“A guinea pig?”
“More like an interpreter, don’t you think?”
“I’d be more interested in interpreting if seizures weren’t involved. I hope that’s the last of them.” Indi set down the violin. “It’s too bad Juanita wasn’t the musically inclined one. I bet she’d be excited about this. Even the seizures.”
Tala snorted. “She would probably call them an out-of-body experience. Either way, when the time comes, we may be better off if you play the music.”
“Oh,” Indi said, surprised Tala would give up her violin—and the chance to play a pivotal role—so easily.
A knock came at the sickbay door, followed by it sliding open. Hierax walked in, now wearing his black uniform trousers and gray tank top, the latter soot-stained and ripped from the explosion. He must have just returned from the hangar and not had time to do more than shuck his armor.
Indi smiled widely, memories of their kiss springing into her mind.
Then she remembered that the kiss had gotten him in trouble, and her smile faltered. He would be here now for treatment. Had his painkillers worn off? And if so, did he now regret that he’d flirted with her and returned her kiss? She had no idea what exactly he’d taken and what kind of mental effects it had. Either way, he had no doubt considered the kiss a mistake as soon as all that shrapnel slammed into his back.
“Afternoon, Indi,” Hierax said, coming to the side of her bed and giving her a Star Guardian salute, as if they were fellow officers. “Have you recovered? Was there any damage to the old angular gyrus? Or parietal lobe?”
“I don’t know.” Indi looked at Tala, who stood behind Hierax, frowning at his back and shoulders. “Those are parts of the brain, right?” Indi asked. Maybe seizures affected them?
“The math and riddle parts.” Hierax grinned.
“Is that true?” Indi asked Tala.
“I suppose. Brain injures to the angular gyrus have been demonstrated to cause arithmetic deficits. Chief Hierax, you’re a mess. Come sit on my table.” Tala patted the bed next to Indi’s. “Take off your shirt. And your pants, too, if you have any shrapnel in your ass.” She waved at a piece embedded in his shoulder.
“My ass is shrapnel free,” Hierax announced, pulling off his tank top and flopping down on the bed on his stomach. “I don’t let things poke me back there.”
“You shouldn’t let things poke you anywhere.” Tala went to retrieve tools for extracting shrapnel.
“Doctors give such sage advice.” Hierax grinned at Indi again.
That grin filled her with warmth. He certainly wasn’t acting like he regretted that kiss or was irked at her for instigating it.
“I’m sorry you were hurt because you had your armor off because…” Indi trailed off and glanced at Tala.
Even though Tala was spending quality time with Captain Sagitta, at least according to rumor, and probably wouldn’t say anything if she found out about the kiss, Indi didn’t want to discuss it in front of her. For one thing, it was private. For another, she felt like a hypocrite since, just the day before, she had been rolling her eyes at all the match-making going on around the ship.
“Because my wounds were being repaired?” Hierax finished her sentence.
“Well, they were, but then there was the lingering.”
“You can’t rush nanobots.”
“I thought you could inject them and go about your business while they worked on the inside.”
Business such as putting one’s protective armor back on and covering up one’s chest. A chest that was lamentably impossible to see with Hierax lying on it. But Indi had a fantastic view of his bare, muscular arms and shoulders. The gouges in his back did not detract from his appeal, though they looked painful, and she hoped Tala healed them quickly.
“I don’t know,” Hierax said. “I feel like there may be a rule about not being active for thirty minutes after injecting nanobots.”
“You’re thinking of eating and swimming,” Indi said.
“Eridanus hasn’t mentioned nanobot rules,” Tala said, returning to his side with her kit. “I should administer a local anesthetic. What have you taken for pain so far?”
“Some antiponos about eight hours ago.”
“That would have worn off by now.”
“Yes, it most definitely has. I used interesting gate technology to distract me from my wounds.”
“Doesn’t sound as effective as painkillers,” Tala said.
“You’d be surprised.” Hierax yawned, then folded his arms and pillowed his head, turning it so he could look toward Indi. “I hear you composed sheet music that contains the secrets of life.”
Indi blushed, feeling far less certain about what she’d copied down now that the memories of the Wanderer technology had faded from her mind.
“More like a ditty that turns the lights off and on,” she said.
“It better do more than that or the captain will be grumpy.”
“Isn’t that his usual state?”
“He’s usually terse, direct, and humorless. Ouch, Doctor.” Hierax twisted his neck to scowl at Tala. Apparently, the shrapnel extraction wasn’t painless.
Tala gazed blandly back at him, then moved on to the next wound.
“Anyway,” Hierax said, facing Indi again. “When his mood escalates to grumpy, you’ll know. You tend to get icy glares and extra duties. I’ll probably have some of both coming my way. For suggesting he lick my balls over an open channel.”
Indi snorted. “Does he not like that?”
“I don’t actually know much about his preferences, but you’d better put sir at the end when you’re discussing such matters.”
Indi looked at Tala, wondering if she would chime in on Sagitta’s preferences. Probably not. She was as reserved and private as the captain seemed to be. Indi wasn’t even a hundred percent sure if the rumor Juanita had started was true, that Tala and Sagitta were dating now. Indi had occasionally seen them talking together in various parts of the ship, but licking hadn’t been involved. Angela and Treyjon and Juanita and Orion were much more open about holding hands and sharing hugs—and occasionally saliva. Tala could be sleeping with six men at once, and nobody would have a clue, based on what she gave away.
Wordlessly, Tala plunked down a piece of shrapnel on a tray beside the bed.
Hierax yawned again, and his eyes closed. He looked like he needed twelve hours of sleep.
The door slid open, and Captain Sagitta walked in, still wearing his combat armor, though his helmet was somewhere else.
“Your extra duties may be forthcoming,” Indi murmured, since she didn’t think Hierax could see the doorway from his spot belly-down on the bed.
Hierax twisted his head to look, then groaned.
“Your officers are always so excited to see you,” Tala said, meeting Sagitta’s eyes and smiling faintly.
Indi tried to decide if that smile was confirmation of a relationship. During the first week of the trip, Tala had glared at Sagitta far more often than she’d smiled in his direction.
“My chief engineer is never excited to see anyone,” Sagitta said, “except for his tools.”
“That’s not untrue,” Hierax said. “For the most part.” He glanced at Indi, but then pressed a hand to the bed, looking like he meant to get up.
Tala planted her palm on his back. “Down.”
Hierax flopped back down.
“Good boy,” Tala said.
“How long did you volunteer at that dog shelter with Juanita and Angela?” Indi asked her.
“Only a few weeks, but some commands come naturally.” Tala’s eyes glinted.
Huh, maybe she was in better humor these days. Especially considering the ship was currently marooned in a strange system, and it remained to be determined whether they could get out.
“Sir,” Hierax said, as Sagitta walked between the two beds. “I sent the numbers to Zakota, and to Asan on the Zi’i ship. Neither ship can pull the gate out into space, not the
way things stand now. It’s heavy. But I am working with both helmsmen to figure out if we can get both ships flying side by side and using their tow beams together. There would have to be some major compensation and fancy flying though, because the Falcon 8’s towing capacity is a lot less than the warship’s. Nax and Woo did get the hangar roof open—technically, Coric did it with that computer—so that’s one less obstacle. But I’m not sure about the rest. I’m still running numbers.”
“Is it hard to do that while flat on your stomach?” Sagitta asked.
“No, it’s not. I’m a gifted mathematician. Just ask Indi. I solved seven advanced math problems in a row that she gave me. In my head.”
Sagitta arched his eyebrows at her.
“They were riddles I learned in school,” she said.
“Riddles. I see.”
“Advanced riddles,” Hierax said.
Tala plunked another piece of shrapnel down on the tray.
“Look, sir,” Hierax said, “I haven’t slept in forty-eight hours, unless you count the twenty minutes I was unconscious after having a building fall on me. I’m not slacking off. I didn’t think you would mind me taking a few minutes to get patched up here. An unperforated engineer is a happy engineer.”
“I don’t mind you getting unperforated.” Sagitta walked around the foot of the bed to lean against it, next to where Tala worked. “I’m just anxious to get out of here and back into the Dethocolean System. It may be too late to warn our government about the attack, but we should at least be there to help.”
“Dethocoles isn’t without defenses, sir,” Hierax pointed out. “Look at all the ships they mustered to chase after us.”
“True, but seven warships is a large invasion force, and there were more Zi’i ships coming into the system as we left. As we fled.” His lips twisted in obvious distaste.
“When you’re outnumbered eight to one—or eight to two, I guess it was in the end, assuming Asan could have done anything with our captured warship—I think it’s a tactical retreat.”
“It didn’t sit well with me. None of this does.” Sagitta’s lips thinned into a line as he gazed toward a wall. “My entire family lives on Dethocoles. My mother, aunts, brothers, their wives and children.”
Tala gave him a concerned look and rested her hand on his back. She must have realized he wouldn’t feel it through his armor, because she soon returned to working on Hierax. She had removed all the shrapnel, and she switched tools, to something Indi had seen seal cuts, almost like glue for skin.
“I’m sure the space fleet will be able to keep the Zi’i from reaching the planet, sir,” Hierax said.
“Eventually. But they’ll be caught off guard since nobody was there to warn them. The Zi’i could land a devastating first strike before our people get their ships in space and call in reinforcements. My mother and aunts will be peeved if an invasion interferes with their hiking routine. They go up Pinus Mountain almost every morning. It’s where they share all their gossip. It’s crucial to their well-being.”
Hierax squinted at him. “I’m never sure when you’re joking, sir.”
“Just feeling a little homesick, Chief. Especially with my future in limbo.”
Hierax took a deep breath, like he was bracing himself to say something he didn’t want to say. “When the doc releases me, I can go over to the warship. I haven’t spent a lot of time familiarizing myself with Zi’i engine technology. Maybe I can figure out how to give it a boost, make the ship capable of towing more.”
“Good. I’m sure Dr. Tala can find you some drugs to keep you awake a while longer. You can sleep once we place the gate, get out of this system, reach Dethocoles, and drive out the invasion armada.”
“I’d be a lot more encouraged if that didn’t sound like a week’s worth of work.” Hierax’s eyelids drooped shut. “Or a month’s.”
Sagitta lifted a hand to cover a yawn of his own. “Maybe there will be time in there for quick naps.”
“You look like you could use an injection of stimulants too,” Tala said.
Sagitta’s eyelids drooped as he regarded her. “The last time I let you drug me, you tried to turn me into a woman.”
“It improved your mood.”
“My nipples are still tender.”
Hierax’s drooping eyes flew open. “Captain, I can’t—you can’t say things like that in front of your men.”
“Really, Hierax, after the offer you made me, I figured we’d reached a new level of intimacy.” His eyes narrowed, the gleam in them more dangerous than amused. “I expect you on the Zi’i ship as soon as the doctor clears you for duty.” He pushed away from the bed, giving Indi and Tala courteous nods before walking out.
“Hearing about his nipples was a worse punishment than weeks of extra duty,” Hierax muttered.
“Maybe you’ll think twice about suggesting he lick portions of your anatomy on an open channel,” Tala said mildly.
“Gods, was everyone listening to us down there?”
“Sorry, no Netflix here.”
“I don’t know what that is, but I’m appalled. And tired. Appallingly tired.”
“Maybe you’ll get lucky,” Indi said, “and Tala won’t clear you for duty, as the captain said, until you’ve slept for eight hours.”
Hierax turned a hopeful eye toward Tala.
“Maybe two hours, while your body recovers. Perhaps unfortunately for you, your people’s medical equipment repairs the body much more quickly than nature would.”
“I can work with two hours.”
He cradled his head on his arms once more, but didn’t close his eyes right away. He met Indi’s gaze.
“Do you want to come with me to the Zi’i warship?” he asked.
“I don’t know what I could do to help there,” she said. “Or are you just asking me to come along for company? Like a date?”
Tala’s eyebrows rose.
Hierax wrinkled his nose. “Of course you could help. You keep finding ways to help. I wouldn’t ask a woman to go to a Zi’i warship for a date. The corridors smell like a combination of a svenkar kennel and rotten vegetables, and sometimes, you find gnawed bones left over from their meals, bones they tossed behind a console instead of throwing away.”
“So you’re saying it’s not the ideal place for intimate moments,” Indi said.
“Absolutely not.”
“Where would you take a woman on a date? Your engine room?”
“I’d promptly fall in love with a woman who deemed engineering a suitable date destination.”
“What would you do in engineering?” Tala asked. “On a date.”
“Show off my tools and all the gizmos and gadgets I’ve made. And maybe play a few rounds of Razor Wars. I have VR controllers set up down there. And a cot that you can lounge on.”
“The cot would be… for gaming?” Tala asked, meeting Indi’s eyes. “Not… sexy times?”
“Sexy times?”
Hierax’s brow furrowed.
Indi grinned, finding the expression cute. Hell, he was cute. “You’re confusing our engineer, Doctor.”
“I’m not confused,” Hierax said. “I’m just running some equations to determine if the cot would be sturdy enough for two people having sexy times. It is reinforced.”
“Do you not have a cabin with a bunk in it?” Tala asked.
“Yes, but I prefer engineering. It’s my place.”
“You may be waiting a while to find a woman who would consider it a suitable date destination—and be enticed by the idea of sexy times on a reinforced cot.”
“Oh?” Hierax looked at Indi. “That’s disappointing.”
Indi opened her mouth to point out that she had been to far worse places on dates, including a sleazy, stinky bar with pee-stained sawdust on the floor. After her ex had picked a fight, she’d only gotten him out of there in one piece by using geometry and a pool table to win a bet.
Before she could share the story, the door opened again. Indi had no idea s
ickbay was such a happening social place.
A brown-skinned man in armor walked in, also sans helmet. If this had been Earth, Indi would have guessed him to be from the Pacific Islands.
He carried one of those black drones, and Indi eyed it with distaste.
“Brought you a gift, Chief,” the man said.
“I don’t want it,” Hierax said, refusing to open his eyes.
“Me and Hammer took down a drone without obliterating it. Thought you might want to study it.”
Hierax sighed and opened his eyes. “I don’t have time to study anything else right now, but set it down somewhere, will you, Ku? Maybe later I can look. I was curious about what was powering those things. Not many batteries would retain their charge after two thousand years, but I didn’t see any solar panels.”
“See, I knew you wanted it.” The man left it on a chair by the door, made a vague salute, and walked out.
Tala eyed it warily. “Is that one of those drones that was shooting your team?”
“Yes.” Hierax closed his eyes again.
“Should I be concerned that it’s sitting in my sickbay? What if it has self-repairing capabilities?”
“If it does, I would be even more intrigued to study it.”
Tala frowned down at his back. “On second thought, I may only give you one hour to rest until deeming you fit for duty.”
“You’re a mean doctor.”
“I’ll give you some drugs to make you perky.”
“So long as they leave my nipples alone.”
13
Hierax jogged from engineering on the Zi’i warship toward the bridge.
Despite Dr. Tala’s unwillingness to prescribe an eight-hour nap for him, whatever drug she had injected him with had, as promised, made him perky. Three hours of tinkering with frustrating alien technology in the engine room hadn’t fazed him. He might drop into a coma when the drugs wore off, but with luck, they would be heading out of the system by then. Of course, the next system over was the one full of human-hating Scyllans and human-eating Zi’i, but he would pretend he only had the one problem for now.
Hierax: Star Guardians, Book 4 Page 16