Actually…
A new thought occurred to him as they listened to Tanin give out tasks for their time on the station. It didn’t matter that they were going here for leave time, they still had chores to complete. If they divided them out among them all, then it would be done faster and they’d have more free time overall.
But he wasn’t listening, because he had a new worry.
Haven’s body temperature was significantly lower than his own. He could go places in the engine that she couldn’t reach without wearing her envirosuit.
Temperatures that were perfect for their youngling, but dangerous for her.
But what did that mean for the developing wylp in her womb? Would it be viable if her body was too cool? If her body tried to get hot enough to support a southern lvtl, then wouldn’t it be dangerous for her?
Then again, he’d heard when humans first joined the Coalition, it was determined that they could successfully breed with every species without issue. So, he didn’t have to worry. Right?
No. He was definitely worried. Now that the thought was in his head, he couldn’t get it out. She wasn’t the only one who needed to know something once the thought was in their head. And he was highly invested in finding out what would happen since he cared greatly for both his mate and the wylp she was growing.
Haven, oblivious to his thoughts, was focused only on the exciting plans she and the other females were having. Tanin, Sway, and Vytln stood behind them. They’d be walking with them on their trip through, but they weren’t the only ones. Since Goldie was going as well, Rok would be accompanying them so he could watch out for her. The twins, Sorbet and Tebros, would be coming along, though they wouldn’t be with the group. Those two worked better in the shadows, keeping watch for trouble and intercepting it before it arrived. Their being out of sight also meant that no one expected them, so if somethingdidhappen, they could intervene by surprise.
It was a tight, familiar formation. They worked together to keep their females between them as they went through their shopping trip. Completely oblivious to any sign of trouble.
To be fair, there weren’t any. Outside of themselves, of course. His crew received a great many cautious, uneasy looks as they moved through as a unit. More than a few times, he spotted the blindingly white armor of the peacekeepers trailing after them. Surreptitiously keeping an eye on them just because theylookedlike trouble.
He couldn’t even blame them. He’d be watching them too in their place. They didn’t have any bad intentions, but anyone with half sense would immediately recognize them as a threat.
Despite the apprehension of the station authorities, nothing happened as they followed the females on their shopping trip. Rok, having four arms, ended up holding most of their purchases. They bought clothes and female potions for their skin and hair, as well as loading up Haven with a bunch of supplies she had sacrificed before. Her previous lifestyle, living within walls, meant she had to give up a lot of life’s simple luxuries. She could only have so much in the way of clothes and toiletries. Comforts were rare and small.
But she had a permanent home now. Her nest had plenty of space inside, there was storage underneath, she had access to the entirety of his workroom, and if she really needed it, she was more than welcome to make use of his private room. She had a great deal of room now for whatever luxury she wanted. For whatever comforts she desired.
She indulged herself in some extra clothes, especially stretchy, tight pants. Though, that wasn’t really a luxury. It was honestly a necessity since he kept ripping them apart. He made a note to buy such things for her more often himself, since he certainly had no intention of stopping. He liked how she looked with her clothes hanging off her, in shreds. If that meant he had to sink a chunk of his credz into clothes for her, it was a worthwhile expense.
Aside from that, she really didn’t get much. She purchased a few essentials and splurged on a new blanket for her nest, but she spent most of the time just admiring the things that the other females were finding. She looked appreciative, she even went along with their excitement and encouraged them tobuy things they were interested in, but she herself wasn’t that invested in buying a lot of things for herself.
Grace was that way too though. She bought things sometimes, but most of the time, she wasn’t that interested in physical possessions. She said it was because she came from old wealth and had already owned almost everything, so nothing was that interesting anymore. He kind of understood, having come from wealth himself, but not really. Which told him more about exactly how much wealthier her family must be compared to his.
But Haven hadn’t come from wealth like that, so he didn’t understand where her lack of interest in things came from.
However, he got his answer the next day when he took her to the last level of the station, to the lot sales. There, more than anything she and the other females found the day before, she became excited over everything she saw.
The lowest level of Trek-Nine, not being part of the destination half of the station, was a lot simpler and industrial in design. The docks here, meant for ship repairs, lacked the flare and luxury of the docks for those coming for the station amenities. It was greasy and dirty and much more comfortable in Vytln’s mind.
As it was to Haven, who looked around at all the machines and ongoing repairs with open interest. But when they got to the lot sales, she gasped and her entire face lit up with joy.
At the far end of the repair docks, there was a warehouse that was used for storage of parts. Both those used to replace broken pieces of repaired ships, and the broken pieces they’d replaced. As the docks operated, they’d accumulate more and more of those parts.
And as they got too many, they’d box them up in crates and then sell the crates, auction style, to anyone interested. The crates had tags on the side, indicating the crate’s weight, whatever was inside, and whether or not it was fully, partially, or totally nonfunctional.
That was the only hint they got to what they were buying. The dock crews set out the crates, possible buyers got the option to look at what was inside each one, and then they’d be auctioned off one at a time. There was an inherent risk in doing so, because a non-functional part could be missing one, small, key piece or it could be absolutely shattered and in pieces. It was like gambling. The dock was hoping to sell junk for a high price, while the buyers were hoping to buy treasures for nothing.
Vytln enjoyed the hunt of it. He found it enjoyable to take the risk, and he got a rush whenever he purchased said treasures. Regardless of what he ended up with, however, he could always use whatever scrap he found for their ship.
He thought Haven would enjoy the experience just for whatever broken machines they might find for her to tinker with completely risk free.
But he didn’t expect her to come alive, excitedly rushing around with him, looking at the crates, debating their contents, and judging how much they should spend. Much more than the fripperies she and the other females had appreciated yesterday, she had a wonderful time with him, looking at and buying the crates from the lot sale.
They even managed to find a crate that had parts of a medscanner. It wasn’t a full scanner, it only indicated parts, which could mean almost anything. But even if it was completely busted, it would still be something for her to learn on.
Together, they ended up buying two large crates and one medium sized crate. The medium crate was the one with non-functional medscanner parts. There was more in there though. The dock deliberately mixed parts so that buyers couldn’t guess from the weight alone if the crate held the entirety of the objects listed.
Once purchased, the dock took charge, getting the information on the location of their ship. All sales were final, and if they were dissatisfied with what was inside, they couldn’t leave the crate and its contents here in their annoyance, leaving the problem with the dock. So, instead, the crates would be delivered to the Humility first, then they would be able to open them and check everything that they had purchased.
