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He nods, tipping back his bowl and downing the rest of his food in a few quick gulps. I notice that he’s thick and muscular, probably the most solid of the three brothers, but my Nassakth could still take him in a fight. Easily. “Yup. You run into a fair amount of humans in our line of work. Your guy’s our first praxiian, though. Is it true he was a gladiator?”
“I can’t say.” It’s not a lie. I really don’t know what I can say. Do they know the truth about Nassakth? Did Bethiah tell them? Did my mate? Or do they just think he happens to have the same name as a famous praxiian gladiator? Is the name “Nassakth” as common out in the galaxy as “John” is back home? I stir my noodles some more. “So are praxiians rare?”
“I don’t know that they’re rare, just that they tend to keep to themselves. Praxiians hire praxiian pirates and all that. They don’t trust a lot of outsiders.” Adiron leans in, grinning. “We mesakkah, we’re loose, easy sorts. We take anyone, long as the credits are right.”
He’s funny, this one. I chuckle, taking another bite.
“I should also give you the standard speech we give all humans we run across,” Adiron says, still smiling. “If you need to get away from your partner for any reason, just say the word ‘hamburger.’ That’s a word my sister taught us. Say that and you’ll never see him again. We’ll get you deposited in a human shelter on a nice, safe planet, I promise.” His smile grows somewhat harder. “Things aren’t easy for your kind out here, so we help where we can.”
“I appreciate the gesture,” I tell him sincerely. “But I love Nassakth. We’re married, not just mated. And actually, this trip is to meet his family, oddly enough.” I push my noodle bowl away, my stomach tensing a little at the thought of meeting in-laws. Praxiian in-laws. “It’s going to be…interesting.”
“Oh boy. I bet.” Adiron leans back and cracks his big knuckles. “I’d love to be a zhar on the wall for that.”
“Mmm.” I cross my arms and study my new friend. “I don’t suppose you have any tips you’d love to pass along about praxiians? You seem to be more familiar with their people than I am.”
He shrugs. “I’m sure there’s some vids about their culture you can watch if you want. Passengers have access to the vid library.”
I’ve seen most of the stuff about praxiians in vids. It’s all very chirpy and high level and useless, with facts like “Did you know that a praxiian has a prehensile tail?” Yes, no shit, useless computer.
“As for what I know?” He pauses, thinking, and then gives me a shrewd look. “What I know doesn’t make it into a vid.”
“That’s the stuff I need to know,” I point out, leaning in eagerly. “I need to know the real stuff. Are they dangerous? Trustworthy?”
“You can ask your mate.”
“I don’t want him to know I’m nervous about meeting his family.”
Adiron nods. “Don’t blame ya. Praxiians have some odd customs. Like I said, I don’t know much.” He rubs his jaw. “But I do know they don’t like humans. At all. They liken them to pests infesting the galaxy.”
Figures. His parents are going to think of me as one big cockroach. “Somehow that doesn’t surprise me. Do you know anything else?”
“Like what?”
“Like what it means to make someone purr?”
He just grins. “Wish I did.”
Damn. Me too. Surely someone will know.
63
KIM
Despite most of the trip being fairly uneventful, I can’t stop thinking about my conversation with Adiron. I know he didn’t mean anything by it. He was just trying to be helpful…but knowing that my mate’s parents are going to loathe me sight unseen is kind of stressing me out. I tell myself I shouldn’t care because they abandoned Nassakth to “honorable slavery” (which is an oxymoron if there ever was one), but it’s clear he wants their approval in some way.
And I guess part of me worries that if they disapprove of me, it’s going to poison what we have.
So I chat with the brothers that run the ship, I chat with Bethiah, and I spend a lot of time with Nassakth, just cuddling and talking of the future. It should be a good, uneventful trip, but at the same time, it feels like an axe is hanging over our heads.
I’m waiting for the other shoe to drop. It always does.
After about a week—it’s hard to keep track of days in space—we orbit the station, waiting for permission to dock. The Little Sister is going to remain on station, waiting to take us back, for however long—or short—our visit with Nassakth’s parents will be. The meeting is all set up—we are scheduled to arrive at the cantina and Bethiah has greased enough palms that we’ve got a private room set up. We’ll have time to sit and talk in private, and…hopefully that’s all it is. Sitting and talking. Bethiah will be there to play bodyguard, and for the last few days, I’ve seen her shining her weapons with a rather avid look in her eyes.
