They look a little confused. The one with the blaster to his head hesitates, then pushes it against Adiron's brow again. "Who are you? What are you doing on this ship?"
"I'm Adiron." He stirs his food, unconcerned that his life is in danger. I want to shoot both of them, but Adiron hasn't signaled me, and he doesn't look worried. I have to take that as a good sign. "As for what I'm doing here?" He continues, "I thought it was pretty obvious. I'm stranded. My ride took off without me."
"What ship were you with?" the other asks.
"The Darkened Eye, captained by Lord Straik sa'Rin. Real pain in the ass. I was working on board and he got a burr under his tail. Left me here on this piece of junk. That was about six weeks ago." He tells them just enough that it all sounds incredibly legit—because it is. He's just omitting the parts about us humans or the fact that he chose to stay behind with me while his brothers jettisoned in the escape pods. He gives the men a bright look. "Say. You guys got anything better to eat than noodles? That's all this ship has."
"You the only one here?"
"One and only." He wiggles his fingers at them. "Hand's gotten a real workout, too. Nothing to do here but daydream about cantina girls, if you catch my drift."
"Disgusting," mutters the other.
The first one lowers his weapon. "We're going to check this ship for others. What's your family name again? We'll let the captain know you're here and she can decide what to do with you."
"Va Sithai," Adiron says, and goes back to eating his noodles. "You can check the records of The Darkened Eye, too, and you'll see she was here in this quadrant a few weeks ago. I'm telling you the truth." He takes another big bite and speaks out of the side of his mouth. "Tell your captain I'm happy to crew for decent food and a ride back to the nearest station."
The two men confer, whispering, and I can't make out what they're saying. I can barely see their faces, the vent preventing me from watching their expressions. I can see Adiron, though. He shovels his noodles into his mouth with grim determination and never looks over at me once. I have to give him credit—for a man that is an awful liar, he's holding his shit together really well right now.
Meanwhile, I'm sweating a blue streak here in the wall. It's not just that it's stuffy. It's that I'm absolutely terrified. My hands are so slippery Adiron's blaster could fall from my grip at any minute.
One of the men leaves, and the other casually walks toward Adiron, his hand on the weapon at his waist. "You know what this ship is?" he asks, voice all casual.
Adiron lifts his bowl to his lips. "Keffing death trap is what it is. I've had to rejig half the control panels just to keep the air flowing. You planning on towing her to port?"
"Depends on what the captain says," the man replies, voice cool. "She'll let us know her plans soon enough."
Footsteps echo on the floors, and I see Adiron's tail twitch.
"Captain," the soldier says, his body turning toward the door. A long, lean pair of legs and another blue tail enter the room. It's a woman, and judging by the whipcord strong-but-slim build and the tail, it's another mesakkah. I can't see her face, though.
At the table, Adiron starts to choke on his food.
"Thought you'd be surprised to see me," the woman purrs. "Imagine finding my favorite va Sithai in the ass-crack of the universe."
"Shaalyn," Adiron coughs, his expression stunned.
61
ADIRON
Well, if this isn't my worst nightmare, I'm not sure what is.
I stare at my old lover, unable to believe my eyes. Shaalyn vos Nimai is as beautiful as ever, her long, smooth ponytail high between her horns and flowing down her shoulders. Her ears are studded with hoops, just as I remember, and she's got a tiny one on her septum that glitters when she smiles. She doesn't look one bit different, despite the fact that it's been eight years since I saw her. Those bright eyes still sparkle with intelligence, her body is as lean and strong as ever, and her expression is just as hard and ruthless as the last time I saw her, when she had her knife in my gut and cooed an apology even as she left me for dead.
Funny how I used to find that ruthless nature of hers so exciting once. I loved that she was a bossy female who knew what she wanted and would step on anyone to get it. Now, though, I can't help but compare her to Jade, who puts the needs of others ahead of her, and who leads simply because someone has to, and she feels the weight of responsibility. Who cares genuinely for everyone and wants all of those she's in charge of to have a fair shake, even Crulden the Ruiner.