10. Chapter 10

Chapter 10

Nikolai

After checking that Z’Ree is sitting down safely nearby, hopefully remembering the breathing exercises I just showed her, I search around for my datapad. The stupid pad must have slipped under one of the cargo containers when the ship shook. Now, I’m not a fucking space engineer, but even I know that spaceships shaking like this is not good news.

Did we hit something? Are we under attack? Did an important system fail like D’Aakh had worried about?

I’m hoping that communications are still operational because we’re stuck in this storage room. Both the door and the maintenance walkway hatch are locked up tight, probably as part of some safety procedure I know nothing about.

Under normal circumstances, I’d do a bit of panicking myself, but I’m holding it together for Z’Ree as we can’t both be losing it right now. She needs someone strong to lean on, so that’s who I’m going to be.

I fish out the datapad from beneath a container and activate Cai’s interface. “Cai? What’s going on?”

“Nikolai.” She sounds somewhat relieved, which is a feat since she’s nothing but a string of ones and zeroes, or whatever digits alien computers use. “I’m relieved to hear from you. Are you currently located in storage room 18-C?”

“Yes and all of the exits are locked. What happened? I felt a tremor.”

Cai shows me a schematic of the ship, a part of it flashing orange. “There was a dangerous loss of pressure in one of the lower levels of the ship. The automated security systems locked all doors and hatches in this area to prevent further compartments from being depressurized.”

“Oh.” Depressurized as in no air. That’s not scary at all. “Is everyone safe?” It would be fucking ironic if there were injured people needing my help while I was stuck in here.

“Yes. The rest of the crew is currently located on the upper levels, which haven’t been affected. You and an unidentified person are the only ones in this area.”

“Okay, that’s good. How long is this lockdown going to last?”

“I’ve identified the problematic pipeline and cut it off from the main grid. Once all areas of the ship are properly pressurized and the situation is stable, the security system will release the doors automatically. It should take no longer than fifteen minutes.”

Fifteen minutes is nothing for me but might feel like an eternity for poor Z’Ree, who completely lost her mind the second she realized she couldn’t run away. I don’t think she even consciously wanted to run away. It was just the thought of not being able to leave whenever she wanted to that sent her spiraling.

I had to grab her arms to prevent her from hurting herself. Everything in me wanted to pull her closer and hug the living daylights out of her, but I stopped myself. If she’s frightened of me being in the same room with her, I can’t imagine her reaction if I tried to hold her in my arms. She’d probably claw at me like she clawed the hatch. And judging by the damage she made to the paintwork, I’d end up sliced to pieces and bleeding to death.

“Understood,” I reply to Cai. “Let me know if anything changes.”

I’m tempted to set the datapad aside and comfort Z’Ree but I think she needs space right now. “The doors should unlock in fifteen minutes,” I tell her from a respectful distance in case she wasn’t listening as I talked to Cai.

She does seem a little out of it actually, sitting in the dark corner hugging her knees to her chest and rocking back and forth. It sounds like she’s humming to herself. Not a song or a tune that I know of, just a low, steady hum that, now that I’ve noticed it, permeates my body and resonates in my bones. It’s oddly comforting.

Stretching out my arms, I enjoy how relaxed my muscles suddenly feel and realize the strangest thing. My elbow, the one I’d hit while tripping over my own feet like an idiot, doesn’t hurt anymore. I roll up my sleeve and see the bruise forming around the joint all but proving I wasn’t imagining the impact of the fall. However, the pain has receded for now.

Glancing over at Z’Ree I wonder, is she doing this? Can she ease people’s pain with that low humming she’s doing? I can see how that would make her a valuable slave. Perhaps that’s the reason she’s hiding her true identity?

Whatever the case, I won’t pry. My idle curiosity isn’t really important right now. Her well-being is, and she’s stressed enough already.

Gathering the first-aid kit from the cabinet by the entrance, I return to Z’Ree, crouching down a few feet away from her. “Z’Ree?” I have to repeat her name two more times before she blinks and looks up at me. “Everything is alright. The doors will unlock soon and then you can leave if you want. In the meantime, will you let me look at your fingers, please? I will just clean and bandage them, nothing more.”

She nods slowly, keeping her head down as she extends her hand toward me. I take it, barely stopping the gasp from escaping when a jolt runs through me. It’s like an electrical current but, not really. More like a…thrumming? Drumming? I distinctly feel something thrumming deep inside of me, something that wasn’t there before. Or maybe it was there but it was asleep, waiting for this ethereal creature to touch me.

Z’Ree’s eyes widen as she stares at me in what looks like confusion, but she doesn’t tear her hand from mine. I shake off the odd feeling and focus on what I’m supposed to be doing.

Using one of the water bottles I’d brought earlier, I rinse away the worst of the dirt from her fingers then clean up the rest with antiseptic wipes from the kit. Z’Ree winces when I touch the spots where her nails are torn but doesn’t flinch away or move. I wonder if her lack of movement is because she’s afraid of upsetting me, rather than because she trusts me. Once again, it makes me want to hurt someone on her behalf.

Once her fingers are sparkling clean—and in the emergency lighting they look like they are literally sparkling—I apply the healing salve before wrapping bandages around the fingertips.

The bandages are a dull brown color, similar to what we would call standard plasters back on Earth. I make a mental note to see if, like on Earth, they have other types. If so, I’ll buy some with animals or smiley faces the next time we dock somewhere. Ellen would love them and I think they’d bring a smile to Z’Ree’s face, too.

“There,” I say as I finish, reluctantly letting go of her hand. While we were touching, the thrumming became a part of me, like a second heartbeat. When Z’Ree’s hands slip out of mine, the thrumming doesn’t disappear like I thought it would. Rather, it gains a slightly desperate edge to it instead. Immediately, I want to reach out and touch her again. It’s only the memory of her terrified face that stops me, reminding me that this is not about what I want so much as what she needs. And Z’Ree doesn’t need strangers groping at her.

Examining her bandaged fingers, Z’Ree’s lip disappears absentmindedly between her teeth as she clearly contemplates something. The sight of her cuteness goes straight to my cock with more force than ever. Fuck, I need to get a grip of myself. At least, until I can actually get a grip on myself. I barely manage to fight back the groan. Now I’m making stupid puns. Something’s really wrong with me.

Z’Ree glances at the datapad and I hand it over before she tries to pantomime her question. “Keep it,” I tell her. “I’ll get another one. I want you to be able to talk to me in whatever way is comfortable for you.”

She smiles timidly before typing something and showing me the screen. “Thank you,” the translated message says. “I’m sorry I freaked out before.”

“I completely understand. I would let you go if I could, but some stupid security protocol has been activated and is in control of all the doors right now. It should end soon. I apologize for grabbing you,” I repeat in case she was too shaken to notice my first apology. “I was merely trying to stop you from hurting yourself.”

Shaking her head, Z’Ree types something, pauses, then deletes it without showing me. I think I might have seen the symbols for “I didn’t mind” on the screen, but I’m not so proficient in reading Omnispeak to be certain. She sighs, writing just two symbols. “Thank you.” I recognize those even without translation.

“I guess I’m a little messed up,” she types, accompanying the words with a grimace. “I’m sorry.”

Shaking my head in disagreement I add, “Even if you were ‘messed up’, which you aren’t, it wouldn’t be your fault, so stop apologizing, please.”

I gently lower myself down next to her, resting my back against the cold metal container behind me. I’m sitting far enough from Z’Ree to not accidentally touch her but close enough to hear her breathing, not to mention, watch her eyelashes flutter every time she blinks and her throat work every time she swallows.

Chert voz’mi! (Dammit!) When did I become such a creepy stalker?!