“I’m not pushing buttons. I’m curious. This is our first planetary tour.” Ryker knocked his hand against my chest. “Iylene has been on two. Lilea, Zavir, and Arana have been on one, and the captain on…?”
“Didn’t you stalk his info?” I whispered, yelping when Ryker pinched me.
“Six,” Roys answered.
“And that’s just the planetary ones. Lots of soldiers die on these, remember? They had us watch that damn video,” Ryker said.
The group shuddered. Even Roys knocked his head to the side.
“All the ways you may die on the job,” Ryker mocked in that damn droid’s voice that manned all the mandatory vids.
Arana hugged her torso. “Why the fuck would they show us that? I still have nightmares about that U’sek’s dick piercing getting cau—”
Zavir cut Arana a warning look that had her giggling apologetically. U’sek’s had a lot of piercings, a rare few I knew the meaning of. They got one at birth, after their first breeding, first offspring, probably a promotion at work — I wasn’t too sure. Just a lot.
“Yeah, none of us liked that.” Ryker cleared his throat. “Details, Cap, if you’d please.”
“Xenothasyllius-673 was the worst,” Roys replied. He mentioned that one in the caves. “A volcanic planet we knew was uninhabitable from the jump. Straiers were there in droves, though, and the Intergalactic Court wanted to know why. A team was sent in to investigate and annihilate if need be. It was hot, hotter than this.”
Arana gagged. Iylene made a pleasant humming sound. They quite liked warm weather. Their species often sunbathed in the nude, though it wasn’t much different from them clothed. They didn’t have genitaliaafter all, just abnormally long tongues I thought were gross until one used it on me.
“It was a bloodbath.” Roys tossed aside more ferns, taking a break afterward to get his drink. We did the same, listening as he went on. “Garethrinorope-01X is a close second.”
Another dumb name. Why? Name the planets something normal!
“Another uninhabitable. Our scans showed potential for valuable minerals beneath the surface. Didn’t want to waste the scientist, and most of the droids malfunctioned from the storms. Mornings were below freezing. Nights were worse, and the creatures even more deadly. The same minerals we were looking for underground hid the creatures from our radar. On the third day, we were attacked, blocked in, and had to survive six days before reinforcements were sent in. They don’t always send them.”
“Hah?” Ryker coughed.
“Reinforcements.” Roys took to cutting again, speaking as if he mentioned the weather. “If the militia finds it a waste to send a rescue team in, they’ll leave you.”
“Thanks Mom’s,” Ryker whispered under his breath, even if we all knew that. Suspected it, I guess. We were expendable. No one would be foolish enough to enlist otherwise.
Roys didn’t say more after that. No one asked. We had our own stories to share. I couldn’t remember all the people I met. The militia ate through us like a rabid hound, feasting upon offered flesh that the world had already beaten and bruised. Then there were the stories of before I left the Colony. I didn’t like thinking about that, sure as shit wouldn’t share it. The others didn’t want to share theirs either, so we spent the rest of the day in silence.
011
Whilearoverwasno speeder, I still had every reason to drive. In the commotion of everyone scrambling to rest in the rover, Roys didn’t have the opportunity to choose a seat in the back cabin like he had done previously. The one remaining was in my cabin at the front.
I slapped the passenger seat. “Don’t worry, Captain. I won’t bite, unless you want me to.”
Roys waited outside the door, considering squeezing into the back. The rovers were meant more for the survey team. We used them for our initial sweep, but afterward, the back acted as a small cargo space and transport for the survey team to and from the habitat. That meant there wasn’t much space in the compartment.
Roys made an annoyed grunting noise and got in. The door slammed shut. He rolled his eyes when I said, “Seatbelt.”
“Shouldn’t you follow your own rule?”
“Caring for me again?” I tapped the button on the dash. The belt fell over me and locked tight. “You really are a sweetheart.”
Roys sat perfectly still, arms crossed, which I would argue was an awful idea. That made me want to stare at his biceps that long sleeved shirt struggled to maintain. In the cabin, he let the exoskin hang around his waist. The rover had betterAC.
“Drive,” Roys said, not facing me even with my obvious gawking while his seatbelt came on.
“What’s the magic word?”
“Drive, or you can clean the toilets for the whole month.”
“Someone’s cranky.”
