Page 44 of Mazorium Buys a Human

My INT couldn’t translateweek, but I knew after leaving Helsin Station it would take about fifteen rotations of traveling to get to my assignment. Week must be a human measurement for a number of rotations in a row.

I was proud my brain could function well enough to come to that conclusion, although while I was thinking about it, I’d missed some of what Mika was telling me.

“...so I said I couldn’t read Talin glyphs. You should’ve heard what she said when I asked if she could change everything out for Universal tick marks. She was like, ‘you know how to read?’” Mika laughed again. “Not flattering!”

Of course Mika knew how to read, she was an incredibly smart human!I wanted to say as much, but sleep was starting to tug at me.

Somewhere a chime sounded. Mika said something about food and more medication, but I was already asleep.

Chapter 14

Mika

It’s been about five days since the fight, and Maz was finally up and walking. He moved slowly and couldn’t go far before needing to sit down, but he was so much better that I could finally relax. Even with Ithorum’s assurances that Maz would live, I’d been scared. The first few days I’d stayed by his side constantly, sometimes simply watching him breathe.

The constant rise and fall of his chest had been comforting.

Nadia must’ve sensed my strong emotions because she’d been fussier than normal while Maz was unconscious. With Maz doing so well now, Nadia was back to her wide-eyed interest in the world.

She was also sleeping better when she napped next to a purring Maz. And since Nadia was sleeping better, I was sleeping better. It was a nice little cycle of positive reinforcement.

We were all sitting on the floor of Maz’s lab under the sparkling lights of one of his machines. Nadia loved it.

Maz was holding her and telling her the color and meaning of the different lights. She looked like she was hanging on his every word.

“I was thinking of fixing some of that fasloma for our next meal,” I said. “That’s my new favorite.”

He didn’t look up from Nadia cradled in his arms. “If you want it, I’ll eat it.”

I liked that he agreed with everything I said, but it was also disconcerting. I could tell there was something wrong. Whenever he wasn’t directly interacting with Nadia or me, he would lapse into a silent, motionless state. It was almost as if he was catatonic.

Sometimes I’d have to call his name several times or touch him to pull him out of it.

I’d ignored it at first because I thought it was part of his healing process, but it wasn’t going away. It was like his body was healing but his brain wasn’t catching up.

Nadia fussed a little in Maz’s arms.

“I need to walk with her,” Maz said and started to get up, but I stopped him.

I held out my hands. “She’s probably hungry.”

He hesitated to hand her over but then gave her to me. Nadia fussed louder until I shoved a nipple in her mouth. With an indigent sniff, she started sucking.

When I looked up, Maz was staring off into space again.

I waited until Nadia ate her fill, burped her, then rocked her until she predictably fell asleep.

“I’m going to put her down in the nest,” I said. Maz didn’t acknowledge me, even when I stood up and walked out of the room. Before going back to the lab, I fixed us a meal.

When I walked in with the fragrant food, he was in the same spot, eyes staring unseeingly.

I hated this.

“Maz.”

Nothing. I sat down in front of him and took one of his hands in both of mine. “Hey, Maz, I need you right now.”

His eyes snapped to mine, and he sounded a rumble of agreement. “Are you hungry? In pain?”