Now, it was her turn to look away. I wanted to growl. Urgg was so distressed, and clearly they weren’t taking care of themselves as they should, though Seth hadn’t elaborated much in their and everyone else’s presence. Urgg loved Talvax so much and being apart had to be painful for both of them.
“We are still at odds, but Urgg is well,” she replied.
Liar. They were a sobbing mess.
Talvax gave a curt goodbye and left.
I slipped off Monqilcolnen’s lap, and he reached for me, asking, “Where are you going?”
“I need to check on Urgg. Seth alluded to how bad they were, but… Besides, it is the middle hour.” I was technically off, though my schedule had yet to be set again, so I was free to check on them to make sure my friend was well.
His expression scrunched, but it relaxed after only a moment. “You are a good friend.”
Pressing my lips to his, I muttered, “You need to go to Command anyway. I will see you in our quarters later.”
Monqilcolnen groaned, kissing me again, but he released me after only a moment. “Go before I fuck you over my desk or demand you fuck me.”
My cock twitched and I swallowed. I would not be opposed to that. The image of Monqilcolnen bent over and helpless as I pounded into him made my shaft start to thicken. But then I would not see Urgg, who had to be distraught and was no doubt alone right now.
I gave Monqilcolnen one last kiss, promising myself to fuck him in his office later, then darted out of the door and toward Urgg’s bakery.
Chapter 55
Well, that won't help.
I tried to ping Seth, but he didn’t respond. Neither did NAID. Touchstones weren’t always working; they, like every other system, had been heavily affected. I had to hope he was with Urgg, and that the two of them were in Urgg’s bakery. I took the lift, nerves jiggling inside of me. I could be trapped in the lift if it should suddenly stop, but using the tunnels wasn’t practical. Of course, if my virus continued its work, then we would have to—there was no other option. It would make traveling across the ship incredibly hard, not to mention, slow going.
The lift was so much slower than normal and juddered beneath me, making me tremble. Stars, I hoped I wasn’t trapped in here. It would take a considerable amount of time to freeme, and Monqilcolnen would be upset, which I didn’t want. He had enough going on without continuing to worry about me. However, the lift continued to the designated deck without an issue, or without catastrophic issues, I should say.
I darted through the crowd in the promenade—it was still busy here, even with the issues. Then again, there wasn’t anywhere else for people to go or much else for them to do, so it made sense our civilians would congregate here. I paused as a thought crossed my mind.
Perhaps I could recruit civilian seekers who had engineering experience to help. More people were always better. I would have to ask Talvax. There was the matter of security, but it would increase our workforce.
I continued running through the bustling crowd, avoiding people. I reached the bakery and didn’t see Urgg, but I did spot Klirgg, their younger cousin. She was even larger than Urgg with bulging muscles and deep brown skin. She had the same tusks as Urgg, but they were a tad larger, fully curling over her top lip. Black swirling tattoos decorated her massive arms and on one was a beaded armband. The band and tattoos signified what clan she was from and her place in it, though I didn’t know how to interpret them.
When I came up to the counter spanning the back of the shop, she sniffed, her large nose twitching. “Wyn, thank the gorgg.”
The gorgg was the Barusian deity, which was a rock mammal creature who lived in the caves that separated the territories of the barbarus who lived above ground and the tarmarus who lived underground.
“Where’s Urgg?” I asked, my tail thrashing. Urgg had been my first friend. While we were both closer to Seth than each other, Urgg was equally important to me. They had simply wrapped a huge arm around me and never let me go. I hadn’t known howmuch I needed companionship, and yet they did. Urgg had saved me.
She pointed to the space behind the counter I believed was a kitchen and storage area.
Not bothering to ask, I planted a hand on the counter and hopped over it to get to my friend. I did not have to look very hard.
Urgg was curled into a ball, weeping and guzzling a bottle of graugg.
“Stars,” I muttered. This was worse than I’d even guessed. They hadn’t looked well in my quarters, but I hadn’t suspected it was this bad. I pressed closer. Urgg looked at me with pitiful eyes while a huge glob of snot escaped their nose.
“She’s still mad, Wyn,” they blubbered. “I apologized and called her lovely, but she won’t forgive me.”
It surprised me as well. However, Talvax was stressed. TheAdmiral Venwas one of the empire’s finest ships, and Urgg and I had destroyed it with one night of heavy drinking. I wouldn’t be surprised if the Council of Seekers, the Planetary Navy, and the Cohort were threatening to level charges against Talvax.
This one incident might ruin her previously exceptional career.
“She is,” I replied, because there was no denying it.
Urgg sobbed louder, and Klirgg swore, “Get them to fucking shut up! All they do is cry. They’re keeping me awake all night.”
