Page 18 of Salvation for the Alien Mercenary
He rolled his eyes and started to fold his arms... big mistake. The pain in his chest spiked, and he tightened his grip on the table edge until his knuckles went white. A wave of nausea hit him hard, and he swallowed, fighting to maintain his composure.
"M'Suun, standard Imperial assholes, doesn't matter," Ryke cut in, his gaze lingering on Covak's dessert. He frowned. "Is that my rum and raisin ice cream?"
"Yep." Covak popped the "p" with obvious satisfaction as he scraped the container clean with aggressive swipes. "Delicious," he added.
"Asshole." Ryke's eyes narrowed to dangerous slits. "I'm spacing you next time we hit vacuum."
Davis felt Mira tense beside him, her shoulders tightening at the captain's threat. He leaned slightly her way. "Don't worry. He threatens to space Covak at least once a week. Hasn't happened yet."
"But there's always tonight," Ryke added, clearly overhearing. His ice-blue eyes shifted to Davis, narrowing as they cataloged the sweat beading at his temples, and the white-knuckled grip on the table. "You look like shit, Tell."
"Thanks. I try." The room tilted sideways, and Davis locked his knees to keep from swaying. His heart hammered against his ribs, each beat sending fresh pulses of agony through his chest. The impact area burned like someone had driven a hot poker through it and was now twisting it for fun.
Mira stepped closer, her movements casual, as if she were repositioning for a better view of the tactical display. She was good, but her concerned glance gave her away.Shit.She'd have seen him take that hit on the comms.
He shook his head, pleading silently with her not to rat him out.
"Davis took a nasty energy hit," she said. Her gaze flicked to the tear in his body armor. "He's pretending he's fine, but he needs Covak to check it out."
Heat flashed through his veins, a flood of betrayal and embarrassment. The wordtraitordied on his tongue as his ribs screamed with each heartbeat. He'd have handled it himself after he figured out what Rann was hiding.
Ryke's ice-blue eyes fixed on them with unsettling intensity—like a predator suddenly noticing wounded prey.
"Covak!" Ryke bellowed, though the Vorrtan sat barely ten feet away. "Get our engineer to Medbay. He walks, or he goes unconscious over your shoulder." He turned back to Davis. "Your choice."
Covak's grin spread across his face, revealing rows of gleaming fangs. He cracked his knuckles—a sound like small-arms fire in the sudden quiet. "Always happy to provide transport, Mikhail."
"Alright! Fine!" Davis scowled at Mira, then Ryke, finally settling on Covak. "No need to knock me out. I'm going."
He paused as he caught the gleam in the medic's eyes. Covak's healing skills were undeniable, but his bedside manner left something to be desired. Like basic compassion. Or any sense that pain wasn't just a fascinating response to be explored.
"Actually, you know what? You are a shit doctor," he said. "Maybe I don't want to be awake for whatever you call treatment."
He turned stiffly toward the exit, each step sending fresh waves through his chest.Yeah, something was definitely wrong in there.Maybe a torn muscle…
Covak fell in behind him, the deck plates vibrating slightly with each of the Vorrtan's heavy footsteps.
"I could carry you there in half the time," Covak offered cheerfully. "Save us both the agony of watching you shuffle like a woundedkreltak."
"Touch me and I'll rewire your quarters to play Izaean opera while you sleep," Davis gritted out, focused on placing one foot before the other.
One step, breathe, another step. Why was the damn corridor so long all of a sudden? Each step seemed endless, stretching into infinity.
Covak chuckled, the sound rumbling through the corridor. "Threats already? You must be feeling better."
"Yeah, I'm fine. Mira's just freaking out, that's all," he said, glancing over his shoulder at Covak.
But then the pain in his chest returned with a vengeance as the adrenaline leeched away. His vision blurred at the edges, darkness creeping in as he groped for the wall for support.
Maybe the medbay wasn't such a bad idea after all. He couldn't investigate anything if he was dead.
Pushing off the wall, he staggered toward Medbay, each step a deliberate act of will. First, get patched up. Then find out what Rann was hiding—before it put the rest of them in the crosshairs again.
* * *
Mira followedDavis and Covak down the corridor, staying a few steps behind. Davis moved like a man balancing on a tightrope—each step meticulously placed, jaw clenched tight enough to crush stone.
"The more you pretend you can walk, the longer this takes," Covak observed, looming beside Davis. "Your human stubbornness is wildly inefficient."
