Ikvar slammed his fist down on the table, making the females jump. Tanin turned his eyes to him, silently condemning the dramatic action.
“They arenotyour mate,” Ikvar reminded him with a snarl. “You are their sponsor, and only their sponsor.”
Tanin was unimpressed. “Are we done here? I have another job to get to on my list.”
Ikvar’s three eyes narrowed, annoyed, but Tanin could see Garnet trying to stifle a giggle. Tanin needed to put some space between them before he did something really stupid. Like take her up on her silent offer and destroy her only clothes in his efforts to get to her sweet center.
Ikvar was angry, but he had no further reason to question them. He did take his time finishing all the logistical tasks to get them ready to leave though.
Tanin was responsible for getting the females combots so that they could contact Ikvar themselves if necessary. Tanin was given two tendays to reach a station or planet to purchase the device or Ikvar would send his warriors to retrieve the females. Furthermore, Tanin would have to provide video proof within that same time period that he had procured everything the females would need, or Ikvar would send his warriors. If Ikvar contacted them and Tanin could not or would not produce the females and let them speak to him privately, he’d send warriors. If Ikvar thought either female was being harmed, taken advantage of, or neglected, he’d send warriors. There were a lot of warnings and all of them ended in the promise of warriors.
On one hand, Tanin was impressed at the levels they were willing to go to protect them. On the other, it was rather insulting because he knew no other sponsor was treated this way. Yet, he couldn’t even blame the male’s caution. Tanin knew he didn’t deserve them either.
But here was where they wanted to be. And damn if his crew didn’t enjoy their presence. There was just something lighter, happier in the air in the ship with them there. An inherent quality that females brought to a home or den, he figured.
When Tanin asked for something to treat subspace sickness, Ikvar actually gave it to him without any guff. Which was not really surprising, considering his obvious concern for them. However, the medicine came with a plethora of questions about his generator and shields and condemnations that he’d let them get so old and fall into such disrepair and didn’t he know if the crystals powering the generator died while he was in subspace, he could end up trapped there for eternity?
It was all very dramatic and annoying. But he got the medicine at the end of the lecture, and that’s all he really wanted.
With that and promises of warriors at his doors if the females so much as sneezed too hard and got a nosebleed, they were finally released to return to his ship. Tanin was trailing behind Garnet and Goldie, keeping an eye on them as they looked over the case full of pills. Taking one per day was the treatment for subspace sickness and it would alleviate the symptoms so long as they were in subspace. Goldie especially seemed interested.
Tanin would have to talk to Alred about setting her up with healing lessons. He was sure he could sign her up for a subnet course in the subject. Or steal the curriculum of one if they had to. She was already trained in healing animals. It wouldn’t be that much of a jump for her to start healing other species.
They were his crew now, and as much as it was their job to follow his orders, it was his job to help them bring out their full potential. Goldie had a lot thanks to her previous training.
And Garnet…
She sent him a grin over her sister’s shoulder as they were stepping back onto the Humility.
Garnet was just trouble.
“I have to go to the bridge,” he told them, manually closing the stowage bay door. “Sway and I will get us away from them. We’ll have another five days before we can jump again. We’re going to a space station where we can sell those gems, upgrade the ship’s shields, and buy you two new clothes.”
“I’ll get back to work then, boss man,” Garnet beamed.
“I’ll help,” Goldie piped up happily. She waved the pill case around. “After I put these in the medbay. I might start in there actually.”
“Go ahead,” Tanin agreed, pleased. She seemed to be drawn to the room on her own. That was even better for him. Just more proof that he should set her up with lessons. “I’ll contact you if I have a job for either of you. Until then, as you were.”
“Yes, captain!” Goldie smiled, putting her hand to her forehead for some odd reason.
“You got it, boss,” Garnet said, giving him a little smile. One that held promises he could in no way allow himself to indulge.
Ikvar was an ass, but he wasn’t wrong. They were his charges. He was their sponsor. He couldn’t let their relationship get complicated by introducing sex into it.
No matter how much he wanted to.
Chapter 16
Garnet
“Wait. Go back. Let me see the last diagram again.”
Obediently, Alred switched the holodisplay, giving Garnet another look at the inner workings of the cleaning bot she was trying to get working.
The Humility had a little mini-fleet of three cleaning bots. One for the public areas, one for the specialty areas – like the engine, the generator room, etc – and one for areas requiring a greater degree of sanitization, such as the galley and the privies. Exactly zero of the bots were functioning, while all of them had been gutted for parts at some point.
Garnet spent the last five days floating around waiting for the generators to fully recharge so they could swing again while fighting what was obviously a losing battle against the filth in this ship. It wasn’t like she had anything else to do. This was her only task. But even completely dedicated to only that – well, that and answering the almost immediate check in from Ikvar – it was a monumental task.
