Chapter 173: A Little Green Around The Gills
Midnight watched quietly from beside the table where his mate was strapped to. The banging got louder and more frantic as Mei Xing and Jun Li continued to talk about nothing. He didn’t understand what was going on, but he would do what he was told.
And he was told to stay put and hold on.
"I can’t believe how stubborn some people are," grumbled Jun Li, and Midnight could hear a snort of laughter coming from his mate. She was still encased in her armor, so he wasn’t able to see her face, but he didn’t think that she was all that amused.
"This is my least favorite part," she grumbled. Now it was Jun Li’s turn to snort, a sound that was eerily familiar to his mate’s.
"Need a puke bag?" the AI had asked, and Mei Xing let out the cutest of growls.
"I’ll be fine. Just warn the guys if you don’t mind?" she shot back, causing Jun Li to let out a chuckle. This was the first time that Midnight had noticed just how much the AI sounded like Mei Xing. It was almost as if he was copying her mannerisms. Midnight’s eyes narrowed at that idea.
If the AI only copied what they had learned from the beings around them, then could they really be responsible for starting a war?
Midnight shook his head. This was not the time to let those thoughts enter his mind. They weren’t out of the woods yet; he needed to be at the top of his game, not thinking about something that happened a hundred years ago.
Mei Xing’s head turned toward him, and he looked down at the small human who had utterly changed his life. He could practically read her mind as he nodded his head and gripped the table hard enough that his claws punctured the metal.
"3...2...1," said Jun Lin in English. Midnight knew that only he and Mei Xing would understand the countdown, but it wasn’t his fault that the others didn’t bother to learn her language. He widened his stance and bent his knees. He knew that phase three meant that he needed to hold on, so he was determined not to move.
Life would be easier with the Saalistaja armor, but he would make do.
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Have I ever mentioned how much I hate roller coaster rides?
I clenched my jaw so hard I really wouldn’t be surprised if my molars shattered with the force. I would not puke. I would not puke. I would not puke.
I felt my stomach rolling as my world continued to spin. Jun Li was apparently having a lot of fun, but now that my stomach was lodged in the middle of my throat, I was more than ready to get off this ride.
My problem was that I couldn’t open my mouth to ask Jun Li to stop because I was scared that as soon as I did, my stomach would make an exit. And we were definitely not at the puking stage of our relationship.
My eyes were scrunched just as tightly as my eyes, so I couldn’t even see how the guys were handling the aerial acrobatics.
I knew that as soon as Jun Li had had his fun, things would stop moving. I just had to wait.
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Au’dtair braced himself, his boots locked in place on the floor beside his mate as the ship continued to spin and twirl. It took less than ten chwila for the ship to stop moving and return to its original position.
The male waited a few minutes to make sure that things had settled down before unclamping his boots and going to check on his mate. Seeing that she appeared fine, he started to pull off the remaining restraints before helping her sit up.
He studied her carefully as she shook her head. He wished that her armor wasn’t engaged. One thing he liked most about his pet was that he could tell what she was thinking or feeling just by looking at her face. Unfortunately, the helmet hid all that information from him.
"Systems have returned to normal, ish," said Jun Li as the lights flickered and turned back on. Au’dtair heard Mei Xing breathe out a small sigh of relief as she deactivated her armor.
"Have you sent the robots out to clean up your mess?" she asked, letting out a small burp. Her eyes widened for a fraction of a second before returning to normal.
"My mess?" demanded Jun Li, sounding both outraged and amused at the same time.
"Your mess," nodded Mei Xing. She clung to the table, moving so that her legs were dangling over each side. Bracing her hands between her legs, she hung her head down. Was that greenish color acceptable for her species? Did she have a small amount of Sisalik DNA inside of her that allowed her to turn that color?
He shook his head. These were all things that he would have to ask her later.
"This is not my mess; it’s yours. And you are the one who told me that you should always clean up after yourself," shot back Jun Li, and Au’dtair was sure that if his body was around, there would be a definite smirk on his face.
"I am not the one that turned off the air," she grumbled, turning her head to the side and the camera that was pointed toward the table.
"It was your plan. You might as well have. And you are looking a little green around the gills. Are you feeling okay?" asked the AI, and this time, his amusement was easily heard.
"Fuck you," she grumbled, hanging her head back down.
"She has gills? Why am I just finding out about this now?! Do we need to find a tank to put her in? Is that why she spends so much time in the cleansing unit?" demanded Midnight, cutting off whatever response Jun Li was going to say. However, Au’dtair was also waiting for the answers to the questions.
He was about to tell Mei Xing to activate her armor as it would provide a better environment for her gills when she raised her hand to the camera, extending a finger.
He had come to understand that this was a rude gesture, but for the life of him, he couldn’t figure out how or why.
"I don’t have gills," answered Mei Jing as she sat up straight and stretched her neck from side to side. "It is simply an expression. To be ’green around the gills’ simply means that a person is feeling or looking sick or is going to throw up."
"Throw up what?" blinked the Njeriuujk, turning to face the camera for the answer.
"Throwing up is another expression for emptying the contents of your stomach through your mouth," answered Jun Li. "Something that Mei Xing will be doing any second now."
"Go fuck yourself," growled his mate, and Au’dtair fought back a bark of laughter. However, that didn’t stop his outer tusks from clicking together in amusement. Mei Xing’s head snapped around to look at him.
"Is there something funny?" she demanded, an annoyed look on her face.
"Not at all," answered Midnight, pulling her attention away from Au’dtair and to himself. "We are just relieved that there was no lasting damage. Besides, I think that you would have looked... cute... with gills," continued the other male, the smile on his face doing nothing to ease her temper.
"I. Do. Not. Have. Gills," she growled. If she wasn’t a fraction of their size, it might have been intimidating, but as it stood, she sounded like a newly birthed cub.
"The bodies have been removed to one of the lesser used hangers," cut in Jun Li. "You are welcome."
"Thank you, Jun Li," answered Mei Xing with a slight smile on her face. "It’s good that you cleaned up your mess."
"Not mine, yours," shot back the AI. "And I can always return them to where they were before if you want?"
"No point in putting forth all that energy if they are already put away," waved Mei Zing. With a deep breath, she swung one leg over to the other side and hopped down off of the table.
"But seriously, are you okay?" asked Jun Li as Mei Xing paused for a second. Her body was swaying for a moment before she once again shook her head and stood up straight.
"I’m good," she assured the AI, a genuine smile on her face. "Thank you for worrying about me and cleaning up all the dead bodies."
"My pleasure," answered Jun Li. And just like that, everything was back to normal.
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I stood beside Midnight, refusing to move until the ship stopped spinning. I had a bunch of crap to do and not a lot of time I was willing to spend doing it.
I reached out and gripped his forearm, the warmth from his arm guard seeping into my cold hands. He easily accepted my weight as I walked toward the exit on unsteady feet.
Activating the door, I walked face-first into a Sisalik guard with a laser blaster in his hand.
