Page 36 of A Mate for Vasek
“Berus said we are dropping you off at Kean’s compound. It surprised me, but now that I see you have a female, I can see why you might consider taking the offer to work for him.”
Vasek grunted. “Dawn is not my female.” Just saying the words felt wrong, but he had to get used to it.
“No? You seemed rather protective of her.”
“Bakum left her with me. I promised to bring her to Kean’s stronghold. So I will. I will not let some human male lure her away before I can fulfill my promise.” That sounded like a cop-out even to Vasek’s own ears. “Kean is also expecting me. I am joining the festivities this year.”
“I see.” Ulrek downed the rest of his drink in one go.
“It’s for the best you stay at Kean’s for a while anyway. He has good, reliable mechanics who can get your shuttle back in perfect working order. My mechanic isn’t in right now. Neither is my medic.”
“I did notice that Tahra isn’t here.”
“She’s taken up with my mechanic. The whole ship knows it, but they’re still trying to be discreet. It’s some strange human hang-up Gavin has about ‘banging Tuhror’s sister.’” Ulrek shook his head. “They are so similar to us, sometimes I forget they are another species until one of them says something like that.”
That reminded Vasek. “Congratulations on finding a mate. May the…” he paused, trying to figure out if the captain preferred the Stars or the Goddess; Ulrek had been Dominion for much of his life.
“The Stars. I have left the Goddess’s arms long ago, much the same as you.”
Vasek understood. The captain had done more than enough in the name of a false goddess; it was time he made his own way in the universe. Vasek had done that himself, just much earlier. Losing an arm and a brother in one go did that to someone.
“Then, may the Stars look kindly on your mating.” Vasek put his fist to his chest, with the smaller finger facing outward.
Ulrek did the same, returning the gesture.
The captain’s comm unit buzzed, and he picked it up to read the screen. “Ah, your shuttle is safely on board.”
That was quick.
Ulrek stood, and Vasek finished his drink. “Let’s go see the damage.”
Chapter 19
Dawn
Man, did it feel good to be clean and in actual clothes again!
After their visit with the tepins, they’d gone past the medical bay, and Cami had asked if she wanted to take a quick shower before meeting up with Roxy again.
“She wouldn’t mind at all,” Cami had assured her. “I’ll just let her know we’re here.”
The detour had been a wonderful idea. TheNew Horizonhad a cleansing unit in the medical bay, and Dawn hadn’t realized how dirty she was until she saw the water draining away. She felt so much better, and smelled better too.
And she didn’t even need to get back into dirty clothes after. Cami had put the clothes Vasek had lent her in the clothes decontaminator and had a fresh set that actually fit her ready. Dawn was now dressed in a soft, stretchy top with theNew Horizon’slogo on the chest, and a pair of sweatpants in a soft but durable alien fabric.
“I owe you big time, Cami.”
“Nah, it’s on Ul…Uzzar. It’s technically a part of the uniform. We go through them quickly, especially the tops. Delaney and Roxy are in the mess hall. Let’s go find them.”
There it was again. Cami just called her Delaney. Dawn was sure it had been Lana during the intros. Oh well, maybe Lana was a nickname.
Food sounded perfect. She was ravenous.
As she walked to the ship’s mess hall, Dawn couldn’t kick the feeling that something was really off, like if she closed her eyes for too long, reality would disappear. Everything felt too good to be true, which meant it wasn’t. What were these people hiding? She felt horrible about feeling like this too, because these women had been nothing but nice to her.
A giant pom-pom running at full speed at her jogged her out of her thoughts. The creature was cute until it opened its mouth. Holy chompers, Batman!
Cami dashed in front of Dawn and caught the toothy furball in her arms. But it continued to snarl and snap its teeth in Dawn’s direction, like a chihuahua on Red Bull.
