The young man tensed slightly again, and she was afraid he wouldn't answer. But to her surprise he did. “I suppose that's technically accurate, although not really a question.”
“Yeah, I'm getting to it. It's just that, well, I can see why you'd have a problem with Aiden, given how he seems to treat you. But what's your issue with Belix?” She paused as a sudden thought struck her. “Oh. Do you have a crush on her?”
Dax's head whipped towards her, his normal rigidly neutral expression twisted to one that was almost comical, with hints of amused disbelief and revulsion. “What? No! Void no!” His discipline had shattered to the point that he actually shuddered slightly. “Not in any way, shape, or form.”
“Then what?”
With some effort, he composed himself, some of his tenseness returning now that he'd gotten over his shock. He turned back to his work. “I'm sorry, I'd prefer not to talk about this.”
After a brief hesitation, she rested a hand on his arm. It felt like a rock, solid and perfectly steady, although she thought his green eyes went a bit wide as he looked down at her hand, then up into her eyes. “I'm sorry too,” she said gently. “I don't want to upset you, I'm just trying to understand. If you don't want to talk about Belix, can you at least tell me why the Captain seems to hate you?”
She could tell he didn't want to, but he took a long breath, still holding her gaze. “I don't think he hates me. He just doesn't think I ever should've existed.”
Lana sucked in a sharp breath, almost a gasp, staring at him in horror. “Isn't that even worse?”
“Maybe. Probably.” He glanced down at her hand, then almost reluctantly pulled his arm away so he could get back to work. “I hope that helps you understand why I don't like talking about it.” He hesitated, then continued almost under his breath. “Or thinking about it.”
After that, the young man turned the discussion back to shield maintenance, and she gratefully let him. But that didn't stop her from wondering about his past. And Aiden's, and Belix's. Even Barix's.
Which led her, as usual, to wondering about her own. Who she'd been before finding herself aboard the Last Stand.
Chapter Eleven
Beauty
“Are you going to take your turn, or not?” Aiden abruptly snapped, making Lana jump at her terminal near Dax.
She looked over to find the captain twiddling his thumbs impatiently and slumping down farther in his seat, glaring alternately at the game pulled up on his display and at Barix, who had the same game on his own display.
The Ishivi glowered at the holographic projection in front of him. “Unlike some people, I don't just snap out a move and hope it's the correct one. This is a game of infinite patience, and the man who thinks ahead a hundred moves is the one who wins.”
The captain snorted. “Is he? Then it must really piss you off that I win as many games as I do.”
Lana bit back a smile at the banter; in spite of their apparent hostility, the two actually seemed to be having fun. In fact, she even got the impression they might not completely dislike each other.
That impression didn't last, unfortunately.
“Which would be, what, one in three?” The Ishivi sneered at his opponent. “Hardly a win rate to be proud of, to begin with. But for your information, studies have shown that while engaging in any competitive activity, if the clearly superior individual wins too often in succession, or if his victories are too one-sided, the inferior individual will become frustrated and refuse to play anymore.”
It was Aiden's turn to lose some of his good humor, straightening slowly with a frown. Lana noticed Ali, at her own station, tensing slightly. “Are you telling me you're losing on purpose just enough that I don't get pissed off and nuke the game?” he demanded.
“Exactly, my dear Captain. Thirty percent of the time, to the decimal. I just vary my losses enough that you don't see a pattern.”
Lana shared a wide-eyed look with Dax, although he didn't seem surprised by this news. Then again, he never seemed surprised by anything. Aside from her question about whether he had a crush on Belix, that was.
“Unreclaimed waste you do!” Aiden snapped, starting to get angry.
“Then how about you try to win even one of the next ten games?” Barix asked with a smirk. “If you can, it turns out I was just talking out my exhaust port this entire time.”
The captain hesitated, as if he had a sneaking suspicion the Ishivi might actually be telling the truth. “If you've been letting me win just enough to keep me playing, why tell me all of this now?”
The slight man shrugged, winking at Lana as if sharing a secret. “I have to fill my time while on duty doing something, but I was getting bored of this game.”
“You mean Crani, or screwing with me?” Aiden growled.
“Yes.”
The older man abruptly wiped the game off his display, face darkening with even greater fury at Barix's mocking laughter, and the bridge descended into frosty silence.
They were on the final approach to Callous, although still three or so hours out. Even though it was late, about the time when Lana would normally go to bed, everyone was up on the bridge waiting for their arrival; even Belix had made an appearance, seated at the workstation as far as humanly possible from Aiden, on the other side of her brother.
Ali had warned Lana that due to the timing of their arrival at the colony world, she had a choice of either missing it or missing sleep. It had been an easy choice, especially since the companion had handed out hot drinks loaded with stimulants to help them all stay
