“That sucks.”
He frowned. “I don’t think my translator is accurately defining the word suck.”
She laughed, a happy sound that made his lips twitch until she grunted in pain again. “I was wondering how you were speaking English to me. You have a translator?”
“A translator chip,” he elaborated. “All starship commanders and crew members have one. The Lasarans sent us an upgrade that included ten Earth languages so we would be able to communicate with you when we found you.”
“Cool. I’m guessing your chip is telling you that suck means to close your lips around something and create a vacuum?”
“Yes.”
“That’s actually correct. But the phrase that sucks is slang used to express… well, either annoyance or sympathy, depending on how it’s used. Like if someone said My boss just fired me, you might respond with Wow, that sucks.”
He nodded. “I shall commit that to memory.”
“So you’ve spoken with the Lasarans?”
“Yes.”
“Do they know who attacked the ship?”
“Gathendiens launched the attack.”
“Are you fucking kidding me?” she practically shouted, fury entering her voice. “The Gathendiens did this?”
Eyebrows flew up all around the bridge as crew members exchanged looks of surprise.
“Yes.”
“The same Gathendiens who used a bioengineered virus to try to exterminate the Lasarans?”
“Yes.”
“Okay, seriously, Dagon, you have got to find a way to reach me before I die so I can hunt those bastards down and kick their collective asses.”
Barus grinned. “I like this woman.”
“Who was that?” she immediately asked. “I don’t recognize his voice.”
“He’s my second-in-command, Barus.”
“Nice to meet you, Barus,” she said, her voice still full of pique. “I take it you don’t like the Gathendiens either?”
“I loathe the Gathendiens,” Barus replied.
“Good. Then do me a favor and help Dagon find a way to reach me faster so I can help you kick those fuckers’ asses.”
Grins broke out among the crew.
She didn’t ask them to find her so she would live. She asked them to find her so she could exact vengeance. Every man here understood that.
She cleared her throat. “Sorry about that,” she said, the words more calm and carrying a little chagrin. “I hope I didn’t offend you. I tend to have a foul mouth when I’m upset, and I know nothing about your culture. Do you guys, by any chance, curse or use foul language when you’re angry?”
Dagon grinned. “Yes, we do.”
The hesitance left her voice, replaced by a smile. “Good. Now if you really want to put my mind at ease, you’ll all answer Hell yes, we do the next time I ask you that.” She cleared her throat. “Okay. Here we go. Do you guys, by any chance, curse or use foul language when you’re upset?”
“Hell yes, we do,” every male on the bridge chorused.
She laughed in delight, then grunted in pain once more. “Thanks, guys. I needed that, even though it hurt.”
Dagon frowned. “How are you? How are your injuries?”
“Still there, still annoying, but I’ve had worse,” she said, a shrug in her voice. “Do the Lasarans know I’m out here?”
“Yes.”
Heavy silence ensued.
He frowned. “Did you not want me to tell them?”
“No. It isn’t that. It’s…” She sighed. And for the first time since waking, she sounded hesitant and unsure. “Did they by any chance mention Seth? Does he know I’m out here?”
“They did not mention anyone by that name. Was he on the ship with you?”
“No. He’s back on Earth.”
“Is he your male?” For some reason, the notion unsettled him.
“My male?”
“Are you bound to him?” He sought the correct English word. “Are you married?”
“To Seth?” Amusement entered her voice. “No. I’m not married. Seth is… my commanding officer, I guess you’d say. But he’s also a father figure to me.”
“Ah.”
“I lost my own father a long time ago. When Seth found me, I was in a really bad place. And he… saved me. I owe him everything. He took me in, gave me a family, gave me a purpose.” Her voice thickened. “I can’t believe I’ve failed him like this.”
She had behaved with bravery and honor. “You haven’t failed him.”
“Yes, I have. He trusted me to keep my people safe. He trusted me to protect them. And I failed to do that.”
“You got them to the escape pods. That’s all you could’ve done.”
“What’s worse is I’m probably going to die before you reach me, so I’m even going to fail to bring the assholes who did this to justice.”
Dagon took his seat. He didn’t want to lie to her. Even with her astonishing ability to conserve oxygen, she would still likely be dead within a few days. “Should that happen, I will seek vengeance for you.”
“Thank you.”
Quiet fell.
“The next time you talk with the Lasarans, would you please ask them not to say anything to Seth about me?”
“You do not wish him to know you survived?” He and Barus shared a frown. “Surely he will not blame you if you are the only survivor from Earth. You did everything you could to save your friends.”
“That’s the thing,” she said, voice solemn. “He won’t blame me. He’ll blame himself. That’s just how he is. He’s going to blame himself for putting us at risk, for putting us in this position, for agreeing to let us leave Earth. And if he thinks I died out here alone, in pain, while floating in space for days or weeks, waiting to be rescued… it will tear him up inside. He’ll never forgive himself. And I don’t want that. So I’d rather the Lasarans just tell him you’re all still searching for survivors. That way if I don’t make it until you reach me, you can just say I died in the initial attack. A quick death. No suffering.”
Dagon could find no response.
“You still there?” she asked.
“Yes.”
“You seem like a real stand-up guy.”
“I don’t know what that means.”
“Honorable. You seem like an honorable man. I mean, you wouldn’t still be heading my way otherwise. And I doubt lying comes easily to you. I’m sorry if this is a lot to ask, but please think about it, okay? If I die, I die. Seth doesn’t need to torture himself imagining a long, drawn-out death. So please ask the Lasarans not to mention me beyond saying you’re still searching for me. He doesn’t need to know the rest.”
Her words made Dagon’s chest ache. “I will do as you ask.”
“Thank you.” Her words soughed out like a sigh of relief. “If I ever get to meet you in person, I’m going to give you a big hug.”
He smiled. “I’ll look forward to that.”
She chuckled again, the sound ending abruptly in a grunt of pain.