Barbarian's Choice: A SciFi Alien Romance (Ice Planet Barbarians Book 12)

by Ruby Dixon

  “What about his…symbiont? His parasite?” I tap my chest, indicating my heart. “You left it in?”

  Niri’s thick brows draw together. “At her request, yes. Why?”

  “What can you tell me about it?”

  She shrugs. “I didn’t really pay too much attention to it. You know, I was busy with, oh, saving my four-legged patient.”

  “Can you do some analyzing on it this morning? Now?”

  She tucks away her stylus on her med pad and then moves toward me. “What are you getting at?” She keeps her voice low.

  I want to know about resonance. I want to know if a khui can be removed. But Niri’s not stupid. She’ll want to know why I’m asking these things. So I shrug. “Just curious about how the biology works, that’s all.”

  “Mmhmm. Since you’re such a big biology fan,” she says, sarcasm lacing her voice. “But tell you what. How about I do a medical check-up on her just to make sure everything’s in working order?”

  “That’d be great.”

  When I don’t offer more than that, she shrugs and heads toward Farli. “Hey there. Mind if I run a few tests on you just to compare how your symbiont has affected your body processes compared to ours? It’s for my records.”

  Farli looks at me, uncertainty on her face. I give her a nod, and she smiles at Niri. “All right.”

  I settle back against the wall, watching the two women as Niri directs Farli to sit on the med table. After a moment, Niri turns and glances over at me. “You can go at any time.”

  “Oh no, I would like for him to stay,” Farli says.

  “I’m going to need you to take your top off for at least one scan,” Niri tells her. When Farli continues to look unbothered, Niri shoots me another look.

  I get up and head for the door. “I need to work on the engine anyhow. Didn’t finish up yesterday, and something tells me the captain will be wanting to head out soon.”

  “You are leaving?” There’s a note of panic in Farli’s voice.

  “I’ll just be outside, I promise. You’re safe in here with Niri. If you need me, I’m very close by.” She bites her lip, and another fierce surge of protectiveness rises in me. “I’m not going anywhere, Farli.”

  “All right.” Her mouth curves into a small smile, and she starts to purr again. Now that I know what that purring means, it makes me react a hell of a lot differently than before. My cock grows hard, remembering her open-mouthed kisses and her naked body rubbing up against me last night. “I’d better suit up,” I say gruffly, and head out of med bay before anyone can notice how affected I am by Farli’s presence.

  Working on the engine allows my mind to focus on something other than Farli. It’s still keffing cold outside, but since I’m expecting it, it doesn’t feel as blisteringly awful as before. I know to suit up in advance, and as I work, I check to make sure no other ‘natives’ show up to say hello. The leak’s an easy fix once I find the leaky hose, and then it’s just a matter of patching it, replacing corroded parts, and then piecing everything back together again. I head back onto the bridge, start the drives, and run diagnostics. Everything’s good. Actually, everything’s running even better than before, which is nice. Shows I’m not a total keffing disaster at this job.

  The captain must have noticed the shiver of the engines. My incoming call light flicks, and I tap the button to answer it. “Mardok here.”

  “How are we looking, Vendasi?”

  “Problem’s fixed, Captain.” I study the diagnostic scrolling across my screen. “Parts have been replaced and everything’s running smooth. Looks like we’re good to resume our journey at any time.”

  “Excellent.” I think that’s the end of it, but then a moment later, he adds, “Come to my chambers, would you please, Vendasi? Thank you.”

  My mood goes from bad to worse. I have a feeling that whatever the captain’s going to say, I’m not going to want to hear. “Be right there.” I head through the winding passages of the ship, my thoughts dark as I try to imagine what the captain’s going to say. He’s going to insist Farli fly back with us, despite the fact that Farli seems to have no inclination to leave her wintry planet. He’s going to suggest all of her people fly back. He’s going to decide that’s a bad idea and we take off without even attempting to rescue Farli and her people. None of these thoughts sit well in my gut. Farli seems happy, but what if the others want to leave? What if the captain won’t take them with us? I don’t like how wary both he and Trakan have been about finding Farli here. I can’t help but feel like they’re up to something and I’m out of the loop. If I had to choose between Farli and my crew…I’d choose Farli. The answer is instant, but I know it’s the right one. I’ve been with the crew of The Tranquil Lady for four years now, but we’re not close. We’re all here because we’re loners.

  And in the space of a day, Farli has crashed through all my walls and made me think about a life outside of this cold, unfeeling ship. Made me wonder what it’d be like to have someone like her to come home to.

  I knock on the captain’s door, burying these thoughts. Chatav isn’t a warm man, but he’s fair. I need to listen to him with an open mind.

  The door slides back, and I step inside. Chatav’s apartments are far larger than mine, and covered with memorabilia of his time in the military back on Homeworld. Medals and plaques detailing his honorable actions are lined up like soldiers, and a flag of the regiment he was in is tacked to the wall. His furniture is heavy wood from a forested planet, carved and fitted into his chamber. Mine is the cheap disposable shit that came with the contract. Then again, this is the captain’s home, and it’s just a job to me. I stop in front of the captain’s ‘business’ desk, where he likes to have private conversations with the crew in his chambers. “You wanted to talk?”

  “I do. Have a seat.”

  I sit in the uncomfortable wood chair across from him and wait.

  He is quiet for a long moment, thinking. His hands are linked across his chest, and he gazes at one of the pictures on his ‘wall of valor’ as if he’d rather be back there than sitting here with me. Eventually, he glances over at me. “Tea?”

  I shake my head. I was in the same military service he was. I’ve dealt with officers in the past, and I know a diversionary tactic when I see one.

  Chatav focuses his attention on me fully, all pretense of politeness gone. “How is our wild friend this morning?”

  “The animal will make a full recovery, Captain.”

  “I meant the girl.” His smile is frosty but polite.

  Oh, I knew he did. I don’t think she’s wild, though. Untamed, yes. Fierce and exuberant, yes. Wild implies that she needs to be broken, and there’s nothing about her that needs to be fixed. “Farli is well. She finds the ship strange and has mentioned leaving to go find her people.”

  His eyes narrow, just a hint. “She has not talked about remaining with us? Evinced any curiosity about our ship and its cargo?”

  I inwardly sigh, because it’s clear he still thinks she’s some sort of icy spy. You can take a man out of the military, but you can’t take the military out of the man. “Not at all. She has no ulterior motivation. I think she was just surprised to see us land and came by to say hello.”

  “Mmhmm.” His jaw clenches, but he nods slowly. “I do not sense malice in her, and I would certainly hope she is as innocent as she seems.” He studies me, and then continues. “I have made a decision regarding her.”

  I wait. Here it comes.

  “We have been put in an untenable situation, I am afraid.” His voice is calm, reasoned, his expression carefully neutral. “If we wait here for very long, we will lose our delivery window. However, being as that there are clearly people here, it is our duty to determine their situation. Are they stranded here against their will? Have they always been here as she claims? Are they the results of a failed colony? Or is there something else at play?”

  “Could be a failed colony,” I say gruffly. You hear about that sort of thin
g sometimes.

  “That was my first thought, as well. So I pulled any and all charter records for this planet.” He shakes his head. “There’s nothing. It’s been classified as C-class—inhabitable, in theory. The weather’s atrocious, the atmosphere’s got traces of poison, and there’s too much seismic activity to risk a dome colony. Not that it couldn’t work, of course, but feasibly, it’d be far too expensive and remote for most charters. Just the fuel costs to bring supplies in this direction would be astronomical. And you know how much the Batenes are paying us for the kelp delivery.”

  I do. A keffing fortune. They’re even farther out than this planet, but it’s sunny and warm there. “So not a colony.”

  “It seems not. Which means we must ask the question why. Why are they here? Do they want to be here? Can we be of assistance in some way without compromising our shipment?” His jaw clenches again, and then he continues. “I have decided that we will need to visit her people and determine the situation after speaking with their leader.”

  “Determine the situation?”

  “If it is a rescue situation or not. We need to know as much as possible before we decide if we are dumping our cargo to take them to the nearest station. And since our schedule is running tight already thanks to our engine troubles, we need to pay a visit to her tribe as soon as possible. We have a window of a few days at most before we need to move on if we intend on carrying out our delivery as planned.”

  A few days. My gut clenches at the thought. It seems like so little time. “I’m okay with losing a paycheck, just so you know. If they want to be rescued—and from talking to Farli, I’m not sure they do—then I’m on board with it. But only if they want to be rescued. I’m not forcing her—or anyone else—to go someplace they don’t want to be.”

  “If they don’t want to be rescued, that solves all my problems,” Chatav says. He glances over at the picture on the wall again and then sighs heavily. “If we lose this shipment, I’m done.”

  I frown to myself. Done? This ship’s the only thing the captain has in his life since he retired. “Pardon?”

  “I’m broke,” Chatav says bluntly. “Shipments have been lean, and fuel costs have gone up. I’m barely breaking even. Why do you think we’re running kelp to the outer reaches of the galaxy?”

  “Because it’s a job?” I don’t ask questions. I just go with the flow.

  “Because it pays well. But every credit we spend on unnecessary fuel or repairs means our profit margin grows slimmer and slimmer. And lately there’s been nothing left.” He spreads his hands, and for the first time, I see a flicker of despair on his proud face. “We’ve been bleeding credits for a long time.”

  “I didn’t know.”

  “I made sure you didn’t. Hard to get crew when you’re afraid you might not get paid for the next haul.” He runs his hand along the wood grain of his desk. “If we don’t make this shipment, I won’t have the money to purchase fuel for future trips. That means if we rescue these people, we’re doing the right thing and destroying ourselves in the process.” His gaze meets mine. “And you’re out of a job. Niri and Trakan, too. And I’ll have to sell the Lady.”

  I sit back, stunned. We’re not a close crew, but this is as near to stability as I’ve had since leaving the military. To think that it might be gone in a flash… “So what am I supposed to do?”

  He shrugs. “Same thing I would, I imagine. File for government assistance.”

  The kef he says. Now I’m getting angry. “What about your pension?” I gesture at all the medals on the wall. “Didn’t you get one when you were discharged?”

  “Cashed it out so I could buy the Lady.” His expression grows hard. “Where’s your pension?”

  “Donated it,” I say flatly. I don’t want to talk about this.

  “Donated? But didn’t you have an honorable discharge? For valor? You could live comfortably off that for the rest of your life.”

  I grind my teeth. “Didn’t want it.” Blood money. Seemed fairer that I give it to the families whose lives I ruined rather than keep it and drink it away. I get to my feet. “We need to make this delivery, then. Provided they don’t need a rescue, of course.” I’m pissed. It’ll be a huge pain to try to line up another job, and I’ll have to eat vend-machine soup until I do, but I’ll manage. I think of Niri, who’s elderly and cranky. It’s going to be a lot harder for her to line something else up, and I know she doesn’t have a nest egg. And the captain… This ship is all he’s got. I hate that I somehow feel responsible for their livelihoods. “When do we visit Farli’s people, then?”

  “You seem to have a rapport with her. Talk to her and have her let us know where they are located. We can fly there shortly.”

  I nod calmly, even though my thoughts are chaos. “I’ll see what I can do.”

  “Very good, Vendasi.”

  “Mardok.” I glance uneasily at the flag on the wall. Hate that thing. I see it in my dreams. More like nightmares.

  The captain flicks a hand at me. “Dismissed.”

  6

  MARDOK

  I’m still seething from the conversation with the captain as I head through the empty halls of the ship. He’s been quiet lately, but he’s not the most garrulous of men, even on a good day. I didn’t think anything of it. To think that I might not have a job—hell, a home—when we’re done here… More than Farli’s tribe is at stake now. Niri and Trakan and Chatav will all be without a job if we don’t get this delivery out. What if Farli’s people do want to be rescued? Do we dump the cargo and screw ourselves out of a living, or do we tell them to wait patiently for the next rescue ship? We could alert the nearest Interplanetary Enforcement station and notify them of the situation, but that opens The Tranquil Lady’s crew to suspicion for being in the area in the first place. They might delay us just for questioning. And if they do take charge, Farli and her people will be shuttled through the system and…I’ll never see her again.

  Either way, once I leave this planet, Farli is long gone. For some reason, that disturbs me far more than it should. I’ve just met her. I shouldn’t care. Instead, I’m obsessing over her with every waking moment. And as I head toward med bay, I keep picturing how Farli’s going to react when I leave.

  She thinks we’re married. According to her customs, because she ‘sang’ to me, we’re now together and should make babies.

  It’s absolutely crazy.

  And yet…I’m drawn to Farli, far more than anyone I’ve ever met in my life. Maybe it’s the fascination of her naïve happiness. She’s brimming with life and love and hope and all the things I lost long ago. That has to be why I’m obsessed with her. That and the obscene way she puts her mouth on me.

  It’s normal, and it’ll fade. A guy like me won’t hold her interest. She deserves better. She certainly deserves better than a life stuck on this iceball of a remote planet. And I can’t give her much of a life, on or off it. I’m just a loner with a small bank account and an even smaller living space. No family. Not many friends. If I disappeared, no one would miss me, except maybe Niri.

  My thoughts are dark as med bay opens. Both Farli and Niri are still here, and Farli’s ridiculous, smelly pet is in the corner, chewing on something, tail flicking. Farli’s dressed in a thin plastic gown as she sits on Niri’s examining table. She swings her legs like a kit, and her face lights up with excitement the moment she sees me. Even from across the room, I can hear her begin to purr. And I smile despite myself. She’s like a ray of sunshine breaking through the clouds, and just seeing her delight at my return…it makes me feel too keffing good. “Sorry I took so long to return.”

  “I missed you,” Farli says, beaming at me. In the gown, swinging her legs, she looks like a kid. But then she licks her lips and her gaze moves over me possessively, and I remember all the very adult things we did last night. She’s not a child. Not in the slightest.

  Niri looks up from her scanner. “Oh good. We’re just finishing up here.” She squints at her scree
n and then looks at me, then back at it again. “Huh.”

  “What?” I ask.

  “Nothing.” She taps a few buttons and then puts her pad in a pocket of her jumpsuit. “Are we done here?”

  “I should take Chahm-pee outside if you do not want him dropping dung in here,” Farli says as she hops to her feet and pulls the plastic gown over her head. Her gorgeous body is suddenly nude, and my mouth goes dry at the sight of all that blue skin and her long legs. My gaze is drawn to the vee between her thighs, and the sight of her delicate folds makes my cock grow hard immediately. Keffing hell.

  “Farli!” Niri squawks, and rushes over with a blanket. “What are you doing?”

  She gives Niri a confused look, glancing over at me. “I am not cold.”

  “I don’t care!” She wraps Farli in the blanket. “Get dressed in here. We’ll wait outside.”

  I let Niri usher me out of the room, and I don’t correct her that I met Farli nearly naked. Niri likes protocol and order. She clearly also dislikes nudity, and the thought makes a grin sneak across my face as the door to med bay slides shut. “Don’t worry, Niri,” I tease her. “I’ve seen naked women before.”

  Niri shoots me a look and pulls me away from the door, her bony hand clenching my arm. “We need to talk.”

  “What’s wrong?” Has she found something terrible in Farli’s scan? I feel cold with fear. “Is she sick?”

  “Actually, she’s probably healthier than you and I both.” She pokes a finger in the center of my chest. “What I want to know is what’s going on between the two of you.”

  I take a step back. “What do you mean?”

  “I know you didn’t sleep in the storage room last night. I came by to chat with you and you weren’t there. Wanna explain that, or do I need to bring it to Chatav’s attention?”

  I just snort, because we both know she won’t do that. Niri is trustworthy. “Nothing happened.”

  She crosses her arms over her chest and looks at me.