Raff (The Vorge Crew Book 4) Read online

  She opened the square bag and saw it contained what he said. At least she could identify the bar as soap. The other bottle contained green liquid. Maybe aliens didn’t have shampoo and conditioner since there was only one. Raff remained with the shuttle, out of sight. She hesitated before removing her undergarments. It was easy to use the soap to wash them. She rinsed the materials as best as she could, putting them on the pool ledge to dry. Then it was time for her to get clean.

  Ten minutes later Raff exited the shuttle. He carried a large duffle bag with him. He dropped it near the fire, sat down on the charcoal seat, with his back to her.

  “I have spare clothing for you next to me once you use my shirt to dry off, Lilly. I won’t peek when you get out. There’s also food if you’re hungry. It’s not much. Just emergency packets. I’d go hunting for fresh meat but the sun is going down. It’s never a good idea to roam out there in the dark.”

  “Why?”

  He hesitated. “This planet is called Gluttren Four, G4 for short. There are a lot of dangerous beasts that live here and it’s too hot during the day for them to hunt for their food. They come out at night. We’d be considered a good meal to them.”

  That had her shuddering, imagining all kinds of dangerous creatures. “Can they attack us in here?”

  “No. I told you about the imager shield.”

  She’d forgotten, glancing toward the entrance. The technology amazed her. They could see out but according to him, the opening would look and feel like solid rock to anyone on the other side.

  She stared down at the water, suddenly no longer wanting to linger in it. He said the pool was fed by cracks in the mountain. What if an alien version of a snake or something similar slithered through? She moved fast to the edge, reached for the shirt he’d toss there earlier, and grabbed it. Her gaze locked on his back as she climbed out.

  “You won’t peek?”

  “You have my word.”

  She wasn’t hot anymore. Shivers wracked her body as she tried to dry off. The material ended up very damp by the time she used it to wring out her wet hair. Raff didn’t move, keeping his back to her. She quickly darted forward, grabbed the folded clothing he had next to him, and back off.

  She had to figure out what he’d given her. The short sleeve shirt was soft, huge, and tented her body. The pants reminded her of sweats, the way they had an elastic like waist, and the material thicker than the shirt. She had to bend, rolling the bottoms up to avoid walking on them. He had almost a foot of height on her and her legs were much shorter than his.

  “I’m done.” She rounded him and put her hands out toward the flames to get warm.

  Raff scooted over. “We can share.”

  “I’m fine.” She glanced at the rock floor but didn’t want to sit there since she’d just gotten clean.

  He sighed, his golden eyes narrowing. “I won’t attack you, Lilly. Have a seat. Please. Are you hungry?”

  She nodded. “Yes.”

  He bent forward, grabbed the larger bag, and opened it. He rummaged inside and came up with two packets. One looked like a kid’s juice bag, only larger. The other reminded her of a sealed hot dog with its size and shape. He sat up straight and held them out to her.

  What if he grabbed her? Her stomach rumbled with hunger. It had been at least a few days since she’d eaten. Maybe longer since she’d spent so much time unconscious. She again reminded herself that Raff appeared to be strong enough to do anything if he wanted to do her harm. That urged her to inch forward, sit on the farthest spot she could from him, and twist to take both packets.

  “Thank you.”

  “This is vasia. It’s a drink. Nutrients and water. It won’t harm you. Cathian had all our emergency supplies replaced to be human digestion friendly.”

  She took the liquid packet.

  “This is rishnia. It’s close to a santwant.”

  She took it, frowning. She put the drink down, figured out how to unseal the wrapper on the food, and stared at it. “Sandwich. It looks kind of like one, if the bread were totally sealed closed. What’s inside it?”

  He shrugged. “Nara, my cousin’s life-lock, said they aren’t bad.”

  “It’s not like I can be picky. I’m starving,” she admitted, taking a bite.

  The texture was similar to bread. Inside it had a paste filling that tasted like a meat mixture. Which ones, she couldn’t determine. Maybe chicken and beef. She closed her eyes as she chewed and swallowed, grateful it was edible.

  “Are you well?”

  She took another bite, opened her eyes, and met his gaze. “I’m fine. This is good. Then again, I’d probably think cardboard was delicious after what I’ve been through.”

  “There are more rishnia packets if that doesn’t fill you. All shuttles carry emergency supplies. The Vorge will reach us in about ten hours.”

  “What’s your ship like?”

  He hesitated. “The Vorge is a large vessel for an ambassador but we keep our crew number small.”

  She latched onto that. “Ambassador?”

  “Cathian represents the Tryleskian people and their home world. We travel to different planets for goodwill, sometimes trade business agreements, and occasionally to prevent a war. It’s why it’s such a large vessel. It’s not just a travel cruiser but battle ready in case we need to convince a potential enemy into rethinking that our race could be conquered or exterminated.”

  She ate, considering his words. It had been a huge honor to be hired onto Bax. Their mission had been to travel to discover new life and learn about alien cultures. The concept of going out there to meet aliens instead of waiting for whichever ones visited Earth had been huge news. According to Raff, it’s what he did on his ship.

  “How many planets have you been to?”

  He shrugged. “Too many.”

  She was interested. “Like a few dozen?”

  “Hundreds.”

  That blew her mind. “Wow. I had no idea there were that many. Aliens live on them? They all support life?”

  “There are three habited planets in this solar system. Seven in the one I just came from. Four in the system before that. This surprises you?”

  “Yes. We thought that maybe there might be a few dozen habitable planets in total. Only two alien races have visited Earth.”

  “Earth is in a remote system far from normal travel routes and the few scout reports that came in some years ago stated that you didn’t have any technology that was trade worthy to make that trip. They also stated humans were quick to fear and attempted to murder off-worlders.”

  She let that sink in. “We’re viewed as barbarians then?”

  “Worse. It’s one thing to attack someone who could be seen as an invader. Your people began to visit other planets. They haven’t made good impressions with the ones they have.”

  “Why?”

  He stared into the flames inside the fire pit. “The Yenisor incident comes to mind.”

  “What’s that?”

  He scowled, looking at her. “You don’t know?”

  She shook her head.

  “Earth sent a ship there. It’s one of the few habitable planets near yours. They are a peace-loving race. Non-aggressive. They are known for growing medical plants that cure many illnesses. Your people attacked them, bombed a few their settlements, and thousands died before help could reach them.”

  Horror filled Lilly and she found herself shaking her head. “No.”

  “Yes.” Raff stared back at the flames. “The humans who went there demanded the Yenisors give them what they wanted or lives would be lost. When the Yenisors instead offered to trade with them for something of equal value, your people began to drop bombs, stating it would stop when they complied with their demands.”

  She felt sick. “What happened?”

  “An allied race came to their defense. Some of the crops near those bombed settlements were destroyed. It effected the supply the Yenisors were able to send out to other planets in need of the li