Page 53 of Bikar

“Ohhhhhh, she used your full name. You best be answering her,” Ruby chortles.

“Is that a theroquine?” Gwen’s soft-spoken question causes everyone to fall quiet.

Bikar hasn’t stopped walking towards me as we’ve been peppering him with questions. Kneeling in front of me, he showsme the little critter in his arms. “I… found him today. He is in need of a home and a person to love him. Would it be alright if we keep him?”

Ruby leans over and stage whispers. “Aren’t those things incredibly rare? Like only found on one planet, period. The same planet that’s full of hostile reptilian males who kill everyone that tries to land on their rock?”

It’s easy to ignore Ruby because two little blue eyes with vertical pupils are staring up at me, full of curiosity. Hesitantly extending a hand towards him, I wait to see if he wants anything to do with me. Tiny nostrils flare as he sniffs, taking in my scent. Letting out a chirrup, he nuzzles my hand and closes his eyes when I start scratching him under the chin. His coloring is vastly different than Neera, Gwen’s pet.

Where Neera is cream and spotted, this one is dark red with a slick-haired body. His mane and tail are pitch black, but his little face has a white streak down its length. Their bipedal feet are similar, though—both have silky hair hiding their three sharp toes, but this little guy’s extremities end in white points.

I’ve always wanted a pet.

Carefully scooping the little creature out of Bikar’s arms, I settle him into my lap. My heart melts when he coos and snuggles into my middle before falling asleep.

Heather comes around the table and crouches next to me to get a better look, pats him once on the head, and goes back to her chair, muttering. “That thing is fucking creepy.”

“Congratulations! You have a new pet. It’s not exactly the cat distribution system because it’s not remotely close to a cat. Those things look like a fucked-up love child between a mini-velociraptor and a pony, but you get the gist.”

Ruby’s quip makes everyone laugh, but Slavic sobers quickly. “Bikar, my Ruby is correct. Theroquine are incredibly rare. How did you come to find one?”

Pulling out the chair next to me, Bikar practically falls into it before bracing his elbows on the table, face in his hands.

“That doesn’t bode well.” Flicking my eyes over at Rowan at her discreet comment, I can’t help but agree.

Lifting his head, Bikar looks around the table before he drops a hell of an information bomb on us.

“Bhastas and Vornek finally decided we are all trustworthy today, and as a result I was shown to a hidden laboratory under the Aynar palace.”

Rumbles of displeasure sound from around the dinner table. None of the Ruks here have pleasant memories of that place. Bikar continues and talks over the noise. “Specifically, the cryo-units within the facility.”

Pausing, he pinches the bridge of his nose like he does when he’s got a tension headache. Reaching over, I rub his back, trying to offer him some comfort. Whatever he’s got left to tell us is troubling him deeply.

“It’s full of human females and various other rare species.” Gesturing to the theroquine in my arms, he holds his hands out, palms up in a supplicating gesture, as voices begin to swell again. “Let me finish before you all lose your shet.”

When no one tries to interrupt, he nods and finishes, “Vornek and his people have been trying to break the inscription on the cryo-pods since we escaped. From what he’s been able to determine, I am the only being in the Void capable of freeing the human females. We tested it on something small earlier, and that is why I have a theroquine. If Vornek is correct, I was supposed to be something of a universal key for their top-secret projects, because their enemies would have never expected a being as primitive as a Ruk to hold all the Aynar’s data. Only, they miscalculated, and I was not as subservient as they thought.”

No one speaks. Not even Ruby, and she always has something to add to a conversation.

I know it weighs heavily on Bikar that he is so different from his brothers, and this new revelation has done nothing but make that feeling worse.

Because now his brothers know he was augmented to be a tool… not a person.

CHAPTER 47

BAMBI

“You need a name, itty bitty.” Fluffing a pillow so he has a comfy place to sleep, I get my little critter settled in for the night. He’s tucked into a little alcove just beside our bedroom door, but he’ll sleep with us sometimes too… just not tonight, because I have plans that don’t involve little eyes observing. Watching him make biscuits on his fluffy bed makes me smile.

At least I know how big he’s going to get. Neera’s fully grown and the top of her head goes up to Gwen’s hip. If I had to guess, I’d say she weighs a lot more than she looks, but she’s not so big that she must be an outside pet. Gwen, bless her, gave me a stack of absorbent linens she uses as alien puppy pads. She said they’re a lifesaver when you have a pet on a spaceship, or when you’re potty training one.

Thankfully, all our private rooms have doors that lead outside to individual patios abutting the forest. It means I don’t have to make the trek through the house and out the front door to take my new baby outside to potty. Contemplating the little creature, I wrack my brain for a good name. He’s red with black, and reminds me of the Red Island rooster I had growing up.

Snapping my fingers, he jumps at the sound and chirps at me. “I’m going to call you Rooster. What do you think?”

Scratching under his jaw makes him purr, and I take that as agreement to his new name.

“Alright, you’ve had supper, a drink, went potty, and I’ve tucked you in. You’ve also got some chewies here since you’re still growing and teething. Gwen says your species is extremely intelligent and learns faster than most sentient beings. That means you need to stay right here, and if you need to potty during the night, you use this here.”