“Crimes against fashion,” he supplied promptly, his expression serious. “Apparently spots and stripes don’t go together.”
She sighed, shaking her head. She should have known she wouldn’t get a straight answer from the smart-mouthed ex-con.
“Well,” T’Raal said, “welcome aboard the Sprite. Sparky, your room assignment is the same. Just don’t make too much noise, Red and Fin are back aboard and either of them will squish you like a bug.”
Sparky grinned. “You finally got some more crew? Good on you!”
T’Raal sighed, rolling his eyes and shaking his head as the human wandered away up the corridor. “Why I put up with that shit, I have no idea,” he groused, making Eris smile.
“I think most people feel that way around him,” she commented, waving goodbye as Zero turned and they walked away up the corridor.
She was all eyes, fascinated as she looked about. This was her first alien ship... and it looked a lot like a human one. Only bigger. But then, the Lathar were bigger. Much bigger. Her eyes widened as they reached medbay and she saw the scorch marks on the wall.
“Your boss wasn’t kidding about you blowing this place up. Was he?” she whispered to Zero.
Like what she’d already seen of the ship, it was laid out very similarly to a human medical bay. Even though most of the equipment looked odd, she could make a guess as to what it was. But then, a rumor had filtered down through the media that the Lathar were humanity’s ancestors. She wasn’t sure how accurate that was, but the Lathar did seem very human-like at times.
“Nope, he wasn’t. We only just managed to get the door closed in time,” Zero answered with a grin as he laid her down on one of the beds against the wall. He looked around and whistled lowly. “Although I think we did it a favor. All this equipment is new… and that’s a new imperial scanner over there. We had to steal the last one, and none of us knew how to use it.”
“Well, that would be the advantage of being mated to the Lord Healer’s sister-in-law,” a new voice announced from the doorway.
Eris had to shove at Zero as he turned so she could get a look at the newcomer. Like T’Raal, he was Latharian, his unusual eyes striking, but unlike T’Raal he had short hair.
“Hey there. I’m Talent… the medic on this tub. But call me Tal…” he winked as he approached, offering her his hand. “It sounds a lot less egotistical.”
She smiled as she took it, shaking firmly. “Eris Archer. Sta… well, formerly station chief on Tarantus before someone tried to have me killed.”
“Yeah, well,” the medic replied. “That’s just Tuesday around here. You’ll get used to it. So… how about you tell me what’s going on and I’ll see what I can do to help.
“She can’t walk,” Zero broke in, his expression tight as he glared at their hands. “She already said her hands work just fine. Read me?”
She raised an eyebrow at the possessive comment, but Tal stepped back, a smile on his lips. “Reading you loud and clear. Now… let’s see what’s going on. Shall we? Lady Archer… you were saying? Did this damage occur when someone on the station tried to kill you?”
She lay back as the alien medic set up equipment around her. “Yes and no. It wasn’t the result of a direct hit or injury from enemy forces. I’m a veteran. Medically discharged ten years ago from the armored infantry unit.”
“I’m afraid you’ll have to treat me like a layperson,” Tal responded, shooing Zero away to lean against the wall close by. “My knowledge of Terran military units is sorely lacking. Why were you medically discharged? Were you injured in the line of duty and the battle on the station aggravated old injuries? That I can believe. Terran medicine is sorely lacking.”
“Medical care in the armored units was state of the art,” she argued, her hackles rising at the possible slur. Then she sighed heavily. “Soldiers in the units are enhanced cybernetically to interface with their suits. It’s all filament mesh and implanted driver units at the interface points.”
Most people just looked blank when she started talking about the science, as much as she understood it, behind her former occupation, but not Tal. Instead, he looked fascinated. “So you found a way to drive the suit using your own body power? Kinetic movement, or… no, the human nervous system doesn’t produce enough power to drive anything mechanic…”
“Looks like T’Raal and Red have the suit in the cargo bay now,” Zero suddenly announced, his expression distracted again. “Scans are complete if you want to take a look.”
“Doing so now.” Tal bustled behind a control console for the machine he’d set up around her. She jumped a little as lights flicked on and she was surrounded by rings of light. “If you can lie very still for me, please, Lady Archer. And you,” he directed at Zero, “stay the draanth away. I had to pull in a trall load of favors to get this unit. I don’t want it blowing up again. Read me?”
Zero’s lips curled. “Loud and clear, Doc. No blowing up your new toys.”
Eris hid her grin at the bickering. That was one thing she’d noticed almost immediately about Zero and the Warborne. They had the same kind of camaraderie as in human military units. It made her feel right at home. She watched the rings as they intersected over her head. A combination of white and blue that wasn’t quite neon, they were really kind of pretty and emitted a soft, relaxing whoosh as they went past each other.
“Okay… I see the power core in the suit and the way it all connects.” Tal’s voice had lost its amused note and was now clipped and professional.
