Page 8 of Clan and Command

Kila snorted.Good riddance. “He wasted no time, did he? Any word on his replacement being assigned?”

“Already assigned. Already on board.” Mostar might have been allergic to humor, but Kila could have sworn there was a twinkle of amusement in his eyes.

“I guess going through so many head engineers has trained the fleet to be ready with the next one,” he observed.

“You do have a history with them, Captain. I’m looking forward to watching you work with this one.”

Kila’s eyes narrowed. “Why is that?”

Mostar’s lips twitched. Kila got a bad feeling about what he would say. “This Chief Engineer Lokmi is a dual breed. Straight down the middle, half-and-half.”

The bad feeling intensified. “Don’t tell me.”

The weapons command nodded. “Classified an Imdiko. He is known for coddling his engines. Not so much his crew or those in authority over him. With people, he’s heavy on the Dramok attitude. All Dramok, in fact. He’s already punched senseless a couple of underlings who got mad enough to take first swings.”

Kila felt the first warning twinges of an oncoming headache. “Great. Just great. Has he started his initial inspection?”

“He went straight to his duty station rather than moving into his quarters. He’s made it know he’s not happy about the state of the engines.”

Kila groaned. “Ah, the ancestors fucking love me. I’d better get to engineering before he undoes all of my work.”

“Yes, Captain. That would probably be advisable.” Mostar was damned near laughing, an event in and of itself. Kila would have been astounded, but he couldn’t spare the emotion. All his focus was on readying himself for his first encounter with his latest head of engineering.

Kila headed to the lift, muttering curses under his breath. Putting an Imdiko with control issues in his place before dealing with hotheaded Piras…a man with his own set of control issues…was the last thing he needed.

His mood didn’t improve when he got to Engineering. He didn’t miss the surreptitious glances the crew exchanged before bowing at his arrival. Their not-so-subtle looks toward the tube-shaped acceleration chargers told Kila where he’d find his new chief engineer.

Sure enough, an unfamiliar man in a fleet engineer’s uniform with green trim was looking at the acceleration readouts, checking things over, and shaking his head. Kila stood behind him and folded his arms over his chest.

Adjust one thing, and I’ll take your head off.

Like most Nobeks, Kila moved silently. Chief Engineer Lokmi wore ear pieces and hummed along with whatever he listened to. He didn’t know he was being observed by his captain.

It gave Kila a chance to size the Imdiko up. From behind, Lokmi possessed an athletic build. Not too bulky, not too lean. Kila automatically checked out the man’s ass, judged it nice, and remembered chief engineers were the enemy.

He made himself look up, taking in the back of Lokmi’s head. The Imdiko’s black hair was shoulder length, its gentle waves giving it a tousled ‘I-just-rolled-out-of-bed’ look.

Kila thought about punching his own head and hopefully knocking such thoughts out of it. He hadn’t gotten laid since Piras several months ago, and that encounter had certainly not gone as planned. It was no wonder he kept thinking about sex.

Lokmi snickered at a reading and made a note on his handheld. He went to one of the accelerator chargers and removed a panel from the side. Kila stiffened as Lokmi ran his fingers over the bank of power modules.

The engineer turned and froze to see Kila standing there. He bowed to his superior officer. In a voice that approached a yell, he said, “Captain Kila, I presume?”

Kila nodded. “Chief Engineer, welcome aboard.”

Lokmi snorted and yanked the earpieces out. For a moment Kila heard the steady thud of rimnastin music before it switched off. “My apologies, Captain. I forgot I was wearing those.”

Kila smiled in pardon. Lokmi’s face was as pleasing as his backside. Handsome, firm features. He had the gentle expression that was the hallmark of an Imdiko…to a point. His eyes were piercing. Demanding. Unwavering. The direct stare was all Dramok.

So be it. Kila’s spine steeled for the inevitable fight. “I see you’re doing your initial inspection?”

“Yes sir. And may I say, your former chief should be taken out and whipped. The modifications I’ve found are a nightmare.”

“Those would be my modifications, Chief.” His voice, steady and cold. His tone, don’t-fuck-with-me.

Lokmi didn’t react with the flustered anxiety Kila anticipated. He didn’t even blink. Instead, there was a slight grimace as he said, “It makes sense that a speed junkie would do this to his poor ship. Son of Clan Poc, aren’t you? The famous shuttle racing team?”

Kila wasn’t sure if he should be offended or not by the other man’s comments. “Did you look me up to impress me or are you an actual racing fan?”

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