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Squee starred helplessly at the teleporter pad with his shoulders slumped in shame. A commotion behind him interrupted his distress, and he turned. The slaver woman still stood where she had been with Noah holding a gun on her. Ariana and Javi stood behind her.
“Noah, what the hell is she still doing here?” Ariana demanded.
“I don’t know, Captain. The port must have failed.”
“Obviously.”
Serene flashed a wide smile at Ariana, “It looks like now I’ve become your guest.”
“Guest wouldn’t be the word I would use.” Ariana said with a dark frown, “Squee.”
“Yes, Captain?” Squee responded, unable to keep his melancholy from his voice.
“Take her up to the mess. Watch her carefully. I need to have a little chat with Noah.”
The cold tone of Ariana’s words caused Noah’s face to pale slightly. Squee hastily took a weapon from the armory rack and gestured Serene toward the door. Javi and Mesu followed him, neither evidently interested in staying behind.
When they reached the mess hall, Squee directed Serene to sit at the table. He took up a position across from her near the door. Mesu trundled away from them down the corridor with Javi. The Slu looked malformed, as if he were still suffering from the effects of their torture.
“I should protest to the captain. I’m not sure it’s safe to be alone with a Rokma who breaks his word.” Serene said after several minutes of silence.
Squee involuntarily stiffened his spine. He averted his eyes from the Echanic woman so that she could not see his discomfort. Nevertheless, he caught her sly smile as she continued to talk.
“What’s to keep you from murdering me in a fit of rage? I’ve seen what your people can do when they are in a blood fury.”
“If you stop talking, I’ll have no reason to get angry.” Squee finally said.
Serene’s smile widened, “For a normal Rokma, that might be true. But an oath breaker can’t be trusted to keep his fury in check.”
“I am no oath breaker.”
“You can lie to me, but not yourself. I heard what you said. You promised to kill Gerald’s pet Rokma. You failed. You chose your safety over your promise.”
“That is not true.” Squee growled, “My oath to the captain superseded my oath to my fellow Rokma.”
“Of course it did. Ariana strikes me as the kind of captain that would put her welfare above that of her crew. Just dismissing your oath like that and running away. Very human.”
“The captain had to think about the safety of the ship first.” Squee said defensively.
“How long would it really have taken to port you back for a rescue? Two minutes? Three? I can assure you Gerald wouldn’t have been able to organize a response in that time. He’s ruthless, cruel and crafty. But he’s not quick, and is incredibly cautious. You said it yourself; he ran at the first sign of trouble. Holed up in a bunker until he was sure he was safe. Then, and only then, would he have come after you.”
Squee tried to ignore Serene, but he started to replay the events of earlier in his head. There hadn’t been any immediate danger for him in the slavers base. The slave master had fled, and the Rokma had submitted himself. Another minute would have been all Squee needed.
Ariana had not given him a chance to argue his case. She had dismissed his request out of hand. He felt confident a Rokma captain would never have done that. Humans did tend to be overly concerned about their personal issues.
“Well played, Serene.”
Noah’s voice interrupted Squee’s thought. He glanced over his shoulder to see the human coming into the mess hall. When he turned his head back, he was startled to see Serene half out of her seat. Hastily, he lifted his weapon back into a ready position.
“Playing with the poor guy’s emotions like that. You haven’t changed.” Noah said.
“I use what I have available to me.”
“Don’t worry big guy. She’s a manipulative monster. Everything she said is just bullshit.”
“Of course,” Squee said, trying to make it sound like he believed Noah.
“Captain wants us to stand guard for now. We’re going to make another few jumps and then start on repairs, and figure out which hell hole to dump Serene on. I think I convinced her to make sure it was a planet with an atmosphere, but the jury’s still out on whether that atmosphere is breathable.”
“Oh, I am sure you were very convincing.” Serene purred.
“You know how convincing I can be,” Noah said with a suggestive wink.
“So, the captain took pity on you too?”
Noah frowned. He and Serene exchanged an intense look for a moment before Noah turned toward Squee. Serene gave a wide grin when he broke the gaze.
“First rule for watching her, don’t listen to a word she says. Second rule; remind her she’s at our mercy. She could kill us all in our sleep if she wanted, but she couldn’t calculate an FTL jump to save her life. Which she would have to do if she killed all of us.”
“I wouldn’t need to kill all of you.”
“And third rule,” Noah said ignoring Serene, “Remember the first rule.”
Squee nodded. He turned back to his guard position, being sure to keep his rifle ready this time. But the words still ran through his head.