by Alix Nichols
“Only superficial wounds.”
“Still, it’s very cool.” She swallowed the last morsel of her dinner and gave him a sly look. “Then there’s the OPS.”
Feeling more playful than he’d done in years, he responded with a sly look of his own. “And the tickler. Not all cyborgs have it.”
Her eyes widened with glee. He could almost hear her mind churning as she pictured the purpose of that particular enhancement.
“What does it do?” she asked, her voice throaty. Blushing, she turned away and cleared her throat.
“I can’t tell you.”
Disappointment flickered in her eyes.
His lips twitched as he tried not to smile. “But I can show you.”
She blinked.
“Later,” he added. “On the ship. Would you like me to?”
Familiar voices came from the direction of the restaurant as their group filed out.
Darvesu waved to them. “There you are!”
Linni spun around and rushed toward the group with Keiron on her heels.
She hadn’t answered his question.
Chapter Seven
By the time they got to the spaceship, Linni was running on empty.
The moment her eyes began to pulse with pain and her brain felt like it was aflame, she knew she had to hurry. She had ten minutes—fifteen max—to lock herself in her cabin, line the bathtub with her special high-absorbency towels and climb in.
And that was exactly what she did.
When she woke up the next morning, she was drained and aching everywhere, as always after a post-shift fever. Linni still remembered her first appearance shift, and her first fever, when she was sixteen. She’d been convinced she was dying.
Then again, it was an easy mistake to make.
She cleaned up the mess, rolling the towels into tight bundles and shoving them into the trash can. Then she washed and got dressed. When she got to the dining room, Keiron was already there, drinking his morning brew and reading a paper.
Linni took a vacant seat at the other end of the room and poured herself some kawa from the pot. Opening the book she’d brought with her, she gave herself a legitimate reason not to notice the questioning look he gave her before returning his attention to his paper.
When the server turned up, she ordered three ham rolls, four eggs, and a nut bar.
“And two bananas,” she added as he was turning around. “Oh, and two chechi cakes, please. Um… actually, three.”
“Will someone be joining you, my dame?” the server asked politely, glancing at her slim figure, which didn’t compute with the amount of food she’d ordered.
She gave him a bright smile. “No. All for me.”
He nodded once and took off.
The truth was, Linni’s wrung out body needed all that food. She needed all the energy she could find to chase away the lingering weakness and be in top form when they got to Tastassi in exactly two hours.
Pearl of Xereill performed the hyperspace jump sequence, leaping from the Homeland Arm of the galaxy to the Baylian Arm.
“We’re captured in Tastassi’s orbit now, preparing for entry,” the stewardess said when the passengers’ capsules opened.
Like Sovyda, Tastassi was a single realm planet, a common setup throughout Xereill. With the exception of Ramoh, no other planet was colonized and inhabited in its entirety. Typically, only one large area would be terraformed and inhabited by Ra-Human settlers with outposts and bases outside of that zone. There was simply no demographic pressure to populate the rest due to low birth rates.
The space cruiser touched down on Tastassi.
When everyone disembarked, the company’s local guide, Maldida, led them into a motor bus. Its power-cooled air was a blessing after the furnace outside.
Linni hoped she’d recovered enough not to faint in Tastassi’s muggy heat. She sat in the back by the window.
Keiron beat the fiftysomething doctor from Norbal to the seat next to hers. “Hi.”
“Hi.”
“You look much better than last night before you disappeared into your cabin.”
“I feel better, too.”
He surveyed her. “You didn’t answer when I knocked on your door around midnight.”
She stared out the window.
“I went to the captain to ask if he could check on you, but he said he had your explicit instructions to leave you alone, no matter what.”
“That’s correct.”
With the spaceport now behind them, the landscape grew lusher and more exotic by the minute. Large birds that Linni couldn’t name croaked and cawed overhead, gliding on their brightly colored wings.
“Was your malaise a consequence of the shape-shifting you’d done on Sovyda?” Keiron asked.
With a sigh, she nodded. There was no point hiding this from him.
“When I change my appearance only slightly,” she said, turning to face him, “there are almost no side effects.”
“What do you mean by ‘almost’?”
“A little headache maybe.” She waved dismissively. “Negligible and manageable.”
“What happens when you pull a big one?”
“When I do something as radical as a jerriya, I can still function for a few hours after the stunt, on residual energy. Usually, I’m able to make it until nightfall.”
“And at night?”
“I become… indisposed.”
“Indisposed how?”
She looked away, unsure how much to reveal. Then she turned back and stared him in the eye. “I bleed from my eyes, nose and ears, and then I black out until early morning.”
“Oh, Goddess.” He looked shaken.
“But the next day I’m fine again,” she said brightly. “I just need to drink a lot, eat a lot, and take iron supplements.”
He shook his head, unconvinced by her lightness. “I hope your government gives you hazard pay.”
“I’m paid very well, thank you. And I love that I can help make Xereill a better place for Ra-humans.” She quirked an eyebrow at him. “You must know the feeling.”
He nodded. “It’s why I do what I do.”
Something outside drew her attention. “Is that a colossal chipmunk?” She pointed to the creature outside.
The guide clapped her hands. “Everyone—the large mammal on your left is a squirk. They are very friendly and might even let you pet them when we get to the wildlife reserve.”
“They’re endemic, aren’t they?” Sir Raysten asked.
Maldida smiled. “That’s right, sir. Tastassi is home to the highest endemism in Xereill.”
The yellow backpack woman raised her hand. “What’s endemism?”
“It’s when you have species that don’t exist anywhere else. Half of the birds you’ll see, a quarter of the mammals, and eighty percent of the reptiles are endemic to Tastassi.”
“What about the plants?” Sir Raysten asked.
“Forty percent.”
“Impressive.” The retired engineer nodded appreciatively. “How do you explain it?”
Maldida’s smile widened into an ecstatic beam. “Thank you so much for asking, sir! I love groups that ask such pertinent questions.”
Sir Raysten sat taller.
“The first reason is late colonization. Ra-human settlers arrived here toward the end of the Expansion Era. By then, they’d learned from the mistakes of the early Human Infusion Era.” Maldida took a sip from her flask. “At the time, the invasive species brought with the humans from Mother Terra had wiped out nearly all local flora and fauna on Ramoh.”
“What invasive species?” Zuzeh asked.
“Seemingly innocent ones such as goats, dogs, horses, cats—”
“Rats,” someone interjected from the front of the bus.
“Yes, rats, too. But also crops like wheat and rice and some common trees.”
“Why did humans need all of those?” Keiron furrowed his brow. “I read somewhere that Ramoh actually had all the nutri
ents humans needed to survive and thrive.”
“Even though the humans who came to Ramoh had done so of their own accord,” Sir Raysten answered for the guide, “most because they were dying of some disease Terran medicine couldn’t cure, they still missed their home atrociously.”
Linni smiled. “So, the Ra brought their home to Ramoh.”
“Exactly,” Maldida said.
“What’s the second reason?” Sir Raysten asked.
“The incredible variety of habitat zones on Tastassi. Basically, we have here every single habitat that exists in Xereill.”
“Like… erm… what?” Zuzeh screwed up her face, smiling apologetically at the guide.
Linni found herself liking the candid redhead more and more. If she were Keiron—or a same-sex lover—she’d prefer Zuzeh to herself.
“All of them!” Maldida spread her arms. “From bandeemy reefs to rainforests to snow peaks to soupseas to sand deserts.”
The motor bus dropped them off at the entrance of a wildlife reserve, where a zoologist joined the group.
“Will you be deserting us now or at a later point?” Keiron asked Linni, his expression deadpan.
“I’d like to see at least some of the reserve.” She squinted at him. “Will you be shadowing me from the skies?”
He nodded. “Someone needs to look out for you.”
“Please.” She rolled her eyes. “After twelve years, I don’t need a chaperone. Investigating is a job for a lone wolf.”
He shrugged. “You seemed happy enough to have a partner on the stakeout yesterday.”
She pulled a face, but she didn’t have the nerve to deny it. Especially because she was happy to have him cover her back yesterday. And kiss her mouth…
She shooed away that thought, and with it, the memory of their kiss. Keiron and her—it was not to be. If she had half a brain, she’d do better not to dwell on that toe-curling, pulse-pounding kiss.
Or on the man who’d delivered it.
Chapter Eight
When they entered the reserve, a host of nature sounds invaded Keiron’s enhanced senses. There was cooing, hissing, barking, chirping, the swish of beating wings and paws prowling softly, not to mention dozens of other noises he couldn’t identify.
The group chanced upon a pair of adorable squirks who didn’t mind being petted.
In the shimmering haze of the early afternoon, they watched all kinds of beasts walk, fly, and slither by. But the preferred activity of the creatures seemed to be lying around and basking in the sun.
As the heat intensified, Keiron glanced at Linni to see how she was holding up. She’d brought along a cap, sunglasses, and a large bottle of water that she’d almost finished. Smart girl.
Thankfully, a street vendor showed up just then, to the delight of transgalactic tourists and their Tastassi hosts.
With everyone refreshed and perked up, Maldida distributed small binoculars. “On your right, you’ll be able to observe a group of pink swans doing a mating dance.”
Everybody lifted their binoculars to their eyes and turned right, as did Keiron, even if he didn’t really need binoculars. But he was disinclined to stand out any more than he already did owing to his stature.
A flock of large birds with long necks and pink to red plumage came together for an odd dance. Their bodies were almost vertical with their wings spread and feathers fanned out as they paraded in a circle, lifting their legs high and lowering them carefully in a way that was both pompous and comical. The latter effect was reinforced by their bulging bright blue eyes that did a dance of their own.
The swans inched closer together, preventing them from lifting their legs as high as before, and began to shake their necks back and forth, and turn their heads from side to side. Shake, turn, shake, turn.
Zuzeh giggled. “This is the most hilarious thing I’ve ever seen.”
Keiron found himself agreeing with her.
“Are they going to have a group mating when they’re done bopping?” a woman asked.
“Actually, no.” The zoologist grinned. “When the dance is over, they’ll pair to mate.”
“Will they swing partners afterward?”
“No, my sir. Pink swans are monogamous. They mate for life.”
The Norbal doctor whistled. “A bit of group booty-shaking and bam, you’ve found your life partner. Sometimes I wish it was that easy for our species.”
Keiron glanced at the OPS on his wrist that had turned on yesterday. All these years he’d thought it broken… It didn’t mean he and Linni were fated mates, but it did mean they’d make great kids together. Except, she wouldn’t even sleep with him.
No, it isn’t easy for our species. Not even for bionic Ra-humans equipped with optimum partner sensors.
Soon, the birds took off in pairs for mating and nesting.
“The wildlife on Tastassi used to be completely unafraid of people,” the zoologist said. “As recently as ten years ago, you didn’t need binoculars to watch the pink swans dance. They’d let you get as close as you wanted.”
“Why are they afraid now?” Linni asked.
He sighed. “Foreign tourists.”
“That would be us,” Sir Raysten said.
“Your group is fine.” The zoologist gave him a conciliatory smile. “But sometimes we get people who misbehave.”
“How?” Zuzeh’s face crinkled in confusion. “The visits are so controlled! We aren’t staying overnight, and our handbags were searched when we disembarked.”
“Sometimes, foreign tourists chase animals around to pet them or feed them,” the zoologist said.
Linni wrinkled her nose. “What about the local poachers? They’re the ones who snatch baby squirks and dordons from their mothers. I’d say Tastassi’s animals have more to fear from them than from tourists.”
The man squirmed uncomfortably.
But Linni wasn’t letting him off the hook. “The supply of protected Tastassi species has never been so abundant throughout Xereill. The trafficking business is booming, and it has governments of other realms concerned.”
“Off the record, I believe you are right, my dame,” the zoologist finally said. “I believe the poaching problem has gotten much worse than before. It’s like the poachers have formed a cartel and taken their business to another level.”
“I hope your government can shut them down soon,” Linni said.
Keiron smiled. She was doing a bit more than hoping to make that happen.
“Off the record again,”—a proud smile flickered on the zoologist’s face—“Governor Horbell is considering closing the planet to outside visitors. I’ve heard this from a high-level official who’s an old friend.”
Maldida frowned. “For how long?”
“Long enough to clean house.”
“But that would impact thousands of people with jobs in the tourism industry.” Maldida gave him a betrayed look. “We’d lose our livelihoods.”
The zoologist touched her arm. “I’m sorry, Maldi. But Governor Horbell is a very clever man. He must have good reasons for wanting to do that. He always thinks a few steps ahead.”
Keiron and Linni exchanged a glance. Governor Horbell might very well be determined to address Tastassi’s problems, but a complete shutdown sounded too drastic.
“When will we see the dordons?” someone asked, a hint of impatience in her voice.
Maldida schooled her features into a pleasant expression. “In about thirty minutes. We’re going to hike to their sanctuary now.”
Instinct told Keiron Linni might choose this very moment to sneak away for some snooping in town. When he turned to where she’d stood just a moment ago, she was gone.
Very well, my dame. He would see the famous two-headed bats some other time. Linni was on her own on an unfamiliar planet, still weak from last night’s episode, and potentially looking for trouble. What choice did he have?
He caught up with her at one of the exits to the reserve. “Need a ride?”
“It’s only a one-hour trek to Palm City.” She hadn’t seemed surprised to hear his voice. “Less than thirty minutes if I take a cab.”
He shrugged. “Less than ten by air.”
She halted, turned to him, and folded her arms over her chest as if to say, let’s hear more.
“You’ll save fifty minutes each way,” he offered, “which is huge since the Pearl of Xereill takes off at eight sharp because we’re leaping again tonight. The captain won’t wait around for you.”
“I don’t expect him to.”
“I’m sure you know what you’re doing,” he said. “But would you really risk getting stranded on Tastassi and missing your only real vacation day?”
She rubbed her chin, half smiling.
He served up his last argument. “The Upere auroras you see from the Ice Moon Hotel are mind-blowing, I’m told.”
“Is it safe for you to fly with a… passenger?” She surveyed his pecs and biceps. “What if you drop me?”
“I brought this.” He opened his backpack and pulled out a harness. “No danger of dropping you even if my arms come loose and fall off.”
She smiled. “Thanks.”
“As in, ‘Thank you, Keiron. Yes, please strap me in and whisk me to Palm City’?”
“Something like that.”
“At your service, ma’am.”
She looked up at him. “Where do I…? How do we…?”
“Turn around.”
She did.
He stood behind her, pulled her to his chest, and fastened the harness around them both. As his hands snaked around her and his fingers worked, he told himself he was just making sure the straps were snug but not too tight, and all the buckles secure.
Except, that wasn’t the only reason Keiron was taking his sweet time.
He pulled Linni closer and pressed his chest against her back. Wrapping his arms around her, he slid his hands under her breasts to fasten the chest straps. While he fumbled with the clasps, he brushed his forearms over her full, round breasts.
She tried to put a little distance between them.
Unceremoniously, he pulled her back into him. “Stay close, if you want me to do this right.”
She made no move to draw away after that. When he began to grow hard against her, she even delighted him by leaning back and seeking more contact.
