She breathed deeply as the door slid open to reveal the corridor and the blank wall opposite. The doors were all offset so no one could look into someone else’s room from their own. That didn’t bother her too much. Her time in the pits meant she had no issues with lack of privacy.
She cast about for something to take her mind off the size of the room and her gaze landed on the door to the tiny shower and toilet cubicle. “Do half of this lot even fit in those things?”
Nat chuckled. “Well, Beauty does. Just. It’s a bit snug when both of us are in there, though.”
She frowned. “Why would you both try and get in ther—” She cut her words off sharply, closing her mouth with a click as Nat grinned.
“Okay, stupid question. Forget I asked that,” she said quickly. “Please tell me you two aren’t next door? I’ll never get any damn sleep.”
Nat shook her head. “Nope. We’re on the other side, at the far end of the corridor. You’ve got prime real estate here. T’Raal is one side and Red the other so things should be fairly quiet.”
“I do?” Zad blinked in surprise. She hadn’t thought to be put so close to the Warborne leader. If anything, as a new hire and one of the last aboard, she’d expected a hammock somewhere, if she was lucky.
“Yeah. It’s all you singletons up here. Most of the couples are down on the other end of the corridor.” Nat grinned again, amusement dancing in her dark eyes. “I don’t think T’Raal wants reminding that he’s single.”
Zad rattled in amusement, the small sound coming from the back of her throat. “That’s understandable. There are no Latharian females anymore, so it’s not like he has much of a choice.”
“Yeah, but they’re compatible with other species. Aren’t they? I mean, look at Red. She’s half Lathar, right?” Nat asked curiously.
The human woman was much more relaxed now than she had been. No surprise there. Everyone was on edge and watched their backs in the pits. From what Zad had heard about her background, that had been normal for Nat for a very long time.
She wrinkled her nose. “She is, but that’s not a good example. Half-blooded Krynassis are nearly always the result of violence.”
Nat winced. “Oh shit, that sucks.”
Zad nodded. There was really no answer to that one. “Other than us, there are only a few species genetically compatible with the Lathar, and because of all the shit they’ve done to themselves with genetic modification, any young are usually Lathar anyway. Not many other species will accept that. A few individuals here and there, but that’s it.”
Nat nodded thoughtfully. “That would be why they want us then.”
“Humans look like mini Lathar anyway.” Zad shrugged as she looked toward the door. She couldn’t come out and ask where Eric was without revealing her interest, and Nat was far too perceptive for her to give away that kind of interest.
“Names are on the doors if you feel like borrowing a cup of sugar from a certain scientist, you know?” said Nat, following her gaze.
“What is sugar and why would I want to borrow it?” she asked, sliding the human a sideways look as she dropped down to sit on the edge of the bed.
The soft surface gave under her weight and she almost moaned aloud. It might have been a cheap, extruded foam mattress on a steel bunk, but after five years of sleeping on a packed-sand floor leaning up against a wall, it was utter heaven.
“Sugar, you know…” Nat nudged at Zad’s elbow with her own and then winked twice in quick succession, watching her face for a reaction.
When Zad didn’t move or blink, she sighed. “Aliens are so dense at times. You know, sugar? A little lovin’? Surely your parents… what with so many kids?”
It was Zad’s turn to chuckle as she finally worked out what the human was saying. “Oh scales no, my mother tried to kill my father when she found out she was carrying me.”
Nat blanched. “Oh shit… I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to bring up bad memories or anything.”
“Oh, don’t worry about it.” Zad waved off her comment with a smile. Just because her parents didn’t have a loving relationship didn’t mean she didn’t know what Nat meant. “He was more than capable of staying out of her clutches. But I don’t think Er—”
She paused as her sensitive hearing picked up something in the corridor outside, just as the male in question walked past the door. Dressed in some kind of white coat, he was totally engrossed in reading from a flexi-pad in his hand—the single sheet computer interface common across the galaxy—so much so he didn’t even look up as he walked by. He must have just come from the bridge, but where was he going?
She cleared her throat and hopped off the bed. “Excuse me. I just need to check on something.”
“Yeah, sure. Check as much as you like.” Nat winked and stood, shooing her out the door.
“I need to go check on my mate anyway. He promised me ice cream. For some reason, though, he had to go train with Zero first.” She grinned. “Hot and sweaty men… can’t beat it. Catch you on the flipside!”
“Humans are strange,” Zad grumbled, shaking her head as she stepped out into the corridor and followed Eric. How was losing water attractive? On the planet where her species had evolved, water was at a premium, so the Krynassis had developed to hold onto as much of it as possible as long as possible. Humans were the opposite and seemed to leak at every opportunity.
“Hey, Eric… do you have a minute?” she raised her voice to call after him.
Pausing, he looked over his shoulder and smiled as soon as he spotted her. “Hey, Zad. Of course, what can I do for you?”
The expression and the way the skin crinkled around the corners of his eyes almost floored her, and the scales down the sides of her neck colored. She ignored it, holding his gaze as she walked toward him. He was human, she reassured herself as his gaze dropped to the sides of her neck. He wouldn’t know what the color change meant. She was safe.
“I… errr…” She trailed off, realizing she had no idea what to say to him. “I was… at a loose end. You work on board. Don’t you? Is there anything I can help with?”
He blinked, surprise flowing over his face, and then paused for a second before frowning. Inwardly, she kicked herself. Why the vaark had she offered that? She didn’t know anything about his work or what he did.
“I’m good with making… tea?” she offered. “And I can move stuff around, keep you company?”
He smiled again, a soft sound of amusement in the back of his throat she instantly wanted to hear again. “Do you even know what tea is?”
“Nope,” she admitted. “Nat mentioned she’d kill for a cup of it once. It is a drink. Right?”
“Yeah, it’s a drink,” he replied, stepping aside and sweeping an arm out to indicate she should join him.
“I prefer coffee,” he said as they walked down the corridor together. “But I’ll make you a cup. I’m… a little particular how I take it,” he admitted with a sideways look at her as they stopped at the ladder to the lower decks. “Ladies first.”
She paused for a moment but then remembered she didn’t need to watch her back on the Sprite. She was a member of the team now, and besides, Eric wasn’t a threat. She looked at him out of the corner of her eye, wondering if he’d noticed her momentary pause, to find him watching her with a smile.