Mari wiggled her hips and reached in front of her, dug her fingers into the crevice, and used her bare toes to push forward. Layers of dirt covered her baggy clothes, the material she wore acting like a dust cloth. It was cramped in the air vent but she just fit.
An intake grate came up on her left. She twisted to her side and reached for the can attached to the side of her pant leg. The spray foamed over the metal, eating at the dirty gunk that had accumulated.
Once she finished cleaning all the vents, the air quality on the ship would improve. It would smell better too. This was one of the chores Dovis had probably refused to do since, according to the maintenance logs, the cleaning schedule had lapsed for a few months.
She watched as the foam melted, revealing gleaming metal minus the gunk. Only a hundred and twenty-three more to go. She clipped the can back onto her leg, flattened to her belly, and crawled forward.
A quick glance at her watch told her she had four more hours before her first official shift started on her new job. Nervous energy had kept her from sleeping. It might impress her new boss that she’d used her free time to clean, or it might piss him off. She was willing to risk it.
She made it to the next intake grate and sprayed it down. Once the foam cleared, she stared out into an empty hallway on the second deck. No one seemed to be up yet. The Pods were the only crew she’d seen on the ship so far.
Mari used her toes to push forward as she wiggled down the vent. The auto light strapped to her head turned on when the next section had no grates to allow her any illumination.
Maybe Dovis wasn’t a small alien and couldn’t perform the task. Even the Pods would have been hard-pressed to fit. They might be short but they were pretty round. She squirmed some more, grabbed wall seams, and pulled forward until her auto light clicked off when another grate appeared ahead.
The vent widened a bit, and the grate was larger than the rest. She was able to rise to her knees and crawl toward it. Not as much gunk layered the metal bars. She inched closer to peer out into what appeared to be a crew gym. Weights and exercise machines were set up, along with a big area with padding. She sat on her butt, removed the can, and sprayed.
Just as she attached the can to her thigh, a noisy hiss sounded.
Mari froze.
“Fuck,” a deep male voice snarled, the sound followed by a loud boom.
The foam melted and Mari instantly wiggled backward away from the large grate. An alien had entered the gym. He was tall, wide chested, and very furry. Two pointed ears stuck up from the sides of his head near the top. His mouth and nose were pushed outward, forming a small muzzle. Sharp teeth flashed as he snarled again and stormed toward the weights in the far corner.
He reminded her of an alien she’d once seen during a repair. Another big furry beast with sharp teeth. The doors to a vessel had opened and a small, hairless animal had rushed out on four legs. The much larger beast had captured it. She’d watched, horrified, as it ate the much smaller one in a few large bites of blood and gore.
Fear swamped her. Was one of the crew members an alien eater? Would he view her as food?
Her gaze lowered to his big hands. They were covered in fur on the back and as he gripped a weighted bar, she spotted thick, sharp claws. A chill ran down her spine and Mari inched deeper into the vent, not wanting to draw his attention. He looked tall enough to reach the grate near the ceiling and just rip her out.
More snarls tore from him as he pumped the weights up and down in his arms. His back was massive and as furry as his front, a light brown shade. He wore pants and boots but no shirt. His form was like a human male—if humans were born with fur. He possessed two legs and arms, but she didn’t spot a tail. The other beast she’d seen had one, and it hadn’t worn pants, either.
She was afraid to move. The vents tended to creak from her weight as she crawled in them. What if he heard her and attacked? She didn’t want to become like that hairless animal, and find herself devoured. Of course, she was bigger. It would probably take him thirty or so bites to eat her for a meal.
Another shudder ran down her spine, along with more fear at those horrible thoughts. Had she been sold to a ship with a dangerous crew?
The door to the gym opened again and a human woman walked in. “Do you ever sleep, Dovis?”
The big beast of a male snarled.
“Who pissed you off this early in the morning cycle?”
He turned, his dark eyes gleaming with scary intent. Mari tensed, hoping she wasn’t about to see the human get eaten. He dropped the heavy weight bar with a crash. “Shouldn’t you still be with your life-lock?”
“Probably.” The human laughed. “Cathian does like to keep me in bed. Then again, he had some ambassador gig to attend to on the comms system and, time changes being what they are, it was in the middle of our sleep cycle. So what’s your problem?”
“We don’t need another crew member.”
The human nodded and put her hands on her hips. “Ah. Is it because she’s my race, or is it just because it’s another body you aren’t permitted to beat on?”
He stormed closer but stopped before invading her personal space, towering a good foot or so over the human. He was way bigger, with his broad arms and chest. “Both. Cathian hired a recently freed slave. It’s a security risk. We know nothing about this human. The chances of her being resentful are great. I believe Cathian made a mistake hiring her. Even you have admitted most humans are not people you trust. He won’t listen to me. We were doing fine without her.”
“You’re being paranoid. Humans aren’t all bad. It’s bullshit to say we were doing fine. Should I mention the clog in my bath drain because you ignored my request to fix it? My life-lock sheds from his mane. I miss my hot soaks, damn it. The food replicator on the bridge only makes drinks. You were supposed to fix or replace it. It’s been that way for two months. Everyone is tired of starving while on shift when they forget to bring snacks. No one else is sorry that Cathian finally hired someone who will do the stuff you won’t. It’s all on you, Dovis. No one else.”
He growled, looking further annoyed.
Mari waited for the big furry beast to attack the woman who seemed to either be foolish or insane to purposely engage in an argument with him. It didn’t happen, though. The beast backed off.
“I would have attended to those repairs, Nara.”
“In what year, Dovis? This one? Next? We needed help and now we have it.” The human suddenly stepped closer and waggled a finger at him. “Don’t forget what Cathian told you. No more trying to scare the crew to make them quit. You don’t like people. Understood. That doesn’t mean you can be a grump to everyone. We’ve already lost our last maintenance engineer because of your crappy ability to get along with others. Harver quit because of you.” She dropped her hand to her side. “I’m going to personally assure the woman that you aren’t allowed to hurt her. I’ll give her a shock collar for your throat and a remote if you pull your usual shit. I bet that would make her feel safer if you decide to be an asshole. I don’t care if that means you receive a dozen shocks a day. She stays!”
He snarled again.
The human spun, marching toward the doors. “I mean it.”
Dovis turned and punched a dent into the wall. He threw back his head next and his muzzle parted, letting loose a terrifying howl of rage. It seemed he didn’t like to be threatened. Mari flinched, covering her ears. He stormed out of the gym. She breathed easier once he was gone and crawled back into the tighter part of the vent to continue her job.
That guy was going to make her life difficult. She just knew it. Would she really push the button if the human put a shock collar on him? The Teki used them sometimes on new slaves they’d purchased who refused to take orders. She’d witnessed their punishment, dropping to the ground and suffering what appeared to be seizures while being shocked. It looked extremely unpleasant and painful. She felt sick just thinking about being responsible for doing that to someone else.
“Nope. Never,” she muttered. “Unless he tries to eat me. Then…probably.”
She sprayed the next grate and crawled on. Her priority list changed. She needed to go fix that tub drain. The repair had only listed a cabin number, not who the cabin belonged to.
She hurried through the vents. By the time her work shift started, she estimated she’d be finished cleaning one entire level.
That should impress her new boss. She’d completed a task before being officially on the work clock. An excellent employee was one a boss would want to keep around. As good as K’pa had been to her, that didn’t mean another owner would treat her well if the captain decided to fire her.
“Never again,” she whispered, spraying another vent. “I’m keeping my freedom.”
She reached a sharp turn and had to wiggle a lot to make it. The schematics of the ship said there was a lone crew cabin in this direction but she didn’t know who it belonged to. It was odd, because all the other crew cabins were grouped together on another levels. She just hoped whoever it belonged to wouldn’t be home while she cleaned the final two grates.
Mari saw a light ahead and paused, listening. It was all quiet. She inched forward and peeked through the grate.
The private cabin was larger than her old room by at least four times. No wonder the crew member wanted it. There was a full kitchen built into a corner. The bed was massive and could easily sleep five humans side by side. A long, wide couch sat near an entertainment screen. It was black, stuffed like a puffy cloud, and looked extremely comfortable. She felt a little envious.
Mari noticed horizontal bars up near the ceiling, hanging a few feet down. That made her frown. Was the alien who lived there some kind of bird species? She’d once fixed a ship carrying winged aliens. They liked to hang from perches on the ceiling by their clawed toes while sleeping. But this cabin had a bed, too. Maybe it was a circulation thing for whoever owned the room, and he or she needed to spend some time upside down.
She shrugged and sprayed the vent. The grate was clogged bad enough that she had to respray.
A loud whoosh sounded from the cabin, and she stilled. Had the resident returned?
The foam melted—and she stared in shock at the scary furred beast from the gym. The whoosh had been the shower unit opening to let him out.
Mari couldn’t help but stare. Dovis wasn’t wearing pants or boots this time. Just a towel wrapped around his furry hips. He shook his body, despite looking mostly dry. The shower unit would have dried him, except sometimes if you had a lot of hair, it would remain damp. She figured he had that problem all over his body instead of just the top of his head, the way most species did.
He stretched his arms up, twisted his head a little, and then walked toward a clothing storage cabinet near the shower.
She was too afraid to crawl away or make a noise. He’d probably be pissed to find her inside his vent. It was clear he resented her being hired.
He yanked open the storage door and she squeezed her eyes closed when he lowered his hand to tear off the towel. Curiosity had her peeking though, wanting to know if he actually did have a tail.
His legs were human in shape, and he had a super muscular ass covered in brown fur. She had her answer. No tail.
He tossed the discarded towel in the laundry shoot and stretched again, this time twisting his upper body a little. The garment he withdrew from the closet was like a blue, thin, stretchy wrap that he tied around his hips. He faced her, and she held her breath as he crossed the large cabin, getting closer.
Mari pushed back against the vent wall as much as possible. What if he saw her? Heard her? The hum from the engines should hide her soft breathing sounds but he had those big pointed ears. It implied he might have hypersensitive hearing.
He walked over to the fluffy black cloud of a couch and threw himself at it, twisting in the air and landing on his back. He reached over, grabbed the controller for the entertainment screen, and flipped it on. Strange music filled the room. It wasn’t unpleasant or loud, but a slow, appealing beat.
Mari knew it was time to go. The noises would mask any creaking the vent made.
She crawled forward and came upon the second grate. It hurt her work ethic to leave it be, but no way could she risk cleaning it with him in his room. He might see the fresh foam if he happened to look toward that wall before it melted.
She glanced out as she inched past the grate. He remained on the couch…but something about him looked different. Her mouth fell open as it clicked that his fur seemed shorter.
It wasn’t her imagination. As she kept watching, his fur seemed to be shrinking away. Within a minute, Dovis was no longer covered in fur, but firm light brown skin.
Mari knew her mouth was still hanging open.
He rolled to his side, giving her a view of his face. She almost gasped, and quickly clamped a hand over her mouth to avoid making a sound. His bones had changed too. He didn’t look exactly human, but even closer than he already had. His muzzle had pushed inward to leave a nose instead of snout. His previously thin lips were fuller now that they weren’t stretched over a row of sharp teeth. She couldn’t help but stare, transfixed. He no longer looked like a beast.
His eyes were closed and, as minutes passed, a low snore came over the soft music. Mari released her mouth and very carefully crawled away. She made it to the intake grate near the lift, cleaned it, and then opened it to drop into the corridor. It was tough to reach that high to close it again. She had to jump a few times, but her fingers managed to push it closed enough to auto-engage the lock.
She’d heard about shapeshifting aliens, of course. Slaves loved to gossip about the ships they’d worked on and the strange crew members they’d seen. One of her fellow slaves, Bargnor, had shared a story of meeting a tall species that could shrink in size. They went from nine feet tall with slim bodies to three feet of solid, bulky mass. He’d been told it was some kind of social requirement for them to walk around in their tall forms, but while they worked, their smaller, bulkier bodies were needed because they were stronger that way.
Dovis seemed the opposite. His social form was scary as hell, with his fur and that muzzle full of teeth. But his sleeping form must revert to skin. It was strange, but then again, most aliens were to Mari. She shrugged it off as she got into the lift, returning to her room to shower and change into clean clothes in case the captain wanted to finally meet her. Good impressions could mean life or death.
* * * * *
Dovis seethed as he entered the dining room. He’d awoken to reports about the new crew member. Mari from Earth had worked tirelessly while he’d slept the day shift away. Not only had she replaced the food replicator on the bridge, but she’d unclogged the tub in Cathian’s cabin. Nara had personally sent him a message to rub it in.
It pissed him off. The human was trying to make him look bad.
York waved him to his table. He nodded, stopped at the counter to get his breakfast that Midgel had cooked, and took a seat across from his friend.
“How was your day shift?”
York grumbled over his dinner meal.
“Was Cathian on a tear about something? Were there problems?”
“No. I met Mari.”
Dovis felt hopeful. “Is she horrible? Rude? Disrespectful? Is Cathian ready to drop her at the next station?”
“No.” York sighed and met his gaze. “She’s actually very timid and super polite. It’s her damn size.”
“I don’t understand.”
“She’s smaller than Nara. Not too much in height, but she’s thin. I’d break her if I attempted to have sex with her.” York grumbled again. “I’m disappointed. I guess I should have remembered she was a slave. Their masters probably don’t feed them much, right?” His mood suddenly brightened. “That’s it! I’ll get her to eat, so she gains lots of weight and gets some padding over those dainty bones of hers. That would cushion her some.”
Dovis bit back a snarl and shoved a piece of meat into his mouth.
York grinned now. “She’s attractive. Her hair is super long. I don’t think they allowed her to cut it as a slave. She keeps it in three braids that are mingled together down her back, but it reaches her little butt, maybe a bit longer. She’s a great worker, too. She completed twice as many tasks in an hour as Harver did when he was still in charge of maintenance. It surprised me. She’s such a little thing. You’d think she’d get tired easily. Nara had to track her down to make her stop to eat lunch. The little human maybe didn’t know she’s allowed meal breaks. Poor thing. I can’t imagine being a slave.”
Dovis felt his chest vibrate from a low growl. He didn’t want another human onboard. Nara was more than enough.
“What’s your problem?”
“She is trying to make me look bad.”
York laughed.
“It’s not amusing.”
York nodded and ate his dinner meal. “I think you’re being oversensitive and looking for a reason to not like the human. You tend to be suspicious of others you aren’t close to. You did beat the shit out of Harver a few dozen times. He feared for his life.”
“He invaded my cabin without permission. He deserved to be beaten.”
“He was fixing your shower when you beat him last. It wasn’t as if he went into your cabin to go through your personal belongings.”
“It’s my space. No one enters. I didn’t ask him to fix it. I would have done it myself.”
“The computer told him it needed repaired. I know you like your privacy but you did damn near kill him. That’s why Cathian made you take over his duties once Harver fled. But it was supposed to be a short-term punishment for you running off the guy who kept shit going. Instead, you refused to hire someone else. Cathian finally took matters into his own hands.”
“He didn’t allow me to run a security check on this Earth woman.”
York snorted. “What’s the risk? She’s human. The scans confirmed it. One hundred percent. Nothing in her body is a danger to the other crew or the ship. No venom glands, no poisons she can secrete…”
“She could be a terrorist who hates Tryleskians. Maybe she wants to blow up The Vorge. She has the skills.”
York laughed again.
“I’m not joking. We know nothing about her.”
“I do. I read the recommendation letter from her previous owner.”
Dovis stopped eating. “What recommendation? Cathian didn’t tell me he had any kind of paperwork on her.”
“Probably because you’d try to use it against her.” York took a sip of his drink. “She was sold at the age of ten by her parents.” Anger flashed in his eyes. “Someone would have to kill me to take my offspring. I’d fight to the death to defend them. I did research on humans when Cathian took Nara for his mate. Our captain is protective of her, so I didn’t want to accidently offend her in some way. Ten is an age when humans still need guidance and protection from their parents. They are weak and vulnerable. Poor thing was sold instead and left to fend for herself.”
“Maybe they sold her because she’s a terrorist.”
York shook his head. “You sound paranoid—and you’re trying to pick a fight.”
“You like to fight with me.”
“You like fighting and making me angry enough to enjoy hitting you. There’s a difference. I know you’re like this because you want to keep everyone safe. You really take your job seriously. It’s your nature to protect the ones you care about. You’ll learn that Mari isn’t a threat. I also know that will take time. Just don’t taunt the human about her bad parents. That would be cruel.”
Dovis scowled. “I wouldn’t do that.”
“You’re not allowed to hit her. You’d kill her with one swipe of your claws. Humans are vulnerable basically anywhere on their bodies. Don’t forget that. Their skin is fragile and easy to penetrate with sharp objects. They bleed, too.”
“I don’t hit females.”
York snorted. “Wrong. You punched Marrow.”
“In her arm…over a year ago. She tried to engage me sexually regardless of my insistence that I would never bed her. I warned her that if she grabbed my dick one more time, I’d hit her.”
“I liked it when she grabbed my shaft.” York glared at him. “She just wanted to test you out to see if you could be her mate.”
“I didn’t want her.”
“Casual sex is great. What do you have against it?” York paused and his eyebrows rose. “Are you into males?”
“No. My race just has a difficult time getting aroused when we can smell another male on a female. Marrow always smelled like she had done you recently.”
“That’s sad. I didn’t know that about your kind. Does that mean you have to find only virgins to screw? Wait—you said you did a Bing. Was she a virgin? Was it her first day on the job at the brothel?”
“I prepared myself.”
York’s eyebrows rose again as he stared at him.
“I used a drug that dulled my sense of smell to have sex with the Bing. It meant not smelling a damn thing for two full days before it returned. Do you see why I preferred to refuse Marrow? The drug also effects my sense of taste. I like to enjoy my meals. Sex with her wasn’t worth it to me. Also, I mentally knew her scent too well. My mind would have known with certainty that she smelled like you. It’s a mood killer.”
“You poor bastard.”
Dovis shoved another piece of meat into his mouth and chewed. “Forget I told you.”
“Your race is very secretive. I tried to do research on your planet but not much is out there. Hell, most of you don’t even travel in space. Why did you leave Amarai?”
Dovis finished and stood. “That’s never a discussion we’ll have.”
“You wanted a security check done on Mari to find out about her past. Think about that. What are you hiding in yours, my friend?”
Dovis carried his plate to the cleaner and dumped it inside, stomping out of the room. He had a meeting with Cathian. He made it to his friend’s office with minutes to spare and entered.
Cathian held up a finger and spoke into a comm unit. “Understood, Rex. I know this trade agreement is important to Tryleskian. I’ll take care of it. We’ve already changed course. My ship will be there in a week.”
Dovis took a seat, waiting.
His friend ended the comms and sighed. “Why did I agree to be an ambassador again?”
Dovis’s memory flashed to the Nito station, where they’d met years before, and his mood improved. He’d been working as a security guard at the time and the newly appointed ambassador had come to celebrate his position. Cathian had insisted he have a few drinks with him, and their friendship had been instant.
“To avoid being forced to life-lock and breed children with a coldhearted female you detested. Your father put pressure on you to either do so, or represent your people. You chose this.”
Cathian chuckled. “It was a rhetorical question. I never regret my decision. Nara makes me happier than I’ve ever been. I would have been miserable on my home planet. It’s just that some duties they ask of me make me want to tear out my mane.” He reached up and pointed to his hair. “I’d look silly with bald spots. Today is one of those times.”
“What did Rex want?”
“Pets.” Cathian lowered both of his hands to his desk and clasped them together.
Dovis gawked at him.
“That’s my reaction, too. It seems a male and his life-lock visited Callon planet on vacation and bought a few creatures for their children. They were a hit, and now many families want them. We’re going to the planet to negotiate buying enough to breed our own supply.”
“What kind of creature is it?”
“I don’t know. Rex sent me a vid and the information. I’ll go over it later. I was assured one would fit in the palm of my hand and they’re sturdy enough to survive inside our cargo hold for weeks. It also means we’ll have to set a feeding schedule once we have them. I’m supposed to buy at least a hundred males and females each that aren’t related by blood to make good breeding stock.”
“I can’t believe we’re going to be hauling pets.” Dovis curled his lip in disgust.
Cathian nodded. “The indignity. I agree. This is the job though. I guess it’s better than some duties they’ve asked of us. We’re not going in to negotiate in order to avoid a war. That’s something.”
“I’d rather fight than babysit creatures.”
“I just hope Nara doesn’t want one, whatever the hell it is.”
Dovis frowned, not liking the idea of some tiny creature running free around The Vorge.
Cathian had the nerve to grin. “I knew you’d have that reaction.” His features changed into a stern one. “Speaking of, don’t try to get rid of the female I just hired. Mari is the best maintenance engineer we’ve ever had. Not only is she overqualified to keep all machines on this ship working, but she has experience with life support rehauls. The Teki I got her from showed me an invoice for all the work she’s done just in the past two years. It deeply impressed me. She’s an actual mechanic instead of a tinkerer.”
“The slave owner would lie to increase the price. How much did you buy her for?”
“I didn’t.”
That surprised Dovis. “What do you mean?”
“She was granted freedom. He only requested I give her fair treatment, good pay, and protection from harm. Not one credit was exchanged. The Teki seemed very fond of Mari.”
“Was she his lover?”
Cathian shook his head. “Teki males aren’t sexually compatible with humans.”
“Perhaps they found a way.”
His friend leaned forward. “Part of my job is to study different alien races, Dovis. The Teki are ones we deal with often. Let me tell you how their males have sex. You’ve seen them, correct?”
Dovis nodded.
“The male has to lock his tentacles with the female’s, attaching their suckers together. They drain fluids from the female that arouse the male, and that makes their shaft fill and swell. It’s about the size of your thigh, by the way, when it’s ready to be inserted into the female’s body—which is now deflated from her fluid loss. A human doesn’t make the kind of fluid needed to make his shaft swell. They view humans as visually disgusting. They weren’t lovers, Dovis. The Teki kept apologizing to me for Mari being so ugly, but he insisted I could get over her horrid looks once I came to appreciate her skills to repair anything.”
“Did he know at the time that your mate is human?”
“No, but I informed him. He’d just heard we had a human aboard and hoped that I might treat Mari well, since we ‘hadn’t killed or sold ours.’”
“What did he say then?”
“He worried that the crew might sexually assault her. It seems some of the customers have attempted it in the past with his human workers. I assured him that would never happen. None of my crew would force a woman.”
“I don’t like having another human here. They’re not suited for manual labor. The females are even less so.”
Cathian unclasped his hands, touched the pad to his right, and handed it over. “Look at day one.”
Dovis accepted it and read the checklist of repairs that needed to be done—and all the ones she’d completed so far. He scowled.
His friend’s chuckle annoyed him more. “That’s more than you did in all the months combined that we were without Harver. Suck it up, Dovis. She stays. Avoid her if you must but I’m with Nara. I’ll personally wrestle you down and put a shock collar around your throat if it means Mari feels secure enough that you can’t do her any harm. I’d hate to watch you hit the floor twitching in pain, but then again…I’m taking a bath with Nara tonight. Mari fixed the tub drain.”
Dovis threw the pad on the desk. “You’d threaten me with a shock collar? I don’t hit females. You should know that. You’re supposed to be my best friend.”
“I am. That’s why I’m not going to toss you out an airlock or fire you if you scare Mari. She’s timid and frightens easily. Don’t use that to intimidate her. You will always be my best friend and head of security, but don’t think I won’t even out the odds if you pull your normal shit. No aggression displays near her. She stays. Even if that means giving her a way to drop your ass every time you snarl at her.”
He wanted to punch something. Mainly, Cathian’s amused face. “Anything else?”
“Be nice when you see her. It won’t kill you. She’s shy. I know Nara likes to engage you in arguments but Mari is very different. She was a slave. I had to order her to meet my gaze and to speak. She’s even more timid that Midgel. Keep that in mind. Don’t yell at her. She’d probably cry or something. Nobody wants that.”
“Cry?” He was alarmed at the thought.
“Humans do that when they are highly fearful or upset.”
“Fuck. Midgel doesn’t do that, and I’ve growled at her before when she cooked a meal I didn’t like. This Mari sounds pathetic, Cathian.”
Cathian rose to his feet fast and snarled. “Are you insulting the race of my mate again?”
“Nara doesn’t cry.”
“She does, but not from your shit. You just piss off my life-lock. Mari isn’t like Nara. Do we need to take this to the mats?”
It was tempting. He did love to fight.
Cathian sank back into his chair. “On second thought, forget it. I’m taking that bath with Nara. Not bleeding. Dismissed. Go spar with York if you need to get rid of your aggression. Better yet, pick Raff.”
Dovis glared at Cathian, shaking his head.
Cathian chuckled. “No to Raff? Not surprising.”
“I know what he used to do. I’m never taking him on.” He got up from his chair and left, not wanting to think about the Tryleskian assassin onboard. That was one male he avoided confrontations with at all costs.