.
“But first, let’s get you settled down and cleaned up.”
She looked down at her wet, bedraggled state. Mud was streaked across her arms, and her shirt clung damply to her skin. Her hair was wet and plastered to her face. Plus, it was chilly, and she’d really like to get clean and dry. Commander Chaos probably needed a good dunk too, and not in muddy swamp water. Luckily for her, dragus pups loved water and treated bath time as play time.
Ranek turned and gestured for her to follow. “There’s a working water cleansing unit this way.” He led her through the narrow corridor and into a room with the Tallean glyphs for first aid on the door. When the door slid open, the scent of sterilized air hit her, sharp and clean and in complete contrast to the musty corridors. Whatever was sterilizing the air in here was still functional.
The cleansing unit was huge, big enough for both her and Commander Chaos to get clean at the same time, which was probably for the best because she didn’t trust him to explore the abandoned station on his own. Who knew what type of trouble he could get into.
“The clothing decontaminator is not functioning, but the cleansing unit works. I will return with clean clothes for you as well as our dinner. The creatures should be gone now that theycan no longer reach us. If you scream, I will come. I have good hearing.”
Then Ranek turned, leaving her and Commander Chaos in the old infirmary.
