Of course, now we’ve landed, and this mining station doesn’t look safe. It looks like it’s about to keffing fall apart, which concerns me. Abandoned stations can house all kinds of rough sorts. There might be pirates, or fugitive convicts hiding out from the law. There could be scrappers looking to take apart the station itself for a quick paycheck. The entire place could be infested with some sort of vermin from the nearest planet. We just don’t know, and that’s why it’s safest for Helen to stay behind while I scope things out.
She won’t, of course. Stay behind.
She’s going to cling to me and be a distraction.
I’d feel better if she stayed in the pod but I can understand her fear. This is all new to her. So I turn and give her a stern look. “Remember, stay behind me. And if there’s a hint of danger, you run back to this pod and shut the door, understand?”
Helen gives me a wide-eyed look. “Of course.”
Yeah, somehow I don’t believe that. Helen is many things, but good at listening to orders? Not exactly. Obedient? No. But I bite back my frustration and carefully, quietly open the pod door.
A rush of stale air whooshes in, along with the smell of dust and the burned metal smell of old broken equipment. Behind me, Helen breathes deep and makes a humming noise of pleasure. Weird. Maybe it smells different to her. I put a finger to my lips and take a step out, gauging the feel of the floors underneath my boots. They feel solid, at least. The temperature in the docking bay is frigid, but not so cold that it’d prevent us from inhabiting this place. That means there’s some sort of environmental control still hard at work, a good sign that the place hasn’t been stripped for parts. Encouraged, I take a few more steps forward.
Helen makes an alarmed little squeak and rushes after me, crashing into my back a moment later. Her hands move all over me, and I grab them before she can touch my erection— because it seems I’m always erect around Helen, to my chagrin. “Stay. Back.”
“It’s dark,” she whispers. “Can we turn a light on? I don’t like the dark.”
“Not yet. We need to scout things out first, see if we’re the only ones here. You can still go back to the pod.”
“No, I’ll stay with you.” Her hands flutter at my backside and for a moment I stiffen, thinking she’s going to grab my tail. Part of me is screaming yes, yes, do that, and I’m relieved (disappointed?) when she hooks a hand to my belt instead. “Just move slow.”
Right. Move slow. Because that’ll be helpful if there’s danger around.
I move through the docking bay, analyzing it as I walk. It’s narrow, with only two docks for ships, and both of the docks are enormous, which means that they weren’t expecting traffic other than haulers. Everything looks to be in good working order. The walls are sheets of metal alloy, and though they’re dented and scratched in some high-traffic spots, they seem sturdy enough. There’s some rust in corners and at doorjambs, which hints of too much humidity or a leak somewhere.
I find the door at the far end of the docking bay and listen for a moment. No noise on the other side. “We’re going through,” I tell Helen. “Stay quiet and stay behind me.”
I crank the hand mechanism and open the door. Immediately, lights on the floor flare to life, illuminating what look like crew quarters. Thick dust hangs in the air, and as light after light cranks on, the station comes into focus before my blinking eyes. There’s thick dust on the floor, as well, a good sign. If anyone’s been here in the last several years, they don’t have feet.
“Lights,” Helen says happily, her hand sliding out of my belt.
“Shh,” I say again, casting her a stern look. “Stay put. I’m going to find the station’s access panel and log in.”
Helen gives me a nod, her silken purple hair sliding over her shoulders and down the ragged crew uniform she wears. Not that I should be noticing her hair or the twitch of her ears and the iridescent little fins along the edges. She no longer looks frightened, at least. With one more command to stay put, I turn my back to her and head down the hall. There’s several doors lining the corridor, and a long line of windows that show the contents of each room. They look like regular mining office type set-ups, with some equipment, a desk or two, and loads and loads of crew gear stacked into cubbyholes. I try the door of the first one. Locked, with a bio-sensor panel. Well, I know how to take care of that.