that the slight, green-eyed Earther beside him inhaled the spiciest food available on the ship and made noises like a happy marmox just endeared her to him even more.
He must have lost his damn mind.
Violet continued to split her attention between the two of them, like a mother haugmawt looking out for her gangly offspring. “Where were you before the Hollbrd, then, EJ? How did you end up this far from governed space?”
EJ made that humming noise again, though it grew more thoughtful rather than pleased. “It’s been a long journey. Full of bumps. Bad choices.”
“That’s how most of us ended up out here,” Violet said. She drummed her fingers on the table and considered the other female. “Start with how you got off Earth. I didn’t think they were letting that many people depart for space without having commercial backing or being on a gen ship of some kind. I assume you didn’t start on a gen ship, if you dislike the one you just abandoned?”
Nokx pretended not to listen, although the potential to learn more about the nervous Earther next to him made his ears perk up. Perhaps the way to excise the tender feelings for her was to learn enough about her to dislike her. Surely EJ had skeletons in her closet that would make her highly unsuitable to even be considered as a mate. She was a stowaway, after all, and had obviously broken enough laws to end up exiled to a hostile planet. Surely not all of her was lovable.
She fiddled with her fork and picked at some of the fermented vegetables he’d put on her plate. “Well, uh, don’t hold it against me. I joined the Fleet.”
She shot surreptitious looks at both of them, waiting for an explosion, then deflated when neither of them reacted with outrage. Nokx had to bite the inside of his cheek to keep from laughing at her reaction. Maybe the stowaway thrived on conflict and drama.
Violet’s lips thinned but she shrugged. “I served in the Fleet for far longer than I would like to admit. It’s happened to the best of us.”
“Did you desert too?” EJ released what sounded like a long-held breath, sagging back in her chair.
He couldn’t help but admire how deeply she felt everything, how high and low her emotions went. No doubt it was flat-out exhausting. He was exhausted just watching her. Perhaps it was time to drag her back to his quarters so they could both rest, although the thought of her curled up in his bed dragged his mind toward anything but rest.
Violet’s dark eyebrow arched and she smiled very slightly. “Not really. A few of my fellow crewmates were sold by our captain to a different ship full of Xaravians. Things went downhill from there. They eventually joined the rebellion and are fighting to end the Alliance from a few different ships. I ended up on this ship after... a few more twists and turns.”
EJ leaned forward on the table. “Really? I thought Fleet officers were mostly drug running and selling stolen weapons and ships. I didn’t know they were trafficking their own people. Just whoever they happened to scoop up during regular missions.”
Nokx’s scales prickled with concern as the Earthers discussed the miserable behavior of their former captains and crew. He wanted to play with EJ’s hair and twine it through his fingers, to stroke her neck until she relaxed and made the same pleased sound she’d made when the food arrived. She shouldn’t have to worry about disloyal crew and sons of sandsnakes who betrayed their females.
He dragged his attention away from the delicate curve of her ear and back to the conversation just as EJ paused to take a breath after the last torrent of information she’d unleashed on Violet. Nokx folded his arms over his chest and tried to sound only somewhat interested. “What part of the Fleet were you in? What skillset?”
Part of him wanted to know what skills she brought to the table so he could eventually convince Faros to keep her on the ship. They always needed an extra medic or engineer or... almost anything. If she had even the slightest bit of training, Nokx could find a place for her. The thought should have left him cold; somehow he’d gone from wanting to get rid of the stowaway to searching for a way to keep her close. That was not a solution. Even if his hearts felt differently.