Sophi piloted the Rhyssa into docking with Prospectus Station—trying to ignore Cadan for a moment and concentrate. Cadan bristled behind her, staring the broad disk of the station down as though she could intimidate it through the viewscreen and make it go away. The Rhyssa nudged into place, and their artificial gravities adjusted to each other.
Sophi stood and carefully touched her hair to be sure it was still all in place—she'd put it up in a neat bun secured with a few pretty pins to match the sweeping lines of the hanfu dress she was wearing. It made her look softer, nonthreatening, and she did enjoy looking pretty now and then. The long, pleated skirt of this dress was bound high on her flat chest with a broad ribbon of imperial yellow, a not-so-subtle suggestion that she was on Commander Li's side. Cadan was just wearing one of her jumpsuits, same as always, though this one was at least decorated in darker gray instead of royal teal in a small nod to diplomacy. Cadan glowered, fists clenching and unclenching, but not yet throwing sparks. She had not slept nearly enough, and it showed in the lines on her face and dark circles under her eyes.
"Cadan..." Sophi ran her hands lightly down Cadan's arms, trying to relax her tight muscles. She carefully opened Cadan's fists so they were not bunched at her sides. "Commander Li is going to help us. Please try not to look like you're about to attack?"
Cadan huffed, but she did shift her shoulders back and forth to relax them slightly. She looked more like a soldier on review, but that was an improvement.
"It's probably best if I do the talking?" Sophi suggested. "I know Commander Li."
"And it won't help if I'm rude," Cadan added, nodding. Sophi was glad she understood that.
"She will help us," Sophi promised. "Try to compliment the tea at least once, if you can, but otherwise leave it to me." She nodded encouragingly and Cadan nodded with her. Good. "Kriikisiii, you have the helm," Sophi ordered. "Farah, I expect the information will be coming in soon. We won't be long." Kriikisiii hummed, and Farah nodded from her station. "Dr. Hanne, are you ready?"
"Just a moment." Dr. Hanne looked through hir two small cases one last time, then snapped them closed, standing. "Yes." Dr. Hanne was always glad to chat and trade with the Prospectus doctors whenever the Rhyssa had a chance to visit the station.
"We're not taking any anoloids." Cadan's hands closed into fists, right back on the attack.
"The station is already home territory to two dominants," Sophi explained, "We don't have time for the ritual fights, and it would be an act of aggression if they came in without them."
Cadan's jaw clenched. "I don't like it," she growled. She didn't like the entire idea of the Imperium and this station—Sophi hadn't realized she'd thought they were bringing the anoloids with them.
"We can't." Sophi tried to keep her patience, to soothe Cadan. "I promise we'll be safe in the station." Raaa slid down from Kriikisiii's back and ran over, quickly climbing up to Sophi's shoulder. "We could take a few males, but no one else," Sophi admitted, and Raaa purred in agreement. Males could wander from territory to territory as they pleased. Raaa leaned off Sophi's shoulder toward Cadan as far as he could, stretching out to make little grabbing motions with his hands.
Cadan reached toward Raaa, bemused, and he happily climbed up her arm to lie across her shoulders. He seemed to have decided to treat her as a potential mate—which made sense in an anoloid sort of way. Cadan was already Sophi's lover when she could have her, and Sophi was a member of Raaa's family, and in an anoloid family all was shared.
"Making sure we've got at least one anoloid with us?" Cadan asked him. The corner of her mouth nearly turned up into a smile. Raaa purred contentment, and Cadan shrugged under him. "All right, let's do this." She said it as though she was preparing for a fight. It was as much as Sophi could hope, and better than she'd worried.
Sophi led through the airlock and out into the station's bright and airy interior. The station's door very nearly clipped Cadan's heel on the way through, clearly not registering her presence, and Cadan glared at it. A few bored soldiers were stationed at the door as security. Their eyes widened a bit as they took Cadan in. Cadan glared at them and their yellow-accented Imperial uniforms too and took a deep breath through her nose to weigh the station's air. Dr. Hanne broke off to go to the medical bay and Sophi showed the way to Commander Li's small audience room—the one used for informal meetings.
"The air's fresh," Cadan commented. "Almost as good as the Palace."
"You should see the air gardens," Sophi answered. It was a shame they were in such a hurry—the layered gardens were a thing to see. Much more impressive than the Rhyssa's functional algae vats.
"Methane's high," Cadan added, wrinkling her crooked nose. She glared down a technician passing the other way until they edged up against the wall to give her more space. Sophi had noticed that Cadan always breathed deep first thing coming into a new atmosphere, but hadn't known she could tell that much detail. That was not something most humans would be able to tell.
"That'll be for the pongonids," Sophi said. "Commander Li has a family of them, they tend the gardens." Watching the shaggy red aliens swing their way through the layers of the garden was a treat—they always looked like they were having so much fun. "I'd have some on the Rhyssa if I had space, but they need a much bigger range than I can provide. I think they must be early in their evolution into a spaceborn species—or maybe it's humans who have it backward. Have you ever seen a pongonid ship? They're beautiful, sailing forests growing in all shades of orange and red."
Cadan made a noncommittal grunt at that, and Sophi stopped talking. It wasn't helping right now. They continued through clean and neatly organized walkways to Commander Li's audience room. Cadan glared at the two soldiers on guard outside it, and not even Raaa's humming across her shoulders was calming her. Bringing Cadan into the station at all may have been a mistake, but Cadan had not been willing to consider sending Sophi in alone.
Sophi rested her hand on Cadan's arm. "Breathe," she reminded.
"I am breathing," Cadan grumbled as Sophi nodded to the soldiers guarding the door to announce them. The small audience room was just as informal and comfortable as it had ever been, with soft, low couches decorated in tasteful yellow and brown. Commander Li was standing waiting for them, Imperial uniform as sharp as ever over her plump curves. Her silvered brown hair was cut just above her shoulders. The downward curve to the outside corners of her eyes gave her oval face a more serious look than Sophi knew she tended toward.
Commander Li smiled as they entered the room. "Captain Pan, it is good to see you again," she greeted, not fazed in the slightest by Cadan's presence. She held out her hand, and Sophi took it.
"Commander Li, it is always a joy to visit. Your station is as bright and beautiful as ever," Sophi returned. "I appreciate the time you are taking to meet with me. With me I have Raaa, senior male in Kriikisiii's family, and Cadan." There was no honest title Sophi could give Cadan, so her name alone would have to do.
"Of course, of course," Commander Li said, releasing Sophi's hand. "Please, will you sit and have tea?" she offered, sitting. Sophi sat across from her, and Cadan in a chair a bit to the side after a moment's deliberation. The tea service was already set out on the table, and Commander Li opened the tin of leaves.
Sophi smiled, catching sight of the distinctively folded green leaves. "The lungjing style. You know me too well, Commander."
"I am between harvests and have none of your favorite silver needle left," Commander Li apologized.
"Anyone is blessed who has the pleasure of sharing your tea," Sophi said. Cadan shifted in her chair, obviously impatient with the polite exchange, and Raaa faintly hummed a soothing note to calm her.
"May I?" Sophi offered, reaching for the tea. Commander Li nodded slightly and sat back to allow her. Sophi carefully measured the tea leaves into the small brewing pot, rinsing them briefly and then filling the pot with hot water to let the leaves steep. She breathed the steam, the scent fresh and clean and nearly sweet.
"I was surprised to see the Rhyssa so thin, without your cargo segments," Commander Li ventured. "You have not finally gotten in trouble going where you should not, have you?" Her eyes narrowed in a small smile as she teased.
"Of course not," Sophi defended soberly. "You know I have the utmost respect for all laws everywhere."
"True, I am sure you would never be caught breaking a law," Commander Li shot back. Sophi could not help laughing softly at the old joke. Commander Li was one of the few who had ever caught her at any wrongdoing. "So what does bring you to visit?" Commander Li asked.
"A hunt," Sophi answered. The first brewing of the tea was a short one, and Sophi poured it into their little cups. Cadan at least knew enough of the etiquette surrounding tea to nod deeply to Sophi with a murmur of thanks when she was given her cup.
Raaa held his cup carefully, seeming to enjoy the warmth and the steam while the rest of them breathed the scent and sipped it slowly to fully experience the tea. The liquor had come out clear and just faintly green, the taste as bright as fresh shoots on the tongue and softening to rich, roasted notes on the end, and Sophi said as much. It was a fine cup to relax into, though Cadan was remaining as tense as ever.
"I have always had a softness for the lungjing," Commander Li admitted.
"And how is your tea garden?" Sophi asked. "Commander Li is considered one of the foremost experts in starside tea camellia culture and preparation," she told Cadan.
"It is a pastime," Commander Li demurred, but she could not hide the faint smile lines around her eyes at the compliment.
"The cup reflects your care," Cadan said, taking another sip of the tea. It was more polite than Sophi had hoped to hear from Cadan, even if her tone was a bit gruff. If Commander Li was surprised, she did not show it in the small nod she gave Cadan.
Commander Li finally answered Sophi's question. "The camellias grow as well as ever. I have been too busy lately to see to them as I should, but they are forgiving."
"You were thinking of trying a shade-grown variety, last I visited," Sophi remembered, pouring fresh water over the green leaves for a second brewing.
"It is growing now," Commander Li said. "Slowly, but it grows. The deep color of the leaves promises it will be something special. The finest things take time, don't you agree?"
Cadan was shifting again with impatience, but either did not feel the veiled barb or was choosing to ignore it. Raaa hummed slightly louder, soothing with a hint of warning now.
"Of course," Sophi agreed. "I will have to visit again when it is harvested." Raaa's cup was carefully poured away, and Sophi refilled everyone's cup and laid the spent leaves out to admire how they had unfurled. The second brewing's flavor was deeper, less green with a hint of tannic astringency on the end.
"The roasting has come through well, in this cup," Commander Li commented.
"The balance is exquisite," Sophi agreed. "I can taste both the heat of the pan and the green of the leaves."
"Like springtime in the mountains of Quarto," Cadan said shortly, breathing the scent. "Smoke and misty rain." She sipped her tea, raising an eyebrow at Sophi's surprise. Cadan was still tense, still practically simmering with frustration for anyone to see, but there was the tiny hint of a smile in the corners of her eyes.
That was more than just a small part of the point of sharing tea—to share refreshment and get everyone to act in harmony. Cadan was playing along more than Sophi had dared to hope. She must have been taught at least the basics of the ceremony of tea, being so close to the royal family. It was very likely the royal family's holdings on Quarto she had visited, to make the comparison. Sophi wouldn't have expected it.
"I will take your word for it; I have not yet visited Quarto," Commander Li said mildly. "I will look forward to the chance all the more now."
Sophi nearly flinched. Cadan's jaw and shoulders tensed again, but she did not take the opening to snarl that Commander Li would never set foot on Quarto, even though Sophi could see the words burning behind her tightened lips. Raaa's warning hum and a prickle of his claws might have had something to do with Cadan's restraint.
"It is a beautiful planet," Sophi said. She had never spent much time there, but she enjoyed what little she had. Being so firmly in Nidum territory, Quarto had a demand for smuggled goods from the Imperium. It was a nice place to make a profit.
"I am afraid I do not have much time to visit with you today," Commander Li apologized, setting down her empty cup. Sophi did the same with hers, and took Cadan's and Raaa's too. "You have come to me at a difficult time, with the system falling into turmoil. As awful as the thought is, we must all prepare for the possibility of civil war."
Sophi could see Cadan's jaw and fists clench at that, chafing at the idea that Nidum was a part of the Imperium, that it would be a civil war rather than a war of opposing states. Thankfully, she said nothing.
"I do not have much time myself," Sophi admitted. "My hunt must be wrapped up quickly. Something was taken that should not have been, and I need to take it back where it belongs. I thought it went to Glesyn, but it seems it's gone to ground somewhere more firmly on your side of the boundary."
Commander Li raised an eyebrow, carefully inspecting the spent leaves. In the absence of an indication that she should do otherwise, Sophi shared what information she had—without sharing that it was the Nidum royal children they were after. An empty midline cargo egg, the most likely trajectories it must have been on. If anyone would have information on its movements, it would be Commander Li.
"I am not certain I can help you," Commander Li said, even as she looked over the numbers Sophi had sent her. She always put up a token protest, but this time she sounded serious.
"Of course, you cannot do anything that would harm your position," Sophi agreed gently. "But this is not such a thing."
"Captain Pan," Commander Li answered just as softly, even with her lips thinning in displeasure. "You must understand how close this system stands to the brink of war? That any attack has the chance of tipping us all into it? How could anyone, in good conscience, allow you to leave again considering who you brought with you?"
"Raaa has been here many times, and Dr. Hanne always visits with your doctors," Sophi said lightly, even with her heart freezing. She had hoped Commander Li would not recognize Cadan, but of course she had. She was too sharp not to.
"There are two ghosts in Nidum Star System." Commander Li turned slightly toward Cadan, though her gaze remained on the tea leaves she was carefully turning over. "The ship that somehow manages to never show up on system trackers, and the woman without a biosignature. Who would imagine one would bring me the other? This ghost woman is a legend, impossible to be real, and yet a person of her description is always there when equipment is destroyed and strikes are organized—when things go wrong for the Imperium." Commander Li was far more stressed by the system's tensions than Sophi had realized, to be speaking so plainly.
Cadan glared Commander Li down—jaw tensed to cracking, but not speaking. Sophi recognized the slight twitch of her fingers in sequence as priming her combat tech. They would neither of them make it out of Prospectus if Cadan started fighting.
"How could I imagine that she and I would ever share tea?" Commander Li continued. "After the fiasco on Arvum—the farmers' revolt, and the destruction of the traffic control tower—the entire moon was blockaded in part to contain her. An extreme move, some argued, and yet it seems even that solution was ineffective. How, I wonder, did this happen?" That last bit was definitely a barb aimed at Sophi, though Commander Li's tone was as mild as ever.
Cadan lifted her head high, that heavy streak of pride burning through her eyes. "My king needed me," she growled through her teeth. That was how Cadan saw it, wasn't it? Magnus called and Cadan answered; the little detail of Sophi's help smuggling her out was completely unnoticed. Sophi was just a tool used along the way.
Commander Li shook her head, turning back to Sophi. "You must understand that any attack could only make the tensions worse?" She was practically begging for understanding and reasoning. "How could anyone release the most wanted terrorist in this system to cause more destruction, especially at a time like this? The peace is far too fragile to support more strikes, riots, and sabotage behind my lines as well as before them."
Cadan leaned back in her chair, dwarfing it as she squared her shoulders, showing off her size and drawing Commander Li's attention back to her. Cadan could tower even seated. She folded her arms, still rudely staring Commander Li down, but at least not throwing sparks from her fists yet.
"I am here to find my family," she said simply. "Things will go very wrong for whoever took them, and no one else."
Commander Li's breath caught, her eyes widening. She had to realize the implications. If the king had suddenly become paranoid and antagonistic and the king's favorite and most loyal weapon was out searching for family, there were few things it could mean. Sophi had not meant to share that unless absolutely necessary, but it should work in their favor.
"Captain Pan," Commander Li said, turning back to Sophi with her fingers tapping across her communicator, sending Sophi's information on to her station's trackers. "Suppose you find this ship you are hunting. There wouldn't happen to be anything a few soldiers could clean up afterward?"
"I am sure Cadan and my crew will be capable of dealing with the situation," Sophi assured her. "But I can't make arrests or impound a ship, and there might be those who would be grateful to receive our target." Sophi couldn't outright say that Magnus was likely to be well-disposed toward whoever delivered the kidnappers to him. That was not how negotiations like this went between the two of them. Nothing could be confirmed, deniability was important on both sides, but they understood one another. Commander Li could help Sophi get the royal children and then help herself to the kidnappers as reward. Everyone benefited. If Commander Li gave Sophi the information, and Sophi and Cadan got the royal children back, it was possible tensions would simmer back down and war would be averted. Commander Li could follow that line of reasoning as well as Sophi could.
"Of course, I am unable to share classified information or cooperate with vigilante civilians," Commander Li said, as Sophi's communicator showed a message from Farah saying the data they needed was coming in. Sophi pinged Dr. Hanne to return to the ship. "I cannot give you leave to cross my lines."
"Of course. I would never ask you to," Sophi agreed.
"I wish you all luck in your endeavors," Commander Li said. "The recent unrest in the system requires all the attention we can give. I wish I could stay longer to talk, but I hope to hear from you soon?"
Sophi dismissed herself as they all stood. "As much as I would like to, I will not keep you. Thank you so much for seeing us. The Rhyssa will of course keep in touch with Prospectus Station." She would call as soon as she had the kidnappers' locations to coordinate their capture.
Cadan's eyes were traveling back and forth between them, not following. She'd half opened her mouth to speak, something probably angry and accusatory, before Raaa dug his claws in to her shoulders again and Sophi tipped her communicator toward Cadan to show Farah's message. Cadan's expression devolved into confusion as Sophi and Commander Li finished their polite goodbyes and they were sent back out into the station to return to the Rhyssa. Even now Farah was getting information about potential ships, as well as the latest information on the system tracking probes—convenient for avoiding them.
"What was that?" Cadan demanded
"Commander Li and I know how to work together to our mutual benefit," Sophi answered. There were things Commander Li sometimes needed done she could not officially do, and there were things Sophi sometimes needed that only an officer of the Imperium could know. They had a good working relationship. With Commander Li's backing, they would find the children. Sophi wrapped her hand around Cadan's elbow, leaning into her as they walked. "We've got them now." She smiled. "We'll track them down before you know it." They'd be on their way just as soon as Kriikisiii could interpret the data.
Cadan put her hand over Sophi's, squeezing it tight. "We'd better," she growled.
*~*~*
Raaa climbed down from Cadan's shoulder as soon as they were back aboard the Rhyssa, heading toward the helm, where Kriikisiii would be going over the numbers. Cadan expected to go there too, but Sophi steered her toward her quarters instead. The airlock was closed between the Rhyssa and Prospectus Station, which Cadan appreciated, but she would've felt better if they were away from it. Still, she allowed Sophi to lead her. It wasn't as though she'd be any help sorting through the data they were getting from Commander Li.
Cadan still didn't understand exactly when Commander Li had agreed to help them, or why, but clearly she had. That was the important part.
Sophi pulled the decorative pins out of her hair as soon as they were in her room, shaking her head to set her long, thick hair free. Cadan watched her strip out of her gorgeous, long dress and put on a more sensible shirt and pants instead. The clothes and hairpins were carefully put away in a small closet filled to the brim with different outfits. Sophi could dress to fit in anywhere she went. Cadan wondered if she ought to be angry that Sophi hadn't dressed up for her meeting with Magnus, but she looked so much more comfortable in her regular clothes. Cadan couldn't. She'd come to see the king not as a mask, but as herself. She always came to Cadan as herself.
Cadan gathered up Sophi's hair, so thick, black as the pull of space, and gleaming with the iridescence of her favorite overdye. Sophi sighed softly, stilling as Cadan smoothed her hair.
"Braid it for me?" Sophi asked, heavy-lidded eyes begging in the reflection of the small mirror on her wall. Cadan nodded, carefully divided Sophi's hair into three sections, and then started braiding it into a satisfyingly smooth rope.
"You could tell the methane was high, just from breathing it," Sophi commented. "It doesn't have a scent."
Cadan shrugged. "Smelled like methane to me." It had been very clear in the air. Not dangerous concentrations, just there.
"What else can you smell, then?" Sophi asked. "What does the Rhyssa's air smell like?"
"You have higher fluorines and chlorines than human standard air," Cadan answered. It wasn't enough to cause irritation, but they were present. Sophi would already know that—it was her ship, she was in charge of her atmosphere composition. "And more argon."
"Humans can't smell that," Sophi protested. Cadan reached the end of her braid, and Sophi handed her a clasp to bind it.
Cadan shrugged again. "I can." She'd always been able to. It had been a game with her mother as a child, figuring out which of them could smell more. Cadan snapped the clasp around the end of Sophi's hair.
"Is it like—" Sophi turned around, running her fingertips across the combat implant scars between Cadan's knuckles.
Cadan laughed, reaching up to touch the healed-crooked keel of her nose. "You really think this has ever been rearranged by anything but a wall?" She hadn't even bothered to have it fixed, since it didn't affect her breathing. "I just pay attention more." It couldn't have been that uncommon a skill.
Sophi raised an eyebrow, but she let it drop. She stroked the braid Cadan had given her and nodded her approval. "Let's see how Kriikisiii and Raaa are doing with the tracking information?" she suggested. Cadan was nodding to agree when her communicator pinged proximity. There were very few people Cadan had it set to track that way. She did not know who to expect when she drew it out.
"Senan," Cadan whispered, smiling. Her sister's cutter, the Aequus, was close enough for only a few seconds' communication delay. Close enough for a conversation, and she hadn't had one with Senan in far too long. "I'll be there soon, Sophi. I need to make a call," she said, sitting on the end of the bed.
Sophi hesitated for a moment, then leaned in to press a brief kiss to Cadan's forehead and left. Cadan quickly keyed in the video call to Senan. It didn't take her long to answer, considering the time delay.
"Cadan?" Senan's image came up on the screen. She looked almost as tired as Cadan felt, but she carried it better. Her long, dark-brown locs were threaded with royal teal-blue that shone against the warm brown of her skin—a few shades darker than Cadan's. She always had been the pretty sister as well as the smart one. "Where are you? What are you doing clear out here?" Senan asked, gesturing briefly to pass the conversation to Cadan.
"On a ship, probably doing the same thing you are," Cadan answered, passing it back. She hadn't thought about what her surroundings would look like. Sophi's room, all decorated in reds and golds and plush cushions, did not look like the interior of a typical starship. There was a few seconds' delay while Senan got her message, and until her answer got back to Cadan.
"I'm just trying to stomp out wildfires, mostly." Senan shook her head. "We don't need war, on top of this. I'm not hearing anything. Have you? Do you have any sort of a lead?" The hope on her face hurt to look at.
"I don't know." Cadan shook her own head, feeling the full crushing weight of the uncertainty. "I'm chasing a trail. I've got good people helping me—the best—but I don't know. It's gone cold before... I'm trying." She waved her hand off to give it back to Senan, choking up.
"Oh, babe, no," Senan crooned. "I know you are. If you're on it, I know you'll get it done. You never fail."
Cadan swallowed the lump in her throat, nodding. It would be unbearable if this was the task she failed—if she failed her niblings. Cadan repeated what she'd told Magnus. "I won't stop." This entire mission was so far beyond her abilities, it was possible her tenacity was all she had. That and Sophi. She'd never have gotten anywhere without Sophi—she'd been no more useful than cargo so far.
"I know you. I know you won't." Senan smiled. "I'm sorry, I can't talk long. I'm just blinking past, but I'm glad you called me. You take care of yourself, all right? Get some rest. I love you."
"I'll probably blink soon too," Cadan answered. She was not a child, to beg Senan to throw her entire schedule off to stay and talk longer. There wasn't much they could share beyond commiseration, anyway. "Take care. I love you."
Senan blew a kiss, and the video call ended. Under a minute later, Cadan's communicator showed Senan was no longer in proximity. Cadan held it for a long moment before she put it back into one of her many pockets, and made her way to the helm.
Kriikisiii and Raaa and a few other of the anoloid males were going over the numbers that were coming in, and were sorting through them all. Gamal was standing beside Farah's workstation as she sorted through data too, hand resting lightly on her shoulder as he watched. Sophi sat in the pilot's chair, glancing back and forth between both groups. She smiled at Cadan when she caught sight of her.
"Are we finding anything?" Cadan asked, stepping up behind the pilot's chair. She gently touched Sophi's braid, tracing its path down her back.
"A few good possibilities." Sophi nodded, indicating a list Raaa was compiling. Cadan's hand curled around Sophi's ribs, pulling her in closer. Sophi turned to smile softly at Cadan, smaller hand covering hers. "Here," she said, pulling away to stand. "Sit?" She gestured Cadan to the pilot's chair.
She'd never offered that before, but Cadan only hesitated a moment before she took it. The chair was padded, comfortable enough even if it was probably more comfortable for someone a little smaller. Sophi immediately perched on Cadan's lap, wiggling to get settled. Cadan wrapped both arms around her slender torso, holding her tight. Sophi relaxed against her with a contented sigh, as though she'd always belonged here.
Cadan nuzzled against Sophi's hair, smelling the warmth of her skin and the light florals of her soap. She closed her eyes and focused just on that, just on the weight in her lap and the warmth in her arms, the light rise and fall of Sophi's breath, the faint thrum of her heartbeat. This much was real, more than just numbers and guesswork. This was comfort Cadan could hold on to. She had Sophi, and Sophi always got the job done.
"I need you," Cadan whispered, low and quiet just behind Sophi's ear. Just to her. "I couldn't do this."
Sophi made a soft sound, a little whimper as she twisted around to sit sideways in Cadan's lap. She wrapped her arms around Cadan's neck, holding her close. Cadan's ear rested over Sophi's heart. Sophi pressed a kiss to the side of Cadan's head and said nothing, fingers gently petting Cadan's head and neck. She was just there, just comforting, while the crew sorted information that might resolve into a lead on the royal children.
Kriikisiiii broke the moment with a pleased hum. Sophi and Cadan both turned to look at her. She and the males had a single ship highlighted, surrounded with calculations.
"The Vidua. Right kind of ship, on the right route—and our data isn't all that detailed, but its mass seems to be low for its stated cargo. Let's take a closer look," Sophi interpreted, grinning hard. She turned to finally pilot the Rhyssa away from Prospectus Station. "Get me a route, Kriikisiii," she ordered. "And keep us out of sight and off the Imperium's tracking probes."
Kriikisiii hummed agreement as she began her calculations. "Always" blinked at the top of her display in big letters for a moment in answer, and Sophi laughed. Her clever hands danced over the controls, undocking the Rhyssa and piloting them smoothly away.
Cadan wanted this to be the right ship so badly it ached under her ribs. She held Sophi on her lap, watched Kriikisiii and Raaa manipulate numbers that barely meant anything to her, and hoped that this time they were right. That this time, she could finally reach the children who needed her.
Cadan sat with Sophi through the first blink, and then left the helm to her and the crew. She ate food she did not taste, and then her boots led her back to her tired circuit through the hallways. There was a good chance she'd end up wearing a groove in the floor, with all the laps she was doing, but Cadan could not sit still and do nothing. Even if what she was doing instead was useless.
She was surprised when Raaa found her on his own, without one of the full-size anoloids. He purred as he climbed up her body to lie across her shoulders. Cadan petted his pebbly, green-tinted skin and down his slender tail, which wrapped itself briefly around her fingers.
"I'm not doing anything interesting," she confessed. "There's not even anything left to repair."
Raaa just purred, and Cadan kept walking through the dim hallways of the Rhyssa, one long, endless pattern through the ship. Past viewports full of stars, the helm, Sophi's room, the kitchen, the bunk Cadan never managed to sleep in. When she made to turn back around at the engine, Raaa sat up on her shoulder. He tugged at her neck, leaning toward the hallway past the engine room instead.
"You want me to go that way?" Cadan asked, and Raaa hummed agreement. There was no reason not to, really. It wasn't human habitat, but it was safe enough. Cadan did not tend to wander through it unless there was something to repair. It was too warm for her tastes. She shrugged and unzipped her jumpsuit a little farther as she went where he directed.
She stopped just outside the Rhyssa's small anoloid basking range. She'd never gone in there. She could feel the heat radiating off it, far too warm for her, and it was not exactly the best idea to invade an anoloid's range. She seemed to have an invitation, though. Raaa, on her shoulder, leaned forward, purring happily as he tugged her neck forward. Cadan still entered cautiously.
Siiki was sprawled in the small patch of sand with several males, while Klirii was curled up in another corner with a few others. They both turned slowly to fix their eyes on her as she entered their space, but they did not go silent and still. Cadan turned the side of her neck to them, doing her very best imitation of a content hum—not threatening or challenging them. Raaa bobbed on her shoulder a few times, humming to them, and they closed their eyes again.
Cadan was glad the sweat breaking out all over her body could be attributed to the heat of the space. Raaa steered her to a far corner.
"I don't know what you expect me to do," she confessed. He climbed down from her shoulder, running over to pat one of the floor panels with his hands. It took Cadan a criminal amount of time to realize he wanted her to do the same. When she finally hunkered down beside him to touch it, it was cool.
"It's not heating, is it broken?" she asked. "You want me to fix it?"
"Ss," Raaa answered. "Es." And followed it with a hum of agreement.
"Yes?" Cadan guessed what he was trying to say.
"Ss," he repeated, humming agreement again.
Cadan petted his back briefly. "You don't have to try to say human words for me," she told him, taking her tools out. "I'm no linguist, but I can tell the difference between agreement and disagreement, contentment and warning. Can you turn off power to the panels in this corner? It'll make it easier." It would hopefully make it slightly cooler, too. Cadan unzipped her jumpsuit to the waist and shrugged out of it as Raaa scampered away.
Cadan was already pulling up the floor by the time he came back, more than glad for the distraction. The panels in the basking range were constructed along the same lines as those in the rest of the Rhyssa, just with heating elements embedded. It didn't take her long to find the broken heating element that had caused the entire panel to shut itself off. Blattas did not enter the basking range, so Cadan did not have her usual helpers, but Raaa recruited a few other males to fill in. They brought her a replacement heating element, which she set about installing while they cleaned things she'd taken apart. They were not as quick or efficient as blattas, but they did all right. Cadan took up a few extra panels to tighten down bolts and trace wiring, make sure it was all in order and wouldn't need to be taken up again too soon, before she started to put things back together.
Even with the power turned off to this corner, it was far too warm. Cadan's body dripped with sweat, but Raaa didn't seem to mind. He lay across her back when she laid on her belly to reach things, purring contentment. Cadan didn't even notice Kriikisiii had entered the basking range until Raaa sat up and hummed harmonies to her—probably explaining why Cadan was tearing the floor of their basking range apart. Cadan looked up at the huge anoloid with her hands full of tools and wiring, and didn't have the energy to do anything but turn her neck to the side in submission before she continued. The heat along with the exertion had drained everything out of her.
Kriikisiii stepped briefly back out of the basking range and clicked carefully at a few blattas. Cadan didn't think anything of it until one returned with a bottle of cold water. Ve waved it in the entrance of the basking range, chittering, until ve caught Cadan's attention. Water she had the energy to get up for. She hadn't realized how thirsty she was becoming until she tasted it, and drained the entire bottle in a single go. She'd either underestimated the heat or overestimated her endurance—neither of which was healthy.
"Thank you," Cadan told the blatta, then turned and said the same to Kriikisiii. It was good of her to realize Cadan was becoming dehydrated. Cadan handed the empty bottle back to the blatta to be returned to the kitchen. "Could you bring me another in three quarters of an hour?"
The blatta gave a single click to agree to the task, and Cadan returned to putting the floor back together. She was nearly done when Sophi arrived. She sauntered right in as though she belonged—but stopped short when she saw Cadan.
"Raaa showed me a broken heating panel," Cadan explained. He hummed agreement and contentment, lying on her back.
Sophi smiled. "I see that." She glanced toward the rest of the anoloids, who had begun rearranging themselves, humming different harmonies, and then back at Cadan. "Uh, the anoloids are about to begin a round of pleasure? You're welcome to keep working or leave. I'll be joining them."
Cadan looked sharply toward the anoloids. Kriikisiii was puffing up big while Siiki and Klirii circled her, hums coming in rising pulses. The little males were forming a larger ring around them, and a few were bobbing and flashing their bright dewflaps. She'd have realized what they were doing sooner if she hadn't been so focused on her work.
Sophi was already stepping out of her clothes when Cadan looked back at her, baring all her soft, golden-brown skin to the warmth of the basking range. Cadan had the opportunity to leave, maybe she ought to have left, but she was almost done with the floor. She hated to leave a job undone.
"I'll be safe over here?" Cadan asked.
"Of course," Sophi answered, already stepping eagerly toward the anoloids with her hand flicking open and closed beneath her chin in imitation of a male's dewflap.
Cadan craned back to see over her shoulder, where Raaa was perched on her back. "Go on, you don't want to miss out on the fun," she encouraged, gesturing to the rest of them with a turn of her chin. Raaa hummed negative, flattening himself on her back. Cadan shrugged and went back to her work. Reassembling everything in the right order took skill and attention, but not so much that she was not aware of what the anoloids and Sophi were doing.
Kriikisiii fended off attacks from Klirii and Siiki, biting their necks and raking her wicked claws down their bodies. They clawed and bit in turn, fighting as she pinned them down. They rolled together across the floor, but never endangered the circle of males and Sophi who surrounded them, flashing their dewflaps and bobbing faster and faster.
Kriikisiii won eventually, pinning both smaller anoloids on their backs beneath her belly. All three undulated together, and bright-yellow spots began to appear on Klirii and Siiki's bellies, followed quickly by Kriikisiii's. She rubbed herself over them for a long moment before she rolled off and the males swarmed over them to begin rolling on their bellies.
The blatta with a water bottle was back. Ve chittered in the doorway, waving the bottle at Cadan.
"Hold on," she warned Raaa, and stood to get it. He hummed contentment, moving up to flop across one of her shoulders instead. Cadan took the water bottle and returned to sit against the unheated panels she'd been working on. She ate one of her saved nutrient bars and sipped her water slowly.
Cadan knew the most basic biology of anoloid reproduction—that they exchanged genetic material through the pleasure spots on their bellies—but she'd never actually seen anoloids having sex before. She had not expected it to be quite so communal. Everyone was touching everyone, claws scraping slow and firm down anoloid sides and gentler over the males and Sophi. They were a tangled mass of motion, and all over each other. The males were everywhere. A few of them even began small fights of their own before devolving into just writhing together with the pile.
Sophi had found herself a spot on Kriikisiii's belly and was clinging tight. She rubbed her body against the anoloid's, grinding her sex against Kriikisiii's pebbly skin. Cadan could hear her gasps and moans through the harmonious humming of the anoloids. Huge claws petted Sophi, and then she was plucked away from Kriikisiii and sandwiched between Siiki and Klirii. A horde of males squirmed in with her, twining around her body, wiggling in-between her legs and leaving shiny with slick.
Cadan couldn't have done it, even if she could have handled any sort of sexual contact right now. That many bodies around hers, having sex with her, would have felt wrong, like a violation. The thought of trying to join in the pile made her skin crawl. Sophi's sounds and expression were unmistakably ecstatic, but Cadan preferred her sex to be one-on-one. Even the times she'd briefly imagined having sex with Sophi among the anoloids, it had always been herself and Sophi getting it on with the anoloids hardly more involved than furniture.
"You're sure you're not missing out, Raaa?" Cadan asked him. She thought he'd decided to join in when he slid down her chest and crawled off her, but he did not go far. He bobbed and flashed his dewflap at her.
"I'm not your kind, little one," Cadan told him gently, sipping her water. "I can't give you what you want."
"Ss," Raaa answered. He arched his back up farther, flicking his dewflap in and out quickly—displaying his heart out. It was a bit sweet, really, and he had been riding around on her shoulders and lying on her back as though she were an anoloid. She should have realized he was beginning to think of her as one.
"I really can't, I'm not—" Cadan gestured toward the pile of anoloids with the water bottle. She wasn't any of that. Raaa stopped displaying and scampered back to her. He nudged under her hand and rolled over, leaving it resting on his belly. He hummed the short pulses Cadan recognized from the beginning of the main group's play.
"Just my hand? That would be enough?" Cadan asked, rubbing his belly.
"Ss," he answered one last time. That Cadan could do. She sipped her water and continued stroking his belly. He raked his sharp claws over his sides in demonstration, and Cadan followed with her own blunt nails. He moved the side of his neck under her hand, where the anoloids had been biting each other most, and where the few males who'd fought each other had seemed to focus. Cadan was cautious, but his reaction was unmistakably positive when she pinched it firmly, mimicking a bite. He writhed and wiggled under hand, and she played with him for a while.
The main group of anoloids began to break up, first with a few males staggering away to curl up together to rest, and then with the tone of purring changing and the anoloids rolling onto their bellies to rest themselves. Sophi ended up tucked into a turn of Kriikisiii's body—twitching with aftershocks, a few males draped over her, everyone clearly resting. It had not lasted long at all. Raaa rolled out from under Cadan's hand after only a few minutes and curled up by her knees. Cadan finished draining her water bottle and got to work putting the floor back together.
Cadan's fingers felt odd, as though the texture of everything she touched was exaggerated. It was distracting, but she managed to get the job done anyway. Sophi had climbed out of the anoloid pile and had begun putting on her clothes by the time Cadan finished. She was flushed and disheveled, but utterly unharmed despite the size and power of those she'd been having sex with.
Sophi looked from where Raaa was resting to Cadan inspecting her hand, and smiled knowingly. "It's more intense for them," she said. "But we're just biologically compatible enough to pick up the increased sensitivity. It'll wear off on its own, or wash off with water."
If Cadan's hand felt this sensitive after just brief contact with one male, how might Sophi have felt? Cadan's eyes wandered up and down Sophi's body—the anoloids had been all over her.
"Don't get any ideas, I'm fucked out," Sophi reprimanded. She picked up Raaa and carried him over to lie on Kriikisiii. "But I wouldn't mind your company in the shower?"
Cadan shifted her shoulders, feeling the stickiness of sweat on her body. She could more than use one. "All right," she agreed.