She shrugged. “That I was selfish or rude or something because you missed your mother.”
“Not everyone has the same kind of family, obviously.”
“Obviously.” She moved, and brushed against the bubble they were in, because it flickered. “Ouch!”
“Are you all right?”
“Fine. Just tell me, what other dark secrets are we hiding, so I can get my story straight.”
“You’re a companion,” he said. “Not a mate. Kantenans do not mate with others who are not Kantenan.”
“Okay. Easy enough. What else do I need to know?”
“Primary goal is to find out about the theft of our equipment and who it is being sold to. There’s a buyer on the station, but I don’t know who it is being sold to.”
“And this matters because?”
“It is specialized material and tools for the mining of citricite. Citricite is a very important mineral, it is where the strength from Kantenan society was built on. We use it for everything. It also powers much of the known galaxy.”
“So it’s really valuable.”
“It’s also very dangerous, and can destroy starships or even moons if it is not mined correctly.”
“So no one’s stealing the ore, just the tools to mine it?”
“Specifically, the stabilizers that neutralize the ore for mining. If they’re stealing that, then they’re attempting to mine somewhere else, and could put a great deal of humanoids in danger.”
Tori nodded. “Of course. Because this can’t just be a get-rich-quick scheme gone wrong. Why don’t people think things through?” She said the last part mostly for herself, but when she met Olmed’s gaze, he seemed to agree with her.
“So what do we do now?” she asked.
“Pretend to be lusting after each other. You are a companion.”
“And I expect to be well paid,” she said.
This did make Olmed grin.
9
Tori freshened up, trying on one of her new outfits that she purchased as well as some of the face paint that she’d bought.
If anything, she looked even more attractive than she was before. Stunning, he thought as he walked her to the mess hall for some food while they traveled back to Kantenan. He’d held out his arm to give her perch while they walked, for some of the walkways were narrow and had very few safety rails
When they reached the mess hall, the other Kantenans were there, all eating evening meals. One had his ju-nak on his back like he either just got done working out with the double-ended blade or he planned on going shortly.
Barnak looked her up and down. “My oh my,” he said. “What do you charge for a group, companion?"
Tori stared at him. “You couldn’t afford it.” Her hands trembled against Olmed’s arm, and he growled at Barnak.
“You will not challenge,” Olmed said.
“You cannot lay ownership on any female but your mate,” Barnak said. “So, if she wants me, she can have me.”
“But therein lies the rub,” Tori said, her voice crisp and clear. “I don’t want you. And I never will.”
Her hands trembled, but she kept her head high as Olmed guided her to a seat. The other two Kantenans, Dless and Scotts, stared, but neither of them said anything.
The few others that were on the ship, some were Kantenan as well, but others weren’t, they were different humanoids. All of them, though, shared that smell of the mines. One of those aromas that no matter how much it was cleaned, the smell would never quite go away.
