Maddison, Karly - Time Slip [The Xephon Alliance 1] (Siren Publishing Classic) (3 page)

Two of the other older males, Chitra and Junner, eyed her with interest. Their dark eyes reminded her of black holes that wanted to sweep her away. The effect of the tattoos on their faces made their stares seem even more intense somehow. Chitra’s eyes flicked over her with interest as he tapped the table top softly. She watched as he locked eyes with Junner for a few moments, and she wondered what silent information had passed between them. She’d never once seen the senior officers relax, except that one time this morning when Junner and Tinny had been playing virtual games in the rec room.

She glanced down at her plate again and forced herself not to glance back at the top end of the table. It did no good to look up there and make eye contact with beings she barely understood. So why did her gaze stray back again? Three pairs of eyes studied her now, Chitra’s, Junner’s, and Tinny’s. She tried to look nonchalant, tried to act as if she thought nothing of their scrutiny, which made her so uncomfortable. Her heart kicked up a beat, and she had to squeeze her spoon tighter to still the sudden trembling that threatened her fingers.

The group of senior males stood up suddenly, huge and moving with the liquid grace of prowling big cats. She ducked her head, wanting to be invisible. They always left the table before the others, walking past her like huge beasts, their black shadows falling over the table like elongated, dark flags blotting out the light. She froze, praying none of them did one of those curious mind tricks on her as they went by. She prayed to the stars that she was too uninteresting for them to notice her wedged between Nanda and Sharnie.

One of them accidentally brushed her as he went past. She could feel the hard contact of his thigh against her shoulder through the thick material of his cloak and her jacket, but she daren’t acknowledge it. And then they were past her, leaving the less important members of the crew and the Earth females behind to finish eating.

Where did they go now, and what would they do when they got there? She dared a glance at their tall backs as they exited the room, feeling a whisper slide through her mind, as if one or more of them—she couldn’t tell—acknowledged her covert interest in them. She compressed her lips as she stared at the backs of their charcoal-colored coats covered by their overly long and tangled hair. Only Captain Zeba had gray strands in his twisted locks, and he was right at the front of the group. She doubted he had been one of the ones to tap her in the head. That left Junner, Chitra, or Tinny, or maybe all three of them. And then they were gone. She let out a long, disturbingly unsteady breath. She noted Tipha looking at her curiously from across the table. She would have given him a small smile, but she’d been too much of a bitch to him in the past to change her tune now.

She’d already been informed that the captain had decided since she could not get along with someone her own age he would assign her to an older male, one that might have a bit more life experience to handle her belligerent response to being paired off. But Kash expected an older guy to be a walkover compared to the testosterone-filled ones in their early thirties. She had plenty more tricks up her sleeve to make the new one’s life so miserable he’d soon want to release her back where she came from, but she hadn’t been told who it would be yet. The captain hadn’t decided.

She stood up slowly and left the room. She was the odd one out here. All of the Earth women and Xephon males present were partnered off. The nine older males that had not been paired off moved around together in a pack most of the time…and then there was her, out on her own. She wandered down to medical, achingly aware of her separateness.

The passageways were cool and dim, and her footsteps echoed on the floor. Occasionally she passed a port hole and would glance out at the stars. She knew how to recognize a lot of star clusters, because she had moved around many of the Earth-based star stations with her sister over the years, but none looked familiar. Curiously though, they did not look entirely unfamiliar either.

It was depressing to think they might be stuck here forever. How long did Captain Zeba think they could last in the ship? Surely, eventually they would have to abandon it and all go and live on the planet they had found. A lucky find, that planet, Kash thought, with its supposedly breathable atmosphere and palatable food sources. Also, there did not seem to be any problem with predators that were any real threat to the Earthlings and the Xephons, at least none that had shown up yet.

Kash found a porthole that allowed her a view of the little world, and she stared down at it for a long time. It might have been Earth, the way it glowed blue in the distance, and yet she knew it was not, however, for a few sad moments, she let herself pretend it was.

Chapter Three

Kash sat in the medical bay, tapping her fingers on the desk, considering her life. She had been in charge of the place since the Xephons had lost their doctor in the tunnel jump, the only Xephon to die in the incident.

Kash suspected there was more to it than that, because Xephon males were remarkably tough, and nothing had happened to anyone else on their crew. She suspected he had tampered with medications, and might even have been addicted to some of them, because the supplies of some meds were worryingly low, with no records or indications that made sense as to why. A rough ride through the tunnel would have been a real test for someone who might have caused damage to their heart through misuse of certain drugs. But it was all speculation. She had no proof, and nobody cared anymore, least of all Captain Zeba. He had more important business on his mind now, like keeping up food and fuel supplies and finding a way home.

It was what everyone wanted. A way home. A trail out of here. Did such a thing exist? Kash wondered.

The door opened suddenly, and she glanced up into fathomless dark eyes.

“May I see you?” Tinny enquired in a hushed voice as if he thought he might be interrupting her, though his eyes looked as sharp as a raven’s regarding a caterpillar.

“Of course,” she answered. “What is it?”

He held out his arm revealing a long and surprisingly deep cut above his wrist. It looked like he had tried to clean it up himself. She wasn’t surprised that he might have. The Xephons were fiercely independent and seldom asked for help. She’d already learned that. Most visits to medical were usually from the women of the
Windfleur
. He’d bothered to come here as a last resort, she realized.

She indicated with her hand for him to sit down and lay his arm on the counter top.

“How did you do that?” she asked.

“I was in a fight with someone.” He shrugged as if he hoped that would discourage her from making him expand on his explanation.

Kash picked up her tweezers and pulled a three-inch, splintered shard of some other guy’s talon out of the cut. She glanced at his face, mere inches away from her own, and noticed a betraying blue bruise over his left eye and a tiny graze on his cheek. She’d bet they’d probably pounded each other, but she wouldn’t be seeing any other evidence of it with all of his clothes
o
n.

“And what does the other guy look like?” she enquired as she rummaged for antibiotic solutions in her supplies. Hells, why did he make her so nervous?

“He does not have one of my broken talons sticking out of his forearm,” Tinny replied wryly.

Kash hid a smile as she snapped a sterile saline tube open and ran it over the wound, watching as he flexed his fingers, the only sign he gave of any discomfort. If he thought that was uncomfortable wait till she got out the iodine. She swabbed some on a sterile cloth and patted it gently over the wound. He flexed his fingers again, his eyes reviewing his wound. She stared at the top of his head for a moment. His hair grew dark as jet out of his scalp, and his pointy, slightly elongated ears peeked out as he gazed down. He glanced up suddenly, startling her with the intensity of his eyes. She was amazed to discover they had tiny turquoise flecks in them. Staring into such unfathomable alien eyes made her nervousness kick up another notch. For a few seconds she thought she might have been coming down with a fever.

Glancing away, she reached for a bandage and quickly wrapped his arm, calling on her professionalism to keep herself calm and focused on the task at hand.

“That’s all you will do?” he asked, his voice a deep rumble in the small room. “No stitches?”

“Stitching it closed might seal in an infection. The antibacterial should suffice to heal it along with your own body’s white blood cells, and the bandage will help keep it knitting while keeping other nasty stuff out. Just don’t go rummaging in dirt for twenty-four hours.”

“Dirt?” He laughed briefly, and the sound rolled softly down her spine. “In space?”

Hell, she couldn’t help smiling, too. Had she thought he was going to go do a spot of gardening next? Her erratic heartbeat steadied a little as humor overrode nerves for a moment. “Well, no more fighting either…at least not today or tomorrow,” she warned.

“I hardly ever fight,” he replied, leaning forward so close she could feel his breath stream over her neck in a long, warm current that set her nerves to tingling. “I’m not like you.”

Kash’s eyes went wide. Was he referring to all the trouble she had made with Lunox and Tipha? She looked up at him. Though his mouth seemed relaxed and straight, she detected the faint hint of a smile. She glanced away, embarrassed he had hinted at her reputation as troublesome and argumentative.

“Thank you,” he said, examining his bandaged arm. He stretched back up to his full height, blotting out the light.

“Do you want painkillers?” she enquired. She secretly hoped he would leave soon before her nervousness became glaringly obvious.

“Painkillers?” He laughed softly. “I do not think so.”

“Okay, off you go then, tough guy,” she quipped. She watched him leave, then went to tidy up, a slight tremor in her hands.

As she made her way back to the cubicle that served as her room, she heard footsteps approach from ahead of her. She neared the bend in the passageway and realized it was Chitra approaching. As she drew level, he shot his hand out and caught her by the upper arm, stopping her in her tracks. She felt uncomfortable to be held there by him, but she kept her face schooled to an outwardly calm mask. He had a bruise on his face. Could he be the one Tinny’d had a run-in with? She glanced down at his hands, dismayed to discover his flesh was covered with dark gloves, providing her no further clues.

“Captain want to speak to you,” he said, his eyes raking over her, “in his office.”

“Very well,” she answered. She hurried away, feeling his eyes remain on her back as if they were lasers. He was one Xephon male she didn’t want to tangle with, for he seemed too tall, too strong, and probably a whole lot smarter than Lunox and Tipha.

 
She found the captain’s office and went inside. A guard lounged in there speaking to him.

“Kash.” Captain Zeba looked up impatiently. “Today we send shuttle to Blueworld One, and you are assigned for trip this time with the Earth Botanist Mayla and four of mine officers. We looking for some plants with healing properties as drug stock is running low. Please go dress in heavy boot and jacket and report to shuttle bay for leaving when everyone assembles.”

Kash experienced a kick of excitement. Touching terra firma.
No way!
She raced off to wrap herself in the appropriate gear and then went down to the shuttle bay. No surprise she arrived last. She ran up the platform through the open door where Mayla kept a look out for her.

“You better hurry and strap into your seat,” Mayla hissed in her ear. “Chitra is piloting today, and you’re running late.”

“I’ve only been told to come down here ten minutes ago,” Kash said. Had she been a sudden afterthought to this little party?

She followed her colleague to the passenger seats behind Chitra and his copilot Junner. Tinny and Fenra, the young guard, were already seated. Kash slapped her safety harness on and sat next to Mayla, directly opposite Tinny and Fenra. They studied her for a moment but said nothing. Chitra glanced back at them as if he were irritated they had to come along.

The hatch opened, and they roared toward the stars and the blue orb in the distance. For an instant it reminded Kash of Earth, and she had to hurriedly blink away the evidence of strong emotions that rose unexpectedly to the surface.