He grinned, then narrowed his eyes playfully. “Are you sure you aren’t a pirate? Because you sound a lot like us.”
She laughed. “I’m sure. Although the more I see of your ship, the more I think there may be some interesting perks to becoming one.”
He chuckled. “Perhaps we’ll be able to convert you then.”
The next room Janwar showed her rivaled Seth and David’s arsenals back on Earth, except the Tangata‘s armory bore countless weapons she couldn’t identify.
And Immortal Guardians didn’t use grenades. Making things go boom tended to be counterproductive when you didn’t want society to know you existed, which was why Immortal Guardians and the vampires they hunted tended to use blades.
The human network that aided Immortal Guardians, on the other hand, had repeatedly proven that they would use whatever means and weapons they deemed necessary to protect the immortals they served. In recent years, that had occasionally necessitated Blackhawk helicopters, shoulder-fired missile launchers, flame throwers, napalm, and grenades, among other things.
After ogling the vast array of weaponry in the Tangata‘s arsenal, she muttered, “Remind me never to piss you off.”
Janwar laughed as they left and headed up another corridor.
“So,” she said as he showed her a cargo bay the size of a freaking airplane hangar. “Space pirate. How exactly does one come to choose that particular profession?”
He shrugged. “It’s not always a choice.”
A sizeable engineering room came next, the hum of machinery much lower than she’d anticipated.
“On Earth, pirates are only viewed favorably by heroines in romance novels,” she mentioned, making a mental note to become fluent in reading Alliance Common. That seemed to be the language they used to label things on the Tangata, perhaps because the crew hailed from different planets. “At least, those who do their pirating on ships are.”
“What are romance novels?”
“Fictional stories that revolve around characters falling in love.”
“And they fall in love on spaceships? I thought Earthlings hadn’t advanced enough technologically for deep space travel.”
She smiled. “We haven’t. By ships, I meant the kind used in oceans. We still have pirates who prey upon boats.”
“Ah.”
“Most people,” she continued, “consider pirates assholes who would rather steal than get a job and earn an honest living. Or they’re considered assholes who get off on hurting people since pirates are known to be violent. Pirates who do their thieving from the comforts of their homes tend to be viewed as assholes who simply get off on screwing over other people. Either way, pirates on Earth are generally considered assholes.”
Janwar offered her a tight smile. “A sentiment shared by many in the galaxy.”
They encountered T3 when they left Engineering Room 1 and stopped to chat for a moment before continuing the tour.
“Do you know what a dog is, Janwar?” Simone asked as she admired more paintings.
“According to my translator, it’s a mammal of the canine species on Earth that is often kept as a pet.”
“Correct. They come in a variety of sizes and appearances. Some are tame. But some can be very dangerous. Do you know what a flea is?”
“An insect that feeds on the blood of mammals?”
“Correct again.”
He studied her. “Are you educating me on Earth creatures for a reason?”
She smiled. “There’s a saying back home. If you lie down with dogs, you get up with fleas.” She thought about it a moment. “Or wake up with fleas?”
“These insects are harmful to Earthlings?”
“If they carry disease, yes. But mostly, it’s a metaphor. If you lie down with dogs, you’ll get up with fleas because if you act like a dog, you are a dog. Hence, the fleas.”
He shot her a confused look. “I’m not sure—“
“Taelon is a good man.” She smiled, recalling the kindness the Lasaran prince had shown her and her friends, how he’d gone out of his way to make them feel comfortable in their new environment and ensure their happiness and well-being. “He’s a very good man. I spent four months getting to know him on the Kandovar and consider him a friend.” Halting, she caught and held Janwar’s gaze. “And I saw nary a flea on him.”
A cynical smile turned up one side of his mouth. “Afraid he’ll get a few if he continues to associate with me?”
She rolled her eyes. “That’s not the point I’m trying to make.”
Expression stony, he said, “Then please enlighten me.”
“Taelon doesn’t have an amoral bone in his body. I don’t know if Lasarans have middle names. But if they do, Taelon’s should be Honorable. He wouldn’t associate with you if you were an asshole or amoral.”
Some of the tension left his form. “Are you so sure? He was desperate to find his younger sister. She was missing, and he thought I was the only one who might be able to discover what had happened to her and where she might be.”
“Bullshit.”
He snorted.
“Not the missing sister part. That was true. But Taelon was already friends with you before that. If you were an asshole who got off on hurting and screwing over others, he wouldn’t have anything to do with you. Period. Not even when he was desperate to find Ami. Because he would’ve had no reason to believe you’d deal honestly with him.”
He resumed their stroll, his cynical smile turning into one tinged with amusement. “An astute observation. However, there are some instances in which I do enjoy hurting and drekking over others.”
“If you mean the Gathendiens, we’re in the same boat. Those bastards tried to annihilate my people. And the Lasarans.”
“And they seem to have added the Purveli to the list of races they wish to eradicate.”
The Gathendiens were the scourge of the galaxy. “Clearly, you are not of the amoral sort. So how did you become the dashing pirate you are today?”
He smiled. “Would you believe I sought adventure in my youth and stumbled into the profession by accident?”
She pretended to consider it. “You do seem the type who likes to get into trouble a lot.”
He laughed.
“I honestly would like to know, though,” she told him, serious now. Instinct told her to trust Janwar. He had saved her ass, after all. But there was also this oddly strong desire to know more of him. Almost a craving. Something she couldn’t attribute to simple curiosity, not if she were honest with herself.
His smile faded, but his features didn’t slip into the stony mask he sometimes hid behind. The one he wore like armor. Instead, he seemed comfortable with her, if a little reluctant to delve into her chosen topic.
Or perhaps he merely debated how much to tell her.
“Aksel, my planet, was similar to Purvel when I was a boy. We maintained positive relations with the Lasarans, Segonians, Secta, and other members of the Aldebarian Alliance. But sometimes, we warred amongst ourselves.”
“Yeah. We do that a lot on Earth.”
He nodded. “Aksel was divided into four quadrants or territories. Each had a ruler nominated and affirmed by the citizens of their quadrant. Every five years, their rule was reviewed, and they would then either be reaffirmed or replaced at the people’s discretion.”