Chapter 19 Grtirr
The docking bay had a somber air. Chris sat in a chair with wheels, looking better than the last time I’d seen him.
But it was Charlene who had my full attention.
She was lying on a stretcher, eyes closed.
Her skin was too pale, even for a human, and her breathing shallow.
My training as a medic took over, and I moved to her first, lifting her carefully, making sure she was secure inside the shuttle before I even thought about anything else.
They’d done surgery on her to remove the bullets, but because of her rare Rh-negative blood type, they had trouble finding blood to replace what was lost. They stabilized her with fluids and offered oxygen therapy, but all that had only been a stopgap.
We’d never had trouble treating humans before using our universal synthetic blood, which, to my surprise, had worked for both species.
Though I really shouldn’t be surprised since we were biologically compatible.
If our blood could not be exchanged, the resulting offspring would be attacked by the mother’s immune system and would not be viable.
The fact that this phenomenon sometimes occurred even between two humans had shocked me when I first learned of it.
When I came out of the shuttle again, I found Chris trying to stand on his own. The male was acting almost belligerent, but in a friendly manner, like he’d imbibed too much. It was apparently a side effect of the painkillers they’d given him.
“I don’t really need to head up to the ship,” Chris insisted again. “I feel fine.”
Sergio pushed him right back down. “Sit your ass down. There’s a fucking hole in your body. You’re going back whether you like it or not.” Then he was pushing the chair right into the shuttle. When he pushed the chair back out, Chris was no longer on it, having already been strapped down to a seat.
The Vossell female stood off to the side, watching the whole thing with an amused look on her face. Something told me that Chris didn’t just want to be part of the negotiations, but that he also wanted to spend more time with the female.
I hated leaving Julie behind, even for a short while, but I knew the right thing to do now was to get Charlene stabilized first. At least I knew that Julie and I would be reunited in a day or so.
She’d be well protected on the station now that Vossell Industries had pulled their VIP card and had Halcyon security protecting our group.
Julie gave Tatertot one last little scratch behind her ears before passing her makeshift cage over to me.
Checking up on the little kukee had been the right thing to do.
She had gnawed most of the way through the “unchewable” wires holding the panels of the cage together, and had been minutes away from freedom.
I wasn’t sure we’d be able to find her again if she got lost in the station.
“Alright, Tatertot, be good.” Julie gave the cage a little pat before turning to me. “I think she’d be more comfortable back on the ship anyway. She doesn’t approve of the nutrition bars, and we don’t know if the station’s stuff is safe for her.”
“It’s so cute! What is it?”
I turned to see the Vossell female peering through the cage at Tatertot.
“It’s a cooki.”
“Kukee,” I corrected, even though I knew she’d end up pronouncing it the way all the other human females at the stronghold did.
“A cooki! How adorable.”
“This one’s trouble,” Julie said. “It snuck on board during liftoff. They live inside the walls of the Kadrixan stronghold. Their job is to eat all the garbage and hunt down the vermin.”
“Oh, so they’re like really cute garbage disposals. Why can’t it have the stuff at the station?”
Julie shrugged. “We don’t know if it can or not. And I didn’t want to take the risk. They’re native to Vokira. This one’s a little spoiled and just begs for food.”
“Sounds like how cats domesticated themselves. One day, they’re hunting down the mice, and the next they’re the king of the house and expect you to feed them the good stuff.”
“Sounds about right.”
“Alright, Grtirr. They’re all strapped in.” Sergio slapped me firmly on the back. “Josh is in the pilot seat and ready to go. Fly safe.”
I searched for Julie, but Annabel had already called her away, and they were bent over something on the bench. I stepped into the shuttle and took one last look back. Julie chose that exact moment to glance up, caught me staring, and waved, giving me a smile.
The smile was small and meant only for me. I held onto it the whole way over to the warship.
***
Chris sat on a bed in the ship’s medical bay, nursing a cup of bitter tea like it could wash away the memories. The painkillers had worn off hours ago, leaving Chris grumpy and a little too clear-headed, almost like he regretted a night of excessive drinking.
“I made a complete ass of myself,” he muttered. “Tessa must think I’m an idiot.”
I leaned back in my seat, studying him. “You protected her.”
“Sure. And she thanked me for saving her and even gave me a kiss on the cheek.”
“A kiss is a good sign,” I said.
“But that was before they pumped me full of that painkiller and I started acting like a total idiot.” He buried his head in his hands and then groaned.
“I don’t even remember half of it. Just fragments.
Telling her she smelled nice. Asking if she wanted to see my ore samples.
” His voice cracked. “My ore samples, Grtirr. What the hell is wrong with me?”
I pressed my lips into a thin line. “Technically. You were there to show her your ore samples.”
“Not like that. My chances with her are screwed. I’m lucky she even wants to continue talks with Sergio.”
“I don’t know. The female did not appear upset at you when we left. She seemed to be quite impressed with the… ore samples.”
Chris groaned again. “I’m never living this down.
Normally, when I feel like this, I just promise myself I’ll never drink again.
But I can’t even do that this time. And the thing is, I liked her.
Like really liked her. I know we hadn’t known each other for long, but when we were in the infirmary, and it was just us, she was telling me how she wished she didn’t have to wear her silly suits and visit stuffy space stations.
And I told her how beautiful the valley was.
Showed her pictures too. Do you know she’s never seen a natural waterfall? Just man-made ones?”
“She did not seem to dislike you before we left,” I pointed out again. “And you will see her again. The deal isn’t finished.”
“That is if she doesn’t ask to be transferred to another account.”
I thought of how many times I’d messed it up with Julie. And it hadn’t even been by accident. I’d tried to drive her away on purpose.
“At least you did not purposefully try to drive a wedge between the two of you for several years like I did to Julie. I don’t even have a nest. I never built one. She expects one when we return. I don’t even know what she likes.”
Chris nodded like he understood. “I can help you. Julie is Clara’s friend. My sister will know what she likes." He motioned to my screen. “What time is it on Vokira… perfect, it’s the afternoon. Call Clara.”
Hesitantly, I did.
“Hello?” Clara sounded confused when she answered. Since I was calling from the medical bay of one of the warships, she wouldn’t know who exactly was calling, just that it was the medical bay.
“Hey, brat. You’re on speaker. Grtirr, put her on speaker.”
“Hey, loser. Why are you calling from medical? Did anything happen?
“Chris is injured,” I supplied, while musing on the disparaging nicknames the two had for each other.
Siblings were the same the galaxy over. And that had me thinking of Zhrya back on Kadri.
She had just found her own mate when I’d left for that final mission.
They were planning to start a family. Her baby would be several years old by now and talking up a storm, if they were anything like my sister when she was little.
Chris glared at me. “Thanks for tossing me under the transport. Yes, I’m injured, but before you freak out, I’m fine. We’re actually calling because we need your help.”
Chris spent the next few minutes explaining that I was actually Julie’s mate, as I tried to hold my tongue. Clara was just as shocked as everyone who’d been in the mess hall that day.
“But… but they hate each other!” Then, realizing I was still there, she said, “I mean. Don’t you?”
Chris didn’t let me answer. “That’s why we need your help. Grtirr doesn’t have a nest, and he needs to build one quickly to impress her.”
“Oh… oh, that’s bad. She loves the whole nest and mating flight combo. Thinks it’s the most romantic thing ever. Wait… I see Dana, let me grab her. She’s known Julie longer.”
We went through the whole explanation again, this time with Chris and Clara talking for me. And as expected, Dana reacted the same way Clara had.
“You need a nest, and a good one too,” Dana agreed.
“And it’s not just the nest and the mating flight.
Back in Nova Vita, we used to watch these old Earth movies together.
She loved the whole engagement ring thing, even though it fell out of favor years ago in the colony.
In fact, Julie loves all the big traditional gestures of love and commitment.
The whole getting on one knee and proposing thing, she loves it.
Hmm… now that I think about it, I wonder if the whole getting down on one knee thing came from you Kadrixans way back in the day when you first found Earth. ”
“Oh! I never even thought of that!” Clara exclaimed.
“What do you mean?”
She explained how humans used to have a ritual where males asked the females they coveted to “marry” them by going down on one knee and offering a ring.
Apparently, it was a very old tradition, dating back to the Middle Ages—the same era when “demons” portrayed like Kadrixans, with red skin and horns, started appearing in human stories.
“Tell me more about this ring.”
“It’s not about how big or fancy the ring is.
I’m sure as long as it’s pretty, she’d be happy.
It’s supposed to fit on the ring finger of the left hand.
Oh! And there’s the other thing. Julie loves sparkly things.
She had a rock collection back in Nova Vita.
Nothing fancy, no gems or anything, but pretty stones she’d found and polished. ”
“Doesn’t she have one here?” Clara asked.
“She does. You know that hair clip she wears? The blue one?”
“I do.” I loved how the sky blue of the stone contrasted with her sunshine hair; it always reminded me of a warm, sunny day.
“Well, she found that rock in the swimming pond.”
“Oh right! She did,” Clara agreed. “I remember! She polished it a little every day until it got all shiny, and found a gold-colored wire, and twisted it around the stone and made it into a hair clip.”
“This makes your job much easier,” Chris said. “The mountain around the stronghold is covered in pretty rocks and gems.”
“But they’re so abundant that they’re practically worthless in a nest,” I said.
“Not to Julie,” Clara sounded so sure. “Especially if you find colorful ones.”
I thought of how she’d slowed by the busy display of antique jewelry and gemstones at the market. I hadn’t realized the significance at the time. And of course, she’d heard me call the items useless.
Too bad I wouldn’t have the chance to go back there with her. I’d need to stay until Charlene woke, which would be an entire light cycle. And by the time I returned to the station with the shuttle, it would be time for everyone to come back.
“But I know you need more than just gems in a nest,” Clara continued.
“First, I need a location. I don’t even have that.”
“That we can’t help you with. But maybe one of the other warriors knows a good spot. But I mean the other things that are needed in a nest. Things like bedding, storage, and personalized details.”
“I wish I knew more about her.”
“Remember those forms you had us fill out when we first joined the stronghold?” Clara asked. “The questionnaires about our favorite things? Why don’t you use those?”
“Yes, I remember. They were meant to help us build nests should we find our mates. But it has come to our attention that many of the females did not fill out those forms seriously. If I remember correctly, you were one of them.”
“Oh, right. About that…” Her awkward laugh came through the speakers.
“It worked out anyway. But I know for a fact that Julie actually filled hers out seriously. She was serious about this whole thing from the very beginning. You do know that she’s the one who convinced me to come here, right? Not that she had to try very hard.”
I had not known. “I will retrieve her file.”
“Oh, one more thing,” Dana said. “She always wanted a pet.
“Yeah, she loves Hardtack. Maybe try to befriend one of those cookis.”
“I have already done so,” I said, thinking of Tatertot currently locked up in my temporary quarters on board this ship. It wouldn’t have freedom to roam until we got back to the stronghold.
“In that case, you’re already halfway there,” Clara said. “Good luck. And just know that you better be nice to Julie for the rest of your life, or else you’ll have me…”
“And me!”
“…to contend with.”
“It will be my life’s goal to make her happy.”
That seemed to satisfy the pair, and as they pressed Chris with questions about how the trade mission was going, a plan started to form in my head. What had seemed insurmountable just moments earlier wasn’t so impossible now.
“Technically, you don’t need to be here anymore,” Chris said to me after he ended the call. “I’m good on my own, and Charlene is in the med bed for the next day cycle. You should head back with the shuttle early.”
“I should be here when Charlene wakes.”
“How hard is it to turn off a medbed? I helped out after that last attack on Ellaston. We’ll be fine without you. I’ll call you if I need help.”
“But I should be here to check…”
“Just go,” said Ashtrr from the doorway. When had he arrived? “I have some medical training too. It’s best if you get the shuttle down anyway, just in case they need to leave sooner.”
“Thank you,” I said, standing. I was eager to get back to Julie.
Every second away from my mate was a second too long. The shuttle couldn’t descend fast enough.