22. “I don’t know if I should be thanking you for wrecking your ship so badlyscolding you for it.”

For three weeks, I toiled repairing Waldren’s poor ship. I questioned how the Veloc had managed to do so much damage just from swapping out parts not quite the right size, but I needed to replace more than a few components as a consequence of their meddling. To make it clear I understood why poor Waldren suffered, I sent the bill to the Veloc along with a challenge.

In order for a Veloc clan to be eligible to adopt me, they needed to contribute to the stalls for his ship, provide a matched set of shiftgem crystals suitable for his engine cores, or acquire a new upgrade for one of his ship babies. I made it clear the stall system needed to support five death horses, include life support systems, and count as plush accommodations for my hoofed companions. It took less than a week after issuing the challenge to understand I had made mistakes.

The Crimson Feet had misinterpreted upgrade parts to mean I wanted an entire ship, the kind of racer capable of turning Viva green from envy. According to the registration papers, she was mine, she was compatible with Waldren’s coupling unit, and she was large enough for my mandated five stalls, one Andean mountain cat, one songbird the size of Squeakers, and a homo sapiens companion.

The ship also came with a handwritten coupon for piloting instruction so I would be qualified to fly my racer at my whim.

The Crimson Feet’s hired pilot parked my ship nearby, and he loved everything about the modifications for my beauty, especially the stalls, which could support a death horse for a period of six months using a new automated system. Ration cubes would provide sustenance, their waste would be processed and ejected from the ship, and a special generator in each stall provided fresh water.

Then, most importantly, should five and a half months of emergency situation be reached, my precious animals would be put into stasis. The stalls were connected, although the death horses could be separated if needed. There was even a special assembly in case of injury, allowing me to keep them off their hooves for however long was needed.

I questioned how much the stasis systems cost.

Each stall had its own stasis system, it administered the sedatives based on the input species, and it could handle anything from Squeakers in size to homo sapiens to my death horses—and the machines had already been calibrated to handle all known species.

Not only could the stalls handle putting one being into stasis, but it could handle two beings at one time.

In a true emergency, we could put ourselves into stasis with hope of survival upon revival.

After our venture to Melody, I understood the significance of the Crimson Feet’s gift. If we were ever knocked off course again, if we were yanked into unexplored space, we could persist for even a thousand years until someone found us.

The other Veloc clans had joined forces to provide upgrades for Waldren’s ship, but I suspected everyone understood the situation well enough.

There would be brawling and festivities, but the Crimson Feet had offered the one thing I needed most: security in freedom. They gave me everything I needed to fly, and they gave it to me in such a way I could venture forth with those most important to me.

Upon finishing the upgrades and confirming they worked in all tests, I hunted for one of my instructors at the school to go over my work, as I would need his approval to pursue my next stage of certification. The old man, a Deltan who’d fallen in love with space travel but feared flight, loved everything about riding Pestilence to the landing pad while I kept Plague happy. Waldren waited on his cargo ramp for us, and judging from the impatient way he shifted his weight, he wanted clearance to get back into space where he belonged.

“Thank you for coming, Halgrissi,” Waldren said. To my amusement, he even tried to smile, one of the customs he struggled with due to his upbringing.

“I don’t know if I should be thanking you for wrecking your ship so badly or scolding you for it.”

“The upgrade kits were sabotaged.” The man shot a glare at the flock of Veloc outside of his ship. I’d lost track of the number of clans that had sent representatives to posture for my amusement—and to instill jealousy in the man I wished to romance, assuming I could fling sufficient hints his way.

He either wanted to play hard to get or failed to understand I wished to engage in romancing.

“His clan and some accomplices replaced many small components with components that looked quite similar but not exact. The differences were sufficient enough to fail the installs and trigger the sensors, but they were close enough the system couldn’t detect precisely which parts were at fault,” I explained, pointing at the box of compromised pieces. “They did this for hundreds of parts. Waldren helped their scheme through trying to fix it without understanding the problem, so I had to reset all his software before fixing his hardware.”

Halgrissi checked the box, dipped his hand into the box containing the wrong sized bolts, and laughed. “That’s going to make a mess of any ship in a hurry. Do they love or hate you, Waldren?”

“Hate, surely.”

Palta barreled into the cargo bay with Squeakers following, chirping and peeping the entire way. I laughed at the pair’s antics. The cat tended to be chased, and whenever the bird won, she snuggled into her friend’s plush coat. I intervened, scooped the bird up, and kissed her head. “You’re getting a new suite for takeoffs and landings, sweet baby. Mommy just set it up for you yesterday.”

The systems for the animals worried me and had been the primary driving force behind asking Halgrissi, the strictest of the instructors, to confirm my work.

Squeakers settled into the serious business of snuggling while Waldren claimed his precious Palta and held her, settling her front paws on his shoulder.

The death horses, having been set free and asked to stay near the ship, worked at mowing the spaceport grass.

“All right. Take me on a tour, Camellia. I’m expecting perfection out of you.”

Halgrissi expected perfection out of everybody, which was part of what made him an excellent instructor and mechanic. I began with the cargo bay, nodding in the direction of the control panel for the ramp. “The upgrade was reinforcements to the cargo bay doors and hull, and fortunately, that had been professionally installed before he went the kit route. All I did for those was confirm the software adjustments he made trying to fix everything else hadn’t broken anything.”

Like me, Halgrissi possessed a link. Unlike me, he had decades of experience using it, and he spent three minutes with the control panel before giving a nod. “This is in order. You even remembered to update the log files, and you didn’t screw up the syntax this time. Good work. I despaired when you first came into class and had no idea what syntax was, why you might need to use it, or anything useful for a mechanic.”

“At least I understood how vital mechanics are.” Some in my class hadn’t. Then again, the rest of my class was still working on basic engine components while I’d skipped around from practical lab to practical lab, assembling parts, dealing with Halgrissi’s wretched sense of humor, and building experience. “Some of your tricks were quite nasty, sir.”

He chuckled at my comment. “They were, but they gave you the foundations you needed to work on this beauty. Show me something that actually challenged you, else you’ll surely save the best for last and bore the snot out of both of us before this inspection is over.”

In their effort to earn a spot in the competition, the Ivory Tails had sent a stasis machine and a box of mismatched crystals. The stasis machine, which could be operated by one person and handle up to a Veloc, was among the best on the market. Matching it with one of the shiftgems had almost cost me my sanity. It hadn’t been until the stone embedded in my head had begun singing, a faint chime that resonated through the entirety of my head, that I’d gotten a rather rude awakening regarding the hitchhiker that had both saved my life and had stolen my hearing.

My hearing would become a problem in the future.

While gradual, I suspected it somehow returned despite the shiftgem crystal embedded in my brain.

I would need to undergo tests, and I wished to avoid them, at least for a while.

Finding a spot for the stasis machine had created even more problems for me, but I’d convinced Waldren to sacrifice a utility closet for the device, converting every spare inch of extra space to cubbies for storage.

My cubbies might cost Halgrissi his sanity.

I opened the closet door, secured it with the magnet I’d acquired for the purpose, and had him check over that first.

“That is not the customary use for that type of magnet, but I’m giving you full points for ingenuity; it works, takes up no additional space, and prevents accidents in a room that cannot afford any. If my eyes do not deceive me, that is a stasis unit.”

I pointed at one of the cubbies I’d created. “The reversal unit is in there. They sent the units with a mismatched set of shiftgems, and I had to find two that worked. The reversal unit was easy.” The first shiftgem I’d laid hands on had been absolute perfection. “The stasis chamber might be the reason I go mad.”

“Let’s have a look at it and put you at ease.”

Halgrissi entered the room and went to work, going over everything with comforting thoroughness. He removed the shiftgem crystal, examined and measured it, and nodded his approval before reinstalling it. “Excellent stone choice. This is a highly resonant crystal. I know you’re not all that advanced with your link usage yet, but we call these types of stones singers. Singers of this color and clarity are highly prized for stasis and revival units. I would have assumed this would have gone into the revival unit.”

“The revival stone is better,” I replied, pointing at the cubby with the unit. Part of me wanted to mention I’d just known the purpose of the stone upon laying a hand on it, but I’d already vexed everyone on the planet as it was with the shard embedded in my skull.

Adding more complexity to my situation wouldn’t do me any good. Maybe one day, I’d delve deeper into my shiftgem’s secrets.

For the moment, I would enjoy life. I’d also drop hints or bludgeon Waldren until he answered me one way or another, and chase after my every whim.

Halgrissi investigated the revival unit, and he whistled upon examining the stone. “You’re not joking. This shiftgem is priceless. Where did you get it?”

“I challenged a bunch of Veloc, well aware things would become ridiculous. Wait until you see the other ship. That one is mine, and I will be learning to fly her. There are five stasis stalls installed, and the stasis systems are fully operational and set on contingency during emergencies. The stalls can handle two beings at one time and have full sedation systems.”

“That is excessive,” he informed me.

I nodded. “Honestly, after I investigated the stasis systems in those stalls, I decided I wasn’t quite ready to handle the rest of the toys on that ship. I’m still trying to figure out how they got her that quickly. Even if they started scheming the day I arrived on Cremora Delta, it would be another two years before a ship this customized would be ready.”

“The ship has been for sale with everything but the animal upgrades,” Waldren replied. “I’d actually been looking at buying her, but those damned Veloc beat me to the chase. She’s been up for sale for three months now, but her price tag was horrific. She’s a dream ship, and the upgrades for our animals are top of the line. It doesn’t get any better than her for racers, and she’s also suitable for long hauls, and that’s after counting the space those stalls take up.”

“They’re worth it.”

“Your death horses are worth it, but you’re going to be hired to haul animals off that blasted world several times a year after word spreads about Plague and Pestilence. Universal authorities are already heading over to get a full head count on the species and identify all animals that will die in the next few months. Those animals will be treated, taken off world, and put into protectorates to populate the species. And the Veloc clan that adopts you will get rights to them all.”

“I’m not sure why that would be the case,” I admitted.

“You have no idea what paperwork Viva made you fill out, do you?”

“Not particularly. She helped me fill it out, but it was about three hundred pages long.”

Waldren snorted at me and shook his head. “For someone as smart as you, you can sure be damned dumb sometimes.”

I scowled, realizing he made a good point. “You even said it to my face!”

“Don’t sign legally binding agreements without reading them first. And make sure you pay Viva back for the registration fee.”

“As I’m aware of this specific situation, there is no reason to pay Viva back for the registration fee. She wiped out a life-debt with a Veloc to handle the registration fee and secondary confirmations,” Halgrissi announced. “We discussed it when I was certifying her ship as space worthy.”

“Ah, she’s back in space?”

“She was cleared yesterday. The treatments did a number on her hull, and I was an asshole about the certification. Her family wanted to have her in custody for a few extra weeks.”

Delta’s family loved the fox hybrid, and I respected their ruthless cunning to keep the pair around a little longer. “She’ll forgive you one day. Maybe.”

“She’ll forgive me the next time she has something weird going on with her ship and she can’t figure it out.”

“Like the cracked shiftgem in Pandora’s cage?”

“Exactly that. I already replaced the stone and consoled her over its loss. Delta begged me to be the one to break her heart over it, and he already had the right stone in his possession. I expect you’ll both be heading to Veloci Major together. In fact, I recommended that you travel together just in case there is a problem with either of your ships. That did a surprisingly good job of convincing Viva to stick around. She’s aware of just how much overhaul has been done on this beauty. Are you taking the racer with you?”

I glanced at Waldren, unsure of how we’d couple the racer.

“Delta can fly your racer into space and dock it with my coupling unit, then he can transfer back to his ship while suited. He needs more practice doing space walks anyway,” Waldren replied. “We’ll start your piloting lessons after the festivities on Veloci Major.”

“Apparently, yes.”

“I’ll certify both ships, then. You two go away for a while. I’ll get this done a lot faster if I don’t have worried ship owners and mechanics hovering, terrified of what I might find.”

As I’d quadruple checked all systems, if he found anything amiss, I would fling myself to the ground and cry.

I’d spent two extra days making sure there was nothing wrong with Waldren’s baby.

I headed off the ship to see Plague and Pestilence, discovering the death horses had opted for naptime, ignoring the bustle of the spaceport, the loud sounds of ships arriving and departing, and the curiosity of those who spotted them flopped on the ground, masquerading as carcasses.

I regarded Waldren with a solemn expression. “If I hadn’t learned, early on, that this is how they enjoy napping in the sun, that might have scared me. While regular horses will play at being corpses, these two have mastered the art of terrifying their caretakers. I have learned to check for breathing.” I pointed at Plague’s side, which rose and fell with her breaths. “The first time I caught them playing at being corpses, I about had a heart attack. But no, they just like acting like they’re carcasses. But if you want to see a fun reaction, wait for a Veloc to spot them playing dead. They keen first, think second.”

Waldren snickered. “Having seen them do this when I was a kid, I expected it. If they’re given a pasture with a pond, they will lie in the water with only their noses exposed. And they will sleep like this for hours if you let them.”

I stared at him with wide eyes. “That doesn’t sound good for my sanity.”

“I recommend against pastures with bodies of water in them to say the least. And once it starts raining? You will have mud horses rather than death horses. They will bathe in mud and like it.”

I did not want to have to wash a death horse, and I foresaw such a fate in my future. “Space doesn’t have mud puddles. I do hope they enjoy long expeditions in space. Space seems like the ideal environment to keep my death horses clean.”

“Grooming them will fill many an hour, though. You will not be getting bored. You won’t have time to get bored. You adopted chores that wander around on four hooves.”

I really had. “I’ll survive, somehow. Where are Palta and Squeakers?”

“They’re in my quarters taking a nap. I managed to explain inspections to them, so they’re in Palta’s cubby, although it’s open so they can roam my quarters if they want. When Halgrissi inspects my quarters, they’ll wait in her cubby until I come for them. Squeakers wasn’t easy to train, but she’s gotten the basics mastered.”

“That’s good. The death horses are mostly prepped for space, so we shouldn’t have trouble with them, especially not with both ships having good stalls.” Waldren stared deeper into the spaceport and sighed. “Viva and Delta are going with us?”

“Yes. They’ll be nearby. Don’t worry, Waldren. You won’t have to actually interact with them unless you want to—at least after they’ve gotten my racer coupled with your ship. Before that, you’re going to have to deal with them.”

He grunted, and his expression reminded me of when we’d first met, grumpy and resentful.

It’d been a while since he’d been in such a mood.

“But are you sure?”

“I’m sure. You can hide with Palta while I deal with them. I actually like them, and talking with them is not a burden. If you want to hide, you can hide. And once I learn how to pilot, I can even handle those icky parts where the pilot has to talk with people. I’m even going to learn how to speak to the Veloc in their own language.”

“Being able to screech at Veloc and be understood is strangely satisfying,” he admitted. “Especially when they aren’t expecting a homo sapiens to start screaming at them in their own language.”

“We can make this one of our goals. We can keep count of who startles the most Veloc.”

He nodded. “Unwanted pettings should also be tracked.”

“I agree. Then we’re decided. We will lie low until the celebration, where I will pick a Veloc clan as the victor. Then we will torment their entire species for our entertainment.” I rubbed my hands together. “And we will breed many death horses and spread their wonder around the universe. And we’ll take them with us on exploratory voyages. Well, when it’s safe to do so.”

“At least you have some sense. There’s a problem with your goal to torment the Veloc.”

“What’s wrong with my plan? It’s a good one.”

“We will never be rid of them if we do that.”

I rolled my eyes. “We can’t torture them and make them like it if they run away, Waldren. Come on, get with the program. The better we torture them, the nicer the presents we get for having done it. Those stalls on my racer can be transferred to other ships, too. The universe is ours to explore—and possibly take over if we’re in a mood.”

“Please never be in a mood to take over the universe. That is way too much work.”

While he made a good point, I made a show of huffing and puffing my indignation over his complaint. “But we could abuse the Veloc clans stuck with us to pull it off. Two homo sapiens, two Veloc clans. That’s sufficient force to do a hostile takeover of the universe.”

“Why don’t you start with the two planets you’re already going to be partially responsible for, Camellia. If two doesn’t drive you to madness, then you can think about conquering more of the universe. But honestly? I think you’re going to be plenty busy.” According to his expression, Waldren had serious doubts about his ability to contain me, not that I blamed him.

Squeakers and my death horses were only the beginning. Waldren would be next, and I’d enjoy every moment of the chase. “I’ll think about it.”

“Maybe I should warn the Crimson Feet they are about to make a mistake,” he muttered.

“Don’t warn them! I want to see the moment they realized that the big, scary predators have become the prey. Don’t worry. It’ll be fun.”

“Oh, I’m going to worry,” he muttered. “Unlike you, I’ve spent most of my life with the big, scary predators, and they will not allow this to stand. They will make you pay for this level of cunning and treachery.”

I pointed in the direction of my new racer. “They prepaid for this level of cunning and treachery. I am only making certain they get good value for their investment.”

“Someone is going to regret this, and for the life of me, I can’t figure out who.”