I open my mouth to retract the question, but she responds.
"Yes. There were ten of us. I'm pretty sure one of us died, but the rest of them, except Silver of course, went flying out of the ship. Do you know if the chamber would have protected them?"
Out of respect, I take a moment to think of the unfortunate female, then respond. "Most likely. It really depends how they landed and how quickly the main power died when it hit the atmosphere."
She grips my fur so tight it hurts. "I need to find them."
"Well, let's get Silver settled and figure it out from there. I smelled laser burns when we were near the ship. Was it attacked?"
"I think so."
"I assumed it was an accident. I can't imagine pirates suicidal enough to target a cruiser so close to one of the few neutral grounds. Most of the more vicious species wouldn't risk losing access. I don't know who it could be."
"The slimes don't have enemies?"
"Sure. Plenty, but mostly people just focus on protecting their home systems."
"Huh. Why's it neutral ground?"
"For genali, the credits. For everyone else, access to hunt here and the pleasure resorts on the space station and habitable moon. Few planets are like this one. Billions of credits went into figuring out a stable space elevator to get past the atmosphere."
"Why?"
"Sorry. I'm used to everyone knowing these things. Technology doesn't work here."
"Shit! I need to get back to Silver. I put her in cryo to heal her."
"No, no. She's alright. I'm not doing well at explaining." I growl at myself and resolve to do better. "The primary power source would have died long ago, but nanites are the backup.The chamber will keep pumping nanites through her to harvest power."
"So she's the battery? Won't she run out of charge, or whatever?"
"Yes and no. It will have enough stored nutrients to keep her in stasis for a while. The chambers will fail after a while, but they're programmed to open before that point."
She makes a grunting sound and then falls quiet. I take the opportunity to better focus on our surroundings.
Maintaining a slow run and swiveling my ears for sounds of hunters feels surprisingly natural.
I suppose the philosophers were right when they said our species was only ever one small step away from reverting to our base natures. That's a mercy at the moment, though I know I was once caught up in the shared horror of losing our social progress.
I wonder how many of the Abstainers would wish for their venom back if they were here.
All of them, I bet.
The surge of instincts is especially nice since it gives me plenty of mental space to enjoy the sensation of Ree's lithe legs wrapped tight around me. I can feel the radiating heat from between her legs. The place reports indicate is the entrance to her reproductive organs.
I was never interested in alien sexual habits, so I have no idea if we would be compatible. I do hope we find out. No need to rush things, though.
The fun is in the stalking.
Well, no reason beyond imminent death.
I almost trip over a root when a good reason to not pursue her occurs to me. I might be wrong about what her scent means. She might also already have a mate. I'm not sure how to ask her without reminding her of what she's lost.
Maybe the key is to bring up my family.
"The slimes have been taking our women, too. I've lost cousins and good friends."
She loosens her grip with one hand and pats me. "That's terrible, Thivoll. I'm so sorry."
