Cyra’s comm clanged. An emergency hail. Dez tensed as she darted over the device, pulling on a dressing gown. “Veda?”
The doctor’s voice came through the speaker. “There’s a problem with on of the dogs, Queen. I could use some extra hands and my scanner.”
“I’ll be there in a moment,” Dez answered before darting out of the water chamber and racing to the med lab. He prayed that the dog would be okay for her sake and Cyra’s.
“It’s in this cabinet.” Cyra reached past him to open the small door.
Dez retrieved the unit, grateful he hadn’t had to search. They ran together to the kennels. Veda knelt by Queen’s side. She reached for the scanner. “Get some blankets, Cyr.”
Cyra didn’t balk at being ordered around by her friend. Dez petted Queen’s head as Veda ran the scanner over the dog. Cyra returned with a stack of blankets and towels, breathing so hard her gills fluttered. She was so beautiful, she took Dez’s breath.
“I’m pretty sure Queen is in labor.”
“What?” Dez’s attention went to the doctor. “How is it possible?”
Veda lifted an eyebrow. “Are you really asking me where babies come from?”
Dez’s cheeks heated. “No, but the dogs were in separate kennels. They haven’t been left alone. She didn’t show signs of being in heat.”
“It’s possible she was pregnant when we did the intake. I didn’t get a blood sample, and I wasn’t looking for pregnancy. If she’s like most canines, she likely had just been bred when we got her. It’s been about sixty cycles.”
“What do we do?” Cyra asked, the panic thick in her voice.
“Wait.” Veda took some of the stack from Cyra’s arms. “Make her comfortable and wait for nature to take its course. Her body knows what to do.”
Dez freed the rest of the load from Cyra’s arms. He arranged a soft nest for the panting dog while ignoring the warning growls. Queen immediately dragged the various items, pawing them, circling before laying down. Dez petted her. “You’ll be fine girl.”
“It’s going to be several hours before things get interesting. We might as well give her some space.” Veda stood up with the scanner in her hand.
“I should prep last-meal,” Dez said.
“Call me when it’s ready. I’ll stay here.” Cyra shifted one of the folded blankets and sat down. “Keep an eye on things and do some research.” She held up her comm.
“I’m going to take a power nap, then.” Veda moved toward the exit.
“Use the ship system to page me if you need me, my queen.”
Cyra nodded, already refocused on her screen.
Later, the crew gathered for the meal in the galley. There had been no change in Queen’s condition, but Veda planned to eat quickly and take the next shift.
“What about this contract you got, Dez?” Cyra asked.
All eyes turned to him. He explained what he’d been able to negotiate, but as good as his news was, it was tempered by the costs of the repairs and the replacement fuel.
“And we’ll need to upgrade the refrigeration cells in the cargo bay, I think.” Veda winced and shot a quick glance at Cyra. “They were fine for the relatively short trip between Din’Gale and Cassan. But Kolben…”
“It’ll be worth it if we can make a little profit and the delivery goes well. We could get additional contracts. Dez said this vendor has a ton of overage, she even opened juice bars, but still they have to toss so much. And Kolben will pay a fortune. Maybe we could even expand the refrigerated cells.” Blaize took a breath.
Dez swallowed his laugh when Cyra jumped in before Blaize could continue. “I agree. We should take the contract for this shipment. We’ll run the number before deciding any future business.”
His mate. So smart, so practical. So resistant to being his. Time wasn’t on his side, but she would be. No matter what he had to do to convince her. She would recognize him as hers before she left him forever.
Dez cleared the remaining items from the table as the crew left.
“Let me help.” Cyra wiped down the table. Everyone had already cleared their places. There wasn’t that much to do. “I want to check on Queen with you.”
“Veda would have called us if anything was happening.” At that moment, Cyra’s comm chimed. A note from Veda.It’s time.
