Hotbloods 6: Allies

Xiphio smiled excitedly. “Carpe diem indeed, Miss Angie!”

No longer needing encouragement, he got out of his chair and strode over to where Lauren stood, instantly becoming shy and awkward as he neared. It was like watching the evolution of man in reverse. He’d started out confident enough, strutting a little, only to retreat more into himself the closer he got to the object of his affection.

“Might I assist you in your endeavors, Miss Lauren?” he asked, clearing his throat. His gills were flapping rapidly, betraying his inner panic.

She looked at him, moving to push up the bridge of the glasses that were no longer there. “I don’t know if I’ll ever get used to not having my specs,” she said, giggling nervously. “I have phantom glasses syndrome!”

He laughed in response, the sound warm and genuine. “You are very amusing, Miss Lauren. It’s rare to find humor, intellect, and beauty in one person,” he said quietly. “If you were a gemstone, I imagine you would be the very rarest of finds.”

Lauren blushed furiously, reverting to her shy self, worlds away from the steely-eyed, ferocious woman she’d been with Stone. From where I was sitting, it was almost like a completely different person. Angie and I exchanged a knowing look, both of us stifling laughter. In truth, it was nice to see a glimpse of the old, softer-edged Lauren.

I’d expected Angie to be more upset about Mort leaving, but she hadn’t said much about it at all. His departure certainly hadn’t led to any tension between us, even though she knew it was because of me that he’d gone. All she’d said was a simple, “It had to happen sometime.” Bashrik had been relieved, knowing he wouldn’t have to witness their weird friendship anymore, but after our previous disagreements, I kept expecting Angie to blame me.

“You sure you don’t mind about Mort?” I asked for the thousandth time, leaving Xiphio and Lauren to their shy flirting.

“Like I said before, I honestly don’t mind at all. He had to go sometime, and I’m glad it happened before we made our way to Earth,” she replied. “If his goal was only to get revenge on Orion, then it’s no skin off my nose. He wouldn’t have helped in our fight, and I’ve got no time for people like that. Yeah, he was fun, but I’m not sad to see him go.”

I sighed in relief. “That’s good to know.”

“I’m never going to let things get bad between us again, Riley, if that’s what you’re really worrying about,” she said, her tone comforting. “I like to think we’ve learned our lesson. We’re better women now, right?”

I grinned. “Right.”

“I mean, if I didn’t have you, who would I gossip with?” she teased. “Speaking of which—it looks like I’ve got a love rival.”

“What do you mean?”

She tilted her head toward Bashrik, who was sitting at the control panel with Stone beside him. He was chattering away animatedly, while the ambaka simply stared at Xiphio and Lauren, a frown visible above the line of his bandana. I wasn’t about to pick sides and say who would be a better choice for Lauren, but there was an undeniable sadness in Stone’s eyes.

“And then you move these dials to alter the different levels within the cruiser’s systems,” Bashrik enthused, unaware that Stone wasn’t listening. “Hey, you catch that?” he asked, nudging Stone in the arm.

“Sorry, mate, I was miles away. Keep thinkin’ of me crewmates,” Stone said. “What were ye saying?”

Bashrik repeated his statement about the dials, before moving on to the various mood settings of the cruiser. This seemed to hold the ambaka’s attention a little more readily, and his eyes went wide in delight as he watched what Bashrik was doing. It appeared a fledgling bromance was blossoming between the two of them, with them bonding over their shared love of all things mechanical. Bashrik clearly thought Stone was the height of cool, too, though he’d never have admitted it.

“Hey, Bash,” Navan said from his spot across the cockpit, but all of Bashrik’s attention was turned to Stone, who kept asking what all the different buttons did. “Bashrik!” Navan tried again, to no response. He slumped down in his chair and shot me a wounded puppy-dog look that made me stifle a laugh. I gave him a sympathetic pout, and he smiled a little. It seemed that Stone was stealing all his brotherly attention.

“You know what, lads and lasses, I think we should have a wee hootenanny!” Stone announced suddenly, standing up and slamming his fists down on the dashboard. A grin spread across his face.

“A wee what?” Bashrik asked excitedly.

“A hootenanny, a shindig, a celebration, a party—call it what ye want!” he replied brightly. “You mightn’t realize it, but everyone on this ship is bound together for life. All of ye have survived near-death ordeals together and faced the wrath of the cops together. That’s the way of the ambaka—ye run together like that, you’re bound together for the rest o’ your days!”

“That’s awesome!” Bashrik cooed.

“Aye, you’re all me brothers and sisters now. We’re a big ol’ family. We should celebrate the start o’ this journey together!” he insisted.

Navan frowned disapprovingly. “We can’t afford to lose our wits with drinking and revelry, Stone. It’s a nice idea, but I don’t think it’s appropriate.”

“You gotta learn to let go, Navan. True focus comes from releasin’ all your qualms and strains,” Stone replied casually. “How can you target the important things if yer mind is swimmin’ with all sorts? You’d be surprised what a good shindig can do. You’ll feel like a new bloke!”

Bashrik nodded eagerly. “That’s so true!”

“He knows what he’s talking about, Navan,” Lauren chimed in, much to Xiphio’s discomfort. “We used to have parties all the time on the scavenger ship, and they never did us any harm. Most of the time, they cleared away the cobwebs and got us all energized again. I imagine we could all do with letting our hair down a bit, right?”

“But you look just as lovely with your hair up,” Xiphio protested.

She giggled coyly. “It’s a human saying, Xiphio. It means we could all do with a bit of relaxation.”

He nodded, laughing. “How foolish of me,” he said. “Thank you for setting me straight. Your Earthen ways are deeply fascinating to me.”

Stone shot him a look. “Ren’s right, as per usual. You’ve all been through a helluva lot. I say we celebrate, though we’ll keep it restrained fer your sake, Navan,” he teased. “A drink, then we pass around some food and offer up some tales of our lives. It’s an old ambaka custom I’d love to share with ye.”

I grinned. “I think it sounds like just the thing to cheer us all up before we head into the unknown!”

“Yeah, why don’t we go all out?” Angie suggested. “The three of us can grab some decorations and make some party food, like we used to back at your place in the city, Lauren!”

“Absolutely!” Lauren agreed.

“Plus, this ship was stolen from Killick—I bet it has a party mode,” I said, remembering it was a leisure cruiser. “Boys, you see if you can jazz this ship up a little! Oh, and someone should probably wake Ronad and tell him what’s going on.”

Navan still didn’t seem pleased at the prospect, but I hoped he’d soon cheer up. Bashrik and Stone got up eagerly and made for the door, while Xiphio trailed them reluctantly. Ronad was sleeping off the last of his injuries in his bedroom. He’d taken medicine to heal his wounds, but it had resulted in some side effects that had left him feeling worn out. Even so, I knew he’d be game if he heard there was a celebration going on.

“Cheer up, this’ll be good for us,” I said, sidling up to Navan and looping my arms around his neck.

“I still don’t think it’s a good idea,” he mumbled sullenly.

“We need this. Think of it as a long-overdue service on the engine of our morale.”

He chuckled, leaning down to catch my mouth with his. “Very poetic.”