He strode across the room and laid his palm on the sensor. Nothing happened. It pissed him off and unnerved him. The door had been locked and he couldn’t link to open it. Anger came next. He was effectively locked inside his own quarters. The computer wasn’t registering him as a crew member.

“Do you want out?”

Her voice was close to him. He jerked his hand off the panel and spun. She had left the bed and now stared up him from just feet away. “Isn’t Maze checking on my progress? It’s his job.”

She inched around him and touched the pad. “Maze?”

A click sounded, then the medic’s voice came from the com speaker. “What is wrong, Nala?”

She sighed. “Your patient is up and wants out. The doors won’t open.”

“I’m on my way.”

She released the pad and faced him. “He set that up so I could get ahold of him if you had any problems.”

That pissed him off. “I plan to have words with him.”

“Because he left you in my care?”

“Yes.” He wouldn’t deny it.

“Well, it sounded like shit hit the fan. I don’t know the details since I’m persona non grata onboard. It was a good thing he didn’t dump you in some room alone, since I was here when you started thrashing around.”

“Explain.”

“You were out, but your body wasn’t. It looked like you were fighting someone and almost threw yourself out of the bed. I had to kind of tackle you to keep you down until help arrived. It’s why you were immobilized. You might have bashed your head open or something.”

“You’re saying you saved my life?” He shook his head. “I don’t believe it.”

“Not your life. Just kept you from being injured more than you already were.”

“Are you trying to make me feel indebted to you? That event never happened.”

“You’re such an ass.” She spun, lifted her shirt, and yanked it up. “This is from your knee. I managed to dodge your fists.”

Dismay hit him at the huge bruise covering her skin. It was about a four inch diameter mark—and could definitely be from a knee. The discoloration looked painful, and it looked as if she’d taken quite a blow.

She dropped her shirt and spun. “But wait—I’m just making that up. Fuck you.” She stormed around him and sat on the bed. “Mental note made. Next time I’ll let you slam into the floor. It might knock some sense into you.”

The door opened and Maze came in. “Stag. How do you feel?”

“Get your med kit and check Nala. She has damage to her back.”

“I’m fine. It’s just a bruise.”

Maze walked closer to her and knelt by the bed where she sat. “Why didn’t you say something? You didn’t mention you were hurt when we stabilized Stag. Is that when it happened?”

“According to him,” she jerked her head at Stag, “that never happened, so no. I must have kneed myself in the back. Apparently, I’m super flexible like that.”

That angered Stag further. “Treat her. I’ll be in Control.”

He left fast before he said something he’d regret. Nala had a way of making a fool out of him, making him feel like the ass she kept claiming he was.

The lift opened for him since it was motion-sensor controlled. He entered Control seconds later. “Status?”

Veller rose from his command seat, stepping aside. “It’s good to see you recovered.”

“Take the chair. I am here to get an update.”

Veller frowned.

“I’m offline. I can’t link to our ship. You can. The hull patch?”

“Complete. No additional damage. You almost had it melded on when the incident occurred.”

He didn’t want to think about when his suit had been pierced. It had been traumatic. He’d survived, and that was all that mattered. “Any other problems?”

“None. We’re just watching the countdown until we try to leave the dead zone.”

“Display it for me.”

Veller sat back down and placed his hand on the pad at the chair. Stag wished he could do that. The front monitor came on and showed how much time remained.

“We’ve seen no other signs of thrusters. No other bombs attached except to the one solar panel that blew.”

“Good.”

“We’re in a safe sector until we move. They would have been drawn to our hull if any were within range. We kept an eye on the unaffected solar panels as they drifted outward, until we lost visuals on them. They remained intact.”

“You didn’t use exterior lights to track the panels, did you?”

Veller shook his head. “No light sources. I remembered your orders. Were your implants damaged?”

“I can’t be certain until they are online again.”

“That must be difficult.”

He met Veller’s direct stare. “It is.”

“I imagine it would be like losing a limb. Is it?”

Stag’s patience came to an end. “Why your curiosity?”

Veller slid his gaze away. “I apologize.”

Stag was tempted to return to his quarters and avoid the rest of the crew until he was back to standard, but that would mean spending time with Nala. He took a seat at coms. “Crew status?”

“Hellion and Parqel are doing routine maintenance. Kelis and Yammer just went off shift and are sleeping. Maze is currently in your quarters.”

“Two men should always be in Control at all times. You know the rules.”

“Maze was called away by the Earther. You’re here now.”

But I’m useless. Stag refused to share that information. “Get Maze back here.”

“Contacting him now.” He paused. “He’s on his way.”

Stag fisted his hands in his lap and looked at the dark space being displayed on the pads. He could watch for lights. He didn’t need his cybernetics for that.

Maze returned for shift duty within minutes. He took a seat at the weapons station and glanced at Stag. “Would you allow me to scan you?”

“I’m fine. How long will I be offline?”

“Your systems should reboot soon.”

“Why did this happen?” He was furious that he couldn’t access parts of himself. He kept trying but they didn’t respond.