Chapter 195: The Haunted Ship
Tha’juen slowly became aware of the humming of a ship beneath him. He couldn’t remember where he was or why he was lying down, but he did remember the sweetest voice he had ever heard.
"You can all stop pretending," came a male voice over the overhead speakers. It was not one that Tha’juen recognized, so he forced himself not to react. "I can tell by your readings that you are all awake. I’ve contacted the others, and some of them are on their way."
Still not knowing if there was a threat or not, Tha’juen decided to simply not move. His actions must have been mirrored by the others in the room because the next thing he heard was the voice letting out an annoyed sound.
"Is it too late to throw them out of the airlock?" asked the voice just as the sound of a hatch opening reached his ears. His muscles unconsciously stiffened at that idea.
"Nope, but I told you before, their suits will save them," came the clicking response of a Saalistaja. But if there were Saalistaja here, did that mean he was safe?
"And they won’t eventually run out of air or something?" Was the voice actually pouting?
"No. As long as the nanos are tied to their genetic code, they will maintain life," came the voice of a second Saalistaja.
"So you fuckers are immortal, is that what you are telling me? That I am stuck with all of you for the rest of eternity?"
"Unless we are killed, pretty much," came the first voice. "But that also means that you can spend the rest of eternity with Mei Xing..."
There was a brief silence before the overhead voice came back. "Fine, you win. But if they don’t stop pretending to still be unconscious, I am going to throw them out until Mei Xing decides to bring them back. Understood?"
"Yes, Jun Li. We understand." The sound of tusks clicking in laughter was enough to convince Tha’juen to open his eyes. Well, that and the threat of being forced out of an airlock. He wasn’t in the right place for a spacewalk. Not until he figured out what was going on.
"Ye’tab? Au’dtair?" he asked, more than a little confused. Their armor was back to normal, or did he completely imagine the other one? Not to mention, the two of them seemed to be getting along just fine. Something that hadn’t even happened when they were on Vraev’ox’s ship together.
His head was telling him that he was forgetting something important, but for the life of him, he couldn’t figure out what that was.
"Are you getting up, staying in the med bay, or going out the airlock?" asked the third Saalistaja. His armor stated that he was an Elder of high regard, but Tha’juen didn’t know who he was.
"We’ll get up," said Vraev’ox, and Cruz’uts just grunted.
"Smart choice," grunted Au’dtair as he turned around and left. The other two males exited quickly after him, not caring if Tha’juen, Vraev’ox, or Cruz’uts followed. However, because they were still somewhat in the dark about what happened, they weren’t willing to be left behind for long.
They were led to what looked like a lounge on one of the upper levels of the ship, and Tha’juen was surprised over how big it was. Sure, it looked huge from the outside, but that was nothing compared to the space inside. There were several large couches and a few chairs placed explicitly in front of something that looked like a glass enclosure, and then there was a screen on top of it.
He walked over to the two items mounted on the wall and studied them.
"The top one is referred to as a television. It provides visual entertainment. The one at the bottom is a fireplace. When it is turned on, it will house a fire inside of it. The glass keeps it contained as well as allowing heat to come through," explained Ye’tab while the others moved to sit down on the furniture.
"Not there!" growled Au’dtair, practically pouncing on Cruz’uts as he was about to sit down on the couch facing the... fireplace. "You don’t sit there."
"Is here okay?" asked Vraev’ox as he pointed to the other end of the couch.
"No," answered the Elder. "And may the Goddess help you if you so much as touch a fur."
"Then where would you like us to sit for this discussion?"
Au’dtair shared a look with Ye’tab while the Elder seriously thought about the question. "We’ll all move to the other side of the room. My apologies. At this point in time, it is more of a habit. Then again, all of us know our place," said the Elder as he gestured to a similar setup on the other end of the entertainment lounge.
The new males exchanged an uneasy look as they made their way to the other seating area. They went from being old friends and hunt mates to what basically amounted to enemies in the moons since they had last met.
Getting themselves comfortable, the Elder sitting in the middle, Vraev’ox, opened his mouth. "What happened to us?"
"I guess my answer to that would depend on what is the last thing that you remember?" said the Elder as he removed his helmet and armor. Au’dtair and Ye’tab quickly followed suit and made themselves comfortable in their chairs.
"There was a voice," said Cruz’uts. He watched Au’dtair stiffen at his words, but that was his only reaction.
"There was," nodded the Elder. "And if we don’t choose to kill you, you’ll be able to meet her. But we don’t want her to be too upset if we can’t reach an understanding on a few topics."
"And just what would those topics be?" asked Vraev’ox, putting on the mantle of the tribal chief’s son. He had the responsibility of looking after his two remaining hunt mates. Whatever had happened to Au’dtair and Ye’tab, it was clear that he couldn’t trust them anymore.
"We’ll get to those in good time. Would you like something to drink?" asked the older Saalistaja, clearly the one in charge of the ship. Could this ship be one of those haunted ones that you hear tell of every so often? Anyone who finds their way onto it is infected by a mind-eating parasite?
