Alien Freak - Calista Skye Page 0,64
where we came from.”
I squeeze his hand again. “It’s okay with me. I like to take a walk sometimes.”
“Huh,” he ponders. “I didn’t think I did. But I have enjoyed this little stroll. As they say, in the right company, even spaying a snukt is a pleasure.”
“Uh-huh. What does that mean?”
“I’m not actually sure. It’s just something you say. Ah, here we are.” He turns right and passes through into a large space that looks like a car workshop, with tools hung on the wall, mysterious modules on wheels standing around, and machinery along the edges. In the middle is a cool little fighter jet-like spaceship.
Several insect-like aliens with wings look up when we enter, and one of them reluctantly comes up to us, its four lower legs tapping hard on the metal floor. “Yes?” The sound is like that of a mosquito buzzing in my ear, except deeper.
“I seek Engineer Bathosc,” Zaroc says slowly. “Is this her workshop?”
The huge mosquito turns and buzzes so loudly it echoes from the walls, then returns to its work.
A woman comes out from behind the ship and walks up to us, rubbing her hands on a rag.
“I’m Bathosc,” she says and looks me up and down. “Can I help you, gentlefolk?”
She’s very humanoid, but now that I see her up close, she’s clearly not from Earth. She’s too spindly, and her black skin has a chitinous sheen to it, not unlike the mosquitoes working on the ship. And I’m not sure if those eyes are supposed to be mirrored or if she’s wearing some kind of goggles.
“We have a ship,” Zaroc explains and waves in the general direction of the main docking bay. “It needs some offensive upgrades.”
Bathosc tosses the dirty rag across one shoulder. “What kind of ship?”
“It’s a Soenkayr Fifty. Old, but recently restored to good shape.”
The engineer thinks about it, three-fingered hands on hips. “Not really a warship, that. It only has a single hardpoint, and it’s not set up for heavy weaponry. A single gigawatt beam laser is the only thing I can put on it and not feel like I’m building a death trap for you.”
“All right,” Zaroc says. “That’s actually better than I was expecting. There is a complication.”
“There is?”
“We have no money.”
Bathosc tilts her head. “That’s more than a complication, I would say. It’s more of a serious problem. Lasers aren’t free, and neither is my work.”
“Which is why I would suggest a trade with no money involved.”
The engineer looks at me with greater interest. “Ah. Well, she’s extremely attractive. Worth more than a laser, for sure. I’d owe you thousands. What species is she?”
“Averie is not part of the trade,” Zaroc says, and I kind of like the dangerous edge to his voice. “We have something else to trade.”
“You sure?” Bathosc says. “For that female right there, I’d trade you an actual warship. Six lasers, centrally mounted antimatter gun, chainguns all over the place—”
“No,” Zaroc says with force, his face twitching so I think his fangs might be showing up. “And let’s not mention that again. Do you have a place that’s more private than this?”
Bathosc reluctantly pulls her gaze away from me. “Sure. Right over here.”
She walks us over to a smaller room with a weirdly shaped chair that she sits down in. “What you got?”
Zaroc takes something out of his pocket and holds it out between two fingers.
Bathosc gasps. “Is that…?”
“Genuine Elder tech,” Zaroc says. “From the inner shell of the moon Verv.”
The engineer reverently takes the flat little oval that looks most of all like a little rock and places it in the palm of her hand. “What does it do?”
“I don’t know. It does still work, of course – you will notice the pulsations.”
Bathosc stares at the mysterious object. “You know that this is probably worth maybe half as much as your female? Just like this, doing nothing. Twenty times her value if it does something useful. A hundred times if it’s an Elder weapon.”
“Then I will expect you to do impeccable work on my ship. As well as quick. Do you think it would be possible to fit a missile pod on it? My old one is empty.”
The engineer carefully closes her fist around the artefact. “For this thing, I’ll fit three. And a really hot ECM suite. We’ll start right now.”
“Very well. We’ll need accommodation in the meantime. Do you have any recommendations?”
25
- Averie -
The room is nowhere near as big or as luxurious as the Elder suite on