by Stone, Layla
“Are you sleeping?” she asked.
Yon didn’t open his eyes as he readjusted his shoulders. “I’ve already seen it five times. I could probably repeat it word for word.”
“Why so many times?”
“When I can’t sleep, I turn on training videos.”
She held in a laugh by pressing her lips together. Then she had an excellent thought. “If you need to lay down, be my guest. I’ll wake you when it’s over, and you can quiz me then.”
“I’m good here.”
“No pressure.”
“Pay attention to the video, Lena, or so help me, Seth, I’m going to come back tomorrow and do this again.”
She snorted. She couldn’t help it. Did he think that was a threat? And did he just call her Lena?
Yon cracked open a single eye. “You think I won’t?”
“I know you will.”
Both eyes opened and drilled into hers. “And you’d be fine with that?”
She owned it. “I’d be fine with it.”
Yon closed both eyes and groaned. “Watch the video.”
“I am.” And she did. It was another hour of very long and drawn-out explanations of Federation rules versus port planets and their customs. She hoped that most of the etiquette stayed in her mind, but at the same time, she knew she could always watch it again before she ever left the ship.
When it was over, Yon’s breath was heavy, and he was snoring.
She could wake him up and let him leave, or she could let him sleep. Yelena didn’t have to think hard about it. The bed was not extra-large, but the two of them did fit. Moving out of the way and making sure the single pillow was next to the wall for him, she gently touched Yon’s arm and whispered, “Yon, can you lay down so we can put our feet up?”
Yon didn’t move, but he did take in a long breath and peered at her with unfocused eyes. So, she repeated, “Lay down, please.”
This time, he didn’t object, he curled over and moved the pillow. With his back to the wall, there was plenty of room for her. She slid in beside him and got under the blanket, the same one he was sleeping on.
At first, she kept a little space between them, but he reached around her waist and pulled her back into his chest. His warmth surrounded her, and everything inside her relaxed. Yon moved aside her hair and nuzzled the back of her neck. “You smell good.”
She wondered if he’d meant to say that out loud. She slipped her hand over his and interlaced their fingers.
9
Where I Belong
Yelena was warm for the first time in a long while. Her hands could feel Yon’s hot flesh, and she couldn’t help but get as close to it as possible. At some point after falling asleep following the training, Yon had moved her, taken off his shirt, and tucked her against his body. It was heaven.
Yelena had no idea what to do now that she was awake, though. Yon’s breathing was even and deep. Each inhale made his chest push against her back. She wanted to turn around and see him in his sleeping form.
A loud ping echoed in the room. It sounded like a Minky pad, but it wasn’t hers. She’d changed hers to vibrate.
The ping echoed again.
That’s when Yon moved. He rolled both of them forward as he pulled out his arm from under her neck. She turned and looked at his face.
He pinned her with his eyes, watching her as if he expected her to say something.
She didn’t.
He must have realized she wasn’t going to because he sat up, rubbed his eye with one hand, and pulled out his Minky with the other. That’s when she got another close and personal look at his scarred chest. It looked as if he had been chopped and gutted, and then his skin had been sewn back together.
Yon noticed that she was looking. “Like what you see?”
She respected what he’d gone through, but it wasn’t as if she were salivating over his pain. But she didn’t say those things because he’d accepted the incoming call. “Captain.”
“My office.” The male caller said, and then the screen chimed, letting her know it was terminated.
Yon put his Minky pad into his pocket, then rolled over her and off the bed. His voice was gravelly when he told her, “I’ll send you the test. Fill it out and send it back to me.” The large male reached down and grabbed his black shirt and then pulled it on, covering everything that made him complete.
Yon touched her black Minky screen and pulled up the Hetten mountain range from the night before. “You work first shift, right?”
“I do.” She wondered if he was guessing or if he actually knew that.
Yelena moved to sit, watching him pull on his jacket. He didn’t look too happy, and she couldn’t help but think that maybe he regretted staying. Which was awful because she’d loved it. His large body holding hers was nothing like she imagined, and so much better.
Yon sat down on the bed and pulled out his boots. “Are you going to go see Ansel about the illumia?”
“He told me to see him this afternoon.”
“But are you going to get it back or have it taken out?” He slipped on one boot and laced it.
“I don’t know.” Honestly, she didn’t.
“If you felt safe here, then you wouldn’t need it. But if you don’t, and you were just saying that to me, then you will get it.” Yon’s face hardened. “Don’t get it fixed. Because if you freak out and knock out the crew, you’re going to see what it’s like to be on my bad side.”
There it was. The sharp side of Yon that gave no mercy. And it was focused on her. Inwardly, she understood his point, his protective nature for the crew. Illumia was dangerous, he was right about that. But he could have said it nicer. Then again, if he had, he wouldn’t be Yon.
Yon grabbed his other boot and slid it on. “Your non-responsiveness is pissing me off.”
“It’s not like I will be walking around surrounded by illumia. It only happens under severe stress. As in, someone trying to kill me.” Or her best friend in the whole world being murdered in front of her.
“Yesterday, you made some dumb choices, and I let it go because you were new to ship life. But this…this is the height of stupidity.”
Harsh words. And she didn’t like them one bit. Instead of being protective, he was being cruel. Which in turn, made her shut down. Years of backing down to authority figures had been ingrained on her too strongly.
Yon finished with his boots and then stood up and stalked to the door. Yelena watched him go. She didn’t think he even slowed as the doors opened. Once he was gone, she shot up, needing to do something—anything.
Her attention was pulled in by the Minky screen, and she frowned. Stabbing the screen with her finger, she went back to the archives, looked up mountains, and found the Terran picture. She saved it to her files and uploaded it as her default picture.
There.
Her victory was short-lived because looking at it made her think of Cami. A void in the pit of her stomach opened and beckoned her down. Happy memories that had once made her smile brought instant, overwhelming sorrow.
Turning around, she forced herself to keep moving, even though she wanted to get back in bed. Instead, she pulled up the blankets and tucked them in, but her energy was gone, and she sat down on the edge, just watching the Minky, feeling the itch at the base of her neck start to throb.
Her illumia wanting out.
A minute later, her door opened again. She braced, worried it was Yon. Worse, it was Vivra. “Hey? You okay?”
Vivra must have seen Yon leaving her room. Yelena forced her dark thoughts down so she could act normally with her friend.
“Hey, hey, what’s wrong?”
Yelena shook her head. “Nothing.”
Vivra got in her face. “Be honest with me, right now. Did Yon threaten you? Hurt you?”
Yelena was surprised that Vivra had said such a thing about Yon. The hybrid would never hurt her. She believed that to her core. But his words could scar, so maybe that was what Vivra was inferr
ing.
Either way, Yelena wasn’t scared, only upset. “No. I swear.”
“Then why are you back to being terrified to even look at me? I thought we were friends.”
Yelena wasn’t terrified of Vivra. She just didn’t want to talk about Yon and what had happened between them. That was between her and Yon.
Vivra was her friend. Nothing like what Cami was, but still someone she didn’t want to disregard, so she decided to share what she could. “We are. I just did something I shouldn’t have, and Yon made sure I knew to never do it again.”
And she would never discuss something that private with Yon again.
“What exactly are you not allowed to do?”
Yelena didn’t have the energy to explain.
“You don’t have to tell me. But I’m not going to let someone else dictate your life. You get to live your way. Do not let that male or anyone tell you how to live your life.”
Yelena nodded. She hoped that Vivra meant that.
“All right, I will see you around.”
After Vivra had left, Yelena checked the time and figured she could show up to work early because it wasn’t as if she were going back to sleep.
Just then, her Minky screen pinged. She accepted the call from her boss.
“Sands.”
It was a voice call, so the screen stayed black. Sands’ voice carried over the speakers as he said, “There’s a room-change request in for you. Before you start work, pack up your stuff and bring it down to level three. You’re in room 556.”
Yelena was glad he didn’t see her look around her cabin at all her things. She belonged down in the berthing rooms on level three. She had only moved up when the rooms were packed, and she needed space from the other Flourgs. Being around them brought back too many memories.
Now, it would be fine. Even if she did have to share a room, which was standard in a berthing room. “I’ll pack up right now.”
“I’ve already set the room to your prints. It will open for you. And bonus, you don’t have to share.”
“Thank you.”
“Don’t thank me, I didn’t assign you to that room. Shady did. She’s also the one who put in the room-transfer request.”
“I will thank her when I see her then.”
“If you say so,” Sands said and then terminated the call.
Knowing that she wasn’t coming back to the room, she removed her profile from the Minky screen. Then she walked into the cleaners to take a shower. After that, she pulled off the bed coverings and put them in the cleaner and waited until they were finished before making the bed again.
It was standard protocol to leave the room as you received it.
After she was dressed, she picked up a small, black duffle bag and stuffed all her clothes and things inside, including the packs of water and food. Everything that belonged to her.
She used the strap and pulled it over her shoulder. Not bothering to look back as she exited her cabin for the last time, she walked out.
In the hall, she pulled out her Minky pad to see what her work orders were for the day. When the elevator opened, she peered up to see Shady, the second in command of weapons and tactical.
“Hi,” Yelena said in greeting.
Shady saw her pack and then pushed her shoulders back. “I wanted to catch you so that you understood I didn’t move you down to level three to be malicious or as punishment. I did it because you’re not an officer and you don’t belong here.”
“I understand.”
“Good.” Shady stepped back, allowing Yelena to enter with enough space for her pack. The female selected level three with her cybernetic finger. Shady had a daunting presence. Not like Yon, where he claimed the very air around him. No, Shady was more like lightning. Scary at first, but when you saw her from afar, she was still frightening but in a beautiful way.
On the way down, Yelena thought to ask, “If I needed to find someone on Earth, how would I do that?”
“Who’s on Earth?”
Yelena pulled the strap farther up on her shoulder. The bag was heavy, but she didn’t want to put it down. “A friend…” Just saying those words and referring to Cami made her throat close up instantly. Her neck prickled, and she shook her head.
“What’s your friend’s name?” Shady asked.
“Decoud.”
“Does he have a last name? A title? What part of the planet does he live on?”
Yelena shook her head. “All I know is his first name.”
The elevator came to a stop. The doors opened, and Yelena stepped out. Shady didn’t, but she did call out, “Find out more information, and I can help.”
“Thank you,” Yelena said, but it was whispered because it was so close to her heart. Taking in deep breaths, she tried to calm down so the back of her neck would stop throbbing.
She hadn’t gone far, only a few steps from the elevator. There was a Minky screen with a map on it on the wall. It had the layout of the level. According to the diagram, if Yelena took the hallway to the right, it would lead her to the female showers, the recreation room, the trash disposal, and another section for the male showers. If she turned left, she’d head to the thousands of berthing rooms.
Turning left towards her future room, she wondered again what it would have been like if Cami were still alive. Would she be moving in with Yelena to room 556?
She missed her friend so very much.
10
Crew Complaints
Yon walked into Rannn’s office still stewing about the fact that Yelena wasn’t thinking right. If she emitted little bursts of energy that knocked him out, he was going to be livid. Seth help her if that happened. He knew himself, and he knew he would say something unforgivable. Not that he wanted to be cruel, he didn’t—especially not to her.
The worst part about his morning was that he’d genuinely enjoyed sleeping next to Yelena. Her body never really warmed, so he never got overheated. He’d also slept deeper than he ever had before. He’d woken up feeling refreshed. Then she’d ruined it. Or maybe he had. Either way, the morning had been a disaster.
Pushing those thoughts away, he focused on the captain, who was sitting alone at the Minky table. A series of Federation galaxies projected in 3D took up the middle.
Rannn turned in his seat. “How’s your mom?”
Yon wasn’t going to talk about his mom, and Rannn knew that. The bastard was being irritating on purpose. So, Yon asked back, “How’s your sister?”
Rannn turned his chair back to the table. “Mated.”
Yon took a seat, not wanting to get into that conversation. Instead, he pointed to the galaxy map of all the systems inside the Federation. “You called me up here? What did you want to show me?”
The captain touched the screen and brought up several planet incidents. Yon looked at the first three. They were all coded as outbreaks. Rannn told him, “I’ve started compiling all the Federation planet outbreaks to see if I can find any common ground.”
Yon knew what Rannn was getting at, but he thought about the ambiguousness of it. “Outbreaks can happen naturally. They won’t all be from the Numan who made the disease that consumed Eldon. This spread you’ve created is not going to determine what caused the illness.”
“I’m not an idiot, Yon. I already thought of that.” Rannn touched the screen again, and only some of the numbers were highlighted in blue this time. The other incident numbers retracted and turned grey. “Here are the open incidents that none of our scientists have been able to track back to their original source. Some may be natural, but some, at least according to their notes, are synthetic.”
Yon argued. “Still doesn’t mean that it’s the Numan. Anyone with half a chemical engineering brain can design a bioweapon.”
Rannn peered over, his lids lowered. “You’re being irritating again.”
“I’m pointing out the facts.” Internally, though, Yon was smiling. He liked being irritating.
“I put in a request from each
file to send a sample to the ship. Ansel agreed to inspect them from the labs connected to the belly of the ship. He will be able to process them virtually so there’s no chance of contamination.”
“That’s the first smart thing you’ve said this morning.”
Rannn stopped. “Why are you in such a damn good mood?”
Yon shrugged. “I’m always in this mood.”
“I’ve known you long enough to know you’re not, and you’re being extra irritating. If you were sitting quietly, then you’d be in the same foul mood you have been in since you were promoted.”
Yon sat back in his chair, gathering his thoughts before he laid out how much he hated his new position.
But the office door opened, and Pax walked in. The Red Demon took a seat and looked at the screen for half a second before saying, “I spent hours on Lotus Adaamas, and I noticed something peculiar. I won’t wait for you to guess what it was, I’ll just tell you. I didn’t see any other Flourgs aside from Yelena. I thought that was odd.”
Yon peered over at the captain because he too wondered where all the Flourgs had gone.
Rannn touched the screen, and the galaxy disappeared. It was only the three of them. “Karr didn’t tell me what he was doing with them. Which is why I made Sasha and Sci accompany me down to the planet. As we traveled in a Daamas Rounder, Sci told us telepathically that the inside was being recorded by the navigation camera. When we got back, he drew this.” Rannn touched the screen. The Minky table projected the island of Lotus Adaamas.
Underneath was what looked like a drain with a long tube. The tube connected to a large rectangle. In that rectangle were what looked like power turbines and a mini city. Yon sat forward, inspecting the intricate pieces of the underground town. There was water purification, ecosystems, housing, and even a circle that said library. Another small square was labeled theater. There was an art gallery, too.
“How did he build this under an acidic ocean?” Yon asked, not sure Rannn would know the answer.