21. “You do not make idle threats.”

TWENTY-ONE

“You do not make idle threats.”

Waldren’s ship had gotten a great deal of work done to her, including reinforcements to her hull, new monitoring sensors, and a coupling assembly capable of handling a small racer. I’d enjoy the work involved in checking over every new component, and I had every intention of billing the Veloc responsible for abusing such a beauty.

“Waldren didn’t get a new ship, did he?” I’d wanted him to have his dream ship, and while he loved his vessel, I’d learned about the wonderful upgrades available if only he had the currency to buy one.

“He has put in an order for his new beauty, but she won’t be ready for two years. She’s a specialty exploration ship, and when she’s finished, she’ll be one of the fastest in the universe. Not only will she be fast, but she’ll be large enough to tow this ship, which is why he is having her refitted.”

I whistled at the thought of being able to work with a top class exploration ship. “Just towing?”

“He picked a model that couples rather than hauls in a bay.” Xaltri pointed at the coupling assembly. “This is the smaller version of the model, and he’ll be able to access both ships through a docking assembly. If there is an emergency—or internal explosion—there’s still a chance for survival this way.”

One of my classes had been a debate on interior storage of spare ships versus coupling, and I’d been unable to decide on which I preferred. If given my way, I would have gone with both systems.

Most ships couldn’t handle both systems.

“Was there any damage done during the delivery of the ship?”

“Fortunately for Waldren’s sanity, his baby landed without incident. He wasn’t permitted to be on board during the landing.”

I nodded, as while the system was safe most of the time, every rare now and again, something failed and resulted in a heavily damaged ship and a destroyed landing pad. “All right. I hope you bastards kept the right parts, because if I have to special order anything, you’re molting on my schedule, and your baubles will become my baubles.”

“We have smuggled all required parts on board as our personal allotments. You won’t need to molt us,” Xaltri promised, and his crest flattened. “You do not make idle threats.”

No, I didn’t. “All right. So help me, if Squeakers and Palta aren’t here, I will be inconsolable.”

“They are both present,” the Veloc replied, shaking himself off and heading in the direction of the opened cargo bay door.

As we drew close, I could make out Waldren cursing at something. I grinned at the thought of the Veloc having successfully sabotaged his ship to the point she couldn’t fly anymore.

“We have brought a mechanic certified in your ship systems,” Xaltri announced, and he bounded up the ship. Geltri followed, taking Plague with him.

As Pestilence would become upset, I tossed his reins over his head and sent him to follow his beloved mare, taking my time as I had no interest in being clipped with a hoof.

“What the hell?” Waldren blurted.

I wondered what had earned such a reaction, and I bet Plague and Pestilence baffled him.

“Your mechanic needed to get here, and these beauties served as transportation. The female, who seems to be with foal, is named Plague. Pestilence is the stallion. I warn you, they demand affection on their schedule.”

With her precious little peeps leading the way, Squeakers dodged the death horses, tripped, and rolled down the ramp. Laughing, I scooped her up, cradled her in my arms, and went to work trying to convince her I still loved her. The bird chirped and peeped a storm, and I brought up the rear. Palta padded over, and she purred, rubbing against my legs. Careful not to drop Squeakers, I reached down and gave the cat her owed pettings.

“Where did you get them?” Waldren demanded in a rather breathless voice.

As the Veloc would tease Waldren because they could, I hurried up the ramp. “They’re mine, as I needed some direct experience with known hazardous worlds. Plague and Pestilence were rescued from your home world, and we did some analysis on the fungus infecting the planet. I was not a fan of the fungal treatments, nor did I enjoy having to tend to vomiting death horses, but we did some experimental treatments and saved them. I had been trying to acquire you some tree cats, but while I did manage to rescue some, they are not willing to be domesticated at this point in time. Sorry, Palta. I tried to get you some kitty companions, but they’re nasty little tree blights. Super pretty, but they do not like homo sapiens. The death horses love homo sapiens and view Veloc as the best living toys they have seen in their lives.” I patted Plague with my free hand before giving her a kiss on her nose. “In bad news, you’re going to have to haul my carnivorous horses around with us. In good news, I’ve trained them to use waste bins.”

“Camellia.”

I grinned at his tone, which was a mix of relief and disgust, well aware the man struggled with expressing himself.

After seeing his home world and working with animals sickened with the fungus, I understood why—and I could work around the rifts his upbringing would inevitably create. “Hello, Waldren. I’m your mechanic, as I made it my hobby to collect as many certifications as possible. They would not let me pilot anything , as they fully understood I would leave the instant I was qualified. To contain me, they let me rampage through their education system. It turns out my backwater world had done a great job with my base education. They started me off with the final testings for each course to see what I needed to learn, and it turned out I knew a lot of what they wanted me to learn.”

“Now I feel guilty, as I’m well aware of what a mess my ship is. I think I got a faulty set of upgrade kits, and while I can do repairs on systems I’m familiar with, I bit off more than I can chew. Then I broke her beyond any ability to fly.” He heaved a pained sigh. “The only good news is that nobody has teased me too much about having broken her. I should have just hired someone to refit her instead of trying to do the work myself. But I picked two extra kits instead of paying for the labor. And now you’re going to end up taking me for my soul fixing my baby.”

Well aware everyone worked to trick the man, I grinned, gave Plague another kiss on her nose, and sat down so I could pet Palta and Squeakers at the same time. The Andean mountain cat made herself at home on my lap, and both death horses came to introduce themselves to the cat and bird.

To my delight, everyone got along, and even Plague seemed interested in becoming friends with both of the new animals.

“Well, I won’t make fun of you, especially not when your ship is such a mess that fixing her might put me in a queue for some advanced certifications.” I nodded in Xaltri’s direction. “So you’re aware, I have a hobby of attacking Veloc for their baubles. This hobby has won me an invitation to be adopted. Once I’m done fixing your ship, I’d like a ride to Veloci Major. Delta and I are going to torment their entire species. Apparently, you’re a hot commodity the Emerald Crests already claimed, so you get to enjoy the festivities. Honestly, I mostly ignored the billing portion of my education, as I learned so I can repair ships I happen to be on. So, rather than nail you for currency, I’ll have you transport me to Veloci Major along with my death horses.”

“I’ll have to fit you in for a few extra cruises, as getting her approved for flight is going to be a monster of a job. But that’s a good start if you don’t want to bill me for money.”

“I have plenty of money,” I informed him in a solemn tone. “I’m going to need a bunch of that money to care for my death horses and transport my future death horses around space with me.”

Waldren chuckled. “I can’t say I’ve seen someone decide to take their horses into space with them before. But why are you calling them death horses?”

“They’re carnivorous. The species is apparently equus ferus carnivorus , and they were developed specifically for your colony. They took everything wrong with horses and fixed it, and then they made them omnivorous. I’m not sure why they named them carnivorus rather than omnivorus, but it is what it is. I’ve been calling them death horses, because if they decide you’re going to die, you’re going to die. Between the horns and the teeth? Death is probable.”

Waldren smiled and he went to Plague, offering his hand for her to sniff before petting her. “I remember these from when I was little. They were wild, and I loved watching them run along the beach. I’d spend days just following them around. I learned what I could and couldn’t eat—and I never understood why some of them just fell over dead.”

Relief washed through me that my death horses had been happy memories for him. Well, mostly. “That was the fungus that killed your colony. Plague almost died. We treated her, and then she suffered from mass hemorrhaging. But we got her through it. Pestilence did better, but I think he’s a bit younger than she is. They’re resilient when it comes to being treated, but we only took animals that were heavily infected. I have claim rights to ten next year, and I’ll take the sickest ones for a breeding program to establish them on a Veloc world.”

“What she isn’t telling you is that she has eight more in her herd, and the Veloc clan that adopts her will have to house and operate her breeding program,” Xaltri said, and he whistled and hooted his amusement. “They are currently on Veloci Major, as they were quite ill and needed hoof work, so they’re getting care. Plague needed hoof work as well, but she recovered with remarkable speed. She misses space, but she will landlock herself when Plague foals, I’m certain.”

“There will be no space travel for me during the months Plague is on a planet to give birth and for at least four months after. The baby has to wean before space travel is an option.”

“I’m sure we’ll manage somehow. I did not purchase any stabling kits, however.”

Well, I had the money, and if he was going to haul me and my death horses around, I would contribute to the needed equipment. “I’ll buy the kits and do the installs myself. But for now, they can use the standard quarters. They are trained to get down on the floor and wait for the all clear during takeoff and landings. The rest of the time, they can roam free. They’re borderline sentient, so teaching them is not a problem.”

“Ah. That does simplify things. You actually caught some of the cats?”

“They are furry little demons, cute enough, but not nearly as cute as Palta.”

Waldren chuckled. “They’re fun to watch, but no, I wasn’t even able to catch any of them.”

I wouldn’t tell him of the circumstances of how we’d caught—and ultimately lost—a bunch of them. “We’re agreed, then. Palta, Squeakers, and my death horses are the ultimate companions. Has Squeakers behaved while I was stuck on this wretched little planet?”

“She’s been good. She does do a check of the ship for you daily, though. I’m going to have to insist you remain on board my vessel to keep her happy. And if you do need to leave, you’ll have to take her with you. She still can’t fly, but I have a little backpack carrier for her, and she loves it. It has clear sides so she can look at everything. I’ll get you one of your own. I’m not sure how we’re going to transport your death horses in spaceports, though.”

“Carefully and with appropriate clearances, I presume.” I gave all the animals little kisses. “Yes, the death horses can be ridden. Yes, we can get lessons before we leave, especially if I have a huge repair job on this ship. No, you can’t steal either one of them, but if you want death horses of your own, we can introduce candidates to Plague and Pestilence to see who gets on with them. Pestilence would probably let you ride him with no problems, though. Plague gets jealous.”

“I’d be interested in trying to ride them, but I’m not going to ride often. I’ve learned how to ride from the Veloc, and it’s not my favorite activity. I’ll do it if I must. You can handle your death horses. I’ll just watch and help groom them.”

“Well, that is something they will never tire of. Pestilence lives for the brush, and he’ll forgive all sins if you comb out his coat.” I cradled Squeakers, petted Palta before evicting her from my lap, and stood. “How have things been going with Melody?”

“They’ve been going well. Before I tried to refit my ship, we made a few forays to the world. Squeakers has a few friends now. They live with some Veloc on Veloci Minor, but when we’re there, she visits with them. I’m afraid we might end up with breeding populations of the birds, which is going to cause us more than a few problems. They have zero survival instincts, so they have to be kept as pets.”

As I never wanted to see the birds understand the meaning of fear, I nodded. “Are they still breaking their beaks?”

“I think that part of their society will always remain, but rather than condemn themselves to death, the birds seek out the ship. The second trip, we had six birds break their beaks and show up outside carrying a crab leg each. The other birds gave them the crabs after they broke their beaks.”

The selflessness of the birds would never fail to amaze me. “The machines worked on them?”

“Yes. We treated the broken beaks once we got them to space, and we set up each bird with five crabs. I carry ten cages with me suitable for them on the ship, since we don’t think that many break their beaks at any given time. In a pinch, I have a larger cage that can hold an entire flock of them, but feeding them would be complicated. We’re registering the owners of each bird, much like the Andean mountain cats are registered, as they’re demonstrating sentience beyond most wild animals. They understand the concept of sacrifice for the sake of the others, and that means they get special protections.”

“Like the death horses. Not quite sentient?”

Waldren nodded. “Are they registered?”

I nodded. “The school helped with that after handling their sentience testing. They’re barely below sentience, so they’ll be heavily monitored. Plague and Pestilence will be easy enough to track. They have to be registered for all flights and get tickets when aboard passenger ships, and they’re barred from being treated as cargo.”

“That’s the same with Palta. It just means I have to file a form stating they’re on board the ship when I submit my flight plans.”

That would simplify things. If I had my way, I’d be stowing away on Waldren’s ship often, although there would be nothing secretive about my presence on board his ship. Given some time, I’d relocate from my quarters to his quarters until he received the message I was interested in pursuing a relationship with him. With that decision made, I cuddled with Squeakers again before setting her down. “With all that out of the way, please show me everything you’ve broken. I want to make this ship shine.”

Somehow, Waldren’s friends and family had managed to damage every single system on the ship. I expected it would take me at least three weeks to bring everything back online and confirm the ship and everyone on board would survive the rigors of space. As something had gone wonky with his life support system as well, I began with doing a full diagnostic on his computer system.

While it took me several hours, I located the software glitch, and after checking over the manual with my link, I made the corrections to bring that back online.

In his attempts to correct other systems, he’d played with the settings, doing more harm than good before he’d given up. While he might curse me later, I did a full reset of the system to factory settings, reconfigured his life support system, and ran a diagnostic test. Once everything worked, I checked through his other systems, bringing them back online one after another.

After ten hours, I sought out the owner of the ship, who played with Palta and Squeakers in the cargo bay while my death horses napped on the lawn beside the landing pad. “I have good news and bad news for you.”

“Hit me with the bad first, please.”

“There’s definitely something wrong with every upgrade you attempted to install.”

He sighed. “The good news?”

“The rest of your woes were software related, which I fixed through a factory reset of your ship systems and reconfiguration. Once I get your upgrades repaired, you can reconfigure your baby, but for now, her primary systems are functional. Technically, we could probably secure flight clearance at this point as long as all upgraded systems remained offline for the voyage.”

Waldren raised a brow. “That’s not good news. That’s great news.”

“The rest of the bad news is that you might be stuck here for a few weeks while I get those upgraded systems repaired.” I checked the bay and outside for the Veloc, discovering the feathered murder machines had fled. “Where did they go?”

“They’re visiting with some other Veloc on the planet. They’ll be back tomorrow to confirm you’re still here. Are you sure you want to participate in that madness?”

“I absolutely do want to participate in that madness. That madness is when I get to attack Veloc at my whim and try to rob them of their baubles.”

Waldren regarded me with wide eyes. “That’s going a little beyond assaulting them to enjoy how soft their feathers are.”

“It’s like some little switch gets flipped in my brain, I forget how soft they are, and decide I will have their shiny baubles instead,” I admitted. “I think I went psycho because of having been tossed into the walls and ceilings so many times. But I got a bauble. I stole it fair and square, and it’s mine . And I want to steal more baubles. But the one I stole is going into my hair when it’s time to participate in that madness, and I will make the defeated Veloc add it to my hair once I’ve finished robbing them.”

“Well, if you want to be adopted by Veloc, that’s definitely a good way to go about it.”

“I’m angling for adoption by a clan of feet, hands, or tails. That way, the Emerald Crests will have adequate protection. The Crimson Feet are a preferred contender, as they’ll make excellent hatchlings with Emerald Crests. I’m going to be at least a little picky, as whichever clan gets adoption rights must be willing to work with my death horses. We come as a set.”

“You will not have any trouble on that front with any Veloc clan,” Waldren promised. “For beings insistent on eating most things they come across, they are remarkably fond of animals.”

“I feel that’s an understatement. Animals or people fall into three categories for them: to be romanced, to be eaten, or to be petted. And while they will swiftly dispatch those to be eaten, as a general rule, they become unreasonable when romance or petting is involved.” I rolled my shoulders, stretched, and sighed. “Do you want to go to one of those hotel things, stay on board your ship, or visit my dorm? Because I need a break, and I won’t break your ship being stupid.”

“I’ve broken my ship sufficiently being stupid. I’ll visit your dorm and get lodgings near your school. I’ve been told there are good ones nearby. But isn’t your school quite the hike away?”

I pointed at my death horses. “They love the run, so as long as you’re willing to ride Pestilence, I’m sure they’d love to take us back to their stalls and their supper. I just recommend that you hold on tight. They can run fast, they can run far, and they view the Veloc hunting grounds as a challenge to overcome.”