“The Ithyians stole it.” His tail flicked with something that looked like satisfaction. “Now I’ve stolen it from them. Circle of life.”
She opened her mouth to point out the logical flaws in that particular philosophy, then decided she didn’t have the energy. The baby was making more insistent sounds now, her small fists waving in the air, and she unstrapped her, cradling her against her chest. Her silver skin reflected the cockpit lights and her big, dark eyes fixed on Emma’s face with an intensity that felt almost ancient.
What are you?she wondered.What kind of life were you born into?
The baby’s face scrunched, and she recognized the expression from years of working with children. Discomfort, probably hunger.
“Hang on, little one. Let me see what I can find.”
The rear compartment was surprisingly spacious for a vessel this small. Rich blue fabric lined the walls, and covered a plush bench seat. The small wooden table and storage cabinets with polished metal handles were beautifully crafted. Whoever had owned this flyer before its life of crime had been someone important.
She searched through the cabinets and found a section of robes in jewel tones, impractical but beautiful. She also found ration packs, basic medical equipment, and water containers, but very little in the way of food.
The baby was crying in earnest now, tiny wails that echoed through the cabin, and in desperation Emma grabbed a box of what appeared to be some kind of protein powder. She tested it against her tongue and found it bland and slightly sweet. When she dipped her finger in it and held it against the baby’s mouth, the infant sucked eagerly.
“I guess this will have to do.”
Since there wasn’t anything resembling a bottle, she continued dipping her finger in the powder and bringing it to the baby’s lips. Silence fell, broken only by the soft sounds of feeding and the hum of the engines. She sank onto the bench seat, her legs suddenly unwilling to support her weight, and watched the baby eat.
I’m in space. I was kidnapped by aliens, escaped during an attack by different aliens, and now I’m feeding an alien baby in a stolen spaceship.
Her quiet life had certainly taken a turn.
“You’re good with her.”
Her head snapped up. The male stood in the doorway to the rear compartment, leaning against the frame with his arms crossed over his bare chest. The bandage on his shoulder was already showing a spot of red seeping through.
“You should be flying the ship.”
“Autopilot.” He tilted his head, studying her with those striking blue eyes. In the soft lighting of the cabin, his features looked almost human—if you ignored the fur, the pointed ears, and the feline cast to his bone structure. “You’ve cared for children before. Your children?”
There was something on his face she couldn’t quite read as she shook her head.
“No. I’m an elementary school teacher.” The words felt strange in her mouth, like they belonged to a different person. A person who worried about lesson plans and parent-teacher conferences,not alien warriors and mysterious babies. “And I did a lot of babysitting growing up.”
“Useful skills.”
“I somehow doubt my ability to manage a classroom of seven-year-olds is going to be relevant out here.”
His mouth curved into something that wasn’t quite a smile. “You might be surprised. Children are children, regardless of species. Demanding, irrational, prone to tantrums.” His tail swished. “Much like most adults I’ve encountered.”
She found herself almost smiling back. It felt wrong somehow, smiling at the alien who’d dragged her through a firefight, but her body seemed to have different ideas about appropriate emotional responses.
“Who are you?” she asked.
“Doren va Karr.” He sketched an elaborate bow that would have looked ridiculous if he hadn’t performed it with such obvious irony. “Captain of theVagabond, treasure hunter, occasional smuggler, and apparently now nursemaid to the galaxy’s most wanted infant.”
“Most wanted?”
“I exaggerate.” He straightened, moving into the compartment with the fluid grace she was starting to associate with him. “But not by much. The Grorn have been searching for her, or rather what she is, for a very long time.”
“And what is she?”
He was quiet for a moment, his gaze dropping to the baby in her arms.
“That,” he said, “is a very long story.”
“I have time.”
