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“Sure!” Hazel walked over to a shelf and picked one up. “Kirel’s programmed all the comps—that’s what they call them—with English.”
When she turned it on, and the screen filled with the same incomprehensible symbols I’d seen in the senator’s house. Then she pointed out an icon at the top right. “Tap this on any of the Zaarn computers, and it’ll switch the displays to English.”
I did so, and the screen looked like the one I’d gotten used to using Raxnor’s. “Thanks! What about other computers, like at the lizard facility?”
Hazel shook her head, her wavy blonde hair swinging. “Nope. The Zaarn here on theDaredevilare the only ones who have English.”
“You can’t eventalkto other aliens,” Mollie said. “Their translator chips don’t have English. You’ll be able to understand them, though.”
“Not to mention that most of them will freak out as soon as they see us,” Hazel said. “Most don’t even know humans exist.”
“I…” I trailed off, all of it hitting me again. The way the lizards had looked right through me as if I were a thing, the way they’d locked me in that cell. Facing them again…
The other women’s faces went blurry as tears welled. A little hiccupping laugh escaped me as I fluttered my hand. “Sorry, sorry. I cry way too easily.”
Then two sets of arms were around me, and I sobbed in earnest.
“Don’t you apologize about a thing,” Mollie said.
“I can’t even imagine going through all of that alone,” Hazel said. “We had each other and Cara.”
Mollie’s arms tightened around me. “But you’re not alone anymore.”
I took a few stuttering breaths, then nodded as my tears eased. “You’re right. I’m not.”
I hadn’t been alone since the moment Raxnor found me.
And with him, I’d never be alone again.
By the time we finished, I had a couple of sets of clothes, including underwear and boots. Mollie offered to take my new spacesuit to the shuttle bay’s locker room, and Hazel helped me carry the rest to my new room in crew quarters, one deck down from the bridge.
The small room felt spacious after being cooped up in a shuttle with two other people for days. It had the same light-blue walls as other areas on the ship, a bed, and an attached bathroom.
She left me alone in my new cabin, promising someone would come and get me in an hour for dinner. I took a shower and changed into my new clothes, enjoying the feel of the silk panties and bra. The heavy work pants and boots were a lot more protective than the thin, stretchy material the lizards had given me. And I’d chosen red for one of my long-sleeved T-shirts, since it always looked good against my tan skin and picked up the warmer highlights of my dark-brown hair.
I felt like myself for the first time in a while. Along with the clothes, the cry had done me good, let me get some of the stress of the situation out of my system.
My door chimed, and when I opened it, a streak of black rushed in to circle my legs.
“Look at me!”Lila’s voice rang through my mind.“Me clever! Me disguised!”
I crouched down. “Hold still so I can look at you.”
Lila slid to a stop in front of me, prancing from foot to foot, her tail waving high in the air. All of her fur was black, and the only thing that remained brightly colored was her purple eyes.
“You look great! But why?” Black was harder to see, sure, but it wouldn’t make much difference on a well-lit space station. An animal would still stand out.
“Kirel discovered one of the mining facility’s top executives owns a black kreecat. We thought Lila might be mistaken for it.”
“Ohhh, that makes sense.” I brushed my fingers through her fur, which felt as soft as ever. “How did you do this?”
“Raxnor did.”
“I used the makeup paint,” Raxnor said from where he stood in the doorway. “It’s nontoxic, though she’ll need a bath once we’ve completed the mission.”
Lila yowled.“Me no like baths.”
“We’ll worry about that later.” I gave her chin a scratch, and she purred.
