Chapter 19
"Did you get what you needed?" I asked Lily as the doctor finally left. The session had been a hard meeting for both of us, I assumed.
Yet the helivore, my girlfriend, only smiled. "Honestly, better than expected." She glanced down at the duffel bag at her feet and cleared her throat. "But I assume you were talking about something else."
"Right. Our problem next door,” I confirmed.
“As far as I can tell, the place is a labor camp," Lily replied, surprising me.
I frowned, not entirely sure how she was even aware of the concept of a labor camp. But given the reference, I leaned forward and laced my fingers together. We were still in the room. The good doctor had given us a moment for some sort of reconciliation before leaving.
"Yes, well. I have no information about who these people could be, but everything suggests that it's legal," Lily said flatly.
I frowned at her. "And why would you say that?"
"Because there are enough people present that I would assume this wouldn't go unnoticed,” she reasoned.
“And what they're digging for?” I pushed.
“Not a clue." Lily shrugged. "At least during the day, there's only so deep I could go without being noticed. What I can tell you is there are about 500 people."
I whistled at that number.
"All of them appear to be malnourished or heavily restrained. Most of them look fairly resigned, and they're using picks and wheelbarrows to clear away heavy stones from deep within the earth," Lilly reported.
I couldn't help but frown at that assessment, wondering what exactly they were up to underground. Because there was no need to use manual labor for an actual mining operation, not in this era.
"And so we don't know what it is," I said pointedly, "but we know there's something they are trying to find." Though we couldn’t confirm anything, it was probably an old piece of Akari’s legacy.
Lily shrugged, then looked at me with a smile. "I think this was quite productive."
"Somehow, I feel like you're not talking about the same thing I am." I squinted at her.
Lily kept that smile plastered on her face, indicating that fact didn't change the fact that it had been very productive.
"As for what's down there, I'll either have to come back at night to inspect when no one's around or we'll just have to smash our way in. The only thing coming up from the depths is chunks of rock. It is hard stone with no decoration or frills. I highly suspect it’s not for the stone.”
The concept still left me frowning. I doubted the stone beneath Akari's old mansion was worth more than stone anywhere else, which to me meant it was all the more likely that this was being used to dig something up.
If she was nearly as powerful as everyone seemed to think, perhaps she had buried some vault deep within the earth.
Using people to dig might be to avoid a heavy machine destroying or even setting off a failsafe.
I turned, smiled at Lily, and kissed her. "Alright, leave what you can here. We'll pick it up at night if we need to."
Lily smiled and stood, looping her arm around my waist. As we walked out, she pecked me on the cheek. "Thank you for going to therapy with me. I think it's going to work out incredibly well for us."
I smiled, shaking my head, only for the cacophony of someone arguing in the lobby to reach my ear.
"You fucking idiot. You can't even schedule it correctly? No wonder I want to divorce you, you incompetent fool." A woman’s shrill voice echoed down the hall.
I dipped my head in a small prayer for the man and an apology. I was fairly certain I had taken his appointment, and he was now suffering the blame for it. But if his wife wouldn't listen to that, perhaps it was for the best. He could probably do better.
I hurried my steps, uncomfortable even being around them.
"We will never be like them," Lily said with absolute confidence.
I blinked. "What makes you so certain?"
"She has contempt for him. How can they have a conversation if you don't respect your partner?"
"That's one way to see it." I paused at her oddly accurate understanding.
Lily was nodding along before she turned to me. "Do you think we have time for a quickie?"
I did a double-take, almost not believing my ears. "Lily, I'm not sure if you know what you just asked for."
"Quick rowdy sex in the alley," she clarified, unblinking. Those pink eyes bore into me with a hunger.
"Then again, maybe you do," I corrected myself.
"Are you going to answer the question?" Lily shifted enough to give me an eyeful of her.
On instinct, I tried not to stare before my eyes met hers, and they begged for me to enjoy. There was something in her posture, how she opened up in a way that was inviting me to devour her with my gaze and then take her in the alley.
“Do we?” Lily asked, her voice soft like silk caressing my inner ear and folding into my head, whispering sweet nothings.
I pulled out my tablet to check the time, barely even glancing at it. "I think we have time.”
“We’ll be quick. But it’ll be good. Really good for my partner who was open and honest during therapy. You’re a little tense after that, so let me help you relax.” The helivore was all smiles before she licked her lips and gently pulled me off our route.
I was quickly beginning to realize that I might have unleashed something far more dangerous than I'd anticipated, now that I'd opened the door to physical intimacy with Lily.
She was insatiable. I wondered if this was just a honeymoon period or if she would remain like this.
There wasn't really anyone I could ask about the mating frequencies of helivores.
I doubted even the people who had once made her kind in laboratories could give me an answer to that.
Those thoughts were driven from my mind, however, as Lily dragged me into the alley and began undoing my pants and sinking to her knees.
***
I sat on the table while Melgara inspected me, though it was always a little awkward because she wore a blindfold and didn’t bother with eye contact.
"And how have you been feeling lately, Captain? Are your energy levels suitable?" she asked with a faint narrowing of her eyes.
"I'm doing great. Energy levels are good," I reported. “I will admit, keeping up with Lily is… harder than expected."
Melgara smirked. "Yes, during my checkup with her there were lots of interesting questions."
"Don't tell me there were more misconceptions from Tiri's videos?" I groaned.
"I think it's quite humorous that a helivore is asking questions about romance and physical relationships," Melgara offered.
I froze at Melgara's words, waiting for another shoe to drop. But she continued as if unbothered, so I had to breach the topic first.
"What do you mean, a helivore?" I asked carefully.
"Come now. You’ve known the whole time. So has Brick, which is why he’s scared shitless of her," Melgara said, the smile on her face proof enough of her certainty.
She wasn’t the kind of woman to do this without a reason.
"Well, I suppose if I can't convince you otherwise... and you're talking to me about this, you have something you want to say?" I stared at her and crossed my arms. "Note that anything that goes against Lily isn't even going to be considered."
Melgara smiled. "No. The fact of the matter is that I intend to treat her just like any other member of the crew.
In fact, I think it's wonderful that one of her kind has been given a chance to live a life without so much stigma placed upon them.
My curiosity is more academic. After all, you are perhaps the first man in the history of the universe to be in a relationship with a helivore. "
I narrowed my eyes. Her words made a certain sort of sense, yet they made me uncomfortable all the same. "If you do anything to betray Lily, and that includes sharing that she's a helivore or spreading anything you learn about her, you will find me coming for you."
"Again, I understand your defensiveness. She is a wonderful woman in a precarious situation. But don't worry. Like I said, I'm here to help. At least as much as you'll let me." Melgara chuckled and held up her hands.
Though perhaps I was being a touch overly defensive. Melgara had yet to do anything that wasn't in the best interest of our ship and the small but growing family that it was. Instead, my mind went to the fact that Melgara was smart enough that if she was bringing this up, it was for a reason.
"Why are you bringing this up now?" I asked.
Melgara smiled. "Conversations are so much easier when everyone in them is smart enough to understand all of the undertones."
I rolled my eyes. "Out with it."
"I want to perform some experiments," Melgara said.
"You may not know this, but helivores were originally created to cure diseases.
To have one cooperative here is any doctor's dream.
I simply wish to utilize such a position.
" She paused. "Of course, while Lily would assist me, there's only really one person she'd be willing to assist." Melgara gave me a long, pointed look.
"I can't say I have any disease that I'm aware of." I smiled, finding myself at least partially happy that I could spoil this for her.
"No, you're an incredibly healthy specimen. The idea would be more along the lines of helping you in certain scenarios. Like recovering from injuries more quickly, for instance."
I squinted at her. This seemed rather benign compared to what she could have asked, having learned that Lily was a helivore.
"Maybe," I said. "We'll have to discuss specifics when you have them. I'm not signing you a blank check."
"Of course." Melgara was all smiles. "In turn, I'm happy to patch you up next time you have a blunder out in an alleyway before you go meet Lily. Though I admit such an offer is at least partially selfish. You wouldn't believe how insistent Lily was that I perform miracles."