“We have more to lose now.”
“And a lot more to gain.” Goldie beamed. “Besides,youwant to stay. You’ve never asked me to do anything, Garnet. It wasmyidea to run away from home. It wasmyidea to go to vet school… It wasmyidea to go out that night.”
“What?”
Goldie frowned, her arms tightening around her legs. “The night we were taken. I don’t remember anything about who took us, but I do know I begged you to go out. I just wanted to eat together. We rarely went out. We were always trying to save money. If I hadn’t insisted, we might have been safely in our apartment that night. It’s my fault we’re out here. And now, you’re finally excited about something. How can I take that from you?”
“But you-”
“Don’t worry about me, Garnet,” Goldie laughed. “I want to stay too. I want a chance to learn about these aliens. You should be more worried about Captain Tanin. He’s probably the one who would be our sponsor, so he’s the one you have to convince.”
Garnet just stared at her for a long minute. Searching her face for any sign of hesitation. Of indecision. Of regret. They weren’t taken willingly. At this point, it should still be okay for them to return home. They could pick up the pieces of what they were forced to leave behind.
But Goldie was smiling at her. Eager anticipation shining in her eyes. Like this might have beenhersuggestion. She chuckled as Garnet continued to stare.
“Let’s stay,” she said brightly. “If we can. Let’s start over from here.”
Garnet let out a cry, jumping from her bed. She threw her arms around her sister with a loud-
“Thank you!”
They fell back, laughing together.
Garnet still had to convince Tanin to take them, but she was already proving how important she could be just by cleaning this ship. It definitely needed it. There were a ton of other little odd jobs she could do. They could both prove themselves.
It was crazy, but it wouldn’t be the first crazy thing they’d done. And so long as they had each other, Garnet wasn’t worried about where they were.
Chapter 11
Tanin
Tanin had transported people before. It wasn’t the most common request, but sometimes Tanin was willing to go where others weren’t and that was what they needed. News reporters used him to get to war zones; refugees used him to escape war zones. Once, a celebrity needed to be moved in total secrecy and Tanin had been paid a good deal to make their trip luxurious.
He was used to strangers being on his ship. When it happened, his crew tended to make themselves scarce. They didn't want to be involved with such people. Alred would act like a real AI and his light form would be hidden completely. Tanin would either take care of them himself, or sometimes Trove would act like he had some sense, and he’d do it. They were the most presentable, least threatening of the crew – aside from Sway, but Sway was always working so he couldn’t do it.
Aside from that, when they had guests, not much changed. The guests would keep to the guest quarters, aside from maybe taking a small walk or visiting the galley. His crew would hide from the intruders in their space. They’d drop off their living cargo, then everything would go back to normal.
But that wasn’t what was happening with the females.
Garnet had taken his permission to do as she liked on his ship and immediately made herself comfortable. He hadn’t actually expected her to get to work, but to his surprise, she’d devoted herself to her self set task immediately. His halls were already looking cleaner. It was honestly a bigger difference than he would have expected.
His crew weren’t slobs. Aside from Sway – who did occasionally clean his area when he took a break – they cared for the Humility just fine. But dusting and sweeping were the robots’ jobs. More than that, they were tasks that just kind of built up slowly, allowing them to get used to the general dirt and grime that accumulated, so they didn't think about it.
Garnet, however, worked like a little machine herself. Tanin watched her through the cameras as she hummed to herself, working down the second-floor main hall. She’d pulled her hair up into a messy bun that spilled all around her head. She needed some new clothes, but he didn't mind the outfit she was forced to wear every day. The shorts liked to ride up a bit as she bent down and crouched, which she did a lot as she wiped down the walls. He shouldn’t stare, but he couldn’t look away.
She hadn’t just made herself at home, his crew weren’t hiding from her either. She beamed at them, called to them by name, and spoke so sweetly, he couldn’t blame them for wanting to get closer. Even as he disliked that they were doing it.
There were eight people on Tanin’s crew including himself – if you counted the twins as two separate people, which they themselves did not. Except Alred, they had all lived for a long time on the same space station. It was, without a doubt, the worst station in the entire Coalition. A totally lawless place where power ruled over everything.
The females there came in two types: strong and untouchable or meek and subdued. The strong were unconquerable. The meek never lasted long. His mother fell into the latter category. Most females they met were the former. They weren’t soft or sweet, they didn't hum as they cleaned, they certainly would never let someone sneak up on them. If they smiled, it was done with malice or wicked joy. If they fucked, it was hard and harsh and quick.
They had never been around a kind female. A happy female.
They were drawn to it.
She didn't see it, but Tanin did. On cameras, he could watch the way Rok lingered around corners, watching her from a crouched position. Or how the twins would occasionally walk by, just to lay eyes on her – something she probably didn’t realize was vastly out of character for them. Vytln even cracked his door when she began cleaning around his workroom and then would spend an unusual amount of time near that crack, listening to her hum.
Garnet was not the type of female they were accustomed to, but in seeing it for the first time, they couldn’t stay away. She also did nothing to discourage them. She said hi whenever she noticed someone. She acted like she was always happy to see them. She tried to ask harmless, friendly questions, but never let it bother her if she didn’t get a response. Trove was the one who approached her the most, flirting brazenly. She’d either flirt back or deflect his compliments like an expert, depending on how close he was to her.
