After a moment, Sway stepped to the side, letting him come in. Grace smiled, waving at the other male. Her lips were puffy, her cheeks red, from his attentions. Sway rather thought she looked even prettier that way. And he liked even less that Loyalty was seeing it.
“I hear we’re lingering around the Song of Retrieval,” Loyalty said immediately, not even pausing to think about Grace or how pretty she looked. He turned to face Sway with his arms crossed over his chest.
Sway nodded once. “We are.”
“Any reason in particular?”
Unlike Grace, Sway didn't really want to divulge his past to this male. So, he just said, “We’re meeting someone there. Don’t worry, the captain won’t charge you for those extra days since it was an unforeseen stop.”
“That’s not my problem.” Loyalty shook his head. “I don’t really care how much I’m charged. How much do you know about that Song?”
Sway shared a quick glance with Grace. He only needed to share a silent moment with her for her to understand and smile. He could practically see the change come over her. He heard it in her voice when she talked. The professional came out in her, stepping in to take control just as he asked.
His female stepped forward, giving Loyalty a curious look. “Do you know something about them?”
“I’ve… met them before,” he said, his voice cautious but carefully neutral. “They are a well-known group in their circles. I know some people have come to them to hunt down specific family members. They’re a pretty large operation and they have good funding and resources.”
“So it seems,” Sway said, his tone pleasant, not giving away any of his inner thoughts.
“How did you meet them?” Grace asked for him. “Have you been to their colony before?”
“No. I told you that the male who gave me this body lost his mate and youngling,” he explained gently, his expression sad. “I felt awful for him. They were attacked by pirates, and he didn'tknow if they’d been taken or killed. He worked with the Song of Retrieval to find them. This was before I met him. When he heard they died, he only cared about revenge. A revenge that I funded with the promise that I would get his body after he succeeded.
“I met a few members of the Song during the last stages of his revenge. They were following him to see if they could recover anyone else from the pirates. They, er, did not really approve of the agreement I had with him. But they couldn’t rightfully stop it. Coalition law allows me to claim a body if the previous owner agrees to let me have it upon their death.”
“What were they like? The Song, I mean,” Grace asked. Sway was glad she did. He wanted to know, but part of him didn't actually want to voice the question.
Loyalty was hesitant to answer. And when he finally did, his voice was slow, his tone careful. “They were kind. To the victims they retrieved. They didn't like me at all. Or the ratchi who owned this body. Or even the domini guards they kept with them. They are strict pacifists, and while they employ the domini to protect them, they don’t actually approve of what they do.”
Grace made a face. “That’s a bit hypocritical.”
“It’s not that unusual for farasie. They don’t really like being out in the wider universe because every other species is more comfortable with violence than themselves. And while they will employ bodyguards and others to protect them, there is very much a sense of… disapproval. Or maybe superiority is a better word.”
“Why are you telling us this?” Sway asked.
“You’re from Rik-Vane, right?” Loyalty cocked his head at him. Sway hadn’t told him that. His eyes darted to Grace who flinched apologetically.
“I’m sorry,” she grimaced, looking at him guiltily. “I told him. I shouldn’t have without asking-”
“It’s fine,” Sway said, not that concerned about Loyalty knowing his origins. He faced the 108 male again. “Why does it matter?”
“I imagine that you’re not unfamiliar with violence,” Loyalty said, still speaking in that cautious, neutral tone.
“I’m reclaiming my pacifism,” he said, taking Grace’s word.
“Okay.” Loyalty didn't seem that impressed. He looked at Sway for a long moment, his expression completely unreadable. Sway frowned back at him, unable to figure out what he was thinking. Before he got a chance to ask, however, Loyalty said suddenly, seemingly out of nowhere, “I want to go down with you.”
“What?”
“To the colony planet. I want to go as well.”
“Why?”
“Is there any reason I shouldn’t go? I’m paying for my passage on this ship, and if we’re getting station leave, or colony leave I suppose, I’d like to enjoy it too.” Loyalty’s tone was flippant, like he might really not have a deeper reason than that.
But that was the exact tone he used when he offered to help Grace during the Covor situation. Falsely casual, almost totally nonchalant, but still steely with determination.
Did he want to go down there because Grace was going? She wasn’t going to be in danger on a colony filled with farasie. It was, honestly, probably the safest place she could find herself outside of the farasie home planet. So, that didn’t really make sense.
