Page 65 of Soros
Nerix scowled. “You’re telling me to hide away while my cousin is here.”
“Yes.”
Lios looked at Zobran, who informed him that a shuttle was approaching. Knowing that Tania and Star would have missed that, I translated, “The pilot is here.”
“Where am I supposed to go?” Nerix asked with an attitude.
“If you need suggestions, I would say there’s a long list of things you could do. You could cook, clean, exercise or take a nap for that matter. I’m not your parent, Nerix. Figure it out.”
Clearly angry with Lios’ dismissive tone, Nerix walked off. Like me he was Eidron and we had a reputation of being mature and altruistic. Out of all the Descendants of Doom, our race was over-represented in the Federation as our culture supported traveling and helping other cultures.
When Cacala stepped on board, I was curious to see if she was similar to Nerix. In looks they could have been siblings as she had his dark blonde hair and well-built physique. But she differed in the way she came onboard with a friendly attitude, smiling at all of us.
Lios introduced us all and when he got to our side of the room, he switched to verbal communication. “And this is Star and Tania, who are both half human and unable to use telepathy. Soros is the skilled criminologist who helped us track our latest target to Earth.”
Cacala carried a nervous energy and smiled at us with a toothy grin.
“Excuse me for a second.” Lios signaled that he was getting an important request for connection and stepped away.
It left Cacala standing next to us, clearly uncertain about the situation. Looking at Tania she said, “I’ve seen you before. I’ve flown Malliko back and forth between Earth andCammin-214a few times. I recognize you from the first time that you picked him up. He was so excited to do research on Earth.”
“What’sCammin-214?” Star asked.
“That’s the research ship where I work as a pilot.”
“You pilot a large research ship.” Star sounded impressed.
Cacala lifted one of her shoulders to her chin. “I wish, but I’m the pilot of a small shuttle. Not that I couldn’t pilot the large ship if they would let me, but I haven’t been given the chance.” Looking around, she spoke with a dreamy quality to her tone. “My dream is to be a pilot on an important mission like the ones they have here on theGreat Defender. I was so excited when Lios contacted me, but also embarrassed.”
“Why were you embarrassed?” Tania asked.
Craning her neck to look over her shoulder, I got the feeling that Cacala was making sure that Lios was out of ears reach before she answered. “Because I was a complete ass to him the first time we met. But in all fairness, he came across as arrogant and I just don’t tolerate people talking down to me or making me feel less. If I had known that I would get the chance to work on his ship one day, I would have behaved nicer.” Cacala chewed on her lower lip and touched her face. “It’s weird because at first when I saw the Captain, I got all gooey inside.” With a lopsided grin, she admitted, “I have a thing for Ugon men, but I’ve never actually...” Trailing off, she gave a nervous chuckle. “Never mind. I shouldn’t have told you that. It’s typical of me to overshare when I get nervous.”
“Me too,” Star assured her. “And I can’t lie even if I try. I don’t know how but others can always tell when I’m trying to get away with something, but I’ve never succeeded in lying.”
“It’s because you give out some very clear signals when you’re nervous,” I said.
Star gave a soft smile. “I repeat myself, don’t I?”
“Yes, for one, and you rotate the ring on your finger.”
“Huh. I’ll have to be more aware.”
“Turning the ring on your finger is much better than accidentally telling the captain who is interviewing you that a job wasn’t what you hoped he contacted you about.”
Star cocked her head to the left. “What do you mean?”
Cacala looked over her shoulder again and then she whispered to Star. “I got excited because I hoped he wanted to see me for other reasons.”
With Star being so incredibly innocent, Tania made sure that she understood what Cacala meant.
“She’s physically attracted to Lios and hoped that he was attracted to her as well.”
Cacala waved her hand dismissively. “It’s fine. Getting a chance to pilot a Federation ship like this one would be an honor too.”
“You’ll have to put your attraction away and focus on the tasks if you take the job,” I warned. “And with him being Ugon, he’ll know if you show him the least bit of sign.”
“Right.” Cacala crossed and uncrossed her arms. “Maybe a bit of attitude is better. You know, to show him that I’m not the least bit interested.”
