Page 13 of Fighting Gravity
Taking the medical scanner off the counter, I tossed it to her. She caught it with one hand and flipped it open, reading the data with a long sigh.
“Wow,” Quinn said. “Sour Face, meet Norman.”
“What did she just say?” Veron asked me in a sharp tone.
I rubbed my forehead and grumbled my irritation. “I think she is attempting to ease her stress by giving us nicknames of some kind.”
“What are the nicknames?”
I shook my head. “I have no idea and it doesn’t matter.”
I heard Quinn shiver and in my peripheral, I could see her adjusting her neck while tiny little bumps rippled across her skin. She looked chilled and annoyed by our tones and it caught both our attention.
“I don’t like her,” Veron said, eyeing Quinn like she was a stain.
“You don’t have to like her. You just have to keep her alive until I can make her useful.”
“She’s strong enough to question again. Have you tested her pain threshold?”
“No. To do that, she needs to be healthier. If she just passes out during questioning, it will take forever to get anything.”
“Then give her a nurtipack. I’ve input the major vitamins her body needs into the system.”
“Good.”
Veron whipped her head toward me, her eyes darting down my body as she sniffed.
“What is that?” she asked.
“What is what?”
“You smell different.”
“I smell as if I need to bathe.” Flicking my chin at the woman, I said, “And so does she.”
“Throw her into a sanitization unit.”
“She needs to bathe, not burn her skin off.”
“Soft thing,” Veron hissed, baring her teeth. “She’ll be hard to keep alive on this ship.”
“Down, girl,” I said, getting another rise out of her.
She hissed again and stormed out of the room like the place was on fire, leaving me alone once more with my human captive.
“Girlfriend not too pleased to see another woman in your room, Norman?” she said, her mouth stretching with amusement.
I crossed the room, pressing my hand to the creation box on the wall, which opened up a panel full of controls. Veron, as sassy as she was, already made a more effective nutritional preset compatible with humans and labeled it “alien.” I tapped it and from the creation box came a pouch filled with clear liquid a bit thicker than water. I took it and brought it to my mouth, using my teeth to rip off the corner.
“What the hell is that?” Quinn asked.
She was inquisitive and distrustful. Which meant she wasn’t stupid and she had good instincts.
I said nothing, so she reached out and snatched the pouch out of my hand, examining the contents. Bringing it to her nose, she took a sniff and then glanced back up at me. I nodded, indicating it was safe. Finally, she brought the open corner to her lips and began to suck the liquid into her mouth.
I couldn’t help myself. Her lips were chapped and she was dehydrated, and yet her mouth was so supple. I watched her throat bob with every gulp as she consumed the nutripack’s contents, making little suckling noises until it was all gone.
“Jesus,” she exhaled. “Finally.” She tossed the empty pouch at my chest and I let it bounce right off of me and flutter to the floor. “Get rid of that, will you?”
