Drawing back his fist, Veral restrained himself enough only to knock the male unconscious. He wanted to do far more damage, but with the way the other males cowered around their fallen noble, he considered well enough done. His mandibles clicked in anger.And she wonders why I keep her away from other males.Everything about her was exotic and unknown. It unfailingly attracted the wrong kind of attention. He would not tolerate the disrespect being shown toward her. Not by space station vermin, and not by foul nobles flaunting their privilege and wealth.
No one was going to touch his anastha.
“Pick that thing up,” he snapped at them, gratified when they complied.
Within minutes, he had the entire group secured within two of the crew cabins with strict instructions when it came to what parts of the corridor were off limits. The males bobbed their heads in quick agreement. He had no doubt that they would follow orders. His eyes narrowed on the unconscious male before pointing one claw at his prone form.
“Keep that male away from my quarters and my mate or I will make certain that his galari cannot bless another female again,” he growled.
Without another word, he stalked from the room, his vibrissae snapping around him with hissing rattles as he prowled back toward the flight deck.
The sooner he offloaded his “guests,” the less likely he would kill Egbor.
He smiled at the thought of the male’s blood and entrails falling from his fingers and allowed himself to enjoy the visual for a moment before banishing it to the recesses of his mind. As long as the male followed his directions, that would never happen. The males accompanying the noble better pray that their leader was not so foolish.
3
Veral did not trust the males. His hands came down on the controls as he watched them shuffling through the corridors of his ship. Although they stayed well away from the quarters he shared with his mate, theseguestswere being far too free with his ship. When he had approached Egbor about it, with a demand that it stop, the infuriating male had shrugged and said that Blaithari required regular exercise and he would not be sequestered in his room like livestock.
Veral seethed with the analogy, unable to stop from comparing the statement to his mate’s own miserable confinement. It made him bristle even more, his vibrissae churning around him, taking in the male’s exact distance to effectively strike as he made his displeasure known.
This ship was property of his mate by Argurma tradition.Sheshould be wandering through it freely. Not them.
He bristled as one of the males sniffed curiously in the hall just as the door to the flight deck slid open. Turning a disgusted look on Egbor as the pompous male leisurely strolled in, Veral huffed and returned his full attention to the male in the security vid running behind his eyes.
“I have never been in a salvaging ship before,” the male announced politely as he narrowed his eyes at one of the downsized schematics.
Veral whisked it away with a thought and frowned at the male. He did not find curiosity to be a virtue or tolerable in most individuals. Where it was delightful in his mate, in everyone else, he found it intrusive.
“What do you want?” Veral demanded.
“Want? Nothing at all. It is so taxing remaining in my quarters all the time, as you know, and I had not yet seen this part of the ship… and now here I am. So tell me, what additions does a salvaging ship have compared to other spacecrafts?”
“None,” Veral replied, willing to tell the male what he wanted to know if it would get rid of him. “It can be modified to haul ships when necessary, but the ship itself is a means of transportation with an upgraded reinforcement. The strength of a salvage is dependent on the training of those doing the work.”
“On the salvagers themselves? Oh my, that does sound taxing, but certainly puts things into perspective as to why males of your skills are so valuable.” His lips pursed thoughtfully. “How much longer until we arrive at Janilik?”
“Eighteen standard galactic hours,” Veral grumbled.
It could not be soon enough for his comfort.
Egbor sighed. “I do not suppose you can increase your speed? I am running very late. This delay is inconvenient enough as it is.”
“The ship is going at maximum drive speed. Anything faster could not be maintained for long distances without potential damage to the ship.”
“I could compensate you generously for the costs…”
“No,” Veral snarled, terminating the conversation with that one word.
“You really are a most disagreeable male. Is this typical of your species, or do you strive to be unpleasant and difficult in general?”
“The Argurma do not care what outsiders think, so we make no special effort to be either agreeable or disagreeable,” Veral said coolly before flashing the male a hard smile, baring his sharp teeth in a manner that disturbed most other beings. “That you find it personally offensive is merely a detail that I individually savor.”
“Well,” the Blaithari huffed indignantly, “I shall retire to my quarters then with a cup of orshan tea.”
Veral curled his lip but did not reply. Instead, he watched the male, tracking him with his eyes as well as the vids throughout the ship as the Blaithari flounced back to his quarters. He stopped at the corridor junction to stare down toward the room where Terri was hidden before resuming his irritated pace of the remaining distance to his quarters. Moments later, one of his attendants scurried out to the galley, filling plates and replicating a pot of tea that he hastened back to his master’s quarters.
Though he watched for considerable time, the males did not emerge again until a single attendant rushed back to the galley with the dishes to wash and store for the next meal period. After the conclusion of their meal, he noted that one would slip out every so often to pace up and down the corridors. They often took breaks to stare out the viewing ports scattered along their route, and they never failed to miss the port just within the junction that led to Terri.