Page 56 of May the Stars Have Mercy
“You’ve got stuff you’ve got to handle. And I really need to get him fully functional if we’re going to help stop this. I want to give him better functionality, and if possible, a few weapons upgrades, and I could use some armor. I’m really not a fan of getting punched or stabbed so…” She trailed off with a sigh.
He nodded with a grimace that summed up how she felt about it, pulling out his data pad. “I agree, I am also not a fan of you getting punched or stabbed.”
A familiar face popped up on the screen over call. Rexna beamed from their side of the call. “Kannatch! An honor!”
“Can you come to the great hall, I need you to help set up the Mphronatch in the technician bay. She has upgrades to do.”
“I would be thrilled! Yes! I shall be there!” The call ended abruptly. Aphrodite chuckled. She liked Rexna, their enthusiasm was infectious. Pushing up on her toes, she pressed a kiss to Xexis’ cheek again and squeezed his bicep affectionately.
“Thank you, Xexis.”
He sighed, “I will be stuck with the hunters, there is much to be done.” Xexis put their data pads together and she watched the connection symbol light up. A map was downloaded onto her device along with a contact. “Quagmor will likely be the one to fetch you for the meal. I apologize we will be apart most of the day…but you may contact me or come see me.”
Aphrodite allowed him to walk away, Reevar on his heel. She watched from her new space on the wall as her Mate disappeared into a newly forming crowd. The sea of hunters followed him through an archway. Quagmor settled beside her, hugging his own data pad to his chest. Aphrodite gave him a weak smile but their conversation died on each of their tongues..
After she finished her email to Vivian, she felt Rexna’s enthusiasm in the air before hearing their delightful voice bouncing off the walls. Rexna bellowed from an archway across the great hall. “My Mphronatch!”
She grinned, peeling away from the wall. Rexna flounced through the massive room and skidded to a stop before her. Aphrodite offered a hand that Rexna shook vigorously. “Hello Rexna, it’s so good to see you again.”
“And it’s about to be gooder! Off to the lab!” Rexna proclaimed, pumping their hands into the air. Aphrodite followed the bouncing engineer through the halls and deep into the belly of the station.
Inthefewhoursit took to tour the entire science lab, Aphrodite managed to shake the heartache.For the moment, at least.From biological research to engineering, Rexna showed Aphrodite everything. She wanted to dive headfirst into upgrades for Buddy, but every time she opened her mouth to ask to end the tour, the words dried up.The idea of being left alone? With my thoughts? No thanks.It was easier to let Rexna wind her through crowds of researchers wanting the ear of the Mphronatch than to face reality—her space station was gone.
She might have gotten thousands of people killed.
Ouch, okay, stop that.
Aphrodite finally sat at a lab table, out of the eyes and ears of the other engineers and stared at her data pad. The box of tools and other items she’d collected were already organized on her desk.Head propped up in her palms, she stared at the screen like it would tell her the secrets.Like it would tell me this was all a horrid nightmare.Emotions washed over her again, mercilessly. She wanted to ignore them, but they weighed on her like stones dragging her below water. Drowning in her own mind, Aphrodite didn’t feel Buddy tap her arm.
It wasn’t until his text appeared on the screen that she even realized he’d been trying to get her attention. Aphrodite blinked away the fog of despair. “Sorry, Buddy, I’m trying.”
What upgrades should we start on first?
Aphrodite picked up the pile of pieces across from her.Where to even begin?With a sigh, she pulled up the applications on her data pad and spread them across the screen. “Let’s start with the new software, then we’ll move onto more aggressive upgrades.”
Which meant she sat there, for another few hours, plugging Buddy into her data pad and upgrading his drivers. While he was updating one application, she worked on another microchip full of other codes. He sat on the desk, happily tapping his metal tentacles against the surface. At least the monotonous work of upgrading software kept her mind busy with numbers and commands. If she was too focused on Buddy’s needs, then she couldn’t remember she’d doomed her entire species.
She ended up yawning hard enough to crack her jaw before Quagmor came for her. He slid into the space next to her sheepishly. Aphrodite held up a finger for him to hold on before cleaning up her station. Buddy finished uploading and disconnected himself. She strapped her data pad to her arm and followed Quagmor through the halls. When they entered the mess hall, Xexis wasn’t at the table.
“The Kannatch is with the Korzavic, he will miss this meal.” Quagmor spared her an apologetic look as he dropped her off at the table with Reevar and the pack.
“That’s okay, I figured he’d be busy.” She sank into the seat beside Reevar with a sigh. Quagmor bowed to her respectfully before leaving on the arm of a purple person with a cute, tiny rhino horn for a nose and scales along their arms. Aphrodite watched them speak softly to each other before sharing a forehead touch. They sat by themselves, never letting go of the other.Quagmor’s mate.
“Mphronatch?”
She twisted to face Kiefgr. He extended a hand to her. She took it and softly shook his hand. He cupped her palm tenderly. “Our hearts bleed with you.”
“Thanks, Kiefgr,” she whispered, squeezing his touch affectionately before she let go.
“Are you busy, my Mphronatch, with upgrades? Or shall we, after we eat, walk the station?” Reevar suggested.
“Walking angrily helps with sadness,” Grooug contributed with a sharp nod to her. She spared him a sweet look, accepting the hand he offered. They shook hands before he squeezed her palm like he saw her do to Kiefgr.
If I’m not careful, I might actually change the meaning of handshakes for an entire species of people…oh no.
“Walking angrily sounds good.” She exhaled a heavy breath before the group dug into the food on their plates. The fruit was heavy in her hands as she fought to keep her mind in the moment.Don’t drift…because the minute you do…that will be the minute you die inside.
Chapter Thirty-Three:
