Page 23 of Savage Union

“Just get out of the damned way!” Frux demanded.

Gurflug was forced to back down the corridor—he was too big to turn around—until he got back to the mess hall with Frux berating him all the way. I had no doubt this was going tosomehow be my fault in Gurflug’s mind too, but I couldn’t deny that I got satisfaction from watching the scene.

The noise must have drawn attention because several of the other Crew members—most of them at least half Brute, to judge from their horns—came out of the Crew Quarters to see what all the commotion was about.

“What the fuck’s goin’ on?” one of them—a huge, beefy Brute whose horns were painted dark green asked. His uniform shirt was rumpled and open to the waist, showing a chest so hairy it looked like he had a pelt.

“Hello, Jerx,” Snuffy said. “Frux is trying to get past one of our new navvies. Yes he is.Yes he is.This is the other one,” he added, nodding at me.

“My name is Cass, ship’s navigator,” I said, sticking out my hand in what I hoped was a manly gesture.

Instead of taking my hand, the beefy Brute named Jerx looked me up and down. His black eyes went half-lidded in a way that made me feel distinctly uncomfortable.

“Well, ain’t you a pretty little thing?” he said, grinning at me. “Catamite, are you?” This brought a burst of trollish laughter from the other Brutes around him.

“Excuse me,whatdid you just call me?” I asked, frowning. What the hell was a “Catamite?” I was afraid to ask.

“NowI see why the Captain hired two of you,” Jerx remarked, ignoring my question. “One to navigate and one to service the crew. Mighty fuckin’ nice of him. The long nights do get real lonely when we’re between planets and ain’t got no female company.”

More laughter from the other Brutes but in the meantime, I was feeling worse and worse about the situation.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about!” I exclaimed, trying to keep my voice from trembling. “I was hired for Cross Dimensional Navigationonly.”

“Yeah, right.” Jerx gave me a predatory grin. “See you later,Catamite.”

He disappeared back into the Crew Quarters along with the other crew members, leaving me and Snuffy alone. Down the corridor, Frux had finally gotten past Gurflug and now the bulky Galafruxian was making his laborious way back to us.

“What’s a Catamite—do you know?” I asked Snuffy quickly, before he could get to us.

The Illyrian’s cabin boy shook his head, his long nose twitching.

“I was afraid of this. Don’t know why the Captain thought it was a good idea to hire someone so young and pretty with this rough bunch around. I’m afraid you’ll have to watch your backside if you don’t want to get drilled, navvie,” he said to me.

“But what’s a—” I began again, but just then Gurflug finally reached us and Snuffy continued on down the corridor, leaving me with questions that had no answers.

We finally got to a door marked “Navigator’s Quarters” and Snuffy opened it with a flourish.

“Here’s your bunks, boys,” he said, nodding at me and Gurflug. “Get your uniforms on quick-like and come back to the bridge on the double.On the double.”

Since I was standing just inside the door with him, I could see the layout of the room and what I saw made my heart sink.

The Navigator’s quarters weretiny—smaller than the smallest guest bathroom in my father’s house.There was a double bunkbed pushed against one wall and then a narrow area beside it where you could stand to get dressed and that was it. There wasn’t even a storage area for clothes—just a lot of hooks on the opposite wall, presumably for hanging our uniforms at night and our pajamas during the day.

It occurred to me that the pajamas I had brought with me in my single carry-all bag were covered in pink flower buds and more than a little girly. Was that going to be a problem?

Everythingwas going to be a problem, I had to acknowledge to myself. From sharing a bunk with Gurflug to taking communal showers with males who thought I was “pretty,” life aboard The Illyrian wasn’t going to be easy.

Should I go, I wondered? Should I leave right now before we got underway and just try to hide out somewhere on the streets of Rigelis Nine? But no—my father’s men were sure to find me. And then I’d be stuck getting Bound to Grr. Malofice and being miserable the rest of my life. I would just have to tough it out somehow.

My resolve was immediately shaken when Gurflug shoved past me and claimed the top bunk.

“Hey, that doesn’t make sense!” I protested, as he heaved his bulk up into the narrow berth. “You’d fit much better in the bottom—you’re too heavy to be on top!”

“As the Head Navigator, I get first choice of bunks,” he sneered at me. “And don’t you forget it, pup!”

“You’renotthe Head Navigator!” I protested. “The Captain hired us both equally.”

“Then why am I getting double your pay? Because I have more seniority and experience—which makesmethe senior officer.” He settled into the bunk and let out a huge blast of flatulence that made me wince and step back with my hand over my nose.

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