Page 40 of Grulen

“Sounds good.”Their voices trailed off.He watched the sway of Morgan’s hips.His fingertips ached to trace the soft, but firm muscles of her behind.I can’t recall ever feeling this way about a female before.But, then again, I guess that’s not really a surprise given I can’t remember much at all.

“We’ll be on the bridge with Rain,” Kara said as she and Crax turned to follow the blonde.

“Come with me, Stalad.Let me show you around.”

He matched Makai’s strides as they walked the corridors.Makai pointed out the large training area, offering to spar with him in the future.Further along, they came to the med bay, then a break area.As they continued, they passed offshoot hallways.Stalad realized the main corridor ran the length of the ship from front to back.

They took the last offshoot hallway to the left and entered a huge shuttle bay near the uppermost portion of it.Makai gestured for him to enter a lift and they began descending.

“We keep two transports that can handle atmospheric conditions so we have the option of keeping theFortitudein orbit.One smaller, one larger.We also have four fighters.We have three shuttle bays—two on this side of the ship and one on the other.Occasionally, we’ll use one as an additional cargo bay.By using both sides of the ship, we can deploy the fighters quickly in either direction if we need to.”

“Impressive.But it seems a lot for the size of your crew.”

“True.However, we like to have options.We may add to our complement in the future, but when we liberate a vessel, sometimes we choose to keep it, rather than sell it.”

“Who maintains your vessels?”

“All the Jalaxians, although Lezon isn’t on a rotation.”

Throughout their tour, Stalad noted all the vessels appeared to be well-maintained.In the lower hallway, Makai pointed out storage areas and armories.Impressive armament stores, both large and small.

“We have weapons storage areas on all levels coded to only us.It allows us easy access in the event we need them quickly,” Makai said as they entered a growing area which appeared to run underneath the main corridor areas.“We call this our greenhouse.This used to be living quarters meant for a significantly larger crew, but we repurposed the space.Abby started it a few years ago.We now have year-round fresh produce and improved air quality in the ship.”

“It seems similar to Svesti aquiponics areas yet not quite the same.”Stalad proceeded to mention specifics.Makai’s blue eyes lit up.

“Perhaps you could help Abby in here occasionally and share your thoughts for improvement.It sounds like you have quite a bit of knowledge about aquiponics.”

“I guess I do.”Stalad frowned.

“It’ll come back to you eventually.”Makai squeezed his shoulder.“Engineering’s back here.It’s Tren’s area of expertise.”He paused.“Stay back after I open the door.”

Stalad’s brows crinkled at the unusual order.The door slid aside, and he heard a strange buzzing.

“Tren!Turn off whatever isn’t standard before we come in.”

The buzzing ceased and Makai stepped forward.

“Come on in.I was just testing a new design for a remote-control laser tool.”

“Where is it?”

Tren lifted a shoulder in the direction of an open maintenance shaft while tapping on a small tablet.A small drone left the shaft and hovered near the engineer.He gingerly took it and powered it down.

“Are you testing it on the ship’s equipment?”Makai’s tail slapped the metal floor.“We’ve talked about this.”

“I need to see what it can do.”

“Test it in areas where it cannot do harm to our ability to move…or breathe.”

“The females are usually in the cargo bay this time of day.You told me not to test near them again.”

Makai sighed heavily.

“I do not understand how such an intelligent male can be so lacking when it comes to common sense.Just wait until they’re done or set up a separate designated testing space.”Makai growled at him.“Stop being so impatient.I know your new designs excite you, but the safety of this ship and crew always come first.”

Tren’s cheeks darkened to cobalt.His shoulders and tail drooped.Stalad bit back a smile at the Jalaxian’s chagrin.He acts like a big youngling.

“You’re right.I’m sorry.”

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