“Yeah, but—”
“And we just went through that bullshit on Kal’moran,” he added, cutting her off. “It would make anyone a little xenophobic.”
She bristled. “I am not xenophobic, Aaron.”
“Do you trust me?”
“Of course I do.”
“Dobros showed me the guy’s dossier. He’s got an excellent record. He’s crewed with Merchants, with ISNC ships, and even with NSI crews. He’s received commendations from five different captains. He holds three doctorate degrees in his fields.” The Interstellar Naval Corps and National Science Institute both had high and exacting standards.
She knew what Aaron was doing. He wanted to convince her she was wrong and that the F’ahrkay dude was a gee-whiz good guy.
She wasn’t buying it. “I don’t give a rat’s ass how many degrees he has, or who his daddy is, or how many asses he’s kissed on other ships. There’s something wrong about him!”
Aaron closed his eyes for a moment before opening them again and looking at her. She read the sadness and resignation in his face.
“Well, why the hell can’t they put him on Rob’s boat? Why’s it have to be us?”
“Because the Bight is a full heavy. The K-2 is a med-hev. We’re the only available ship with the technology, capabilities, and enough cargo space to take on his equipment.”
She also read that he wouldn’t back down. “You don’t have a choice,” he said. “He’s shipping out with us.” As she tried to stand, his grip tightened on her hands, holding her in her seat. “Babe, please, listen to me. It’s only for eight weeks. He will be sleeping in the cargo bay. He has his own special pod that is his quarters. He’s chipped, not that it matters because they aren’t equipped like humans anyway. He has an exemplary record. I have no legitimate grounds to refuse his assignment.”
“You told me you could boot anyone for cause.”
“I have no cause!” His mouth snapped shut and he lowered his voice. “Listen to me, Em. Babe, I love you, and I trust you and support you, but I really think the issue here is you’ve never dealt with a F’ahrkay before. For all you know, they all might feel like that to you. That might be his normal. Whatever it is you’re feeling, you might feel it with any F’ahrkay you meet.”
“Then get a group of them together so I can see and we’ll test your theory. If you’re right, I’ll suck it up and deal with it.”
“I can’t, and yes, I already thought of that and asked. He’s the only F’ahrkay on the station.” He took a deep breath and dropped his voice to a whisper. “Em, baby, please, don’t make me order you.”
She caught the sob and forced it back down her throat before it could escape. “Then I’ll stay here and you can pick me up on the way back.”
He smiled sadly. “Hon, we can’t do that.”
“Then call Rob. Get his ass over here. He can pick me up. Donna will find me bunk space.”
He stood, then bent over to get her cup. He threw it away before returning to her. Without another word he took her hand and made her stand.
In silence he led her from the office. She wasn’t paying attention to where they were going until she realized they were stepping off a lift into the resort’s lobby again.
Aaron let go of her hand and walked up to the desk where the same three clerks stood. After a few minutes, he had four room key cards and returned to where Emi still waited, sulking, outside the lift.
He held up the key card. “I’m taking you to our room.”
“Our room?”
He nodded.
“I thought we weren’t getting a room.”
“Change of plans. I have to go back to the ship for a few hours. If I’m not back first, one of the twins will be. The four of us will spend three days here. Dobros said we can take that. I’ll tell Kayehalau he needs to spend the bulk of his time during our assignment in cargo unless he clears it with me first. When he needs to be on the bridge, I’ll warn you, and you can go spend that time wherever you want on the ship to stay away from him. You’ll have minimal contact with him. Okay?”
“How do you know he’ll agree to that?”
Aaron shrugged. “I am still the captain. He has no choice.” He glanced away from her and down at the carpet. “And he was the one who suggested it in the first place.”
Emi felt boxed in. At war with that, a tiny, logical particle telling her she was being silly.
No, not silly.
Childish.
But her empath training had never let her down before. She trusted it far more than a computer full of commendations and recommendations about someone.
Hell, look at Mauri. She didn’t want us writing a bad report about what happened, so she had no problem whitewashing everything to make us and her look good.
Reports could be falsified or manipulated. People lied.
Kayehalau was dangerous. She just had no way of proving it.
Chapter Five
She silently followed Aaron to their room, where he used the key card to let them in. Once the door closed behind them, he pulled her in for a hug and she avoided looking up into his eyes.
“Babe, you have to believe that if there was any way I could—”
“Stop, Aaron. Apparently you can’t. So just leave it.”
She felt badly about being a bitch, but another memory had popped into her mind. In the initial pairing sim, she’d gone to a bar with the twins. Before a bar fight had broken out, she’d nearly been raped by two men from an unchipped crew. The chips did more than allow emergency crew location and prevent unwanted pregnancies—they ensured rape or infidelity could not occur.
The nasty feeling in her gut when she met the F’ahrkay reminded her of that same feeling, simulated or not, that she’d experienced that night in the bar. Someone wanting to do something to her against her will.
Aaron kissed the top of her head before releasing her. He walked over to a console and pulled up a menu. “The resort map and shopping directory are here. There’s also the dining and spa service directory. Go shopping, enjoy yourself—”
“I’m not a child, Aaron. Buying me things isn’t going to make me change how I feel.”
A wave of irritation washed toward her from him. She felt him immediately trying to reel it in. “Em, babe, I love you. I know you feel something. I can’t fix that, and believe me, I wish like hell I could make it better for you. All I can do is try to help distract you. I’m sorry.”
When the door closed behind him, she felt like shit. He did feel bad that he couldn’t fix this for her. And he felt bad that she felt bad.
And she felt bad that, deep in her soul, she knew she was right about this and couldn’t just blithely go along with it.
She also hated feeling like a childish, spoiled brat.
Collapsing on the bed, she tried using mental and intellectual exercises she’d learned during her empath training to get past this huge mental block.
It didn’t work.
Maybe there is something wrong with me. After she pulled herself together she got up and went over to the console at the desk. From there, she grabbed a secure connection to her computer on the Bight.
The F’ahrkay’s file was already there, uploaded for her convenience.
Correction, Kayehalau. I suppose I should at least address him by name and not just “Hey, you, asshole.”
There was nothing in the F’ahrkay’s file to show him to be anything other than a dedicated scientist and excellent crew member with an enviable record. Any captain would be happy to have him on their ship.
And oh, crap, I have to examine him because he’s a new crew member.