Chapter 6
Maya
“Thank goodness you’re alright!” Faith wrung her hands, clearly distraught after her ordeal.
“When we couldn’t detect the pod anywhere in the vicinity where we thought you would land, I was so worried that we lost you in space.
I can’t believe you’re all the way over on an abandoned mining planet.
And to get rescued before becoming dino chow too!
That’s lucky. But I’m so sorry this happened. ”
“Not your fault. We couldn’t have known.”
Faith was a real sweetheart. This whole thing had been her crazy idea to begin with.
She’d just dragged Maya and Grant, her husband, along for the ride.
When Faith finally got that first bit of investment money to start their breeding program last year and could pay Maya a living wage, Maya had quit her other job as a server at the pub and went full-time with them.
It was a perfect match. Maya’s old job back on Earth had been with a pet store, running puppy obedience classes. She wasn’t the puppy-whisperer or anything, but all her clients came out able to sit, stay, lie down, and leave it. All the important things.
The dragus of Reka 5 weren’t much different, especially when they were young. Plus, Maya’s natural affinity for spreadsheets also meant that she helped keep everything in order so that Faith and Grant could focus on their genetics work.
“I’m safe now, and that’s what counts.” Maya did her best not to look over at Ranek, who was sitting across from her, listening in on the conversation.
Commander Chaos had already swallowed the nutrition bar Ranek had given him whole and was now prowling the medical office searching for more edibles.
“Are you going to be okay until we find someone to come and get you? Food? Water? Shelter?” Her voice was full of concern.
Ranek gestured to her, then came to stand behind her so he was in the frame of the video.
“I can bring her where she needs to go. I was on my way off the planet.”
Faith eyed Ranek, and Maya could see the gears turning in her friend’s head. Maya knew that look. She didn’t trust him and was going to grill the rugged-looking Tallean male for information.
“Thank you for rescuing Maya and bringing her somewhere safe. But who are you?” Faith demanded. “What are you doing on an abandoned mining planet known as a pirate hideout? And why should I trust you with her?”
Ah, Maya could always trust in Faith and her brutal honesty. It was refreshing. It might come off as lacking diplomacy on Earth, but it worked well on Reka 5 since Talleans were usually more forthright anyway.
Amusement lit up Ranek’s face. “I’m Ranek. And I’m on Fortuna II to look for old technology and other useful items to sell.”
Faith frowned. “You don’t look like a merchant.”
She was right. Tallean merchants like the one Commander Chaos was destined for usually dressed quite gaudily. Ranek did not fit the bill.
Ranek spread his hands, palms up. “I do what I can to make credits.”
“Okay. So a mercenary then.” Her eyes narrowed at him.
He shrugged. “That depends on how much you’re paying.”
Faith eyed Maya up and down, and Maya was suddenly very aware that she was wearing Ranek’s shirt. And it was a very thin, almost see-through one too. And with her type of figure, it was obvious that she didn’t have a bra underneath.
Shit. Even if Faith didn’t grill her about it right now, she would when she got back.
It didn’t help that Ranek was topless, his broad shoulders, well-formed pecs, and washboard abs on full display. The two of them looked like they’d been getting a little too comfy. Luckily, Ranek had put his pants back on before they’d started the comm.
“Yip! Yip!” Commander Chaos to the rescue!
Ranek bent and picked up the pup, and Commander Chaos let him. It seemed his trust was easily bought with a single travel ration bar. “I will return this one too. Even though I am very fond of him.”
He was? Even after he chewed on his ankle? The words bought him some brownie points with Faith.
“Fine,” Faith finally said. “I entrust you with my friend. But know that I have you on record, and if she doesn’t show up, I’m going to send people after you.”
Amusement lit up Ranek’s face.
But something was niggling at the corner of Maya’s mind.
“What happened to the captain?’ she asked, as the pieces started to form in her head.
Faith looked a little taken aback at the question, but answered. “He’s fine. I ended up getting picked up by Gallus’s ships.”
Gallus was the merchant whom Commander Chaos was supposed to go to.
A merchant of rare gems, he’d fallen for a human woman years ago.
He and Miranda even had a little boy, conceived after a ton of fertility treatments to bridge the tiny gap in their species.
The toddler had a perfect mix of human and Tallean features and was constantly getting into trouble.
“I’m still at Gallus’s.” Faith turned her camera to show the ornate room in which she sat. “Since I thought we lost Commander Chaos, we’re trying to arrange for Grant to come by with Butterball and Princess Peach instead.”
Butterball and Princess Peach were Commander Chaos’s sisters.
Well, technically, they were from the same clutch because dragus, despite looking and acting quite mammalian, laid eggs like most animals native to Reka 5.
It had been quite a shock at first. It didn’t change the genetic part of it, and had even made them easier to breed.
But unlike egg-layers of Earth that relied on volume of offspring, Dragus only laid two to three, sometimes four eggs each time the females went into heat, depending on how many resources were available.
The breeding pairs at Dragus R Us were so well fed that they often laid three to four eggs and the females went into heat twice a year instead of once.
Butterball was totally food motivated, and Princess Peach was a total lap dragus.
Truth be told, either of them was probably a better fit for Gallus and Miranda personality-wise, but they’d come in looking for a dragus that could one day double as protection. As Commander Chaos had demonstrated already today, he had a protective streak a mile wide, even when it wasn’t needed.
“And the captain?”
“Oh, right. The captain. He was picked up by someone else and returned to his ship. The pirates left after looting it.”
The look Maya exchanged with Ranek wasn’t missed by Faith’s keen eyes.
“What is it?” she asked. “Spit it out.”
Ranek explained how his friend had gotten trapped inside an escape pod, only to find themselves on this planet, greeted by pirates. As he did, Commander Chaos added his own asides in the form of little yips and growls. The pup was still hungry.
“What if nothing went wrong, and the pod was pre-programmed to come here?” Maya finished, watching for Faith’s reaction.
“But that would mean… the delivery company.” Faith’s face clouded up.
Maya put out a pacifying hand; she didn’t want her friend to act before they had the proof. “I mean, it’s a strong possibility. Let’s see if we can find the proof first before we unload a can of Maya and Faith-flavored whoop-ass on them.”
Ranek’s raised brow was almost comical. His translator must be struggling with their English slang.
“Yeah, good idea. I’ll do some sleuthing and work my magic while you make your way back with Mr. Sexy-But-Not-Really-a-Merchant.” She gave Ranek a once-over that had Maya’s little green monsters rearing their heads.
“I’ll meet you back at Reka 5,” Maya said, shoving the errant jealousy down.
First of all, Faith was married, and she was the poster girl for her namesake. And second, she had no right to get jealous over Ranek. They barely knew each other. Okay, so their little impromptu makeout session had been fire. But still. She had no claim to him.
They said goodbye and ended the comm. And just in time too, because Commander Chaos had started to chew on Ranek’s boots.
“Chaos, no. Leave it.”
The pup looked up from his expensive choice of chew toy and huffed. But he did leave the boots alone. Too bad he went straight to her shoes. After all, Maya hadn’t said no to those yet.
“I think he’s still hungry,” Maya said, her own stomach grumbling. The two of them hadn’t eaten yet. “But do you think there are other food sources here? He can put away a lot of food, and I don’t want him going through all your bars.”
“There are ingredients for the food replicators. The replicators themselves are rusted, but some of the ingredients are known to last nearly forever.”
“Oh, you mean the freeze-dried stuff. Yeah, that might work as long as we have water to reconstitute it in.”
“This station does not lack fresh, potable water.”
“Then let’s do it. Show me the stash.”