by S. E. Smith
“You should have come in when it started raining harder. If I had known you were still outside, I would have insisted you get out of the weather. Your skin is like ice,” he murmured.
“It’s cold outside,” she remarked.
He stepped to one side. “You should get cleaned up and into dry clothing,” he said.
“The circuit board…,” she started to argue.
“You can see if it works after you are dry. I do not want you ruining my work,” he replied. “I will prepare us something to eat while you get cleaned up.”
La’Rue was shocked when she nodded in agreement. She watched Sergi turn and stride down the corridor. Since when was she obedient?
Since I know he is right. Water and circuits don’t mix, she reminded herself before she grudgingly headed for her cabin.
Twenty minutes later, she was stepping into the cramped galley. The circuit board Sergi had been holding earlier was on the table. She walked over, sank down into the chair, and picked it up. She was surprised when she saw the burnt-out modules were now gone and new components were soldered in their place.
“Where did you get the parts to fix this?” she asked in an incredulous tone.
Sergi looked over his shoulder and smiled. “If I told you, you would probably kill me,” he said with a crooked grin.
La’Rue looked over at him and frowned. Her eyes scanned the counter. Something was missing. It took a moment for her to realize what it was.
“Where is my cooker?” she demanded.
Sergi turned with a plate in each hand. “Is that what it was? I thought it looked similar to a microwave,” he replied, placing the plate of hot food on the table in front of her.
She looked down at her plate then over at the antiquated cooktop. “You actually cooked this on that thing? I didn’t know it still worked,” she muttered with a glum look. “I really liked my cooker.”
Sergi reached over and grabbed her hand. She looked up at him and saw the crooked smile on his lips and serious look in his eyes. The same strange warmth filled her when he touched her.
“I’ll find you a better one,” he promised.
She snorted. “You better or I might have to turn you in. I don’t know anything about cooking and would probably starve otherwise,” she teased. “H and I were able to fix most of the stuff, and with you repairing the panel, the only thing left to do is to get the new fuel rods. If I can find some that have been recharged for a decent price, I might have enough credits to cover it. I’ve got a few things I can trade as well,” she said. “We can go to the city tomorrow. It is too late tonight. Between the storm and the dangers of reaching the city on a good day, we’d be stupid to go tonight.”
He nodded in agreement. She looked down at her plate, suddenly starving. Picking up her utensil, she began eating. A soft moan of pleasure escaped her as the hot food hit her stomach. She could feel Sergi looking at her, and when she glanced up, she was drawn into his heated gaze. She was finally warm, and not just from the residual heat of her earlier cleansing and the food. Sergi’s company heated parts of her that hadn’t been touched in a very long time.
She studied him from under her eyelashes, and her fingers itched to brush the messy strands of his white-blond hair away from his wide forehead. His blue eyes were locked on her face, and she blinked when she realized that he was returning her scrutiny.
“What happened to you?” she suddenly asked.
Sergi shrugged his shoulders. “I don’t remember much. There was an accident,” he lightly replied.
La’Rue placed her utensil next to her empty plate and cupped her hands under her chin as she leaned forward. She didn’t miss the reservation that came into his eyes. He didn’t want to tell her.
“What kind of accident?” she pressed.
Sergi held her gaze. “I believe I died,” he answered, rising to his feet.
She sat back in her seat, stunned. She reached out and grabbed his arm when he reached for her plate. Her eyes locked with his in confusion.
“What do you mean you died? How…?” she murmured, her eyes scanning his face.
“I hit a live power cable. Do you have any clothing onboard that might fit me? I lost my pack when the bike went over the cliff,” he said.
La’Rue nodded, accepting the change of subject, for now. She released his arm. “Yes. I have some stuff that might fit you. We can pick up some more tomorrow as well,” she said, rising to her feet.
Sergi caressed her cheek. His fingers paused on her chin and he stroked along her lower lip with his thumb. She could see a hint of confusion in his eyes before it disappeared and he dropped his hand.
“I would like to get cleaned up,” he admitted, turning away.
La’Rue nodded. “I’ll show you where everything is. While you are getting cleaned up, I can see if the circuit board will work now. If it does, it will be easy enough to get a new cooker on another planet – one where I don’t have to watch my back and I know I’ll pay a reasonable price for it,” she stated.
“There was a symbol that I saw. If I drew it out for you, do you think you could tell me what it means?” Sergi asked.
“If I can,” she replied with a puzzled frown. “Where did you see it?”
“On a ship,” he responded vaguely, turning to carry the dishes to the cleaning unit.
She hesitated at his deliberate lack of specificity, biting her lip. Secrets could be good or bad. In her personal experience, almost all of the secrets she had ever discovered had turned out to be bad – for her. Her ex was a perfect example of that. She just hoped she didn’t get screwed by helping Sergi.
Who am I kidding? she thought in self-disgust. If the Legion ever finds out I knew – much less helped – someone they were hunting, I’ll be dead!
For a brief second, she considered again what it would be like if she were to turn in Sergi. She didn’t know him. Heck, she’d only met him this morning. With a hundred thousand credits, she could fix her ship and start over without having to worry about Slate or anyone else.
No sooner had the thought crossed her mind than she pushed it away. Yes, she had only just met Sergi, but he had more honor in his little pinky than Slate had in his whole body. There were always ways to make a few credits. She had the Star Runner. As long as she had her freighter and kept it functioning, she could make a living. She looked at him when he turned away from the dish-cleansing unit.
“There are two cabins on the freighter. I sometimes carry passengers looking to relocate undetected. You can use the other cabin. There are some clothes in the cabinet in there. Slate is a little bigger than you, but I don’t think you’ll have any issues finding something. H can modify the clothes,” she explained.
“Who is Slate?” Sergi asked, following her down the corridor to the cabin.
La’Rue looked over her shoulder. “My ex. If you ever meet him, you’re welcome to kill him,” she replied with a sweet smile.
Chapter Eight
Sergi lay on the bed in the room that La’Rue had shown him earlier. He stared up at the ceiling; his mind was processing everything that had happened since he woke in the emergency pod. The memories of what had happened before were fragmented. He remembered everything up to the point when he hit the cable.
Frustration ate at him. He knew a little of what had happened after he’d passed out, thanks to Mei’s video. There would be no going home. The Gliese 581 was gone, and he suspected the gateway they had traveled through was, too.
There was only one option left – adapting and learning to survive in a possibly hostile alien world. Well, not completely hostile. He had found La’Rue.
Unable to sleep, Sergi sat up and swung his legs over the side of the bed. He had never felt as unprepared for a mission as he did now. Rising to his feet, he pulled on a pair of dark brown trousers, and reached for the tan shirt he had picked out. He pulled it on and buttoned it. He finished off his new outfit with two pairs of socks and a pair of scuffed, brown boots. He’d been
surprised to discover the boots were a close enough fit if he wore two pairs of socks instead of one and tightened the buckles on the sides.
He grabbed the dark brown leather jacket and pulled it on as well. His weapons were limited to what he had been carrying when he went across the ravine. He cursed the fact that it had been too dangerous to wear the backpack. He’d searched the freighter while La’Rue was outside and discovered that as far as weapons went, she was in worse shape than he was.
His thoughts moved to the woman he had saved this morning. When she had removed her head cover and goggles, he had been struck with an instant attraction that had startled him.
He had met his share of beautiful women. La’Rue wasn’t beautiful in the classical sense, but there was an inner exquisiteness that he had reacted to on a physical and visceral level – and her sarcastic retorts had really struck a chord in him.
A stunning woman with a dry sense of humor and an air of innocence was a potent and dangerous combination. He had never had such a powerful reaction to a woman before, and it was… disconcerting. His relationships had always been very carefully formed with a focus on superficial enjoyment without commitment or true intimacy. That was the way it’d had to be due to his line of work on Earth.
I am no longer on Earth, though, he thought.
He shook his head. The first woman he meets – hell, the first alien he meets – and he is thinking of a long-term relationship.
“I must have hit my head,” he muttered to himself under his breath.
He tightened the belt around his waist and adjusted the sheath holding his knife. Last, he bent over and picked up his gun and the extra magazines for it. He slid the magazines into the inside pocket of his jacket and tucked his gun into the waistband of his pants at the back. On impulse, he also picked up the video recorder that he had taken from Mei’s pod and the Project Gliese 581g patch he had cut from his shirt and slipped them into his pocket.
He ran his hand over his smooth jaw. He had shaved off the extra growth and trimmed his hair before he showered. His tongue ran over the smooth enamel of his teeth. La’Rue had given him a liquid that had turned out to be a cross between mouthwash and toothpaste. All he had to do was take a swig, swish it around in his mouth, and spit it out.
A quick glance around the room showed that he had everything he needed. He wasn’t sure how late it was, but he knew that La’Rue had retired shortly after he had. Since he couldn’t sleep, he would do a little exploring to become more familiar with the ship and with the alien technology.
Sergi silently stepped out of his room. He looked both ways before deciding the best place to start was the cockpit of the freighter. He briefly paused outside of La’Rue’s room. The door was open, and he could see her peacefully sleeping.
A sudden ache formed low in his belly. He was surprised once again at his reaction to her. If things had been different, he’d have joined her.
His gaze swept over her face. She lay on her side, facing the open door. Her eyelids moved as if she was dreaming and her plump lips were slightly parted. A powerful urge to capture her lips pierced him.
His gaze moved over her shoulders and along her arms. She had one hand tucked under her pillow. Sergi had no doubt that she was holding her blaster. Her other hand was under her cheek.
The blanket covering her was bunched around her waist. She was fully clothed. He knew it was because she wanted to be ready in case something happened. Her fear of being here had been very evident in her constant reiteration of the dangers.
Sergi forced his attention away from La’Rue and continued down the corridor. He climbed the short ladder to the bridge and he reached for his pistol when he caught a movement out of the corner of his eye. He relaxed when he saw that it was HL-9.
“So, is there any way you could help me, little robot?” he murmured.
H crawled across the ceiling and down along the wall before pausing in front of him. Sergi slid into the seat and looked at the controls. His eyes narrowed on the strange symbols written in different places.
“What does this mean in Galactic Standard?” he asked, not really expecting an answer.
Booster….
Sergi blinked in surprise when the symbol and the word popped up next to each other in a holographic image. Curious, he pointed to another symbol.
Oxygen….
Excited, he pointed to every symbol he could find and repeated them several times before he was satisfied he had memorized what the symbols meant. At least this was a beginning. The sooner he learned the language, the better prepared he’d be in this new world.
“Show me the alphabet in both languages,” he ordered.
H projected each symbol and letter. Sergi created several short phrases and had the bot translate them. Over the course of the next two hours, he slowly began to recognize the patterns. Satisfied with his progress, another idea came to him.
He pulled out the video recorder. Turning it over in his hand, he wondered if there was a way he could have H translate what the alien said to Mei.
“H, is there any way you can upload the video on this and play it with subtitles?” Sergi asked, holding up the camera.
Two of the long silver legs reached out and plucked the camera from Sergi’s hand. The spider-like bot turned the camera over between its legs several times before it removed the battery and touched the two connectors with different legs.
Sergi watched the small bot’s eyes flicker and glow. He sat back in his seat as the bot projected the video in front of him. This had been a hell of a lot easier than his rigging it for power earlier!
“You are indeed an amazing little robot,” Sergi murmured in approval.
He chuckled when the little bot’s back two legs danced a jig of delight. He turned his focus to the video, watching it with the same intensity he had earlier. The little bot added a scrolling caption to the bottom so the words spoken were in both English and whatever language the man was speaking.
“Pause,” he ordered, leaning closer to the projection. “Can you enlarge on the words on the wall?”
H enlarged the scene. There was another set of words that he hadn’t seen earlier on the small camera screen. His fingers lifted instinctively to touch them, forgetting for a moment that it was a projection and not a tablet. He growled when his fingers passed through the visual, distorting it.
“What do the words on the back wall say?” he said, pulling his hand back.
Cryon II 5469220
“Is that the name of the ship? Is there a way to locate it?” Sergi demanded.
The screen flickered again before changing. Sergi frowned when he saw the word Torrian. La’Rue had mentioned Torrian. He was about to ask H what it meant when the image of a planet appeared. H zoomed in until Sergi could see an alien spaceport.
“Torrian is another planet,” he murmured.
Sergi stared at the image, his mind swirling. If the spaceship that Mei had been on was now there, then that was where he was going. Pushing out of his chair, he started to turn away before he remembered the video camera. Holding out his hand, he motioned for the little bot to release it.
The small black camera dropped into the palm of his hand. He quickly pocketed it before turning to exit the bridge. Regardless of the dangers, they still needed to get the fuel cells.
He strode down the corridor toward La’Rue’s cabin. The sound of her voice raised in anger had him slowing his steps and walking more quietly. He paused outside of her room, listening as a man spoke.
“Jabeti lo gaya,” the man said.
“I don’t care if you owe credits, it isn’t my problem. I told you when I left that I wouldn’t be responsible for any of your debts, Slate,” La’Rue angrily responded.
“Why are you speaking in the old tongue?” Slate demanded.
In the reflection of the mirror hanging on the wall Sergi saw La’Rue toss her head and run her hands through her hair, making the short lengths stand up.
“Because I want
to, Slate,” she said irritably. “I can’t help you. I have enough problems of my own. The Star Runner is currently out of commission and unless I can find a good deal on fuel cells, I won’t be getting out of this place alive without a miracle. I cut all ties with you, and you still used me. I had to transfer a good portion of my savings to the bounty hunter who came after my freighter because he was looking for you!” she said.
“Half the Star Runner should be mine,” Slate stated.
Sergi watched as La’Rue’s expression turned from shock to fury. She leaned closer to the device she was holding. Sergi could understand why La’Rue had said he could kill this man if they ever met, though he had a feeling she didn’t know he would actually do it without a second thought, especially now.
“My father gave me the Star Runner, and I refurbished it by myself. I own her – every nut and bolt. You never spent one credit on her even though I ran trades for you. If you try to use her for credits again, I’ll kill you, Slate,” she threatened.
“Too late, Rue. I owe another ten thousand credits to pay for a cargo delivery the Legion confiscated from me – illegally, I might add. It was honest, recorded merchandise,” Slate replied.
“Another ten thousand credits! On top of the thirty thousand?! Are you insane? Who did you owe that kind of cargo to?” she hissed, sitting back.
“Aires, this time,” Slate responded with a sigh. “I didn’t have anything else to promise him, La’Rue. He is worse than Bog. I needed to buy some more time, especially after he found out I was already beholden to Bog. He was afraid I wouldn’t be able to repay him.”
La’Rue shook her head in disbelief. “You’re a dead man, Slate. If Aires doesn’t kill you, I will. You’ve got to make another deal with him. I don’t have those kinds of credits,” she said.
“Is there any way you can get it, Rue?” Slate said in a desperate voice.
La’Rue hesitated, a momentary flash of indecision sweeping across her face before she hid her expression. Slate had noticed it as well.
“What is it? Do you have a job?” Slate eagerly asked.
