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The next morning, I was up and heading out to the caf before anyone thought to page me, which meant I had no warning of what was waiting for me when I walked through the door. The first thing that hit me was the cacophony of smells. The second was the noise.
Voices were raised in three different versions of Gal, and I could hear the clicks, whistles and buzzes of vespis and weaver threaded through that. Add in the happy yaps and whines from the dozen cubs and their human companions, and the caf was not the place I was used to.
A shrill cry of “Cutter!” was followed a sharp whistle that cut through the cacophony and I froze. I almost walked right back out the door when I realized all eyes were turned toward me. Instead, I masked my sudden uncertainty, and looked for Mack.
It was no surprise to find he was the source of the whistle, or that he was watching me intently from the other side of the room. Typical. I had to face all my fears in order to reach him. And Tens was standing there at his side, the captain’s cub hanging off one hand, and the cub’s human ‘she’ hanging off the other. The other boy had a hold of Mack.
It was for the children more than anything else that I moved across the room, but it wasn’t as simple as that. Of course, it wasn’t. I was stopped by every single one of the newcomers as I reached them, and my head was buzzing with thank yous and appreciation by the time I came to a halt in front of him. When Mack offered me his arm so he could escort me into the captain’s mess, a small cheer rose from the caf behind me.
I waited until the door had firmly closed behind us, before I tried to speak.
“What,” I asked, shock tremoring through my voice, “was all that about?”
“I told them you were the only reason we picked them up,” Mack said, and I looked up at him.
“Truly?”
He rolled his shoulders in a shrug.
“Well,” he said. “It wasn’t like I could lie, not with the vespis out there.”
Which was true. The wasp-like shape shifters would have detected a lie straight off. It had something to do with a shift in the scent of our pheromones, which was something the damned insects were sensitive to. I drew a sharp breath as I remembered vespis were psi, and I registered what I’d thought. I hadn’t meant to offend anyone quite so soon.
Mack caught my dismay and laughed.
“Don’t worry,” he said. “After the last time, I’ve put in dampeners. You should be perfectly safe in here.”
He paused.
“But I’d watch my thoughts out there, if I were you. You’ve got two vespis, two weavers, and at least one of Odyssey’s psis, and no way to fend off any of ‘em.”
I opened the door and looked out at the creatures and other folk gathered in the small space. They turned and crowded forward, and I looked back at Mack.
“Why’d you let me anywhere near the place?” I wanted to know.
“Because you are the best P.R. the Marie could ever have. Now, every one of those psis in there knows you are the reason I pulled their fat out of the fire—and the sole reason at that. You hadn’t asked, and it wouldn’t have happened. I’d a just left them to rot.”
I stared at him, my heart sick with disbelief.
“But... why?”
“Because we don’t know what we’re heading back into. For all we know, the arach are already staging their little planetary take over, or the rebellion has started, or Odyssey have arrived and shot the shit out of the morally bankrupt assholes in charge. We really have no idea of what the state of play is down there.”
At his words, one of the vespis leant in and touched me on the shoulder. I jumped, pivoting away from him, one hand going for a blaster that wasn’t there, the other reaching for a blade I no longer carried. The vespis reared back, and then lunged forward, seizing me by both shoulders and pulling me towards its jaws, rose-colored mist wisping from its mandibles.
I’d already started to fight, drawing in a breath to start shouting for Mack, when I breathed in the mist, as well. Oh... oh! I’d forgotten they could do this. As the sweet-smelling pheromone filled my nose and mouth, I felt my body relax, and then I remembered, and registered the red-tinge to the vespis’s carapace.
“You’re one of the royal guard?”
I turned to Mack.
“She’s one of the royal guard.”
I watched his eyes darken.
“Where is your queen?”
This time, I heard the wasp’s voice in my mind.
“She escaped. We did not.”
Its gesture included the other vespis, and the weavers in the room.
“The others of our cohort did not survive as long.” It turned to me. “Your captain has said he will do his best to return us to our homeworlds, but that he has an errand to run, first. We will assist you in this endeavor.”
I caught the brief shake of Mack’s head, and was about to convey his refusal, when the wasp raised its clawed forehand.
“You have to let us repay,” it said. “This is not too much for us to ask—and you are in need of assistance, if you are facing a force of arach.”
I saw Mack open his mouth to argue, and then close it again. Instead, he lifted his head and surveyed everyone in the room. Everyone. Because they were standing as still as statues, their heads cocked as they caught the wasp’s words in their mind, and I realized the damned thing had broadcast the entire conversation.
It tilted its head towards me, amusement in the angle of its antenna.
“Of course. This is not a decision for us to make on our own. All should be given the chance for thanks or revenge.” It gestured to the nearest wolf, and I realized he was in hybrid form, his ears cocked forward, his eyes eager. “See? This is Pack Leader Angravine. He seeks vengeance.” Its mind voice softened with what might have been sympathy. “...and a new pack.”
I looked at Angravine, and the wolf slid me a yellow-eyed glance. He gestured towards the cub holding Mack’s hand.
“I will see if that one’s father would consider my membership.”
At Mack’s side, the cub stood taller, his eyes bright and alert... and assessing. Honestly, the little bugger was already sizing Angravine up and deciding his worth. I wanted to shake the shit out of him.
“Don’t,” Mack said, and I curled my lip.
Clearly, the dampeners didn’t work on him.
His mouth twitched, and I thought he might actually have smiled.
“Captain’s privilege,” he said, and I stared at him, but he was talking and very pointedly ignoring anything I was thinking. “You wanta turn around so you’re not standing with your back to our guests?”
I turned, but this brought me face to face with the vespis, again, so I took a step back, and ended up against Mack’s chest. The vespis stepped to one side so I found myself facing everyone gathered in the caf. I can’t say I found that an improvement.
For a long moment, I stared at them, and they stared back, and then Angravine surveyed the gathered wolves, a low snarl rippling from his lips. I held my breath, pretty sure the lupar pack leader had just claimed his right to lead them, and an all-out brawl was about to ensure.
It didn’t. One by one, the wolves walked across to look him over, and then stand behind him. He stood head and shoulders above most of them, in much the same way as Pack Leader Rovan had stood just a little taller than his squad. There were two exceptions, both female, and both standing nearly as tall as he did. They waited until the others had made their choices.
When they were all that was left, they came to stand before Angravine, but not directly in front of him. In fact, if I hadn’t known any better, I’d have said they were setting him up for a pincer attack. Even the captain’s cub drew a sharp breath as they came to a halt.
“We are Outliers,” said the female who’d led the way across the deck.
She, too, stood in human form, her hair a thick, luxurious chestnut in contrast to her companion’s more silvery hue. Angravine made a show of looking her up and down, and she looked back, her ears tilted forward, her tail stiff and still. When he made to take a step towards her, both Outliers snarled.
Around them, the caf stood still. Vespis and Weaver watched the exchange with wary curiosity, and the few humans among them stood poised for action—although whether it was to fight or flee, I could not tell. Everyone breathed a sigh of relief, when Angravine stopped moving forward, and held up one hand in placation.
“Will you run the edges for me?” he asked, and I thought I caught a touch of pleading in his tone.
The two she-wolves exchanged glances, their eyes gleaming amber. After a moment’s silence, they both looked towards him, and dipped their chins in assent.
“We will run the edges for you... Pack Leader,” the chestnut female said, and the room breathed once more, watching as she and her partner moved to stand on the outer edges of Angravine’s newly formed pack.
When they had taken their places, Angravine looked towards Mack, and me.
“We are ready to help you,” he said, “and, when we are done, I ask that you will speak for us.”
Mack gave the pack leader a very lupar dip of the chin in agreement.
“I will speak for you.”
The pack leader’s eyes shifted to me, and I met them, equal to equal. His body tensed, his fur bristling as the usual lupar response to that rippled around us. I smiled, but refused to drop my gaze. The sonofabitch could accept me as an equal or he could chase his tail out an airlock. I was pretty good with either. Still...
“I will speak for you,” I told him, and he subsided.
I surveyed the rest of the room, then gestured to the captain’s son.
“How many of you want to be included on our mission to return this cub to his father?”
I had half expected the room to erupt into shouts. Instead, I received a quiet show of hands, backed by angry determination. I glanced up at Mack.
“We’re gonna need Doc.”
“Yup. I’ll ask him to assemble a team while we eat. Looks like it’s gonna be another long day.”
