Wren smiled and kissed her cheek. “Goodnight.”
“Goodnight. I’ll see you tomorrow.”
Wren’s playfulness ignited. She gave Fallon a jaunty grin. “Count on it.” She retreated down the concourse with a spring in her step.
Fallon watched her until she was out of sight.
In the morning, Fallon got up early for her regular workout. She’d arranged to meet Brak for a run.
When she stepped out of her quarters, though, she saw Raptor leaning against the wall of the concourse, waiting.
“Good morning.” He wore workout attire.
“Morning. What’s up?”
“Thought I’d run with you today.”
“Sure. Brak’s going to be there too, so I hope you’re ready to work.” She set off toward the lift.
“She didn’t go with the Onari?”
“No. Said she’d serve no purpose and she might as well remain here. She’s set up a small lab in her quarters. I need to find her a better space for it. She can always use her lab on the ship when it’s docked, but it would be nice if she could work independently of the ship’s flight schedule.”
“Think that’ll happen a lot? I somehow think of her and the ship as a package deal.” He sounded surprised.
“Yeah, me too. But it would be an advantage to her to have a larger space for her work. She could even take on some interns, which would allow her to create more prosthetics in a shorter amount of time.”
“Well, that’s great. I’m glad things are working out for her. And glad she’ll be there this morning. I’ve always wanted to find out how I measure up to her at a run.”
“Have you been avoiding me?” She hadn’t intended to ask that, but his sudden appearance had her wondering.
“No. Not exactly.”
“What then?” she asked.
“Nothing. Just giving us space. Time.”
“Hm,” she said. “The space-time solution. How’s it working?”
“Fine for me. How’s it working for you?”
“Fine.” Good, actually. Despite the escalation of their relationship, she didn’t feel cornered. “You’re a smart man,” she admitted.
“Why, thank you. I’ve been waiting years for you to notice.”
She snorted and bumped him with her elbow. He returned the bump, harder, causing her to sway to the opposite side. She shoved back with her shoulder to do the same to him.
“You’d better quit before we start fighting right here on the concourse,” he warned her.
“You’d better quit,” she argued, grinning.
“I hope you’re ready to run hard today.”
“Hah. I’ve been running with Brak for a while now. If you’re looking for a competition, be prepared to lose.”
They continued their trash talk all the way to the gym.
By the end of their run, they were both sweaty and bruised. Fallon considered it the best date of her life. Even if it hadn’t really been a date.
She smelled the sweet musk of Brak’s amusement.
“Are you two always like this?” she asked.
“Always,” Raptor affirmed.
“Pretty much,” Fallon admitted.
“I don’t think two humans ever reminded me so much of my own people.”
Fallon pursed her lips as she thought about that. “Considering that you left home, I’m trying to decide if that’s a compliment or not.”
Brak tilted her head in a very Briveen gesture of humor. “Partly. Partly not. But pleasantly nostalgic, nonetheless.”
“I’ll be proud of that, then.” Raptor winked before entering the men’s locker room.
Brak and Fallon went into the women’s room together and began to strip down for showers.
“May I ask a personal question?” Brak asked.
“Sure.”
“Why do PAC facilities divide locker rooms and restrooms based on gender?”
That was not at all what Fallon had expected. “I take it Briveen facilities are all unisex?”
“Yes. We don’t segregate normal functions like eating or bathing.”
“Well, most species eat together because they consider it a social thing. Some people feel like personal care is a private thing, though. It’s long been PAC tradition to have a male, a female, and a neither facility. It’s the best shot at providing comfort for the biggest variety of people.”
“It’s always seemed inefficient to me,” Brak said as she wrapped a towel around herself.
“Modesty certainly can be, but it’s a social convention, and they can be extremely ungainly.”
Brak nodded with understanding. “Ah. Yes, like the Briveen’s penchant for rituals. It’s a wonder my people get anything done.”
“I’ve wondered about that,” Fallon admitted. “Do people ever dodge one another just to avoid the rituals involved?”
Brak looked nostalgic, even as Fallon smelled a hint of sweet, musky amusement. “Sometimes.”
Fallon didn’t press further, since Brak said no more. She knew Brak was very private about her life on Briv and didn’t want to pry.
After they had their showers and dressed, Brak closed her locker and paused. “You and Raptor have an unusual relationship. For humans.”
“Neither one of us is a typical human. I guess it makes sense that we’d be as odd together as we are separately. Maybe even more so.” Fallon zipped up her tote bag and slung it over her shoulder. Brak looked like she wanted to say something else, but she didn’t. Fallon knew that Brak must smell how she and Raptor felt about each other, and it might raise a lot of questions.
But Brak didn’t pry either. And Fallon had an idea to tuck away for later use.
Fallon was doing her daily rounds on the boardwalk when all hell broke loose. When an emergency alert came through on her comport, she turned and ran. Fortunately, the brig was part of the Deck One security office, so she didn’t have far to go. She flew through the door and bolted past the security checkpoints, which all hung open and unstaffed.
She came to a skidding stop in front of the highest-security brig cell. The one she’d assigned to Colb. It stood empty, other than three of her security lieutenants staring upward in shock, where a neat hole had been surgically cut out of the ceiling.
“Report!” she ordered.
Lieutenant Mat Jenson pulled himself together. “We had him on continuous video monitoring and ten-minute physical checks, as ordered. Between one check and the next he disappeared.”
“Halt all departures and arrivals. Lock down all
