Page 23 of Truthful Deceptions

“We've been hoping to find a human for several solars,” Lexarit answered. “Almost as soon as the first group was brought back to Talarian. Your species is so charming and adorable. We decided we'd find a human of our own.”

Right, the pet thing. I bit my lip to keep from saying something nasty.

“Is there anything else you need?” Tolly asked.

“No,” I said. “But I'd like to walk around a little.”

They both made the stockinged-feet-running rumble of agreement sound.

“Moderate movement is probably good for you,” Lexarit said.

“Let me show you our ship,” Tolly said. “It’s important that you know where all the dangerous areas are.”

I kept my mouth shut because I was getting what I wanted. But I was tired of them acting like I was an idiot who’d walk in a fuel rod boiler or out an airlock vent.

“Can I accompany you?” Lexarit asked.

I was a little surprised to realize he was asking me and not Tolly. “If you want to.”

He made a rattling sound that sounded like windchimes. “Thank you.”

“What was that sound?” I asked.

“It shows eagerness or excitement,” Lexarit said as we slowly walked down the hall. I had a basic idea of the ship’s layout and knew we were heading aft.

“Our ship has three bays,” Tolly said. He was in charge of bay integrity and payload safety so it made sense he’d want to show me that first. “We had them all retrofitted with double-paneled sheeting.”

I listened with half an ear as he spoke. I was familiar with all the things that needed to be done to house fuel rounds or fuel rods. The first station I worked at had an accident and lost half the station and many souls. It was horrible. After that I’d refused to take a job on any station, ship, or outpost that didn't have a history of fuel safety.

I'd become a bit of a fuel round and rod expert. I already knew the ship was safe; I'd made sure before even stepping aboard. Well, safe from exploding.

We finished touring the bays and continued on to the ship's engines and enviro-control rooms, but we skipped the storage rooms, which almost made me laugh. They probably didn’t want to remind me of the hours I’d spent hiding in one of them.

I saw their modest but nice galley, everyone's room, and the tiny, crowded cabin Tolly was supposed to be staying in—when he wasn't sleeping in the hall.

Eventually we made it up into the control room. Narmuna and Mieshorum were already there. They both turned and purred when they saw me.

“How are you, Opal?” Narmuna asked.

“Your color looks better,” Mieshorum said.

“I'm fine,” I answered.

“You're so brave,” Narmuna said, as if I was suffering from a life-ending disease.

I didn't know how to respond to that, so I pointed at Mieshorum’s workstation display. “Is that shipping-lane data?”

Mieshorum sounded a surprised rattle. “Yes, it is. Aren't you clever for recognizing it.”

I stepped closer, confused by several of the symbols. Admittedly, I wasn't that familiar with the subject. Maybe I could learn a few things while I was waiting for the opportunity to get back home.

“What's the yellow splat mean?” I asked, pointing to one of them and not touching the display.

Out of the corner of my eye I saw Lexarit pull Tolly away. I didn’t pay too much attention to them because Mieshorum was explaining the complex data that went into the yellow splat symbols. I followed him for about one sentence, and after that I was lost.

When I saw a familiar menu, I pointed at it. “Could we look at those?”

Mieshorum sounded an amused rumble. “The ship's diagnostic schematics?”