Page 33 of Stolen Slave

“A few more flares and you will have your wish for food diversity, my female. But first, a small stop to procure the chit I need to see you properly cared for.

“It won’t be an easy venture for either of us, I’m afraid. But with a few more scent-markings, I believe you’ll fare our separation well enough and only experience mild discomfort.

“This is where a translator would come in handy. I would tell you all the safety precautions I’ve put into place. Like this,” I said, tapping the datapad. “Once I leave the ship, the sys-unit will be preprogrammed to scan any sentient life placed on the exam table and administer whatever stims are necessary to maintain life. That means, even if something were to happen to me on the surface, the ship would be ready to repair me whether I’m conscious or not.

“It’ll also monitor my status and remove me from the surface if I lose consciousness. All of this is merely a precaution, though. I anticipate executing the mineral waste drop and cleansed terra retrieval without any problems.

“You will be able to monitor the situation from the nav center. I’ll show you that next.”

I thought of the fail-safes that were already in place ship-wide. The same ones that my predecessors had implemented to ensure the continuation of our line.

“All will be well, my Vya. You will be safe aboard this ship, no matter the outcome of the venture on Divos One.”

She slid off the table and came closer to look at the datapad. Her curiosity was a good thing. It showed more confidence. Much of that would be needed to truly shed her fear.

“Command Khorahn, what is the status of the resupply calculations?” I asked the ship.

“A void station three jumps from current location has the resources necessary to recharge the jump cells and stock the grow bay with five of the ten requested veg. Cautionary note. Current registration has been blacklisted due to suspicion of Helix association.”

CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

KHORAHN

I swore. The anonymous report had kept me off of the fey radar, but the void station had likely flagged all ships that had left between showing their human prize and, likely, the resulting Helix-ordered raid.

“Command Khorahn, list the next three options in the resupply calculations.”

“A void station four jumps from current location has the resources necessary to recharge the jump cells and stock the grow bay with two of the ten requested veg. Cautionary note. Current registration has been blacklisted due to suspicion of Helix association.

“Helix station seven, one jump from current location, has the resources necessary to recharge the jump cells. It does not have any of the ten requested veg.”

“A void station?—”

“Command Khorahn, run jump calculations for Navar Seven,” I said with increasing frustration.

“Core-on?”

Lifting my gaze from the datapad, I swallowed the rest of my angry growl and swept my hand over Vya’s arm to reassure her that all was well. She watched me closely, a faint line creasing her brow.

“All is well, my pretty female. Come. I will show you the nav center.”

I held out my hand, and her fingers slid over my palm. Then she released me and moved closer, placing my hand on her back, the signal I’d been using to indicate I wanted to carry her.

“You are a clever one,” I said, easily conceding to her wish.

However, her immediate request to carry her did cause me a bit of concern. I adored her growing trust and dependency but worried she might still suffer separation discomfort once I left her side.

It would take time to lure a Wernius to the surface. And more still for it to consume and digest the concentrated mineral waste. However, the most laborious part of the endeavor would be in the killing of the creature and harvesting the cleansed terra from its third stomach. How much fear would she still feel despite the three scent-markings I’d already given her?

Another marking this flare followed by one just prior to debarking should help. I hoped.

The nav center was my backup plan. If the scent-markings alone weren’t enough to keep her calm, hopefully, seeing me would ease her mind.

I lengthened my stride to get to the nav center. Once we finished there, I planned to take her to the galley for another round of hydration and nutritional paste and then the cleansing unit. She would likely need to use the waste removal system by then regardless.

No doubt that would test her limits again, but her vow to hold her waste until she died wasn’t an option.

When we reached the nav center, I sat in the only chair and tapped her knee. She narrowed her eyes at me, turned around, and willfully sat on my lap sideways. I chuckled and repositioned her but didn’t force her legs apart. Again, I tapped her knee.

---