Page 4 of Written in the Stars

Those clever green eyes flicked up and down my uniform and Megan pulled a face. “So you’re a soldier on the run? A deserter?”

“No.” I snapped the word out, offended. “No, I am a mercenary, and I fought until the battle was lost. There is no shame in living, and had I stayed, I would have died for no purpose.”

She looked at me a moment longer before her expression cleared. “You’re a survivor of the battle of Holgrave? Holy shit, I’m sorry.”

I waved off the apology. “You couldn’t know, and it doesn’t matter. As soon as my ship can fly safely, I’ll leave. Now I will get to work on that.”

I turned my back on the infuriatingly cute human, hiding my reluctance. I’d only made it a couple of steps when she called out.

“Wait.” I paused, turned back, and caught her chewing on her lip. “You’re here now, you might as well pick up something to read.”

“Hah. I suppose you’re right,” I said. “There will be much waiting in my future. A book to pass the time would be helpful.”

Megan beamed. “You’re in the right place. What kind of book do you like?”

A good, pertinent question. A pity I had no answer for it. It had been years since I read a book, and now that I came to buy one, I didn’t know what to look for.

Inspiration struck as I opened my mouth to admit that, and instead, I said, “Do you have any books on your species, human?”

She raised an eyebrow, and I continued with a shrug. “I have met few humans, and you interest me.”

“Hm, I have a few Earth history books, and some retrospectives on the Uplink War,” she said thoughtfully, then clapped her hands gleefully and attacked a pile of unsorted books with passion. “Wait, wait, I have just the thing. It’s in here somewhere.”

I watched and waited as Megan tore through the pile, demonstrating why her store was so chaotic. When she eventually emerged, the one pile had become three—but she held a book aloft in triumph.

“Here!My Time among the Humans,by Lady Dridshama. It’s a simplified overview, and there are some hilarious errors in it, but it’s fun and gives you the feel of humanity even if the details are wrong.”

I looked at the book dubiously. The cover was a bright picture of various humans waving happily, and it looked more like a work of passion than scholarship. But Megan practically vibrated with enthusiasm, so rather than disappoint her, I held out my hand. “I will buy it, then. But once I’m done, you must tell me what it gets wrong.”

“Deal. The book’s thirty-five credits imperial.” Megan looked so happy to ring up the sale that it cheered me to watch. With some satisfaction, I tapped my bank chip against her till and took the book from her hand. When my fingers brushed hers, her cheeks brightened, and her eyes lowered.

“Once I’ve read it, I will come back and you will tell me what you think Dridshama got wrong,” I told her. Megan swallowed and nodded, a quick and nervous motion. It took an effort to turn away, but if I wanted to get any work done on the repairs, I needed to get away from this distracting female.

4

MEGAN

Reputation is everything. Let them hate, let them fear, but never let them disrespect you.

A USER’S GUIDE TO CRIME,BY ANONYMOUS

Iwatched Drask leave, cursing myself under my breath as he went. I wasn’t sure which pissed me off worse, his arrogant assumption that he could just decide we’d meet up on his schedule, or that he was right.

I would absolutely be there to discuss Lady Dridshama’s hilarious interpretation of human culture. Some of it was funny on purpose—she had a great sense of humor. The really hilarious bits, though, came from her inability to grasp human customs. For example, she listed consumerism as a religion, with malls as its temples. And tea! Just because her first human friend drank a lot of it, Dridshama wrote about the drink as though no human would discuss business before sharing a sacred cup of tea.

I looked forward to finding out what impression Drask came away from the book with, and it promised to be a fun conversation. That didn’t give him the right to decide I’d meet him whenever he decided.

Never mind that I’d drop everything to hear him growl again. Just the thought made me shiver with delight, and my mind drifted into fantasy until I shook it off regretfully.

Torn between annoyance at his attitude and those confusing, lustful thoughts, I stalked back to work on the never-ending task of sorting books and stocking shelves. Nebula padded along after me, and I’d swear she was laughing at me.

Fair. I’d laugh at me, too, if I wasn’t me. It’s just been way too long since I met a sexy guy, that’s all. He’s stupid-hot, so of course I’m distracted. It doesn’t mean I actuallylikehim.

I didn’t know if my excuses would convince anyone else, but they didn’t fool me.

The door chimed again, and I breathed a sigh of relief for the distraction. Two bulky aliens crossed the threshold, followed by a droid. All wore stained and hard-worn clothes. I didn’t look too closely at the stains—the last thing I wanted was to find out they were blood rather than engine oil.

The first to enter had crimson skin and horns, and close behind him came a lizard man. The droid showed signs of battle damage, and had a crude eyepatch rigged over one of their optical sensors.

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