Page 23 of A Redemption for Ulrek

Over time, Ulrek had either earned their fealty or had left them behind. The two who had planned to give him up to the Dominion were dead. He’d transferred those he was suspicious of over to one of his other ships, where his captains would watch them with a close eye.

Some of the humans he’d picked up from Earth had needed reshuffling too. A few left over time for other opportunities. Still others had only taken the offer so they could get out of a life sentence; he did recruit from an Earth penitentiary after all. They too, were long gone.

He didn’t trust Delaney yet, and this was her first test, though if he was going to nullify their contract, it wouldn’t be needed. Emil was outside his door, ready to apprehend her if she planted bugs in his room. He pulled up the live feed from his quarters to see what she would do.

Delaney was already inside. Ulrek’s room was simple. He’d picked up the habit of keeping everything neat and tidy while he’d been at the academy, and it had stuck. She glanced around the room.

She didn’t linger long and quickly went to the facilities to clean up. She didn’t plant any recorders or drop poison into the glass of water by his bed. Ulrek hadn’t expected her to, though if she had, it would make it easier to terminate the contract.

He hated monitoring her like this. It felt wrong. But it was needed, not just for his safety but for that of his crew. They depended on him.

As things stood right now, Ulrek didn’t know what to do, and that was a new feeling for him. He wanted to explore whatever was starting between him and Delaney, but he also knew that he couldn’t afford any mistakes. This tiny little human female, who barely went up to his chest, was going to be the death of him.

Chapter 12

Delaney

Instead of inquiring at local flower shops and nurseries about job opportunities after picking up a set of suitable clothes, Delaney found herself heading straight to the New Colonist Housing building. She didn’t even know if she could get out of the contract on theNew Horizonyet, and it wasn’t right to agree to a job only to back out of it later. She’d also spotted one of Craig’s friends at The Shops.

She could face down Craig while there was someone on her side of the court, but if he caught her alone on the streets, and she couldn’t get to a guard in time, she’d be in big trouble.

Also, she only had enough fucks to give to deal with one jackass a day, and she’d already used that fuck with Ulrek.

She scanned her comm at the door, and it let her in. She had a flashback of when she’d been brand new to Reka 5. This room wasn’t much different from the one she’d had then, except back then, she’d been in a double with Craig.

The room had a single bed, sized somewhere between a twin and a double, but longer, since Talleans were taller. It had one table, one chair, and a single-door wardrobe for her clothes. The window had simple blinds.

That was it.

Basic. Barren. The point was to encourage those living in it to get a job and be a part of the colony. Since this colony consisted mostly of escaped slaves and others getting out of bad situations, Reka 5 provided new colonists with essentials like food and housing for two planetary years. During that time, they were expected to work on integrating and becoming functional, productive members of society.

Once the two years were up, they were kicked out of the housing units, and if no one took them in, then they were out of the colony for good. Delaney remembered a woman who’d taken advantage of the free housing and meals, not believing the handouts would ever end, no matter how many times she was told. She’d gotten a one-way ticket to New Rhea.

People had protested, but rules were rules. The woman had spent two whole years doing nothing and living off the colony! Delaney thought Reka 5 was already extremely generous.

She felt really lucky that Angie got her a room here, but then again, she never used her full two years. She’d gotten a job at the greenhouse, and Craig found one in construction. They’d left the NCH and moved out together just one year later.

And now she was back.

There was a cafeteria on site, but she didn’t remember the food being very good, so she stepped out again to grab some pre-made stuff from the nearby grocer. It was just across the street, and a guard patrolled around the building.

The selection of pre-made instant meals had grown since the last time she’d been here. It now boasted some very familiar-looking Earth-inspired goodies—samosas, slices of pizza, beef patties. Whoa, was that an egg salad sandwich? It was even cut into triangles.

She was sure it all only vaguely tasted like the real thing since most of the ingredients were substituted, but they sure could fool her with the presentation. The Earth finger foods sat next to Tallean meat skewers, sauce-covered dumplings, and fire-charred sweet doughs. It was a perfect representation of their uniquely mixed colony.

Delaney grabbed some fruit and a tray of still-warm meat skewers, paid for them, and headed back across the street. She was cutting across the green when she heard footsteps and realized someone was following her. She whipped around.

“Hello, wife.”

A cold chill ran down her spine, making her want to crawl into a hole and hide. But Craig was probably expecting her to freak out and start cowering. So she forced herself to stay calm and face him.

“Go away, Craig.” She surreptitiously looked around for the guard that usually patrolled the New Colonist area. Not there. Damn.

“If you think I believed that little charade with the Tallean captain, then you must think I’m stupid. Did you think I’d leave you alone because you’ve been sullied by aliens? I’m not that dumb.” He closed the gap between them. “You weren’t therewithhim. Angie walked you back here. The captain ended up bringing that Tallean bitch back to the docks.”

Wait. Ulia? Ulrek slept with Ulia before totally rocking Delaney’s world earlier today? Why was that, of all things, the part that she latched onto? And why did it piss her off?

Craig reached for her, but she danced out of his way. She noticed he had bandages wrapped around one of his wrists. The one Ulrek had twisted.

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