by Sara King
And to sweeten the deal, Retribution wasn’t even haunted.
The crew had gathered in the mess hall for dinner and Stuart had been watching their captain pick at her food for almost twenty minutes before Dallas finally said, “So, Mr. Trevvitt, when are ya gonna tell me who we’re rescuing?”
Every head came up. Stuart glanced at Rabbit to gauge his reaction, but the little man looked as calm as ever. He was leaning back in his chair, stockinged feet on the dining table, flipping through a nudie file on his handheld. ‘Talent scouting,’ he called it.
“I mean,” Dallas continued, “You treat it like it’s some sort of secret or something. What’d he do to land on Millennium, anyway? You all act like you’re afraid I won’t help you if I find out who he is.”
Rabbit grunted. “She’s pretty.” He twisted the handheld so Stuart could see it.
“She has average lines,” Stuart agreed.
Directly across the table from them, as far from Rabbit as he could get, Tommy Howlen muttered something under his breath. More than once, Tommy had bluntly asked Rabbit to do his ‘scouting’ somewhere else.
More than once, Rabbit had very politely declined.
Making a face at Stuart’s comment, Rabbit retrieved his handheld. “How would you know a good woman, anyway? Average.” He scoffed, looking at the picture.
Stuart shrugged. “Science says that averages are the key to beauty.”
“Science can screw itself on a lightpole,” Rabbit said. He held up the girl to Darley and pointed. “She look average to you?”
Darley whistled.
On the other side of the table, Tommy jammed his fork into his potatoes a little too hard. Stuart nervously glanced at the former colonel, who had taken to ironing his shirts and bathing before every dinner.
Their captain watched their exchange with a pleading expression. “Come on, guys. You can tell me. What, is he a baby-killer or something? A rapist? Believe me, there’s nothing he could have done to make me give up this ship.”
Rabbit shifted forward and brought the chair back level with a thud. “She’s never killed babies, as far as I know. Though she has an unreasonable intolerance for them.” He held up another woman for Stuart to see. “There’s a nice one,” he said. “Gotta love freckles.” He lowered the handheld again and continued flipping through the images. To Dallas, he said, “Though I’m pretty sure she’s raped a few people. Quite a few, actually. She had a few…rough…years, there for awhile.” He held up the handheld to Stuart again. “Fake,” he said.
Dallas’s brow furrowed. “They don’t send girls to Erriat.”
“They sent this one.”
The way Dallas’s face dropped was almost comical. “It’s Athenais, isn’t it?”
“Oh, wow, those are real,” Rabbit said. He reached for his tablet and the list of names he had begun accumulating since they’d sat down. Picking up a pen, he added another to the list.
Tommy cleared his throat a little too loudly.
“That’s where I know you from,” Dallas cried. “You’re Rabbit. You gave me that coin in the hub. You grew a beard.”
“Technically, it’s a mustache, dear.” He turned to Stuart. “You know, with a different haircut, she could make a killing,” Rabbit said, holding up another girl. “She could start at a couple thousand a night, if she went low.”
Stuart nodded absently, watching the captain. For a moment, she looked like she might scream. She even went so far as to suck in a huge breath and tilt her head toward the ceiling, but she only let it out slowly through her teeth. When she lowered her head, she looked utterly defeated. “So as soon as we rescue her, you’re handing her over command of the ship, is that it? So she can dump me on the first planet we come to?”
“The ship’s yours,” Rabbit said distractedly. He was writing down another name, this one with a star behind it.
Dallas narrowed her eyes. “Mine? Really? So I can tell her to clean the privy if she pisses me off?”
“Whatever you feel is suitable.” Rabbit had picked up his personal communicator—which contained a state-of-the-art, high-powered transmitter that made the lights flicker when he switched it on—and was placing a call.
Malicious glee danced in Dallas’s eyes in between the flicker of the overheads. “I’ll let her cook, maybe wait tables for a few months.”
“Whatever you deem appropriate,” he said distractedly. “Yeah, Huan? Okay, found another one…”
As Rabbit held a brief conversation with whoever was on the other line, Dallas continued, “Think I’ll let her go a few rounds in the air-lock and have her clean up her own vomit when she’s done. With her tongue.”
Rabbit flipped his phone shut and dropped it back into his front pocket. “As you wish.”
“She can starve on baked beans and leftovers.”
“Absolutely.”
“She can wear skimpy shorts that show her buttcheeks and have all the guys grabbing her ass while she’s trying to work.”
Reaching for his handheld again, Rabbit said, “I don’t believe Athenais has very becoming buttcheeks, but you are certainly welcome to try.” He switched his handheld off and tucked it back into its case.
Dallas laughed. “This is going to be so much fun.”
Neatly setting his handheld atop his tablet, Rabbit cleared his throat. “Since we’ve reached the discovery portion of tonight’s entertainment, let me introduce myself and the crew. I am Rabbit. I believe you’ve heard of me.”
“You own that place with Giggles, right?”
“The Shop, yes. This here is Darley, my most loyal customer.”
“Don’t forget a damn good mechanic,” Darley muttered.
“He found out Athenais was headed to Erriat and I had to bring him along or he would have gone by himself.”
“Spent two centuries workin’ the mines there. Ain’t no place for a woman.”
Dallas snorted.
Darley gave Dallas a hard look. “You’re just a child. You couldn’t imagine it.”
Poor Dallas took the bait. “Is it worse than mopping floors for two months and having customers slap your ass when you walk by and getting fined when you punch ‘em for it?”
Stuart had to resist the urge to slap his forehead into his palm.
Hearing her response, Darley cackled and stood up. They could still hear his peals of laughter well after he left the mess hall.
“An’ him?” Dallas said, nodding at Tommy.
“I’m Thomas,” he said stiffly.
“Well, you certainly got a stick up your butt about something, Tommy,” Dallas said. “Think you know piloting better ‘n I do.” She looked him up and down. “Lemme guess. Corps. Officer. Forcibly retired. Maybe even had your own ship, for awhile.”
“I’d rather not talk about it,” Tommy said, jamming his fork back into his potatoes.
“Oh yeah?” Dallas blundered on. “What rank didja get before you washed out? Lieutenant? Captain?”
“Colonel.”
Stuart wanted to bury his face in his hands. The poor girl was clueless, and had as much tact as a perky blonde battlecruiser.
Dallas sniffed.
“How about you, girl?” Tommy said, grinding his teacup on the tabletop as he stared down at it, twisting. “I recognize your preflight procedures. Academy-trained. Probably made, what, captain, before you washed out?”
Turning from Tommy, Dallas jabbed a thumb at Stuart. “What about that useless teat?”
Stuart flinched, feeling the sudden desire to crawl under the table.
“You said you were getting the best, but he doesn’t know his ass from a com set. Like he’s not even trained.” She lowered her hand and gave Rabbit a disgusted look. “You got all the money in the world but can’t even hire a decent com tech? Why’d ya even bring him along?”
“What I want to know,” Tommy interrupted, jerking a thumb at Dallas, “is why this little twit got the captaincy, while I’m stuck with navigator.”
“She’s better than you,” Rabbit said absently, shutting down his tablet. Then, to Dallas, he added, “Oh, and Stu’s a suzait.”
Both Dallas and Tommy jerked. Stuart blushed, looking down at his host’s hands under their stares.
“Well, I’m off to bed,” Rabbit said cheerfully. “Wake me when I need to take up shift.” He got up and, tucking his belongings under an arm and taking his plate with the other, left the mess hall.
As he did, Dallas stared at Stuart, open-mouthed. Across from her, Tommy’s face was a building thunderhead.
As soon as Rabbit was out of hearing, Colonel Howlen slammed a fist down on the table loud enough to make Stuart’s plate jump. “So you’re the little worm that killed Corporal Koff?”
Shame hit Stuart like a filthy fist to the gut. While he had not killed Pete directly, the corporal wouldn’t have died without Stuart’s intervention, and Stuart looked away. Softly, he said, “He was alive when I released him. Dallas can attest to that. Athenais let him use her regen room. Flew in her ship back to T-9. Died with the rest of her crew.”
“Pete?” Dallas looked ill. “Pete had a…had you…and he…” She lowered her voice to a hard whisper and leaned forward. “…he was so normal.” Then she cocked her head. “Well, aside from the droopy face. Thought that was just a stroke or something.”
“That does it,” Howlen snapped. He stood up, throwing his chair backwards in a screech of metal. “Listening to a pompous little airhead dictate orders she barely has the qualifications to understand is bad enough, but I refuse to be on the same ship with this…” He paused, utter distaste filling his dark eyes. Twisting his face in a sneer, he finished, “…maggot.”
Stuart scowled up at him. “For a former Species Operations officer, you aren’t very informed.”
Dallas whirled to stare at Tommy. “You were S.O.?” She laughed. “Oh, that totally explains it.”
“This worm cost me my job,” Tommy snarled.
Stuart snorted. “Really? If I hadn’t escaped, I would have been sold to the highest bidder like my friends.”
“If your captain hadn’t intervened, I would have gotten them all safely to Millennium.”
Stuart actually lost control of his host’s jaw muscles. “S…Safe?” he sputtered. “They would’ve tore me open under a microscope and stuck me in a jar of brine.”
Hate filled Tommy’s features when he said, “Exactly where you belong, maggot. You’re in the Quadrants illegally. You gave up all your rights as soon as you left the Black.”
Stuart snorted. “I was born in the Quadrants. Never even been to the Black. I bonded with my first harran host twenty years before humans ever landed on Mitaan. Hell, my people were living here long before your kind even crashed on Millennium. You ask me, we should throw you in a cage. You’re the ones who don’t belong here.”
Tommy jabbed a thick finger at him. “Don’t you dare get all self-righteous on me, parasite. I’ve seen what your kind will do to the rest of us, given their ‘freedom.’”
Stuart clenched his fists under the table. “You’re bigoted and ignorant. If you knew even a fraction of my people’s history, you’d understand that—”
“Your people? Don’t fool yourself. You’re not a human. You’re an insect. A spineless, disgusting bug. I could squish you with my thumb.”
Stuart was so angry he was shaking. He stood up. Before Howlen could react, he grabbed his arm and released his stored energy into him. The Colonel froze, eyes wide, then collapsed into a twitching mass on the floor beside the table. When Stuart released the man’s arm, he was shaking all over. Never before had he wanted to take a host out of sheer anger. He stared down at Howlen’s petrified face and considered it, knowing that it would be the greatest horror the S.O. officer could ever face, knowing he deserved every minute of it.
With an effort, he turned from the helpless man and slumped back into his chair.
Dallas was standing several paces away from the table and staring at Colonel with wide eyes. “What did you do?”
“It’s just a little electricity,” Stuart said tiredly. “He’ll be fine.”
She didn’t seem too convinced. “So you’re an alien?”
“Well, I certainly don’t have tasers built into my palms.” Stuart sighed and leaned his elbows against the table, putting his head in his hands. He had known the rest of the crew would find out eventually, but he really wish Rabbit would’ve warned him.
Beside him, Howlen twitched the first three fingers on his left hand.
“Can I…see?” Dallas had sidled closer to him.
Stuart lifted his head to look up at her suspiciously. “See what?”
“Uh…” His captain licked her lips. “You?”
Stuart snorted and returned his gaze to the tabletop.
Seeing he wasn’t interested, she squatted beside him. “Oh, come on,” she pleaded, sounding like a kid outside a sweets shop. “This is prolly the only chance I’ll ever get to see a real live suzait.”
“Maybe later.”
“Please? I think it’s cool.”
Without lifting his head, Stuart gave her a sideways look. “You won’t think it’s cool when I crawl out of his ear,” he muttered.
“Yes I will,” she insisted. “Show me. That’s an order?”
Stuart gave her a long look, bemused. Then he glanced at Howlen, who had drooped into unconsciousness on the floor. He winced, realizing he might have overdid it on the juice. Getting out of his chair again, he squatted beside the former colonel.
Checking the man’s pulse with one hand, Stuart gestured at Tommy’s face with the other, “He’s seen my kind before. Look at his reaction.”
Dallas’s face twisted. “He’s a prude.”
Satisfied his heart hadn’t stopped, Stuart dropped Howlen’s arm and stood up. He let his confusion show. “You mean the idea of having something burrowing into your brain doesn’t really frighten or repulse you?”
She made a face at him. “Well, you’re not in my brain, now are you?” Then she snorted. “And why would you want to be? I’m five-foot and can’t do more than half a dozen pushups.” Gesturing at Earl, she said, “The hunk you’re in right now is a monster.”
Stuart grinned despite himself. “Hunk, huh?” He glanced at Howlen, decided he was out for the night, then sighed. “Okay, but just a quick peek.”
“Awesome!” Dallas cried, for all the world sounding like Stuart had offered to let her fly in the next Void Rally above Millennium.
A little mystified by her reaction, Stuart reluctantly lowered himself to the floor. Dallas immediately squatted by his head, staring intensely at his ear canal.
“Do you mind?” Stuart said, turning to look up at her. “I get kinda paranoid.”
“Oh, sorry,” Dallas said, blushing. She hurriedly got up and backed up ten feet. “Better?”
“Yeah.” Stuart stretched himself and, while maintaining a firm grip on his host’s brain, slid halfway out into the light. The dim shape across the room moved a little and Stuart realized she had moved closer, regardless. He got the idea she was peering down at him like some new and interesting insect. He gave her a few seconds, then burrowed back into his den. He reconnected with his host’s brain and opened his eyes.
Dallas was squatting above him grinning. “You’re kinda cute.”
Stuart sat up and shook off the momentary vertigo from reengagement. “Cute?” He started flexing his joints to make sure he had re-established all the proper connections.
“Yeah. Like an inside-out sucker-fish, but with puppydog eyes.”
Stuart stopped flexing. “You can’t be serious.”
“You’re not very big.” She continued, eyes bright with interest. “How do you think straight? Your brain must be the size of a pea.” She was leaning forward and peering into one eyeball, now, almost like she was trying to see him back there, at the controls.
Stuart cleared his throat and backed up until he could see her clearly with both of his host
’s eyes. “I don’t have a brain.”
“You don’t?” Now she was peering at the hole in his host’s ear canal. Speaking to the hole, she said, “What do you have?”
Twisting so she was looking at his host’s face again, Stuart said, “I have no ‘ears,’ naturally, and you saw my eyes—they can perceive light and dark and little else—so it’s best to hold a discussion with me through my host’s senses, not try to yell at me through the hole I made on entry.”
“Oh.” Dallas pursed her lips, squinting at the top of Earl’s forehead. He could almost see her trying to envision him sitting in a tiny metal chair perched in the cerebral cleft, running arms and legs and facial patterns on levers and buttons and joysticks in the same way she flew Retribution. “So you’re borrowing that guy’s brain to think, too?”
Stuart winced at the idea. “No. I can think quite clearly without his help, thank you.”
She raised an eyebrow. “So you do have a brain.”
Stuart sighed. Humans. If it wasn’t developed, discovered, or mutated as a natural part of their evolution, they simply couldn’t comprehend it. “Let me see if I can say this plainly. I’m made up of nerves and fluid, and each drop of fluid can store more information than your entire human brain.”
“Whoa.” She didn’t flinch back, argue, or otherwise get insulted, either, which was both surprising and refreshing. Instead, she just reached up and tapped his host’s skull. “So you’re like what, fifty of us, all balled up into one gray little blob?”
“Something like that,” Stuart admitted. “Unfortunately, the rest of my capacity is limited to that of my host. Humans, for instance, have very acute visual organs, as well as a large verbal command, but you have very little in the way of telepathy or other senses.”
She stared at him for a long time, then blurted, “That is so cool!”
Stuart glanced at Howlen, who represented the whole of human civilization. “You’re the first one I’ve met to think so.” With a sigh, he reclaimed his seat at the table.
Immediately, Dallas dragged over a chair and sat down with her arms crossed over the back, facing him. For a long moment, she just sat there, looking. After a few minutes had passed, Stuart eyed her warily. He was about to ask her what she wanted when she spoke.