by Lolita Lopez
The furniture was quite different from what she was used to back home. There were no woods or natural fibers. Everything was shiny and sleek and made of metal or the strange plastic she had spied in the bathroom and playroom. As she crossed the living area, she noticed the flooring beneath her feet felt soft and warm. It looked like slate but was actually a weird composite material. She swept her fingertips across the upholstery on the furniture. It had a slick, durable feel.
“That shirt looks better on you that it ever did on me.” Menace stood next to the dining table and grinned at her. He held two plates in his big hands. “I hope you like scrambled eggs.”
“I do.” She couldn’t quite believe Menace had made her something to eat. “No man has ever cooked for me.”
“Well, I should warn you that I’m not much of a cook.” He placed the plates on the table. “You might take one bite and wish I’d stayed in that category of men who never fed you.”
“I doubt it.” She moved closer to the table and eyed the food he had prepared. The bowl of fruit in the center of the table held her attention. It had been so long since she’d had an orange. They were some of the only native Earth fruits that had survived the long journey in the generation ships to be transplanted on Calyx. As such, they were precious and ridiculously expensive.
He must have noticed her lingering gaze. “Food supplies are stable here and my salary has a generous grocery allotment.”
She decided not to point out that food supplies onboard the Valiant were so stable because they required such high quotas of food from Calyx as part of the treaty. Fruit and meat were so outrageously expensive in places like Connor’s Run because the sky warriors here loved them so much.
Instead of arguing about political arrangements, she remarked, “You eat the same things we do.”
He nodded and returned to the kitchen for a carton and two glasses. “You’d be surprised how similar foodstuffs are from planet to planet. At least in this end of the galaxy,” he amended. “Your people prepare some foods differently than we do and we tend to prefer heavier use of spices, but overall our diets are similar.”
“I’m glad to hear that.”
He shot her a strange look. “Why? What did you think we eat?”
“Food in boxes, mostly.”
“Boxes?” His expression turned to one of amusement. “You mean war rations?”
She shrugged and pulled out her chair. “I guess.”
“When did you taste war rations?” He gestured for her to sit.
“There was a transport ship crash when I was a little girl. Your people came to our aid during the Merkorian invasion. One of your ships blew up over our heads. There were miles of debris. My father took me with him to scavenge.”
“And you found rations,” he guessed.
“They were terrible.” She made a face as the memory of the salty, dry food resurfaced. “They kept me alive though. There had been a bad drought that summer and no harvest. The winter was especially harsh that year. When Daddy was killed, I hoarded them so I wouldn’t starve.”
“Your father died during the invasion?” He pushed a glass in front of her.
She sat down and reached for a fork. “He’d taken us—my brother Nattie and me,” she clarified, “into the sewer systems under the town. For some reason those things couldn’t hunt down there.”
“It’s their eyes,” Menace said and gestured to his with a fork. “They need a certain amount of light to process shapes and colors and shades. It’s why we developed weapons that target their faces. The skin is the secondary target on a Merkorian amphibicore. They require a certain amount of moisture to keep their scaly, slimy skins alive.” He opened the carton and poured blue liquid into his glass. “How long were you down there?”
“Three weeks,” she said and purposely pushed the gross memories into the farthest recesses of her mind. “We were in the storm drain sections mostly, so it wasn’t too horrifying. I was only nine at the time. Daddy was able to make it into a big adventure at first so I wasn’t too afraid, but then a week became two and I started to wonder if I would ever see sunlight again.” She laughed as the good memories shone through for once. “Daddy came up with all these games and wild stories to keep me occupied.”
“You loved your father.”
“Very much,” she said and poked at her mound of fluffy scrambled eggs. “He always did his very best to protect us, but it wasn’t enough that day.”
“What happened?”
“Nattie got into an argument with our father. He took off out of the sewers and Daddy went after him and, well, you know.” She touched her neck. “I found him later that night, just after sunset.”
Menace’s eyes widened. “You went out alone? After dark?”
“Nattie and Daddy didn’t come back. I had to do something. I couldn’t just sit there alone and wait forever.” Her eyelids drifted together as the tormenting memory of her father’s gashed throat and bloodless body flashed before her.
“What happened after you found him?” Menace asked, his voice soft and gentle.
“I started digging.”
“What? By yourself?”
She stared at him. “Well, who the hell else was going to bury him?”
“But your brother—”
“Is the fucking laziest, most irresponsible dickhead you’ll ever meet.”
Menace frowned. “Language, Naya.”
She rolled her eyes. “He’s a jerk, okay? Even back then he was a huge jerk.”
“But you didn’t see it?”
“No, I saw it all right. I was just dumb enough and naive enough to think that people change. They don’t.”
“No,” he agreed.
Not wanting to talk about her brother or her father any longer, Naya changed the subject. “Your home is very nice.”
“Thank you.” Menace splashed the blue liquid into her glass. “I think you’ll like this. It’s juice from a fruit that grows on Harcos Prime. It’s a little sweet and just the slightest bit tart.”
She warily eyed the glass. “Is it mixed with water?”
“Yes.”
“From your planet or mine?”
“Mine. Why?”
“Because I haven’t been able to drink water in Connor’s Run without boiling it since I was ten,” she said and picked up the glass. After a curious sniff, she sipped the brightly colored juice. To her surprise, it was quite delicious. “Oh! This is nice.”
“I’m glad you like it.” He bit a piece of crispy bacon. “Why are water supplies compromised in your town?”
“The Merkorians destroyed most of the town’s infrastructure. What they didn’t screw up, you guys blew up during your aerial attacks on their ships. There hasn’t been any money to fix it, so we boil water or we don’t drink.”
“You don’t have to worry about that here. Water supplies are adequate and clean. The plumbing systems allocate a rationed amount per apartment per day but it’s more than enough for the two of us to drink, bathe and do household chores.”
She glanced around the space. “Your home is very clean. Do you clean it yourself?”
He nodded. “I’m eligible for a cleaning service, but I don’t enjoy having other people in my space.” He hesitated. “If you’d prefer, I can request those services.”
Naya understood what he was asking. “I’m not going to lie. I’m not the world’s worst housekeeper but I’m not the kind of girl who embroiders tablecloths and cooks five-course meals.”
“Neither am I,” he said with a smile. “Between the two of us, I’m sure we can make it work.” He motioned to her plate. “Eat. It’s getting cold.”
“Yes, sir.” She gave a mock salute and tucked into her meal. It was actually quite good. She looked around his home as she ate. “At least you don’t have a lot to dust.”
“I haven’t been here long enough to clutter up the place.”
“No?”
He shook his head. “I lived in a section set aside for
bachelor officers until a month ago. When I put forth my name for this quarter’s Grab, the housing department offered me a choice of married housing units. I picked this one because it’s close to friends who have taken wives. I thought it would be good for you to have support nearby.”
His consideration touched her. Even before he’d taken a wife, he’d put thought into how to make her transition to this new and scary life easier. “What made you decide to enter the Grab now? Earlier you said you’d been a soldier for twenty-four years. Why not do it earlier? Did you not have enough points?”
“I had the points.” He drank some juice. “I’ve had enough points for years, but we were on the front lines for so long. Fighting in the field for months on end isn’t conducive to building a new relationship. It’s one of the reasons why they rotated our battle group out here. It’s still dangerous but it’s much quieter. It’s our reward for fighting in the very worst battles of the war.” He suddenly had a far-off look. “There were battles where less than twenty percent of our forces returned. It was more than the enemy, but just barely.”
Naya tried to reconcile those figures. To go into battle knowing that only twenty out of one hundred men would survive must have been harrowing. Menace had been one of those lucky ones. Of course, she wasn’t so sure if lucky was the right word for surviving an experience like that.
“I was happy living my single life. I didn’t really see a reason to change anything until Hallie.”
She remembered the woman’s name from earlier. “Your friend’s wife?”
“Vicious,” he said. “He’s a general and the highest-ranking member of the land corps in this sector.”
“So he’s your boss?”
Menace nodded. “He’s a good one. There isn’t a man I’d trust more with my life. Well,” he hesitated, “maybe Terror. He’s just as honorable and brave. The three of us were raised together at the academy and fought side by side in the worst of it.” He took another drink. “I never thought Vicious would take a wife, but he found Hallie down there in Harper’s Well and his whole life changed. In a good way,” he added. “I grew envious of his happiness and thought, why not me? Why shouldn’t I take my reward?”
Naya tried to process the idea that he considered her his greatest reward. “Menace,” she said gently, “you shouldn’t put so much stock in me. I don’t want you to be disappointed.”
His gaze snapped to her face. “How in the world could I ever be disappointed in you?”
She blew out a noisy breath. “I’m a nobody. I’m nothing, okay? I’m just some poor kid who never finished school. I’m not the kind of person most men would consider worthy of being deemed a reward.”
“Don’t say that.” Menace looked irritated. “You’re a survivor. You had a successful business. You showed loyalty and honor during the Grab. You’re a good person.”
“You don’t know me.” She dropped her gaze to the plate of half-eaten food. “I’ve done things that you would not understand.”
“Look at me.” She didn’t dare refuse him. His gaze burned her skin. “We all have a past, Naya. I don’t much care about yours. It’s done. It can’t be changed. Let’s leave it where it belongs.”
“You make it sound so easy. In my experience, the past has an ugly way of finding its way right back into the present.”
“If it does, we’ll deal with it.” He spoke with such definitive finality.
She arched an eyebrow. “Just like that?”
He nodded. “Just like that.”
She marveled at his certainty.
Menace reached for an orange. “What’s that look?”
She shrugged and picked up the last bit of bacon on her plate. “I was thinking about how nice it would be to have an ounce of your arrogance.”
Menace laughed and sat back in his chair. “It’s a cultural thing, apparently. At least, that’s what Hallie is always telling me.” He jammed his thumb into the bright orange peel and nicked the skin. “I think you’ll like her.”
“We’ll see.” Naya didn’t want to tell him that she’d never been particularly good at making friends, especially with other women close to her age. She had always been awkward and a bit strange. Other girls couldn’t relate to her. “You said she was from Harper’s Well, right?”
“Yes.”
Naya shuddered to think what her life had been like. “She was lucky to escape that place.”
“She’d been in trouble with their law once or twice. It didn’t end well for her.”
Her gut clenched. “Oh, Menace, you have no idea how barbaric their laws are. At least when I was arrested, I never had to worry about having my head shaved or being beaten in a public square.”
The moment the words left her mouth, she regretted them. Naya bit her lip and dared to look at Menace. His hands had gone still. He leveled a calm stare at her. “You were arrested?”
There was no use denying it now. “Yes. Three times.”
“I see.” His jaw tightened. “I suppose that explains why you weren’t thrilled with being cuffed.”
“Basically,” she agreed.
“You should have told me.”
“When? Like right after you put a collar around my neck and carried me back to your warship? Or maybe when your doctors were asking me all those personal questions and jabbing me with needles? Or maybe later when you left me tied up in your dungeon?”
He frowned. “Playroom.”
“You know what I mean.”
“What were you picked up for, Naya?”
“Twice for theft,” she reluctantly informed him.
“What kind of theft?”
“Food.”
“Food?”
“I was hungry,” she answered honestly. “I was eleven the first time and thirteen the second time.”
His expression softened. “You were a minor. Those wouldn’t count against you in our society. I hope you learned your lesson.”
“To steal with more stealth? Yeah. Sure did.”
He didn’t appreciate the humor. His lips settled into a grim line. “You will not steal aboard this ship, Naya. Is that understood?”
“As long as you provide me with food and clothing or a way to earn an honest living, I won’t have to, Menace.”
“I’m not being funny, Naya. I’m deadly serious.”
“Yes, I got that.” She placed her fork back on her plate. “I haven’t stolen a damn thing since I was fourteen.”
“Then what was your third arrest for?”
“It wasn’t officially an arrest.”
“What was it?”
“I was picked up and held for three weeks without charges. They released me and that was that.”
His face slackened. “You were held for three weeks without charges?”
She didn’t understand why he was so surprised. “Sure. I mean, the secret police don’t exactly have to abide by the laws. That’s why they’re the secret police.”
“Why?”
“Well, they do the bidding of the central government and they don’t officially exist so—”
He shook his head and interrupted her. “No, I meant why were you held?”
“Oh.” She figured a watered-down version of the truth was in her best interest. She didn’t know Menace well enough to really and truly trust him with all the sordid details of her life. He said the past was in the past, right? “I was suspected of smuggling.”
“Smuggling?” He laughed. “You?”
Naya bristled at his insinuation that she was some stupid, helpless little thing. “You don’t know me, Menace. You don’t what I’m capable of or what I did to survive.”
His eyes narrowed. “So it was true?”
“Of course it was true. I was helping smuggle people off the planet and moving medicine and other contraband around Connor’s Run and the nearby towns from the age of ten.”
His jaw dropped. “Ten?”
“I had to eat. My parents were gone. My brother was totally useless. It w
as the only way I could make money to keep us alive. I was quick. I was smart. It was good work for me.”
“Good work?” He spluttered and sat forward, slamming the orange down on the table. “You were engaging in criminal activities, Naya.”
“Yeah, Menace, I know. I was there, remember?”
“You’re lucky you were a child when you were doing these things.”
“Why? Because you’d turn me in for being a criminal?”
He looked aghast at the very thought. “I would never—”
She put up her hand. “Spare me. I’ve heard that line before and both times it ended with me getting royally fucked over by someone.”
That time he didn’t correct her blue language. Voice laced with irritation, he declared, “You should never have been put in that situation. Someone should have been looking out for you.”
She scoffed. “And who would that be? My dead father? My loser brother?”
“What about your mother?”
She stiffened. “What about her?”
“Where was she during all of this?”
“Far away from me,” Naya said and rose from her chair. She gathered together their dirty dishes. “I was six when she left with a sky trader from Jesco.”
“She left you behind?”
Naya blinked rapidly to force away the tears threatening to spill. “I should have wised up then and realized she was just going to be the first.”
“Your brother?”
She took his empty glass. “He hopped a transport ship to the colonies six years ago.”
“But you would have been just a teenager then,” he said in obvious confusion.
She felt his stare boring into her back as she carried the armload of dishes into the kitchen. “What can I say, Menace? I guess I’m just not the kind of girl people want to fight for.”
“Put the dishes down right now and come here.”
His angry tone shocked her. She complied instantly and slid the dirty dishes onto the closest countertop. When she spun to face Menace, he’d risen from his chair. The stony expression on his face struck fear in her chest. Swallowing hard, she made her way back to him.