Nyx jetted her way over to the cargo bay door, “Spark! Spark! Spark! Shove it up the Cap’n’s az! Gonna mummy yah, yah piece ‘o shunk, Hal! Ya bustud!”

  Nyx got adhesive from her tool pouch and used it to stop the leak. Thanks to Hal, she didn’t know how much air she’d lost in the time it took her to notice the leak, but at least she’d stopped it.

  Her stomach growled as if to remind her she needed food too.

  She growled to herself as she put the adhesive away, then got her flathead and popped off the panel for the door leading into the ship. She’d need to pressurize the room before she could open the door, which would definitely let the Never Dyin’ know she was here.

  Her hands paused. Did she even want to go back to the Az Gaper? She barely got enough food to live, especially as ships they could steal from became rarer. Everyone hated her just because she was a Felis. Every day she was both constantly angry and scared. Angry at the abuse. Scared of doing something that would bring more abuse. But where else could she go?

  She fell towards the door, and bumped into it, then a moment later fell to the floor.

  Nyx hissed in fright and felt her tail fur floof as much as it could inside her suit, “Sparks!”

  She panicked. The ship had undocked, and the acceleration from the engines pushing her against the floor meant they were leaving in a hurry. It was too late for her to sneak off or finish before anyone came back. She’d have to overpower the Never Dyin’.

  One look at her thin arms and she doubted she’d be able to. If she could see her arms right now, she’d see only bone and scars with just a touch of meat.

  She picked up the flathead she’d dropped where it had fallen nearby and went back to the door control panel.

  She sighed in relief when she saw the usual arrangement of wires she’d practiced on in the Az Gaper’s own cargo hold. Just move this wire here, and use this tool to send an electrical charge there…

  The welcome hissing of air soon came through her helmet’s speakers, and she finally breathed a sigh of relief.

  The lights came on inside the hold, and she heard a man’s voice over an intercom, soft and… amused? “Put down any weapons and tools, then take off your helmet.”

  Nyx recognized the flowery accent and speech she’d heard Trevor and Helene use.

  She dropped her flathead, then took off her tool pouch. Finally, and reluctantly, she took off her helmet. If he vented the air out, she’d have no chance.

  Once she did so, the door opened.

  There stood a tall man, though to her everyone but children was taller than her, and even then some were taller. Still, he was shorter, though much stockier than the captain.

  He wore a suit much like hers, but pristine and colored black, with a rather pretty shade of teal and gold trim. This contrasted with hers, which varied in shades of dark brown and black from various stains on what used to be white. He filled out the suit well, though not around the belly as much as the mistress filled hers out. This was especially noticeable around the shoulders, thighs, and biceps.

  His round face was handsome and free of scars. Framing his face was shaggy hair, a touch darker than her blonde, and shone in the hallway light with no hint of greasiness she expected on pretty much everyone, including her. His teeth were flawless, straight, white, and all there with not a single one missing from what she could tell. Best of all were his pretty blue eyes that showed a hint of kindness behind the look of weariness he currently held.

  He smelled of some fragrant soap or cleaner with just a hint of his natural body odor. It was pleasant and relaxed her just a little.

  She’d never seen such a beautiful man, and she felt something she’d never felt before stir in her belly as she looked at him.

  He glanced at her ears, and she noticed a smile twitch on his lips, “So, I’m guessing the pirates that are chasing me sent you here? Surprised they’d send someone as adorable as you.”

  Nyx wasn’t sure how to respond. “Uh… I…” Then the word ‘adorable’ registered. A word she’d heard the mistress use when looking at pictures of her loathsome son’s baby pictures. “Adorable! Goddum it! I’m not adorable!”

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  She felt her tail puff up with her anger in her suit, and she let out a growl. No one had ever called her cute, let alone adorable, so she wasn’t sure how to handle the situation. She wasn’t a baby, so being called adorable made her feel like he saw her as one.

  The Never Dyin’ just stood there watching her. Though she swore he looked more amused than scared, “Listen. Your friends aren’t far behind, and as much as I’d love to listen to you curse at me, I have better things to do. So, should I shove you out the airlock and let them pick you up, or will you behave?”

  Nyx paused at his words. She looked at the Never Dyin’ then passed him and walked into the hallway.

  The hallway looked too pristine. There were no smells of oil, body odor, feces, or stale food, “If I’m not gonna be goin’ back, what will ya be doin’ with me?”

  The man paused, “Trevor would arrest you for breaking and entering if I took you back, and yes he caught you, though with your friends chasing the ship, I can’t do that right now.” He pauses and thinks before continuing, “Hmm… I could take you to Sandel Colony on Mars, though they have food shortages after the pirate attack last year destroyed a hydroponics dome…” He looks her in the eyes, “Though I’m not going to lie. As a Felis, nowhere will accept you since they’re all Genetic Purists on Mars, or starving.”

  Nyx felt her tail swishing back and forth as if betraying her nervousness, “Like as if I’m not already knowin’ that? Sparkin’ bilge tanks! Just suck me into space and be rid o’ me.”

  “Okay. I’m not going to kill you.” He sighs deeply, “Listen, let’s start over. I’m Cai Halley.” He holds out his hand, “You are?”

  Nyx stares at his hand, “Ya know. Anytime anyone’s been pleasin’ to me, they wanted somethin’.”

  He continues to hold out his hand, “I’ll be honest. I’ve been on this ship by myself for over a hundred years, and I planned on a hundred more. But here I am. There’s a young woman in front of me who is probably going to die if I don’t help her. I take you back, and Trevor arrests you. I send you back to your crew, and judging by how starved and tiny you are, I bet you’d be better off in Trevor’s prison cells. Mars colony will always treat you as an outsider, and they don’t like genetic modification like all Felis have.”

  Nyx is about to speak when her stomach growls. She feels her ears and tail lower from embarrassment, “Sparkin’ bilges leakin’ shunk if I know! Jus’ kill me! Ya think I like livin’ like this?”

  “Hmm… Maybe you’ll be able to think better with some food in your belly. Just tell me your name and I’ll whip something up. The Donati is designed to grow food for three people, so I have more than enough.” He pauses, “Actually, I just sold some to Trevor. Between pirate raids and poor maintenance, I know food is getting hard to come by, so things have probably been hard lately.” He waves for her to follow him.

  She wonders if this guy is dumb or na?ve. No one is kind like this, at least not that she’s seen. He’d already guessed right that she was a pirate, even if it wasn’t by choice. But maybe she could use this to her advantage? Not just for the food, but to find them.

  Nyx rubbed her belly, “Yer gonna be rapin’ me? I’ve been seenin’ it. The cap’n. The other men.” She growled at the memories of several catch and release attacks when the crew of the ship they boarded put up too much of a fight.

  Cai pauses, “Did they… um… assault you as well?”

  Nyx shakes her head and glances at herself, “Sparks no. I’m too small fer ‘em. And… I’m a sparkin’ Felis. No one is wantin’ a half-Felis baby…”

  She then scratched her left wrist as she tried not to think about that part of her past.

  What looks like relief flashes across Cai’s face, “I’ll let Trevor know. He doesn’t deal with crews that do rape.” He pauses in front of a ladder. “Oh, right! We’re being chased." He raises an arm, and Nyx notices a band on his wrist. When he taps a button, he says, “Show me any pursuing ships on the scanner.”

  A hologram appears above his wrist, showing several images. It had been years since the hologram projector on the Az Gaper worked. She saw the space station slowly moving away, this ship in the center, the Az Gaper, and even a small ship she recognized as another pirate group, The Black Insanity. Each object had a name written next to it. The nearby planet, La La Land, also dominated part of the hologram.

  “Hmm… Looks like the Az Gaper and The Black Insanity. When they realize where we’re going, they should turn around.” He shuts off the hologram, “Should I contact them? I can ask if they’ll take you back?” He adds, “Donati, enter defensive mode. If they use railguns, do an emergency FTL jump. Chaff if they use lasers.”

  Nyx feels her ears flatten, and she lets out a growl, “Sparks no…” She really didn’t want to go back. Maybe if she played this guy up, she’d get food and a nice place out of him. Get him to help her find her friends.

  He was pretty too…

  She shakes her head to get that thought out of her head.

  Cai gave her a curious look, then continued, “Let’s get you some food. It’s going to get bumpy. I’m hoping they’ll give up chasing us when they see the Donati is faster than them.”

  “Bumpy?” Her stomach growled again, and her ears flattened from embarrassment.

  “We’re going to refuel the Donati.”

  Nyx cocks her head to the side in confusion and recalls the unused fuel lines. “Why ya didn’t be doin’ it at La La Land Station? Sparks if I know why ya didn’t.”

  “Let’s get you some food first.” He climbed the ladder and opened the hatch to the deck above, “Come on.”

  Nyx moved to the ladder after him, looking up and getting an eyeful of his rear, shaking her head as the temptation to stare entered her thoughts and held back an angry shout to make him move faster, but held back as she had no desire to get a beating.

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