Page 46 of Experimental Voyage
Eight hoursafter the start of our exercise, I struggled to stand up, every muscle in my body hurt, but I couldn’t quit, not when tied with Delta. I glared at the man, who stood with his hands braced on his knees and panted, glaring at Yulgali, who abhorred being tossed and wanted nothing to do with our competition.
I’d gotten close to tossing him, but rather than go over my shoulder, he’d lowered his head, gotten under me, and thrown me into the ceiling. He’d taken pity on me, and after I’d smacked into the padding, he’d opted to catch me rather than witness me hit the floor yet again. “This is not a bad time. This is the worst time,” I informed him.
My bruises had bruises, and I doubted I’d be able to make it to my quarters.
The Veloc laughed at us, and Fogali ruffled my hair before scratching behind my ears. When I didn’t even bother to grab for his chest feathers, he picked me up by my waist, placed me over his shoulder, and said, “I will return thishomo sapiensto her quarters and put her to bed after offering food and a massage so she is able to move tomorrow. I will leave your wife to tend to your aches and pains. Good progress has been made. You are, as always, rather hopeless. She is naturally adept, and I will be pleased to inform the Crimson Feet of her prowess so they might stake some claims.”
“We were defeated, Delta.”
“Welcome to life with Veloc around. You earned every toss you did make—and they pay back being tossed tenfold.”
No kidding. “So Waldren tossing Veloc at his whim is impressive?”
“Very. He’s mastered the art of keeping Veloc out of his space when he doesn’t want them in his space.” Delta snickered. “Once you have recovered, we will teach you how to throwhomo sapiens. Should you toss him around at your whim, you’ll surprise him.”
I bet. “Just throw me on a bed, Fogali. I can figure out how to pass out without help.”
The Veloc laughed, bounced me on his shoulder, and hauled me out of the fitness room. “Tomorrow, we will teach you recovery exercises. You will both appreciate it—not that you will be in any condition to do much of anything. And so we have won the ship peace.”
Like hell he had. I would be launching ambushes at every opportunity until I managed to throw both of them repeatedly. If I couldn’t toss them, I’d climb all over them, hang on for dear life, and score points that way. Surely riding a Veloc was worth as much as laying one out on the floor. “I earned a nap. You earned nothing. We were not worth any points due to a lack of difficulty.”
Delta snickered, and he followed us into the hallway. He limped, which helped my pride recover.
We both suffered at the claws of the Veloc, and we would make them pay somehow.
“She makes a good point.” Delta reached out and scratched behind my ears. “You did well, Camellia. And yes, you can’t hide the truth. You’re just like Viva, and there’s nothing better than somebody scratching behind the ears. You don’t start lashing your tail, though. The tail lashing is priceless.”
“Cats don’t lash their tails unless irritated,” the woman in question stated, and she turned the corner. “What is going on?”
“Toss thehomo sapiens,” Fogali reported, once again adjusting how I rested on his shoulder. “Yours will need some attention. We tenderized and tired them out. We thought you’d appreciate a chance for some peace and quiet now that you’re rested.”
Viva nodded, and then she turned her attention to her husband. “Delta, you disabled Pandora’s life support system.”
“I was piloting, and I wasn’t having a faulty system running while piloting. Leave it off until we’re home, and then you can spend however long is needed to fix it. Pandora isn’t with us, so it’s a non-critical system. The yellow light was driving me mad.”
Viva muttered curses. “You’re really going to make me keep it off?”
“Yes. If you think that’s bad, imagine if that undiagnosed vibration makes your precious shiftgems shatter.”
The woman gasped. “Banish that thought right this instant, Mr. Cargo!”
Delta laughed, kissed his wife’s cheek, and waved my way. “Have a good rest, Camellia. Tomorrow is a new day, and we’ve earned some sleep. Don’t mind Viva. She’ll forgive me eventually.”
Well, if Viva wanted to toy with him, I’d play the game her way. “If you say so, Mr. Cargo.”
Viva grinned at my comment.
“It could be worse. She could have called me Veloc bait. At least she likes her cargo alive and kicking. If she’s calling me Veloc bait, I’ll be lucky to survive her wrath.”
“Try not to tenderize him further, Viva. You need him alive, and we sufficiently worked him,” Yulgali said, pausing long enough to join in scratching behind my ears. “I recommend you feed him before putting him to bed. We’ll feed this one and makesure she’s capable of moving tomorrow. Then you can pilot and finally decide the best route to where we’re going.”
“I’ve decided we’re skipping the spaceport until the way back, that way we can pass quarantine near the spaceport and go shopping. Camellia needs some new treasures to get her through the rest of the semester,” Viva announced.
“If you say so,” the Veloc replied in a doubtful tone.
SIXTEEN
“Did we forget to feed her?”
