of jocks and gym rats, perhaps, but anywhere that discussions of technology could be appreciated, he fit right in.
But was this more than that? Maybe it was her imagination, but it seemed like quite a few people were glancing in Casmir’s direction. What if Nguyen’s rumors had spread wide and many of the sultan’s guests were wondering if he was indeed Mikita’s clone? She would have to warn him about that later. If she did it now, he might hyperventilate and have a seizure. That might happen anyway, but she knew he would prefer it didn’t occur in a large public setting.
You seem to be doing fine, she messaged him. I’m going to visit Scholar Sunflyer and try to secure permission to check her father’s lab.
Good idea, Casmir replied promptly, even though he was in the middle of talking. You caught me by surprise earlier, but I think Shayban is going to let me in to look at the slydar detector. That was a good idea, too, though, uhm, a little disingenuous.
Everything the Kingdom does these days is disingenuous. Kim would be happy to be disingenuous for Casmir, so he didn’t have to be.
That’s a sad truth I’m learning.
Let me know if you need help with the slydar detector. Or if you come across any fresh intelligence on Dubashi’s location or the rockets while you’re snooping in Shayban’s control room.
Snooping? What makes you think there would be snooping?
You’re probably snooping all over the station’s networks right now, while sending me messages and speaking to all those people.
Really, Kim. That’s not snooping. That sounds so nefarious. I’m merely gathering data, like the bots that roam the systems-wide networks to make searches more effective for users.
Just let me know what you find on the rockets.
Will do. I’m going to send Reuben with you.
One of the crushers left his gathering and jogged toward Kim and her mother.
I don’t think that’s necessary. I can take care of myself, you know.
Now you can take care of yourself twice as well. Casmir beamed a smile over at her. Also, with this many people on the station, I don’t think we should assume that everybody will have friendly feelings toward us. I assume that Dubashi still has a bounty on my head—though I hope people now believe he can’t pay it—and he may also be irked at you for nullifying several of his rockets.
Good point.
“Kim.” Her mother tugged at her sleeve. “Should we be alarmed that one of those hulking crushers is running at us?”
“No. That’s Reuben. Our bodyguard.”
The crusher fell in behind them as they headed out of the facility.
“Does he make Rueben sandwiches?” her mother asked.
“I haven’t noticed any of the crushers carrying out domestic duties.”
“That’s disappointing.”
“You don’t eat sandwiches anymore.”
“True, but I’m disappointed on behalf of all crusher-owning sandwich eaters.”
Kim looked down at her. “Do you think you’re weirder since you transferred into the droid body?”
“Why do you ask?”
“No reason.”
15
Qin woke to a startled curse in the corridor outside of her cabin—it almost sounded like a male scream. Surprisingly, her door was open. She sprang out of bed and almost rushed out to check on the noise—she could smell people out there… Asger and Bjarke. Then she realized she was naked and blushed when she remembered why.
“What are you doing?” Asger blurted. Why had he gone out there?
Qin grabbed her clothes—they were heaped on the deck beside the bunk with Asger’s. Her strong, athletic, and talented Asger. She grinned wickedly in remembrance.
“Just loitering in the corridor,” came Bjarke’s response. “Wearing clothes.”
“Those aren’t clothes. Clothing. Whatever it is, it doesn’t count.” Asger sounded more flustered than she’d ever heard him.
It wasn’t until Qin donned her shirt and pulled on some exercise pants that she leaned into the corridor and discovered why. Asger, his back and naked butt cheeks toward her, faced Bjarke, who was wearing a skimpy lavender robe that Qin recognized as Bonita’s. That was all he was wearing, leaving his hairy legs on full display. The two men looked like they’d both been heading to the lav when they’d stumbled into each other.
Further down the corridor, the hatch to Bonita’s cabin was open, and she leaned her head out. Judging by her bare shoulder, she wasn’t fully clothed either. She caught Qin’s eyes and grinned at her past the men.
“You two take turns if you need to,” Bonita told them. “And don’t violate Viggo’s stall doors.”
“Thank you, Bonita,” Viggo’s voice sounded.
Asger flung his arms up. “Is there anybody who isn’t awake?”
Two robot vacuums