Chapter 4
CHAPTER FOUR
Fucking kri'ith
Garrison
HAVING LESS THAN a week to find where the hell to go in a whole damn galaxy? It was enough to make anyone grumpy.
I should have been happy. As of this morning, we were citizens with full legal rights, the ID chips implanted under our wrists and our details recorded on Allied Galaxy systems. But we had to leave—now I’d gotten used to the food, to some of the more unusual customs, to the bartender’s hospitality.
It sucked, but there was nothing for us here.
The keppli ale’s cool bitterness smoothed some of the rough edges, so I sank into my seat, taking another sip as the cantina door slid open.
Fucking kri’ith.
Three of them openly stared as they strode past, mugs of ale sloshing, the air rippling in their massive wake. I couldn’t help but peer at the two females. We’d only seen kri’ith men before, and what appeared grotesque on them was… slightly less monstrous.
Without meaning to, my gaze settled on the broader of the two. I ignored the cocky way she walked, and my eyes didn’t linger on her obscenely muscled thighs. Much.
Maybe I was just staring at the way her blue leather tunic clung to her breasts, though the fleshy purple spines on her scalp swayed almost hypnotically, trailing past her shoulders like locs or braids.
From under deep brow ridges, her dark, glittering eyes met mine, daring me to keep looking even as she bared her teeth in that almost skeletal grin.
I scrubbed at the goosebumps on my arms. Fucking kri’ith. While these newcomers didn’t give the same pirate vibe as the group who’d arrived yesterday, they were still kri’ith, and not to be trusted.
As I glanced back at the probably-pirates sitting near the door, Rayna entered the cantina, made a beeline for them, and my eyes narrowed.
Even though she was hard to get along with, I didn’t want her getting into trouble, but, frankly, I was running out of energy to watch out for everyone.
At least Zerena’s arm was almost better.
I added Galactic medical tech to my very short list of good things about the galaxy.
Without meaning to, everyone had paired up—not as couples, but after too many hours bickering over a destination we could all agree on, we were going to go our separate ways. Apart from Ellie, who was staying here, and me, still undecided. And whatever the fuck Rayna was doing now.
I didn’t like it. Only thirteen humans in the Allied Galaxy, and we were splitting up?
We should be sticking together, not drifting off into odd corners of space in ones or twos.
But I couldn’t begrudge anyone wanting to make the most of things in whatever way they thought best. Maybe we’d be able to meet up sometimes. Till then, there were always comms.
The mood was gloomy as we reviewed travel options.
There was no such thing as public transport, apart from a weekly slow shuttle between various space stations; the done thing was to haggle with ships passing through your destination.
Making casual credits from being a galactic taxi might have been normal to these folk, but it was a fucking terrifying idea as passengers, especially ones so new to the wider galaxy.
Since we’d gotten our ID chips, choice had been limited.
A shaa vessel had turned us down, leaving the kri’ith pirates—fuck right off—and now this second group.
There’d been a stream of travellers passing through last week, mostly tall, aloof shaa and pleasant nebaru.
It was just typical it had gone dry now we needed them.
I wanted to hold out for whoever else came by, with a last resort being the commercial transport to a more populated and busy station. Once there, we’d have to hope we could find another ride.
It wasn’t a popular option.
Roth drained his drink. “I’m going to speak to them.” He didn’t have to say who. He’d made it very clear he wanted to get off here ASAP and was happy to talk to anyone who came through.
“We’ve not had the best of luck with kri’ith,” I said.
He shot me a dark look. “We’ve got to get a ride off here, G, so I’m going to ask. Foolish not to.”
True, but it didn’t mean I had to like it. Kri’ith had gotten us into this in the first place.
Ready to grumble, I turned to Imani. Was she sniffling? “What’s up?”
She rubbed her eyes angrily with her sleeve. “Nothing. I mean, just… This. It’s a lot.”
I pulled her into a hug, tucking her head against my chest. “Hey, I know. I’m feeling it too. We all are. Want to go back to the room? We can play that card game we got last week if you like.”
“Thanks.” She offered me a faint smile. “Okay, we can get some of those fried root things to eat on the way.”
“’Course. There you go.” I eased her away and stood up, keeping my arm round her shoulders.
I thought she appreciated the touch. I know I did.
It wasn’t sexual; I wasn’t attracted to any of my fellow humans, but as a tactile person, I’d noticed Imani relaxed when she’d had hugs—and got some quiet time.
Not like Roth, who needed something to do to stay calm, or Ellie, who disappeared off to flirt or get laid.
I cast surly eyes towards the table where Roth and the kri’ith sat before giving my full attention to my friend.
IT WAS A pleasant change to sit in the quiet of the room with Imani, playing cards and eating takeaway. Being in the cantina had gone from sitting around working out where to go, to sitting around waiting for potential rides to come through. It had gotten very old, very fast.
I itched to find out how Roth had got on, though, and so did Imani. She assured me she was fine, happy to sit in bed listening to an audiostory, so I headed back out.
The corridor was eerily quiet, but as I got closer to the trade sector, the silence gave way to thuds, shouts, and other voices.
I broke into a jog, sprinting when I heard snarls.
Ellie sat on the floor at the start of the trade corridor, knees hugged to her chest, leaning up against the metal wall. She stared at a fight not far away between one of the reptilian gharians and a humanoid I didn’t recognise.
I crouched, and she met my eyes with a haunted gaze.
One of her small hands rested lightly on my arm. “Garrison.”
“Are you okay?” Her sleeve was torn, her hair fell messily, loosened from her usual braid, and I tensed, gritting my teeth.
“Yeah. I should have listened. Don’t speak to kheddians.”
I followed her gaze to where the two males no longer fought; one now beat the other relentlessly. “Shit. Is that Ithsskar?”
The normally aloof and put-together archon wore nothing more than his under-tunic. Spikes split the material along his spine and tail, and he used the latter as a weapon, along with his wicked claws. His swishing robes lay in a crumpled pile on the floor.
Ellie nodded, her face pale. “Yeah. Don’t piss off a gharian, apparently.”
“What happened?”
The brief flash of familiar fire in her voice helped me calm slightly.
“Fucking kheddian jerk wouldn’t take no for an answer.
I was on my way back to the room. He followed me.
” She gulped, and I bit down a flare of anger.
“I was lucky Ithsskar was there. Except he won’t stop.
” She studied the floor, tracing patterns on her leg. “He’s been in a mood for days.”
The heavy clomp of boots echoed along the metallic corridor. Four armed security guards burst onto the scene and stopped, shifting warily. “Archon. Enough now.”
The enormous reptilian didn’t acknowledge them, maintaining his firm grip on the smaller sapient who was rapidly losing consciousness.
After a muttered curse from one of the guards, two of them grabbed Ithsskar by the upper arms, dragging him off with difficulty. The ordinarily cultured archon snarled like a feral beast in their grip until his gold-flecked eyes landed on Ellie.
Breathing heavily, he raised his voice, his sibilant tones ringing out in the silence.
“The human Ellie is under my protection. If anyone touches her, I’ll rip his face off.
” He shrugged the guards’ hands away, grabbed his robe from the floor, and lurched towards her, only halting when he registered my presence.
Ellie slowly peeled her hand off my arm.
Ithsskar stiffened, muscles trembling. “Will you be all right, Ellie?”
All she did was nod.
“I’ll make sure she’s safe, Archon,” I said, keeping my voice neutral. This was the first violence we’d seen since the riot on Tathar Refuge, and I was surprised how unsettled I was. It served as a reminder of how deadly these other beings could be. “Let’s get you out of here, El. Can you stand?”
“Yeah. I just want to go.”
“I’d offer to hug you, but…”
“Best not right now, eh?” My bubbly friend had never sounded so quiet or defeated.
The background chatter died down as the crowd began to disperse. As we headed off to the guest quarters, I heard one of the guards saying, “Spread the word. That human is under the archon’s protection.”
By the time we rounded the corner, I wasn’t sure if that was entirely a good thing.