He immediately leaped out of his chair. “About time.” He turned to the gunner. “You have the bridge.”
“Acknowledged,” the young man said, starting for the pilot's chair.
“Seriously?” Barix whined. “How come the construct always gets to be in charge when you're sleeping or playing with your toy? The construct, ordering around Ishivi of impeccable genetics!”
Because I trust him way more than you, Aiden thought, letting Ali take his hand and lead him away. “Just plot your jumps, then have your sister take over for you when you're done with your shift.”
“You don't pay us enough for this!” the slight man yelled at his back.
Obviously, he did, or the two wouldn't still be here.
Aiden waited until he and Ali were out of sight of those in the bridge before wrapping his arm around her and pulling her close. “How's our guest?” he murmured into her silken hair as they continued down the corridor.
“Adjusting surprisingly well to her circumstances,” the companion replied, cuddling up to him and taking his free hand.
“Well, you eased her into the news as gently as could be expected.” He made a face, thinking of how she'd freaked out when she thought he might be duping her. “Better than I did.”
Ali squeezed his hand affectionately. “I don't know, I think she was impressed by you.”
“Yeah, I'm sure she was drooling over the grizzled old war veteran,” he said with a derisive snort.
Rather than continuing the banter, the adult companion sobered. “You find Lana attractive,” she noted. When he narrowed his eyes at her she continued blithely. “Your body language and biometric readings make that clear.”
Aiden shook his head. Couldn't hide anything from Ali. “I think any man with a pulse would find her attractive.” He gave her a teasing smile. “Why, you jealous?”
She smiled back, revealing perfect teeth. “Jealousy is a selfish emotion, my love. It would be counterproductive to program it into an adult companion, when my entire purpose for existing is to ensure the happiness and wellbeing of my human.”
“Then why are you so interested in what I think of Lana?”
Ali shrugged. “I was just curious if you'd to like to make love to her.”
Aiden blinked in surprise, which quickly gave way to mild outrage. “What do you take me for? The poor girl's had her mind wiped and she was intended to be sold to a brothel. I'm not the kind of man who'd try to seduce a Blank Slate.”
She squeezed his hand placatingly. “I was suggesting nothing of the sort, my love.” She gave him a considering look. “I just thought I'd remind you, in case you forgot, that if you wanted me to, I could change my appearance to look li-”
He hastily cut her off. “Yeah, no. You've still got a long ways to go when it comes to learning how to best serve humans if you think that's not wildly inappropriate.”
The companion stared at him in confusion. “How would it be, if you and I were the only ones who knew and both of us were comfortable with it?”
“No, Ali. Just no.”
With another shrug, she wrapped both arms around him and snuggled closer, mysterious dark blue eyes looking up at him contentedly. “Well then. I may not feel jealousy, but I do find it gratifying that you're still satisfied with me.”
They reached the captain's cabin, luxurious at three times the size of the crew cabins, even though it was mostly taken up by the larger bed he shared with Ali. She palmed the door open and led him inside, kissing and caressing him as she helped him disrobe and lie face down on the bed so she could begin a massage.
Aiden closed his eyes and let himself relax, the tension easing out of him as her soft but firm fingers kneaded his muscles. “Have I told you how lucky I am to have you?” he mumbled.
“I believe you've mentioned it,” she replied, sounding amused.
He sighed in relief when she found the knot of pain behind his right shoulder blade that always bothered him, that only she seemed able to do anything about, and deftly soothed it away. “Not nearly often enough.”
If his adult companion was phenomenal at massages, she was even better at other things. That night Aiden ended the massage early to get to those.
* * * * *
Lana wasn't sure how long she slept for.
She was still a bit tired when she woke, but it was a groggy kind of tired that made her wonder if she'd slept too long, combined with a nervous restlessness that made her legs ache. Trying to sleep more just led to confused dozing she constantly jerked awake from, and at last, she gave up and slipped out of her new bed, into the narrow space between it and her cabin's wall.
The lights came on automatically, dim enough to not be painful but steadily brightening. She still squinted slightly as she inched to the door and slapped the intercom button Ali had shown her.
Nothing happened, at least until she remembered with a start and spoke. “Ali.”
The woman's mellifluous voice immediately responded. “Hello, Lana. Did you sleep well?”
She grimaced. She had no basis for comparison, but she hoped that wasn't how she usually slept. “Okay, I guess.”
“I'm glad to hear that.” The companion paused briefly. “I know I agreed to show you around, but I'm afraid I'm currently occupied plotting rift jumps. I should be able to find another member of the crew to take over for me after the lunch break. In the meantime, you're welcome to wait in your room and peruse the ship's archives on your personal terminal, or if you want you can go explore the ship.”
Lana blinked. “I can?”
“Of course. All the restricted areas are locked with hand scanners keyed to the crew, so you're free to go pretty much anywhere else. Although I imagine you're hungry . . . the galley is the large
