Marrex pulled up the ship’s schematic on the reclaimed holocomm bracelet. Again. The green dot representing Juniper was still in the observation deck. What is he doing? It was late—usually the Human had settled in by now. Frowning, Marrex rubbed his face, wishing he could stop thinking about the young man. Juniper kept extending what seemed like a hand of friendship, but that had to be a ruse… didn’t it? He growled under his breath and turned off the bracelet’s screen, lying back against the pillows. Marrex could easily drop the Human off at any planet or station beyond Imperial space and let him find his own way home. He should. But… he couldn’t bring himself to do it. Outside Imperial law, beautiful Juniper would be snatched up by the first xeno flesh-peddler who laid eyes on him. Or would he? Maybe he could take care of himself.

  Maybe there’s another reason you’re keeping him here.

  Marrex stared at the green dot, realizing he’d turned the screen back on again without thinking.

  “Good god… Why don’t you just go see what he’s doing?”

  Marrex snorted and turned to S1N, who was sitting primly on the small shelf next to the bed.

  “What concern is it of yours?”

  “Sir?”

  Snorting again, Marrex shook his head. “Don’t ‘sir’ me. What is it?”

  S1N licked his paw and passed it over his ear, before answering. “Well… you were… happy earlier. About the soup.” His ear twitched, and he gave it another swipe with his paw. “I’ve never seen you happy.”

  “Why do you care if I’m happy?”

  “I just thought you might enjoy a change from your relentless brooding,” S1N replied with a swish of his tail. “I don’t really care. Do what you want.”

  The observation deck was dark and silent, lit only by the stars beyond the viewport, and for a moment, Marrex thought he might have missed Juniper. However, his eyes picked out subtle movement on one of the large comfortable lounge chairs, and he took a quiet step into the room to get a better look.

  The Human was sitting with his knees up to his chest, arms wrapped around them, his head tilted back as he watched the glittering beauty of the aBi nebula. How different he was than the two Humans Marrex had encountered before… They’d been oily and unshaven and brutish, but maybe that was because they were underworld darkmarket junk hawkers. Maybe Juniper was what Humans were supposed to look like.

  No. Marrex gave a little headshake. He had a feeling Juniper was unique. But what was it that so appealed to him? Was it the long flawless limbs? The interesting lines of his smooth muscles, so different from his own? The way the light played with the gold in his eyes? Or was it the long dark hair that called to Marrex? He could imagine himself running his hands through it, burying his face in Juniper’s neck…

  “I never knew anything could be so beautiful,” Juniper said in a hushed voice.

  Marrex’s heart stopped in his chest, and it took him a few breathless seconds to realize Juniper was talking about the stars.

  Marrex stared at Juniper’s starlit profile. “Yes… beautiful,” he said, his throat dry.

  Juniper slowly turned to the captain, his expression lost to the dark.

  Marrex turned his face away, uncomfortably aware of Juniper’s gaze. “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to disturb you.”

  “That’s all right. I was about to go to bed.” Juniper rose gracefully out of his seat. “Will you walk with me, Captain?”

  Marrex couldn’t think of anything to say, so he just gave a brusque nod and gestured for Juniper to lead the way out of the observation deck.

  Side by side, they walked silently down the corridor. Marrex kept glancing at Juniper out of the corner of his eye, wondering what was going on inside the young man’s mind to make him so quiet. The corridor was a bit narrow for the both of them, and as they walked, their arms occasionally brushed, sending Marrex’s fur ruffling up his back—a ticklish, exciting feeling. He clenched his jaw, wishing he had something interesting to say to distract himself from the closeness of the Human, but too soon Juniper stopped in front of a metal door.

  “Well, this is me,” Juniper said, looking up at Marrex with a smile.

  “Ah… yes.”

  “I’ll come see you tomorrow after breakfast.”

  “Tomorrow?”

  “For your chair.”

  “Right.” Marrex frowned, then nodded. “All right.”

  “Goodnight, Captain.”

  “Goodnight… Juniper.”

  The Human pressed the button, and the door slid open with a hiss. Juniper walked into his room and shot another smile over his shoulder at Marrex before the door closed.

  Marrex panted a few breaths, the fur on his back standing on end again, and closed his eyes. Then he let out a sigh and started off towards his own room.

  What could he trust—his instincts or common sense? For the first time in his life, they were completely at odds with each other.

  Chapter 8

  Dinner, Dinner?

  Captain Marrex watched Juniper reattach the panel on the chair arm, the tip of the Human’s tongue sliding out of the corner of his mouth as he concentrated on reconnecting wires. He was wearing the bright-green Melloran dance trousers again, but this time, they were paired with a sleeveless mesh top in dark pink… another odd combination. Not that he was complaining—he could see Juniper’s skin through the mesh, and it was tantalizing to catch glimpses of the two dimples in his lower back. Occasionally, when Juniper bent lower, Marrex saw the full triangle of his sacrum pointing to a tiny hint of his cleft above the waist of his pants. He let out a slow sigh, feeling a bit ashamed of himself for staring, but it was hard not to. When Juniper turned around, Marrex’s gaze followed the smooth line of his groin.

  “Captain?”

  Marrex lifted his eyes, startled. “Yes? What is it?” he asked, feeling like a youngling caught with his hand in the sheppik jar.

  “I said, why don’t you sit and try it out?”

  Was Marrex imagining it, or did Juniper look flushed? He just nodded and went to his chair, sinking down into it. It felt odd at first—he’d gotten so used to its rightward tilt, but it didn’t squeak when he moved, nor did it shimmy like it normally did when he sat back. He flicked the toggle switch for the viewscreen, and it came on.

  “Now try the others,” Juniper said, standing next to the chair.

  Curious, Marrex flipped the next switch, and the view changed to infrared, revealing to the naked eye the hidden stars of the aBi nebula. “Huh,” he said, flipping it back and forward again. “I’d almost forgotten it did that.” One by one, he tried the toggles, rediscovering functions he’d thought long lost.

  After a moment, he realized Juniper was gazing at him with a strange expression on his face.

  “What?” Marrex felt self-conscious. Not many people could bear to look at him that long, but Juniper seemed to have no problem with it.

  “How long have you been alone on this ship?” Juniper asked.

  Marrex gave a short bitter laugh. Instead of answering, he called out, “S1N?”

  From atop the unused science station came S1N’s sleepy voice. “Sixty-three point four five years, Imperial Standard,” the AI said.

  Marrex heard Juniper’s swift intake of breath, and he turned to the young man, wryly amused by his reaction.

  “That’s—” Juniper’s forehead wrinkled as he did the math. “About a hundred and twelve years back home.” Shaking his head, the young man looked at him in awe. “No wonder you’re such a…”

  “Such a what?” Marrex said it with a warning growl, but he was surprised to realize he was only teasing.

  “Such a good captain,” Juniper finished with a bright grin, but he laughed a little nervously.

  Marrex chuckled, sitting back in his repaired chair and gazed at his new guest-cum-crewmate. Juniper had put his thick dark hair up into a pile on top of his head, and it should have looked ridiculous… but it didn’t. It showed off the strong line of his jaw, the graceful length of his neck, and his perfect delicate ears. Juniper’s smile went shy under the captain’s scrutiny, and Marrex thought about the subtle tension between them the night before… Had he only imagined it?

  “Your face is dirty,” Marrex said gruffly. Juniper had a dark streak of oil across his forehead. “Go clean up. Come to the dining hall when you’re done.”

  “Why?” Juniper tucked his pliers into the pocket of his trousers, searching the captain’s expression. “Is there something to fix?”

  “No. I would like to have dinner with you.”

  Juniper inspected himself in the mirror. His face was clean, and he’d taken his hair down and given it a good brushing—it fell, shiny and dark past his shoulders, with a few chin-length pieces framing his face. Smiling at his reflection, he thought he looked pretty good.

  “What in the world are you wearing?” S1N asked from the bed.

  “It used to be a funny sort of dress. I think it might have belonged to the wife of the Angorran who was stationed on the Stellerion before the captain took command. Pieces of it were rotted away—I’m guessing natural fibers of some kind—but I sewed the bottom together to make pants… sort of.” He looked down at the short blue-and-yellow-patterned pants and tugged them down a bit. It was a good thing that Angorran women weren’t curvy like Human women. The bodice was tight and lay flat across his ribs, and the arms were short, but he figured that matched the bottom half.

  “You can sew?” The cat sounded vaguely impressed.

  “I watched a whole lot of instruction vids,” replied Juniper, belting his creation with a length of shiny orange fabric. “I figure I did ok.”

  “Well, I think he looks very nice,” VAL said.

  “Did I say he didn’t look nice?” S1N said, leaping off the bed, his tail a sinuous black S behind him. He stopped by Juniper’s feet, looking up at him round-eyed. “You look very nice, Juniper.”

  “Thanks, you two. I don’t even know what to expect. Did he ask me for dinner dinner or is this just…? I don’t know.” Juniper sighed, turning his makeshift belt so the knot was over his hip.

  “You’ll do just fine,” VAL replied, the AI’s smooth face a pretty shade of periwinkle.

  “Well, as long as you don’t keep him waiting. I don’t know if you noticed, but he’s a little short on patience,” S1N said, his whiskers twitching.

  “Right,” Juniper said, squaring his shoulders. “Let’s go.”

  Marrex frowned at the tablet in his hand, reading over the paragraph he’d just read for the third time. It wasn’t that the book wasn’t good, quite the opposite, but he was suffering a lapse in attention because every little sound caused him to look up at the door with nervous anticipation. He sighed, shaking his head, and tried to concentrate on the prose.

  It was an ancient novel written on pre-Contact Earth about an English governess and her employer. It was a lively, interesting narration, very different from what he was used to, and though he’d had to translate some of the obsolete words, he had—when he could rally his attention—been rather enjoying it. Another sound caused him to lift his head, and this time, instead of the random clicks and hums of the old ship, it was Juniper standing at the door to the dining hall.

  Marrex could not keep himself from staring. The young man was wearing a curious ensemble of yellow and blue, belted with an orange sash, but the bodice, if that’s what it was, stopped just below Juniper’s bare nipples. It was… stunning.

  “Can I come in?” asked the young man in his velvety smooth voice, and Marrex nodded quickly, rising to his feet.

  Finding his voice, the captain said, “You look”—then he stumbled. Beautiful? Handsome? Pretty? What was the appropriate word?—“nice,” he finished lamely.

  Juniper smiled at him. “Thank you.”

  “Sit. Please.”

  Marrex noticed the two AIs hanging back. S1N’s tail was lashing and VAL looked nervous—the captain frowned at them. “Go. Don’t return unless called.”

  “Yes, sir,” they said in unison, and Marrex’s brow wrinkled up. He’d expected more resistance.

  Reclaiming his seat across from Juniper, Marrex sat back, wishing he’d rehearsed some topic of conversation. “Thank you for fixing my chair.”

  “Don’t mention it. I’m pretty good with my hands. When my dad lost his fortune, we couldn’t afford to keep the staff at the house anymore. I ended up doing almost everything myself… fixing the relays on the roof, re-surfacing the launch port, changing the intake filters… that kind of thing.”

  Marrex nodded.

  “So, what are we eating? Are the replicators still up to snuff?”

  Nodding again, Marrex keyed in the meal he’d planned and watched them materialize on the table.

  “What is it?” Juniper asked, looking curiously at all the small metal dishes. “Do we share everything?”

  “Yes. It’s known simply as a ‘sharing meal’ where I’m from. It’s not very sophisticated—I hope you don’t mind. I wasn’t sure what your tastes are, and this is a bit of everything that is compatible with your digestive system. If you’d like, I can replicate something…” he trailed off when he saw Juniper staring at him with a wide smile. Marrex snorted and tossed his head. “If you’re so amused by my choices, you pick,” he growled defensively.

  Juniper lifted a hand in alarm, shaking his head quickly. “No! No, it’s not that. This looks wonderful, thank you, Captain. Don’t be so touchy—I was just smiling because I like hearing you speak… you’re usually rather, ah… concise.”

  “Oh.” Marrex frowned. “I…” He sighed, not knowing what to say.

  “You’ve been alone for a long time, Captain. I get it. It’s ok,” Juniper replied. “But I do like it when you talk for more than two or three words at a time. You have a wonderful accent.”

  “I… do?”

  “I think so,” Juniper said with a nod. He grinned at Marrex’s stupefaction, then pointed to the dishes. “Now tell me what everything is and how I’m supposed to eat it.”

  Marrex nodded again, cleared his throat, and started describing each dish… trying not to be self-conscious about his accent while also forcing himself to accept Juniper’s exclamations for what they were: honest enthusiasm.

  Juniper took another sip from his glass. The cold drink was creamy and tasted like almonds and cinnamon, but was also a little salty and maybe a bit fizzy. He decided that it was the most delicious thing he’d ever had before.

  “What is this called again?” he asked.

  “Leb. And don’t drink too much of it, or else you won’t sleep a wink tonight,” said Captain Marrex.

  “Oh. Ok,” Juniper said, setting down the glass. He smiled at the captain.

  They hadn’t said more than a dozen words during the multidish meal, but he could see the Ghelyxian had genuinely started to relax in his presence. The captain had rolled up the sleeves of the white dress shirt he wore and undone the top button, and he was lounging back in his chair comfortably, picking at the last of his meal.

  “Thank you. That was delicious,” Juniper said.

  Captain Marrex bobbed his head in a bow and let out a small pleased-sounding grunt.

  Wishing he could pull the captain into a real conversation, Juniper looked at the tablet resting near the Ghelyxian’s elbow.

  “You were reading something when I came in earlier. Can I ask what it was?”

  The lines deepened in Captain Marrex’s brow, and Juniper worried he was being too nosy. He was surprised when the captain just slid the tablet across to him. Juniper read a few sentences then looked up at the captain in amazement.

  “You’re reading Jane Eyre?” he asked.

  Captain Marrex nodded, then shrugged. “I asked S1N to find me a Human classic.”

  “And are you enjoying it?” Juniper asked, passing the tablet back. He’d read it when he first came aboard; no doubt S1N chose it because of that.

  The captain looked down at the text, nodding again. “I haven’t met many Humans before, and I was curious about your culture. However… I don’t think I’m understanding something in the book.”

  “Well, I’d hardly call nineteenth-century England ‘my’ culture. You know, things have changed quite a bit over the last six centuries… but, what is it? Maybe I can explain.”

  The captain glanced up at him, then back down to the tablet. “Mr. Rochester is… rude to Jane. He’s surly and peculiar. And…” Captain Marrex lifted his eyes again. “He’s also… ugly. However, Jane seems to like him, regardless of these things. Am I misreading it?”

  Juniper smiled and shook his head. “No, I don’t think you’re misreading it. She definitely likes him.”

  “Why? He hasn’t been very nice to her, and she barely knows him.”

  “Well… maybe she can see that there is a good man underneath all that. A lonely man. And she’s interested in getting to know that part of him,” Juniper said. If memory served him correctly, Rochester was a bit of a dick, but they weren’t really talking about Jane and Mr. Rochester, were they? “Maybe he’s only being rude to her because he’s forgotten how to be any other way. Maybe he doesn’t want to get his hopes up.”

  Captain Marrex stared at him for a few moments, his forehead creased, then snorted once in agreement. “Maybe.” Though the Ghelyxian’s facial physiognomy didn’t really allow for smiling, Juniper thought his gaze had softened.

  “You don’t have any terrible secrets hiding in the attic, do you?” Juniper said in a playful tone.

  “Why?” Captain Marrex said, sounding defensive again.

  “Oh, I just meant… in the book…” he replied weakly.

  “I haven’t read about any terrible secrets yet.”

  “Oh. Well, I won’t spoil it for you,” Juniper said. “Sorry.” He figured any second now, Captain Marrex would dismiss him. However, he was surprised when the captain spoke up in a quiet voice.