We were a quietly appreciative trio when Tep and Megan brought a sleeping Anrel home to me. I ignored the knowing grins the Imdiko and young woman exchanged as I thanked them and wished them goodnight.
Good night, indeed.
August 26
Morning brought business as usual with it, plus more. I rose with Oses and Betra, who got up early so they could hurry to their respective quarters to clean up and dress for a typical workday. I had showered the night before, knowing I had an early day. I was on tap to help Katrina pack up her belongings to be moved to her clan’s quarters.
I fed Anrel, who woke up with a happy expression on her face. She’s more of a morning person than her mother. That’s wonderful, because seeing her smile makes me smile ... even before coffee.
I got us both dressed and secured her in the wrap carrier that allows her to snuggle against my chest and leave my hands free. I wore my workout clothes because Katrina, Candy, and I were scheduled for blade and then physical training this morning. We’d do that after a couple of hours of packing.
First came breakfast and those all-important cups of coffee. I met the gals in the hall, heading for the dining room. The three of us came in as the first diners of the day. We were greeted with smiles from the staff. Some of the guys, mostly Imdikos, gave Katrina wistful looks. I think they miss the wild salons she used to hold before her heart was stolen by Clan Wotref. Poor cuties.
There were a few other women moving at this hour. We got the usual bemused looks we’ve gotten used to since we started training. The three of us eat like hogs now. I pile on the protein these days.
Anrel diverted many of the wide-eyed looks quick enough. She’s so cute. Sadly, I had to cut the admiration fest short since we were on a time crunch this morning. I disengaged from Anrel’s fan club and sat with my friends.
“Did you set a ceremony date yet?” Candy asked between mouthfuls of eggs. Swala eggs, not chicken. They have five more grams of protein, and they have a creamier texture when scrambled. Yum.
Katrina waved her hand back and forth, signaling ‘sort of’. “Probably a couple of days after we cross into Kalquorian space. That will give things a chance to settle down. Wotref and Siko might even relax enough to enjoy it.”
Candy and I grunted, nodding in agreement as we plowed through our breakfasts. My coffee cup was refilled, earning the helpful Imdiko attendant a smile of thanks from me. The staff knows me well.
When I’d swallowed, I said, “It’s a challenge to carve out more than a few minutes with the guys lately. So much for your honeymoon.”
Katrina shrugged. “We work on the quality of our relationship since quantity is currently out the window. Just a few more days and we’re in empire space and in the clear.”
We had more opportunity (along with emptier mouths) to talk when we reached Katrina’s quarters and began sorting her belongings. She shook her head in disbelief.
“I stepped on this ship with almost nothing. Now look at this stuff. Make a big box marked ‘acquisitions’. If I don’t keep it and neither of you wants it, I’m selling it to the ship for their next trip.”
It started to look as if she would do that with half the things she’d collected. Many were gifts from admirers. Katrina worried it would be bad form to keep a lot of baubles received from the guys she’d slept with before she settled with the captain’s clan.
“How is it, sharing space with three men?” I asked. “I mean, I spend most nights with Betra and Oses, but we have our own places.”
“It can be claustrophobic.” Katrina debated over a bottle of perfume. The decanter had been inscribed with her name, a present from a past admirers. It was pretty.
“Keep it,” was my advice. It was obvious she wanted it.
“You’re right. How many Katrinas are likely to show up on the next shipment of pussy?” She yelped and slapped her hands over her lips. “Sorry, Shalia. I’ll end up being banned from Anrel’s presence if I don’t learn to keep my filthy mouth shut.”
I laughed. “No you won’t, but I should start washing it out with soap!”
We returned to work, snickering over the latest instance of potty talk. After a few moments, Katrina went back to my earlier question.
“When you live with someone – or three someones in this case – you dream of strangling them. Not because of whatever they’ve done or said, but to have a few minutes alone. Whether you clan sooner or later, you’ll learn that with Anrel.” She gave me a wink. “Kids and men are the biggest time stealers you can imagine. It feels as if they follow you around for the sole purpose of driving you nuts.”
“Romance,” Candy sighed with her drippiest expression. “It lives on.”
Katrina laughed. “I tell you this because I can also confirm that it’s worth the aggravation to have someone hold you at the end of the day. You might choke them with the towels they leave all over the floor, but knowing someone is there when you’re sad or ready to share in victories or to hear you out when you’re ranting over the latest bit of stupidity somebody else forced you to endure ... it’s priceless.”
“It adds more than it takes?” I pressed.
“When you find your missing piece, the man or clan who make you whole, you deal with the irritations,” Candy opined.
“Candy, don’t consider yourself not whole without a man,” Katrina insisted. “No man or clan can make up for any lack in your life. That’s on your shoulders to fix. You look for love because you wish to add to what is already right.”
Candy saluted her. “Got it, fearless leader.”
“Again to the original subject before my soapbox appeared. When you find someone who adds to your joy, you’ll go out of your way to forgive any sin. Including them breathing your air and taking up too much of your space.” Katrina grinned at me. “Be certain they are worth that kind of investment. This is coming from the woman who married three times.”
“And is now clanned for life,” I reminded her.
She seemed at peace with that. “I’m older now. My last marriage ended eight years ago, and I did a lot of soul searching after that. I hope I grew up finally. I found the right guys for the rest of my days.”
“You did,” Candy insisted. “Wotref, Ret, and Siko are terrific.”
“Yes, they are.”
The rest of the packing passed quickly. We’d made good progress, and Katrina felt certain she’d be moved out by the next evening. She was determined she wouldn’t unpack the majority of her belongings, not with having to do it all over again when we reached Kalquor. “For once, I’ll make it easy on myself,” she vowed as we headed to Betra’s office to drop off Anrel.
“You should give me lessons on that,” I begged in a plaintive voice. “I’d give up a lot for an easy existence.”
Blade work went well for me, as it usually does. I enjoy it best of all, and Larten’s recommendations on how to go on the offensive against a bigger opponent were helpful. Idow built on his ideas, customizing the moves to suit my strengths, as well as Katrina’s and Candy’s. We were delighted with the results.
I sighed as we left Idow and trooped toward the physical training room. “And now, the happy stuff of the day gets ripped to shreds by Dramok Resan.”
“Only a little longer, Shalia,” Candy encouraged me. “A tiny bit of hell before we never hear his ugly mouth again.”
It never seemed like a ‘tiny bit’ of hell. The hour spent with Resan stretches for an eternity.
I was stunned to find our verbally abusive trainer eerily quiet during our session. He barked orders and insulted us for being sloppy or lazy when the notion took him, but Resan didn’t harangue us as usual. After ten minutes of not being called something foul, such as a Bi’is codpiece (Resan-speak for small and pointless), I exchanged questioning looks with Candy and Katrina. Something was off.
It was obvious Resan wasn’t being nice because he was in a good mood. If anything, his expression was colder, his demeanor more threatening than usual. He looked
as dark as a thundercloud does just before sending in a rainstorm. Black as night and poised to do damage.
It made me more nervous than when he got in my face, spewing vulgarity. Whatever Resan’s problem was, I hoped to be long gone when he let loose. I was relieved when the session ended.
When he said, “Matara Shalia, you will remain so we can speak,” my heart dropped to my feet. I did not want to talk to Resan when he looked that furious. Especially not alone.
What could I do though? Under the provisions of my physical work, Resan was in charge of me, the same as he would be for any trainee. I’d given my word to him on that count as I had to Idow when it came to blade training. Not that I gave a flying crap about any promises to Resan. The thing was, I’d also agreed to this with Oses. That carried true weight.
With a sick feeling in my gut I told Candy and Katrina, “Let Betra know I’ll be there for Anrel soon.” They nodded, giving me sympathetic looks before hurrying out.
I turned to Resan. Now that it was him and me, he let me see how mad he was. He was boiling. His sharp face was red, veering into purple to match his eyes. Speaking of which, his eyes were showing a lot of white around the purple irises. His fists were clenched at his sides. Oh fuck.
I took a step toward the door. His lip curled up. “Don’t you dream about leaving, not before you explain why you would spread lies about me to Weapons Commander Oses. How dare you accuse me of accosting you in a sexual manner!”
His accusation was so out of left field that all I could do was stare at him in confusion. What the fuck was he talking about? Being frightened and then mystified all at once screwed with my ability to think.
I finally stuttered, “Huh? What?” And garbled a few other unintelligent noises. My brain had gone on vacation.
“Did you not tell him I made sexual advances toward you?”
Great, his biceps were starting to bulge, the veins popping out. I enjoy Kalquorians in their sleeveless formsuits as a rule, but Resan looking violent was another matter.
Then the bad thing happened. I started to laugh. Actually, I giggled hysterically. Not that I found the situation particularly funny. It just bubbled up that way. The worst thing was I couldn’t stop. The more I laughed, the harder I tried to quit. The harder I tried to quit, the worse it became.
Resan was not amused. I would have sworn his eyes would pop out of his skull. He looked as if he were about to explode out of sheer rage.
Saliva shot in streams as he screamed at me. “What the fuck are you laughing at? Shut up, you stupid Earther! Shut up!”
Prophets, what was wrong with me? The idea that Resan wanted to have sex with me ... for him to believe I’d tell anyone he was attracted to me when everyone with half a brain knew for a fact he was not ... now that struck me as funny. I hee-hawed louder than a braying jackass.
Resan might have decked me as he’d been itching to from Day One, but he was too shocked at my reaction. I can’t blame him. Who laughs like a lunatic when a muscled behemoth is looming over her, eager to kill? Besides an actual lunatic?
Then all at once it hit me. I realized what he was ranting about. When he’d touched himself as he talked about how he enjoyed humiliating me in front of others. What he said he’d do as he fantasized about it. Oses had promised Resan wouldn’t harass me in such a manner again.
How had he got it so wrong? I didn’t know, but I tried to gasp an explanation between guffaws.
“No ... no ... you misunderstood … it was when ... when you told me ... oh hell...”
It was too much. I couldn’t explain when all I could do was laugh.
I might still be there laughing like an idiot except the ship’s alarms went off. The order rang out for all women to go to the shuttles. The hysterics scampered off, leaving me gasping and scrabbling for my com.
“Now what are you doing, you worthless egg factory? Get your ass to your shuttle,” Resan yelled. He turned his back on me, apparently having some duties to attend to in an emergency.
“Have to – check on – Anrel’s whereabouts,” I gasped, wheezing for breath after my laugh attack. I clicked for Betra’s frequency. “Check in – with Betra.”
Resan was opening a closet. He pulled a case out. “Be quick and get the fuck out. I’ve seen more than enough of you today.”
Yeah, the feeling was mutual. I held the com to my lips, prepared to talk the moment my liaison answered.
He never did. The room suddenly plunged into darkness. An instant later, the floor heaved beneath me. Booms sounded, seeming to come from distances both great and alarmingly near.
The ground bucked again, and I fell forward in the blackness. I banged my forehead hard. I yelled in pain, but my cry was lost in the chaos. Alarms split the air in continuous blaring. The floor kept rocking, as if to throw me off. I tried to crawl to the door, to escape the madhouse I’d been pitched into, but I wasn’t even sure where the door was.
The last thing I knew was the loudest boom of all and a thunderclap of agony as something hit the back of my skull.
When I opened my eyes, I believed evening had fallen. The light was dim. Then I remembered I was on a ship, where evening was merely a time on the chronometer.
My head pounded with the worst headache ever. What was in front of my face made no sense; a crazy quilt of abstract grays that seemed almost transparent. I blinked at the strange vision before me. Where was I?
I raised my head and realized I on was on a floor strewn with debris. Had my quarters somehow been destroyed? Where was Anrel?
The thought of my baby cleared my head of the confusion in an instant. I gasped and surged to my feet.
I realized I was not in my quarters. I remembered where I had been, though Resan’s training room was no longer recognizable. Shattered chunks of the lighting panels lay all around. Most had come from the ceiling, where exposed computer panels and narrow ductwork hung garroted from their wiring. What light remained came from four intact panels on the walls, and that illumination was lower than the norm.
I turned in a circle, noting one wall was buckled all to hell. Of course it was the wall with the doorway. The room’s only exit was so badly warped that the doorway was a funhouse version of itself. The frame had bent inward on both sides, giving it an almost hourglass shape. The door was shut, and I had a pretty good suspicion it wouldn’t ever open on its own again. If it would, I’d be able to squeeze through the bottom half.
Yeah, like that was going to happen. I didn’t have to be an engineer to see that door wasn’t budging, not crumpled as it was. Me being me, I had to try anyhow. “Door, open.”
Nothing. I considered giving it a push, but the broken bits of lighting panels were a shredding obstacle course with all the jagged edges pointing in all directions. I’d have to slowly clear a path, knowing full well my attempt to open the door would be in vain.
I reached for my portable com. It wasn’t in its usual pouch on my person, and I remembered I’d been trying to contact Betra when all hell broke loose.
I wondered at the destruction surrounding me. It was pretty clear something cataclysmic had happened to the Pussy ‘Porter. I was betting on the ships that had been shadowing us for the last few days. They’d finally gotten the drop on our convoy.
Were enemies on board the ship now? Was the rest of the ship in as severe a mess? Had Betra taken Anrel to safety?
I had to hope the warning alarms that had sounded had given my Imdiko lover the opportunity he needed to take my daughter to a secure place. No, I couldn’t hang around hoping. I needed to know.
“Com, call Liaison Betra,” I called.
Like the door, the communication system was kaput. I had expected that. I bent down, searching the debris-strewn ground for my private unit. I remembered hitting the ground before being knocked out. With my luck, the damned thing had flown halfway across the room to be buried when the ceiling fell in. I could be digging for days before I found it.
Screw it. I had to know if Anrel was oka
y.
I bent down and began to carefully push broken bits of paneling aside. It was then that I noticed all the blood smeared over my hands and arms. I paused to check myself over, to make certain I wasn’t bleeding too much.
I was a mess. Running my palms over my skull, I found a monstrous lump on my forehead and an even nastier bulge on the back of my skull. My guess was that a lighting panel had smashed down on top of me. It was a wonder I hadn’t been killed. Further explorations of the parts of me I could view showed cuts all over my arms and legs. I even had to pick a few bits of panel out of my skin. I’d worn a tank top and shorts to work out in, leaving myself bare to the flying splinters.
Now that I was past confusion and shock, hurt announced itself with emphasis. My back in particular had started to throb in monstrous pulses. I decided I had taken the brunt of the blow there. I was betting I was a gigantic bruise from neck to ass.
Shalia's Diary Omnibus Page 146
