Vrix (The Galaxos Crew Book 2)

by Juno Wells

  "My cousin took over the hotel and leadership of the Xaravians who remain on Caihiri. I have a dozen or so who left with me and are standing by on a neutral planet, so we can decide as a group where to go next. There are many possibilities." Pyix folded his arms over his chest and looked even more intimidating as he studied her. "But when I heard you took this ship by yourself, there's at least one clear path ahead. We'd like to join your crew and help fuck over the Alliance wherever we find them."

  Griggs blinked, for a moment stunned speechless at her good fortune. They'd been trying to figure out how to find more experienced crew, since their group now had three ships and only enough crew to operate one ship well. She didn't hesitate, holding out her hand to shake his once more. "Absolutely. We're happy to have you."

  That time, though, he didn't shake her hand. He grasped her forearm, and locked her hand around his forearm, then gave three pumps before releasing her. Griggs couldn't keep her eyebrows from arching, particularly when she saw the startled expression on Vrix. Before she could ask, Pyix offered her the Xaravian salute of his right fist over his hearts and his left hand on his dagger. "You earned the warrior's handshake after taking this ship, Captain."

  She never got emotional, but that put a lump in Griggs's throat. She managed to clear her throat and nod again, putting her fist over her heart in return. "Thank you. I'm honored to share that."

  Before things got too weepy, Griggs looked at Thula. "And I am so happy to see you. Please give my best to Bula and Mirti. Do you also need to get off Caihiri?"

  "Oh no, oh no." Thula smiled as she tilted her head to study Griggs. "We are just lowly seamstresses, we were certainly not the cause of or participants in any sort of riot or melee. Certainly not us. And we certainly did not dispose of many bodies. Not us, not us."

  Vrix snorted, shaking his head. "No wonder your store is on stilts."

  Griggs smacked his shoulder. "And we're glad it is, and that you rushed to help." She frowned at her wrist and started to remove the beautiful bracelet she still wore. "I should return this to you, with my sincerest thanks for its use."

  "Keep it," Thula said, and winked. "You might someday need us again, and how would we find you? Oh my no. Keep that to remember us, at least."

  "Of course." Griggs didn't want to ask how the space chickens would be able to know, through the entire universe, if the bracelet was activated. Maybe that was the same kind of secret as to why they kept their house on stilts and made bodies disappear. "I've been wondering, though, what happened with all the other women who were imprisoned with Heidi? Did you get them free?"

  "Yes and no, yes and no." Thula frowned, hands on her wide hips, and tapped her toes. "We have hidden about thirty women around Caihiri, but it is only a matter of time before the authorities find them, if we can't move them. We must find a way to get them off the planet secretly, and make sure we can take them beyond the reach of the Slasu and even the Alliance."

  "That will be difficult," Pyix said slowly, rubbing his chin. "There are some blind spots in the Caihiri guidance systems, so it would be possible to sneak a few pods down to the surface at specific times of day and night. Slow going, but if you can move them to a few locations outside the main city, it should be do-able."

  Vrix nodded along. "You could also use the pods to get money and more warriors off Caihiri, so you can be fully stocked for wherever you want to take the ladies. We could assist, but the rebel leadership is supposed to send us a mission, so timing could be..."

  "Wait." Griggs held up her hand and all three of them looked at her. Her mind whirled as she tried to sort through everything, debating whether she was making the right choice. In the end, there wasn't any other option. Not really. Vrix watched her, a little puzzled, but Griggs knew she was doing the right thing. She abruptly shook Pyix's forearm once more, meeting his gaze evenly. "Take the ship."

  The Xaravian's eyebrows rose. "What's that?"

  "If you swear your mission is now aiding the space ch— I mean, helping Thula and the others free slaves, the ship is yours." It felt good. It felt right. Almost meant to be. Everyone else looked stunned, even Thula. Griggs wanted to laugh; what had they expected? She smiled and gestured at the Fleet crest and battle flags that still adorned the bridge. "You might have to re-paint in here and on the hull, and definitely give her a new name."

  "I can't take your ship," Pyix said, as if she just hadn't heard him the first time. "It's a Newton-class battleship, and you just seized it from the Alliance. This is your ship."

  "No," Griggs said, "it's your ship. Get the women off Caihiri and to new lives somewhere far away, or hell, keep them on as crew and teach them skills they'll be able to use to find jobs, if they want. Then they can steal their own ship and join the rebels, maybe chase after more of those Slasu bastards and really fuck 'em over."

  A screech filled the bridge and Griggs jumped at least a foot in the air, but it was only Thula, waving her arms and crowing in delight. She hopped and tackled Griggs in a hug enthusiastic enough it knocked Griggs clean off her feet. She laughed and tried to untangle herself. "I take that as a yes? You'll be a team to stop all that bullshit on Caihiri, then move on to another planet? We'll help when we can, but you'll be a lot farther under the Alliance's radar than we will be."

  "Of course," Pyix said, then Vrix grinned and shook his hand, a torrent of unintelligible Xarav words passing between them, and Griggs tried not to rip any feathers out of Thula as they clambered back to their feet.

  Thula hugged her again, whispering, "For this, we will send you many beautiful outfits. Gauze and lace only, so there will be much for the warrior's attention, yes?"

  Griggs's cheeks burned yet again, almost enough to give her a headache, and her skin felt tight and hot and almost too small. She cleared her throat. "Uh, thank you. That's not necessary."

  "Like hell it isn't," Vrix said, and shook Thula's hand as well. "Send anything you want. And shoes, too. Those tall ones with spikes on them."

  Thula crowed again, this time with mirth, and Griggs figured her face must have been purple from the way Estelle giggled. Griggs gestured for the navigator to join them. "Pyix, Thula, this is Ensign Estelle. She can give you a tour of the ship so you can start planning."

  Estelle saluted and led them off the bridge, still grinning, and Griggs patted her cheeks to try to get rid of the red before she ended up giving herself a sunburn.

  Vrix immediately caught her shoulders, his expression difficult to read. "What are you doing?"

  "They need the ship more than we do," Griggs said. She meant every word. "The women on that planet—they need Pyix and Thula to have this ship. Besides. There'll be other ships for me to steal."

  "Oh really? Other ships?" A hint of a smile touched his mouth. "Are you sure?"

  Griggs quirked an eyebrow at him. "There's a whole Fleet out there to pick through, and I want to upgrade. A new Aldrin-class ship, something fast and sexy."

  Vrix tugged on her ponytail and pulled her tight to his chest. "Remember how I said you would change the universe?"

  She took a deep breath to inhale him, and closed her eyes. There were still so many things to accomplish to even make a dent in everything wrong with the Alliance and its way of doing business. But every journey started with a single step.

  Or a single spaceship.

  When Griggs didn't speak, Vrix kissed the top of her head and murmured soft words in her ear. "You've already done it, nixtava. You changed the world for those women, and for Pyix, and the space chickens. You've started to change the rebels and given them new focus—not just defeating the Fleet, but going after all the shit the Alliance allows to go on under their noses for the right price. The Slasu will be telling stories to scare their children at night about the furious Earther who rampaged through their warehouses and single-handedly seized a Fleet ship."

  Griggs snorted a laugh, shaking her head, and slid her hands down his back to the waist of his pants until Vrix grumbled and his scales started to
rattle. "Yeah. I don't know how I'm going to top that."

  His hands tightened on her waist and Vrix abruptly picked her up and tossed her over his shoulder, smacking her ass as he headed for their quarters. "I can't wait to find out."

  Griggs laughed more and reached for his dagger. He was definitely getting more than he bargained for.

  Griggs

  They stayed on the Argo for its maiden voyage back to Xarav. The Galaxos and Heisenberg went to rendezvous with some of the rebels, but because Vrix claimed there was business on Xarav, Griggs went along. And Pyix insisted she captain the ship on at least one trip.

  Pyix needed more crew, and they also brought some passengers to Xarav. Some of the women from Caihiri wanted to resettle on Xarav, aided by Pyix and Vaant and the others with points of contact for safe help, so the Argo flew them to freedom. There was no chance in the entire universe that the Slasu would dare show up on Xarav for any reason, much less to retrieve escaped slaves from the freedom-loving Xaravians. Griggs reveled in every moment of it, though it was a little bittersweet. She knew it was just a matter of time until she had another ship and another mission.

  The ship entered the Xarav atmosphere and was formally greeted by the Xaravians, which choked Griggs up just the tiniest bit when they welcomed her as captain. She stared straight ahead so she wouldn't see Vrix watching her. She'd have completely lost her composure, seeing the pride in his eyes.

  Griggs thanked her lucky stars she found him. He wasn't threatened by her strength or attitude or capability. Griggs could kick ass and take names and steal a Newton damned spaceship, then crawl into bed with him and feel like the most delicate, precious person in the universe. And he always had her back.

  So after the emotional upheaval of the trip and the docking and formally handing the ship over to Pyix so he could resupply and recruit more crewmembers, Griggs was more than happy to sneak into one of the departure pods with Vrix for some time away before the ship headed back to meet the Galaxos.

  As they flew over the planet, Griggs marveled at the intense desert landscape and unnerving lack of water or trees. No wonder the Xaravians swore by sandsnakes and desert winds. There wasn't anything else on their damn planet. The different shades of sand and rock were beautiful, if severe. A bit like Vrix himself. Griggs sat back and half-dozed in the passenger seat, content to let Vrix drive for once, but she wondered what he had planned. The unflappable Xaravian looked almost nervous when he helped her into the pod, and he wore robes she hadn't seen before. Something was definitely up.

  The departure pod began an auto-landing sequence, and as they drew closer to the surface, Griggs spotted a large open-front fabric tent at the top of a hill or a dune or something. It looked quite impressive, flags flapping and banners waving from the conical top, a few wisps of smoke escaping from a hole in the center. A few large lizard-like creatures, pretty damn close to camels, pulled at their ropes as the pod landed and sent sand swirling through the air.

  Vrix went through the powering-off checklist, then got up to retrieve something from one of the bags he brought along. He held out a mass of fabric to her. "These are traditional Xarav robes for a woman. I brought more clothes, but for the sand and the heat, these are best."

  "Oh?" Griggs got to her feet and tugged at the zipper on her uniform flight suit. She dragged the zipper down until she could shove it off, revealing the purple glittery outfit he loved so much, and Griggs dragged a finger down her throat to her cleavage as she raised an eyebrow. "And here I thought you liked this little number."

  His eyes flashed silver and his spikes immediately rose, and Vrix reached for her out of pure instinct. The last time she wore the purple skirt, he couldn't control himself. So of course Griggs thought it would be fun to surprise him, since she'd greatly enjoyed how aggressive he got when the spikes all stood up and gold flashed through his skin. She didn't have to do any work, just lying there to be worshipped. A girl could get used to that.

  Vrix growled as he buried his face in her breasts and dragged her hips closer so he could slide his hand under the skirt to check for underwear—one of the human practices he hated. "It's a crime to cover you up, but I don't want you to get burned. So put the robes on and I'll tear them off you once we reach the tent."

  Griggs laced her fingers into his hair and kept his head close, though she redirected his mouth to her nipple and her head fell back as Vrix took the opportunity to remind her how sharp his teeth were. His eyes were wild as he retreated, then wrapped her in the elaborate robes rather hastily before he knelt to tie the belt of her robe in an intricate knot. He took a long pin, inlaid with beautiful stones and crafted to look something like a dragon, and used it to secure the knot and belt.

  Griggs ran her hands down the robes in appreciation, loving the heft and quality of the fabric as it fell in soft folds all around her. The deep blues and purples of the fabric reminded her of his skin, along with small threads of gold lace at the hems and cuffs. It would be a pity if he actually ended up tearing the robes, because they might have become her new favorite pajamas.

  Vrix retrieved a near-matching set of robes for himself from the same bag, and before he could fiddle with his own belt, Griggs tied it with one of the ridiculously complex knots they taught her at the academy. He frowned down at the knot, which happened to constrict with each tug, and eyed her sideways. "If you cut off blood circulation down there, neither of us will have a very interesting night."

  "Consider that your chastity belt, nixtava." She went up on her toes to kiss him, then breathed against his mouth. "I'm the only one who knows how to untie you, to set you free. If you ever think about letting some other female touch that belt, you'll lose the blood—permanently."

  Vrix growled and laughed and couldn't hide his hard-on even in the voluminous robes. He grabbed her and kissed her fiercely, backing her against the wall of the pod until Griggs had to wrap her arms and legs around him. He squeezed her ass, fingers digging into the soft flesh, and dragged his teeth down her throat. "Same for you, my love. And I am your nixtav. You just called me a woman."

  "I can swear at you however I want." Griggs tugged on his hair, loving the rustle and clink of the beads and bones. "Besides, you never told me what it meant, so maybe I meant to call you a woman."

  "It means 'beloved.'" Vrix smiled as he kissed her again, gently, and turned toward the door so they could walk to the tent. "It's not a curse."

  "Wait." Griggs dropped to her feet and scowled at him as Vrix gathered up all the bags in one hand. "You've been calling me that since the first week we met. What the hell is wrong with you?"

  Vrix shrugged, though his eyes sparked with silver and made her deeply nervous. "I knew then. You're my mate. Why not call you my beloved, when you were from the moment we met?"

  Griggs's heart thumped in her ears. They hadn't actually said they loved each other yet. She felt like it was understood, but Griggs couldn't risk being the one to say it first. And the idea that he somehow loved her from when they first met... It made that awful knot form in her throat until she couldn't speak or breathe, and her vision blurred and her sinuses burned and she almost fell apart like some kind of lovesick dope. She cleared her throat again and again until she could almost squeak the words out, and glared at him for good measure. "If you make me cry, I'll kick your ass."

  "Whatever you want, nixtava." And he winked.

  Before Griggs could aim a punch at him, Vrix scooped her up and bounced down the ladder from the pod, carrying her over the shifting sands to the tent. Griggs almost didn't mind the quiet time to reflect as she stared at his ass and the sand behind him, since it gave her a chance to gather her composure. She still didn't like being weak in front of anyone, but she was learning to let her guard down with Vrix. It still felt too open, too vulnerable, though each time made her a tiny bit more comfortable.

  Vrix put her down inside the cushy tent, decorated inside with shields and weapons and decorated bridles and saddles for the lizard camels. He left
their bags near the wall and drew her to the edge of the tent where it overlooked the slowly-setting triple suns of Xarav. He held her hands tightly, a serious expression settling over his face, and took a deep breath. "These robes we are wearing are traditional wedding robes. I brought you here to ask if you would be my mate."

  Griggs froze. A mate. That was at least the third time he'd said that, but she never bothered to ask what exactly she meant. Part of her wanted to flee back to the pod and escape for the Argo. Mate sounded final and forever. Which wasn't necessarily a bad thing. "Wedding? You want to marry me?"

  "Yes." Vrix waited, silver eyes kind as he watched her. Griggs wondered if he could see the panic in her eyes.

  Griggs tapped her chin. "That mate stuff. What does that mean? You can tell me what to do?"

  "If that's what you want," he said, voice half-growl and his hands suddenly bolder and sliding under her robes. "Particularly since I have very specific instructions for how you'll dress in my quarters."

  She snorted. "Your quarters? I'm the one who was captain."

  "But we're back on my ship," he said. Vrix's scales rattled and his skin swirled with purple in a sudden rush. "My quarters. My rules. Besides, Thula agreed to send more clothes every time we pass near Caihiri, so I'll have to make sure our missions take us into that sector. Variety is the spice of life."

  "Slow your engines, there, bucko." Griggs pretended to ponder the offer while Vrix waited, then she finally arched an eyebrow in challenge. "If you can beat me in a fight, sure, I'll marry you."

  "A fight?" Vrix chuckled, releasing her waist to gently touch the hollow of her throat. "Are you sure? You've never faced the sands of Xarav."

  "And you've never faced me when I'm trying to win," she murmured, and tugged on his belt. "I let you win all those other fights."