It was a hiccup type hitch. There was a part in the engine that had started jumping and he wouldn’t be able to reach it without taking apart an entire panel. But Haven, with her smaller hands and arms, could probably reach it without issue.
And as the two of them made a plan for how to reach the part, how to replace it, what replacing it might do for the engine, and even what replacing that part might mean for other parts around it, Haven realized thatthiswas also the rest of her life.
Building and repairing things with Vytln. And it would never end. Even if they got a top of the line, brand new, perfect engine, they’d have to learn it inside and out and figure out how to maintain and repair it. And, eventually, it too would start to break down, and they’d get together and try to figure out how to diagnose and repair any hitches they might find.
“Show me,” Haven finally said, making to stand, laughing when her weak legs immediately lost balance and she fell over Vytln, grabbing him by the head and horns, using him to keep herself up. She only laughed harder when he didn’t even react, just held onto her as he got up to carry her over to the side of her nest where she stored her clothes.
Smiling, she began peppering kisses over his head. And though she couldn’t see his face, she could feel him smiling against her arm, and she knew that this was the rest of his life too.
Chapter 27
Vytln
They didn’t have team meetings often. Most of the time, Tanin would find them individually and tell them what he needed them to do. And sometimes they didn’t know immediately why he needed them to do it, but they’d all vowed to do whatever her commanded, follow wherever he led. So even if they were confused by his orders, they obeyed them, and it always worked out.
For that reason, Tanin didn’t often call the entire crew together to get or give information to them as a whole. Only when it affected the whole crew and it was better that they all hear it at once, or if he needed all of them to speak to him at the same time.
With Haven now mated to him and officially part of the crew, Tanin wanted her to reveal her abilities to everyone so they could all know what she was capable of. It wasn’t because he didn’t want her to keep her secrets, but only so they could know what she could or couldn’t do. To be an effective fighting force and a capable team, they all needed to know each other’s strengths and weaknesses. It would keep them from being caught unawares and allow them to quickly plan things on the fly in an emergency.
Vytln sat back and watched with no small amount of pride as she showed off her termites. As she demonstrated how they worked by getting them to adjust the lights to hide her in shadows and change the way the air vents blew to hide her scent even while she stood in the same room.
Her termites were incredible little things. She’d completely reworked their code, changing and altering it so much that it was partially in her native tongue, partially in other languages from her planet, and only very minimally in Standard as she still couldn’t read that language. Grace’s offer to use imprints to teach her was still available, Vytln just hadn’t let her out of the trap long enough to let it happen.
The combination of Coalition tech and human language made her code something that only she could interact with, but the fact that itwasbased in Coalition tech meant that her termites could still flawlessly interact with other Coalition tech. It was a perfect storm of circumstances that gave her an advantage no one else would have been able to replicate and no one would be able to predict or prevent.
She really was the most impressive person he’d ever seen. Strong, flexible, intelligent, curious, boundlessly energetic, and courageous.
Yes, indeed, he had the best mate. Garnet was a good female, true, but she was not nearly as accomplished. And while Grace was definitely professional and brave, she couldn’t claim to be nearly as impressive. Even the rest of his crew couldn’t help but admire when Haven showed off how she could summon her termites back and turn them into a bangle around her arm. The dull, non-reflective metal looked completely innocuous against her skin, but he could just imagine how that could be a weapon no one would expect or detect.
But besides the implications for what that could do for her in enemy territory, there were the more basic, banal functions it could perform. Alred and Haven were already talking about incorporating them into the existing nano-bot web and using them for maintenance, upkeep, and monitoring. Alred knew Haven’s native tongue already, which that meant he was able to communicate with her nanobots once she gave him access to them.
Tanin oversaw the entire exchange. Not really speaking or interfering in what they were doing or how they excitedly talked about what they could do with it.
That conversation then switched to her talking to the other females about going out shopping together the next time they had a supply run at a station.
“She’s fitting in well.”
Vytln didn’t even glance over as Trove came to sit beside him. The only room on the ship big enough for all of them to fit comfortably was the rec room. There was plenty of seating, a bar that Trove kept well stocked, an artificial range to practice shooting, some workout equipment, and a couple games that they’d picked up here and there.
Vytln had been seated, watching Haven from afar. Now that they were mated, now that he felt the bond locking her to him, he was much less concerned about her being out of the trap. He’d want her back in there when it was time for bed. He’d always be happier and more secure if she was within the safety of her nest. But he could ease off now that his instincts had been satisfied.
Trove, who had been mixing up drinks, hadn’t been near him. But he came to join him now, offering a cup of a sharp smelling amber liquid. Vytln took it with a grunt of thanks but didn’tdrink as he continued to watch his mate chatting and laughing with the others.
“Is this a new era of our lives?”
Trove’s question, soft and curious, made Vytln finally glance over at him.
“A new era?”
“Sure.” Trove sipped at his own drink – something bright and bubbly. “When we left Rik-Vane and started this company, that was the start of a new era of our lives. One of building. And now, with you mated, that makes three of us. Is this the start of a new era? One of mating?”
“Maybe you’ll be next,” Vytln grunted.
Trove actually laughed. “I’ll leave the mating games to you and the others. Such a thing isn’t for me.”
“I agree.”
Trove looked at him, almost surprised. “Oh?”
