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“Has anyone seen Yao since we took off?” Yue questioned, fingers drumming out a rhythm on the table in the galley.
Sicheng looked up, interested to see what the others would say. He hadn’t seen her since he had left her at her room to get settled in.
“I showed her to the lab just before take off,” Rui told the group.
“I don’t think she’s eaten.” Pang admitted. “I haven’t seen any sign of her coming to the galley at least.”
Ming dropped his spoon with a clatter and swore. “We’ve been in space for four cycles and you’re only now mentioning this?”
“I take her food.” Sicheng’s eyebrow wanted to rise as he turned to look at K who was still eating. “She needed help organizing.” He paused once more. “Not sure she’s left the lab.”
“Where is she sleeping?” Yue demand. “There isn’t a bed in the lab!”
He didn’t need to mention that there had been a bed, but their combined nightmares at finding themselves in it, strapped down and unable to move, had quickly assured that it was jettisoned as quickly as they possibly could. Sicheng’s refusal to allow another bed to be put in the lab was one of the reasons they hadn’t been able to keep a scientist on board for any length of time.
“I’ll get her,” Sicheng announced as he stood, the chair sliding backward as he rose and headed out of the galley, determined to find their wayward scientist. A displacement of air around him told him that some, if not all, of the crew was on his heels as they started toward the back of the ship and the lab it held.
“Don’t lie to me young lady!” the female voice cut through the quiet of the corridors as he neared the lab, shrill and hard on his ears. “You wouldn’t have the guts to sign up as a shipboard scientist. Tell me where you are right now or it will get much worse for you when I finally get my hands on you.”
A low, subsonic, growl emerged from his chest and was echoed by someone behind him.
“You know, one of these days your,” there was a pause and the door opened to reveal Yao sitting on the floor of the lab, a woman on the large screen in front of her, waving her hand in a circular motion. “That thing on your face that spews shit,” she finally decided as Sicheng stepped into the room, “is going to get you into trouble.” Then she froze, brows scrunching. “No, wait, shit comes out the other end, vomit comes out of the mouth.” Yao nodded. “The thing that spews vomit that is on your face is going to get you into trouble.” Another satisfied nod.
“How dare you!” the overly polished woman hissed, reminding Sicheng of an animal he had once encountered. He wasn’t sure what it was, just that it made that some sound and when it bit it released large quantities of venom.
“Creature that makes hissing sounds when angry and injects large amounts of venom.” K’s casual words drew the two women’s attention and Sicheng wanted to wince at the thought of drawing female attention, especially irritated female attention, to them.
Yao tilted her head to one side, eyes slightly dazed. “Legs or no legs?”
K, without needing to ask, to be told, settled himself next to Yao as if he had done it a million times before. “Are there animals without legs?”
Yao nodded. “Sure. They’re called suborder serpentes, or snakes, though not all of them have venom. Sometimes they wrap around their prey and crush them to death.”
K hummed. “These things had legs. Lots of little ones and scuttled around everywhere. Could hear them coming for miles.”
“Hummm…” a finger went up to tap at her chin. “Do you remember what they looked like, or what solar system you were in?”
“They were vibrant, lots of unnatural colors, like her,” he waved at the woman on the screen.
The woman drew in a sharp breath but Yao brightened. “Ivreks!” Then she giggled, a sound that quickly became a full blown laugh as the woman began screeching.
“Computer,” Sicheng didn’t raise his voice and the woman’s eyes snapped over to the rest of them, only now realizing they were there. “End call.” Just like that she vanished.
Yao was still laughing, she had fallen onto her back and was stomping her feet as she stopped making sound and started turning colors.
“Breath,” K half ordered, still not moving from his spot.
“I’m,-” she gasped. “Trying!” When she finally stopped laughing and had caught her breath she sighed. “I am so tired.” She giggled again. “She’s going to be so mad!”
“Are you going to be in trouble?” Sicheng asked crouching down to look at her.
Her grin was lopsided and silly looking as she patted his leg with an uncoordinated hand. “Don’t worry, I don’t have to deal with her in person for another ten to twenty years.”
Sicheng couldn’t stop his slight frown. “Why?”
“Because my grandfather said not to go back until he was dead, and I wouldn’t miss his funeral if I can help it.” Her eyes slid closed and her breathing took on a depth that only came from sleep.
With more gentleness than he had ever expected to be capable of, Sicheng picked her up and marveled at the fact that she hadn’t actually answered his question. He had wanted to know why she would need to interact with the woman in person, not the time span, though he found himself hoping that she would allow him to accompany her when the time came. A thought that was quickly followed by the hope that they would still be traveling together, that she would stick around for that long. As her door opened in front of him a third thought hit, this one sending dread racing down his spine.
How long did humans live?
Yao needed coffee.
She would take any sort of stimulate that she could right then, but what she wanted more than anything else, was blessed, sacred coffee. With a slight sway to her steps she followed her nose to the kitchen…no wait, it's called a mess hall on a ship. No…that wasn’t right either. Mess halls were what her parents ate in, it was called a…her mind drew a blank.
“Finally going to the galley for food?” If Yao had been more awake K’s sudden appearance beside her would have startled her, as it was it took several long heartbeats for her brain to process what he had said.
“Galley!” She half groaned the word. “It’s called a mess hall on ground and a galley on ship.” A tired half smile was aimed at K. “Thank you, I just kept drawing a blank.”
K eyed her. “Are you sure you don’t need more sleep?”
Yao yawned and shook her head. “If I sleep anymore I’m going to have problems waking up fully.”
“You’re awake now?” The incredulity in K’s voice had Yao shooting him a dry look.
“Of course not. I need caffeine.”
“You do realize that to, like, forty percent of the known species, caffeine is poisonous?” Yue asked as she and K entered the galley.
“Not to Drimos,” Yao stated. A fact.
“Meet many Drimos?” Mao questioned as he moved to grab an extra plate for Yao, already having one in his hand.
Yao yawned and sat down as she counted in her head. “Ten. I’ve met ten Drimos and most of them are addicted to coffee. Speaking of which…” She trailed off as Sicheng placed a cup of coffee in front of her and Pang placed creamer and sugar in reach. “Bless you both!” Yao was quick to doctor her cup the way she liked it, four creams and lots of sugar.
“How did you meet the others?” When Yao merely stared blankly at Rui he added, “The other Drimos. How did you meet them?”
Yao drank half her coffee then set the mug down with a solid thunk. “Ok. So, you’ll need a little back story to understand.” Everyone settled in, getting comfortable and if Yao hadn’t been used to addressing so many powerful warriors at once, this would have been intimidating, as it was she just finished her cup and poured another. “I didn’t grow up on Earth. In fact, I didn’t grow up on a human-dominated planet, but when I was offered a chance at my dream school that was on Earth I took it. While I was there there was an…incident. The elders of my mother’s family were enraged and decided I needed protection.”
“They hired a Drimos team.” A statement, like Sicheng already knew the answer.
Yao nodded. “A team called CK. We got along well enough and they helped keep me safe, so when my best friend, Chen Jinyang, decided she wanted to become a traveling merchant, on her own ship, her father decided she needed protection. Jinyang, being the headstrong woman she is, informed him that they would have to be able to pull their own weight, which ruled out half the teams her father had picked out. Then while we were on our way to Uruta for training, we discovered the ship was carrying illegal cargo.”
“Slaves,” Mao growled the word, low, dangerous, and his spoon bent in his grasp.
“When we found out I sent a coded message to CK telling them there was trouble and that we needed military aid. Unfortunately for us, the slavers figured out we knew and we ended up on a slave world. They fitted us with collars that could knock us unconscious and stuck us in with the rest of slaves in a really big open area. Good news was they had captured a team of Drimos shortly before us and they kept us safe for the two cycles it took our families to track us down. When Ai Jia and the others said they had nowhere else to go, Uncle Zheng, Jinyang’s dad, made them an offer.”
“So, that’s how YQCB ended up going to an academy!” Yue exclaimed fist hitting an open palm.
“You know them?” Yao asked, leaning forward slightly.
“We share a training area on Kotar,” Sicheng enlightened Yao. “Our home bases are close because of that and we often challenge each other when we’re both planet side.”
Yao felt her eyes prickle. “I get to be neighbors with Jinyang and the others?”
Looks were exchanged but Yao didn’t take her eyes from Sicheng who merely nodded.
“Can I make a com call? Are we somewhere I can do that?” She blurted the questions out one after the other as she rushed to rise.
“Not till after you’ve eaten.” Sicheng’s words had her freezing, half out of her seat. “You slept for nearly eighteen hours, you need food. Sit down and eat, you can com your heart sister after you’re done.”
Yao reluctantly lowered herself back down and sighed at her plate. Then her head tilted as she studied it. Some of the things on it she recognized, some of it she thought she might, and others were brand new to her. “What is it?”
“Food,” Yue’s voice was gruff, “eat it.”
She looked up at him. “I know it’s food, and if it tastes even half as good as it smells, it’s amazing food. I’ve just never seen some of these things before. Like what is this gray stuff? I’ve never seen anything like it before.”
Pang puffed up. “My secret recipe. Go ahead, try it.”
Eager Yao obeyed.
It was devine!
Then her throat began to itch.
Horror filled her and she desperately reached for her ever present bag, dumping its contents onto the table. Yue, having figured out what was going on as she started to wheeze, found her emergency meds first and thrust them at K, who was closest.
“Stab her with it in her thigh as hard as you can.”
K didn’t hesitate.
Yao’s breathing eased, her throat no longer so tight as Yue rounded the table and started to scan her.
“Med bay,” Yue declared. “We need to get you on some meds and get you some oxygen.”
Sicheng scooped her up in his arms and started down the hall. Exhausted from the sudden attack Yao leaned against him with a sigh.
“I’m so sorry!” Pang blathered behind them. “I had no idea you were allergic to anything!”
Yao gave a soft laugh. “Neither did I.” Her voice was raspy.
“You carry allergy pens.” K had taken up a position to one side of them as Yue led the way.
“My aunt has a horror story of someone trying something new and having a severe reaction to it, she insists that the whole family carry some for a just in case situation.” Yao explained as the doors opened to the infirmary. She couldn’t stop the instinctual tensing as they walked in.
“On the bed,” Yue directed, already heading for the controls.
When nothing happened, Yao realized that Sicheng was staring down at her. She offered him a shaky smile and nodded.
“I’ve already imputed your’s and Da Bing’s data into the system. The bed is activating now and I’m ordering a full body scan.” Yue turned to talk to her and saw the rest of them crowded in. He scowled. “What are you all doing in here? This is a med bay, not free entertainment! Ming!” He yelled the name and Ming appeared from a back room. “Get them out of here!” He waved to the others. “Let me work in peace.”
“You heard him,” Ming started toward the group of lingering males. “Everyone out.”
Sicheng didn’t move, still looking at Yao.
“Could you wait outside?” Yao whispered the question, praying it was soft enough that only Sicheng would hear. “Please?”
Sicheng nodded and left, his very presence silencing everyone else and forcing them out of the room.
“Well,” Yue drew the word out, “I can see why you don’t like medical and doctors in general.” He turned the screen and tapped at a spot. “I take it this wasn’t consensual?”
Yao made a so-so gesture. “Turns out when a pregnant human spends a lot of time on a world where the intelligent species isn’t humanoid it can lead to some changes in the child’s DNA. What you’re looking at? No, that was not consensual.”
Yue cursed under his breath even as he untangled a long hose. When he was done he turned back to Yao, an oxygen mask in one hand. “We can do this one of two ways, I can put up the force field and saturate the area you’re in with oxygen-”
He cut off as Yao reached for the mask. In a few moments he had her hooked up and was messing with an injector.
“Are you the one who told YQCB that our patterns are meant to keep us hidden?”
The abrupt question pulled Yao from her spiraling thoughts. “They are.”
Yue shot her a disbelieving look.
“They are!” Yao insisted. When he didn’t look convinced she continued. “I know you guys were told it was because they wanted a way to clearly identify who was a Drimos and who wasn’t, but I think it was an accident.”
Yue hummed. “Convince me.”
She heard the challenge in his voice and decided to do just that.
“Cheng.” The urgency in Ming’s voice had Sicheng looking up. “You have a call from SSS.”
Sicheng frowned, considering as he looked at the closed med bay door. When he looked back at Ming he saw him offering him a pad. “Just because we didn’t say anything, doesn’t mean we didn’t hear her.”
Sicheng nodded and took the pad and answered the call.
“Sicheng, how’s it going with the new scientist?” Commander Vax, a typical Skril with red skin, black horns that curled around his head, and eyes that were black around the green irises. “I’ve already gotten the report she submitted.” He glanced down. “I admit I don’t understand half of what she’s saying, just that it all sounds bad, and I’ve been assured it’s worse than it sounds.”
Report? What report? She had sent the male in charge of managing their contract a report?
“Ah! Never mind,” Vax cut Sicheng’s thoughts off and he gave Sicheng an embarrassed look. “It,” he cleared his throat. “What I mean is-” he groaned and rubbed his forehead with one hand. “I just majorly screwed up.” He dropped his hand and looked at Sicheng. “There are scientists who visit labs within their designated territory both shipboard and planet based, with the purpose of doing anonymous safety checks. This report,” he tapped his pad, “is one of those. If you had been anyone else I would have just blown her cover and it would have forced her to change territories. As you are the captain of her ship it just means I didn’t give her a chance to properly debrief you. She didn’t send this report to you because it isn’t meant for you. Honestly the only reason I got a copy is because the scientists in question have contracts with the SSS and I’m the local commander.”
Sicheng found himself relaxing.
Vax cleared his throat. “I was serious, though, about asking how things were going with your new scientist.”
“She stayed up for four days, slept for eighteen hours, and had a severe allergic reaction to the first thing she ate when she got up.”
Vax stared.
Sicheng stared back.
Vax groaned. “Please don’t kill her. You just got her.”
“She had an allergen pen with her.”
“She has known allergies and none of you checked to see if she could eat it?”
“Until,” he checked the time, “twenty minutes ago, she had no known allergies.”
Vax frowned. “She had a pen.”
“On advice from her aunt in case she or someone else ate something they reacted to.”
“Sounds like my sister-in-law,” Vax muttered. Before their conversation could continue someone called for Vax. “I have to go.” Vax told Sicheng. “You’ll be getting an order soon to head toward your nearest port for a full work up. I’d suggest heading directly there,” Vax advised, “because every ship contracted with the SSS is getting the same order.”
Sicheng nodded and the call ended a few moments later.
He allowed the pad to hang by the tips of his fingers as he leaned his head back against the wall and closed his eyes, content to listen to Yue and Yao’s muffled voices through the doors. It was amazing, he mused, that someone intelligent and gifted enough to be given a position that allowed them to send reports directly to the Commander of the SSS, would be so scared of a med bay.
There was no doubt in Sicheng’s mind that Yao had experienced a trauma of sorts that involved a medic, but the fact that she hadn’t allowed it to stop her, to keep her from something she obviously loved, only went to prove how amazing she was. One day, he decided right then, he would ask for her permission to prove it to her, and maybe, in the process, he would even be able to win her hand. He smirked remembering Mao’s comment when they first learned of her. It seemed Yao wasn’t doing the spouse hunting. How often, he wondered, did the human females end up being the ones courted instead of courting others? For a moment he tossed the idea around in his head, then he decided that it didn’t matter.
The only thing that mattered, was how he was going to do this, and where he should start. When he remembered that Yao knew YQCB, he brought the pad back up and began to compose a message. If anyone would know how to court a human female it would be Ai Jai, who was already engaged to one.
K focused on moving slowly, smoothly, as he did his forms, his twin swords an extension of himself, and allowed his mind to go back over everything they had learned about Yao as something nagged at his brain.
Ten.
Yao had said she knew ten Drimos.
CK was a team of five, but YQCB was only a team of four.
As he finished his stance returning to the beginning, K found himself with a nagging suspicion that whoever this tenth male was, it would change everything.