Chapter 55
Well, that won't help.
I tried to ping Seth, but he didn’t respond.
Neither did NAID. Touchstones weren’t always working; they, like every other system, had been heavily affected.
I had to hope he was with Urgg, and that the two of them were in Urgg’s bakery.
I took the lift, nerves jiggling inside of me.
I could be trapped in the lift if it should suddenly stop, but using the tunnels wasn’t practical.
Of course, if my virus continued its work, then we would have to—there was no other option.
It would make traveling across the ship incredibly hard, not to mention, slow going.
The lift was so much slower than normal and juddered beneath me, making me tremble.
Stars, I hoped I wasn’t trapped in here.
It would take a considerable amount of time to free me, and Monqilcolnen would be upset, which I didn’t want.
He had enough going on without continuing to worry about me.
However, the lift continued to the designated deck without an issue, or without catastrophic issues, I should say.
I darted through the crowd in the promenade—it was still busy here, even with the issues. Then again, there wasn’t anywhere else for people to go or much else for them to do, so it made sense our civilians would congregate here. I paused as a thought crossed my mind.
Perhaps I could recruit civilian seekers who had engineering experience to help. More people were always better. I would have to ask Talvax. There was the matter of security, but it would increase our workforce.
I continued running through the bustling crowd, avoiding people.
I reached the bakery and didn’t see Urgg, but I did spot Klirgg, their younger cousin.
She was even larger than Urgg with bulging muscles and deep brown skin.
She had the same tusks as Urgg, but they were a tad larger, fully curling over her top lip.
Black swirling tattoos decorated her massive arms and on one was a beaded armband.
The band and tattoos signified what clan she was from and her place in it, though I didn’t know how to interpret them.
When I came up to the counter spanning the back of the shop, she sniffed, her large nose twitching. “Wyn, thank the gorgg.”
The gorgg was the Barusian deity, which was a rock mammal creature who lived in the caves that separated the territories of the barbarus who lived above ground and the tarmarus who lived underground.
“Where’s Urgg?” I asked, my tail thrashing.
Urgg had been my first friend. While we were both closer to Seth than each other, Urgg was equally important to me.
They had simply wrapped a huge arm around me and never let me go.
I hadn’t known how much I needed companionship, and yet they did. Urgg had saved me.
She pointed to the space behind the counter I believed was a kitchen and storage area.
Not bothering to ask, I planted a hand on the counter and hopped over it to get to my friend. I did not have to look very hard.
Urgg was curled into a ball, weeping and guzzling a bottle of graugg.
“Stars,” I muttered. This was worse than I’d even guessed. They hadn’t looked well in my quarters, but I hadn’t suspected it was this bad. I pressed closer. Urgg looked at me with pitiful eyes while a huge glob of snot escaped their nose.
“She’s still mad, Wyn,” they blubbered. “I apologized and called her lovely, but she won’t forgive me.”
It surprised me as well. However, Talvax was stressed.
The Admiral Ven was one of the empire’s finest ships, and Urgg and I had destroyed it with one night of heavy drinking.
I wouldn’t be surprised if the Council of Seekers, the Planetary Navy, and the Cohort were threatening to level charges against Talvax.
This one incident might ruin her previously exceptional career.
“She is,” I replied, because there was no denying it.
Urgg sobbed louder, and Klirgg swore, “Get them to fucking shut up! All they do is cry. They’re keeping me awake all night.”
I leveled her a glare, but Klirgg wasn’t fazed in the slightest.
“Come on,” I said to Urgg, pulling on their arm. It was a feat to get the large barbarus on their feet and headed toward the door.
Urgg continued to sob and cry as I led them through the crowd, many of whom turned to look at us.
I ignored them, gritting my teeth and focusing on getting Urgg to the lift.
They were much taller than me and weighed a substantial amount more.
It was a struggle to stay upright, let alone support a good amount of their swaying bulk.
We made it to the lift and then to the second floor where Urgg’s room was. When we were outside the door, Urgg cried, “She’s not in there. When I refused to leave, she left me!”
“No, she’s not,” I groaned, fighting the urge to just drop them. “But you need to sleep it off.”
I didn’t bother to wait for a reply, because either way, Urgg was going to their quarters and lying down. I could not support them forever.
Once inside, I literally shoved Urgg into their bed. They continued crying. Breaking Urgg and Talxax’s privacy, I went into the bathroom and snagged a cloth, wetting it, and returned.
Gently, I wiped Urgg’s face. “Captain Talvax will forgive you.”
Their face lit up. “How do you know?”
“You’re her mate. She loves you, Urgg. Give her some time. And instead of drinking yourself to distraction, perhaps see it from her point of view. Think of how much trouble she is in and how worried she is. Help her, Urgg,” I said. “She needs you more than ever. I promise you that.”
Urgg took a deep breath and thumped their chest. “I shall protect Talvax. She is the loveliest, prettiest, most amazing person in the universe.”
I shook my head. Nothing would sway Urgg from their effusive love of their mate, nor should it.
I remained with Urgg until they fell asleep. Next, I sent a note to Talvax to update her on Urgg as well as give her my idea about recruiting civilians. Hopefully, she would be amiable, but either way, I would continue to work on the problem I had created.
Then it was back to Monqilcolnen’s office.
He would still be in Command, but I worked better in his office—it smelled like him—and perhaps Cincin would come snuggle.
The office was empty when I arrived. No Monqilcolnen.
No Cincin. I frowned in disappointment, but I moved to the couch on the right wall and grabbed my screen to begin working.
Fighting the code I had created wasn’t a simple feat.
It was insidious and smart, as I had made it.
Slowly but steadily, it was breaking down the systems. Very little of the ship would be salvageable if I couldn’t defeat the virus.
It would infect and remain dormant in anything that held memory, spawning and destroying once again if it was placed into a new ship, which was also my design.
I’d wanted to make whatever it destroyed useless.
My fingers practically flew over the screen as I worked to salvage and protect the necessary systems. We would need lifts, sensors, environments, comms, food storage, dispensers, doors, and weapons.
The door chimed, and I ignored it. This was Monqilcolnen’s office, not mine. It wasn’t my place to allow people other than me in here. I pulled out my touchstone, but it was inactive.
Someone pounded on the door before yelling, “Wyn, are you in there?”
Seth. I stood. A moment later Bobbinvoxlyn screamed. I rushed to the door, and Seth was red-faced and panting.
“Thank god,” he breathed. “I have been looking for you everywhere.”
“What’s wrong?” I glanced at Bobbinvoxlyn, but besides the fussing, the kit appeared healthy.
“Monqilcolnen.”
My soul froze as terror I’d never experienced before flooded my veins. “Where?”
“His room.”
I was out the door and racing to me and mine’s quarters without waiting for Seth.