46. Bambi
BAMBI
Bikar’s late.
He’s never late to supper. The man loves food and never misses a chance to eat while harassing his loved ones. Glancing over at Heather, she rolls her eyes. “The Winged Wanker never misses a meal. Don’t worry so much; he’ll be along.”
I’ve sent him two comm messages asking how much longer he’s going to be, but he hasn’t answered either one of them. Just as I’m about to start worrying in earnest, the front door opens and closes. Murgul’s head tips, nostrils flaring, and he frowns.
That can’t be good.
Turning in my chair, I see Bikar walking towards us carrying… something. “Bikar, what is that?”
His body language is… hesitant, which puts me on alert. “Bikar Ramuguk, what did you do?”
“Ohhhhhh, she used your full name. You best be answering her,” Ruby chortles.
“Is that a theroquine?” Gwen’s soft-spoken question causes everyone to fall quiet.
Bikar hasn’t stopped walking towards me as we’ve been peppering him with questions. Kneeling in front of me, he shows me the little critter in his arms. “I… found him today. He is in need of a home and a person to love him. Would it be alright if we keep him?”
Ruby leans over and stage whispers. “Aren’t those things incredibly rare? Like only found on one planet, period. The same planet that’s full of hostile reptilian males who kill everyone that tries to land on their rock?”
It’s easy to ignore Ruby because two little blue eyes with vertical pupils are staring up at me, full of curiosity.
Hesitantly extending a hand towards him, I wait to see if he wants anything to do with me.
Tiny nostrils flare as he sniffs, taking in my scent.
Letting out a chirrup, he nuzzles my hand and closes his eyes when I start scratching him under the chin.
His coloring is vastly different than Neera, Gwen’s pet.
Where Neera is cream and spotted, this one is dark red with a slick-haired body.
His mane and tail are pitch black, but his little face has a white streak down its length.
Their bipedal feet are similar, though—both have silky hair hiding their three sharp toes, but this little guy’s extremities end in white points.
I’ve always wanted a pet.
Carefully scooping the little creature out of Bikar’s arms, I settle him into my lap. My heart melts when he coos and snuggles into my middle before falling asleep.
Heather comes around the table and crouches next to me to get a better look, pats him once on the head, and goes back to her chair, muttering. “That thing is fucking creepy.”
“Congratulations! You have a new pet. It’s not exactly the cat distribution system because it’s not remotely close to a cat. Those things look like a fucked-up love child between a mini-velociraptor and a pony, but you get the gist.”
Ruby’s quip makes everyone laugh, but Slavic sobers quickly. “Bikar, my Ruby is correct. Theroquine are incredibly rare. How did you come to find one?”
Pulling out the chair next to me, Bikar practically falls into it before bracing his elbows on the table, face in his hands.
“That doesn’t bode well.” Flicking my eyes over at Rowan at her discreet comment, I can’t help but agree.
Lifting his head, Bikar looks around the table before he drops a hell of an information bomb on us.
“Bhastas and Vornek finally decided we are all trustworthy today, and as a result I was shown to a hidden laboratory under the Aynar palace.”
Rumbles of displeasure sound from around the dinner table. None of the Ruks here have pleasant memories of that place. Bikar continues and talks over the noise. “Specifically, the cryo-units within the facility.”
Pausing, he pinches the bridge of his nose like he does when he’s got a tension headache. Reaching over, I rub his back, trying to offer him some comfort. Whatever he’s got left to tell us is troubling him deeply.
“It’s full of human females and various other rare species.” Gesturing to the theroquine in my arms, he holds his hands out, palms up in a supplicating gesture, as voices begin to swell again. “Let me finish before you all lose your shet.”
When no one tries to interrupt, he nods and finishes, “Vornek and his people have been trying to break the inscription on the cryo-pods since we escaped. From what he’s been able to determine, I am the only being in the Void capable of freeing the human females.
We tested it on something small earlier, and that is why I have a theroquine.
If Vornek is correct, I was supposed to be something of a universal key for their top-secret projects, because their enemies would have never expected a being as primitive as a Ruk to hold all the Aynar’s data.
Only, they miscalculated, and I was not as subservient as they thought. ”
No one speaks. Not even Ruby, and she always has something to add to a conversation.
I know it weighs heavily on Bikar that he is so different from his brothers, and this new revelation has done nothing but make that feeling worse.
Because now his brothers know he was augmented to be a tool… not a person.