In the cabin, Nick looked around in surprise.
"And this is all for me?!"
"For you," Sher smiled, and then slyly added, "No, if you want, I can call the whole crew... I'm afraid there won't be enough treats for everyone, though. So let's just have you grace this dinner. And preferably, all the days and nights of my life," she added quietly.
Nick distractedly smoothed the gray hedgehog on his head with his palm, looked for a mirror, didn't find one. But he already knew what kind of decoration could be seen there. Thin, looking older than his years, scarred... And with bruises on his neck. A disgrace.
"But she chose you..."
"No need for the crew," Nick sighed, pulling her close and then letting go. "You're tired, and I'm starving you... Selfish."
After today's events, hunger had retreated and remained silent, like a rebel before a torture droid. Even when she was cutting the tantalizingly fragrant flatbread...
"No, I'm not hungry, and I'm only tired of waiting," she assured him, shrugging off her jacket and flopping down next to Nick. "I even managed to nap in the utility room. You're hungry, so eat while it's all hot," she confirmed, placing a glass of hot coffee in front of the navigator, and pouring herself another. "And then I'll take care of your neck. Thank the universe, the hematomas are superficial, as I managed to notice," Sher said, not taking her radiant gaze off him, and then suddenly remembered. "And how much time do we have?"
"About three hours until arrival," the navigator pulled her to him, sat her on his lap. "Not the softest seat, but..."
He had trouble with words. With conveying what he felt, through the Force - no.
Only three... How little that was... And it was completely sinful to waste precious minutes just on eating. In the dim light of the cabin, the girl's eyes shone so brightly that the hologram of Nabooian meadows paled.
"I think I'll soon get used to sitting on something else... But I'll start bothering you so much now..." she promised and, after thinking, simply moved the dish to her lap, supporting it with one hand, and continuing to hug the navigator by the shoulders. "Is this better?"
"This is much better," the navigator agreed, starting to eat and vigilantly ensuring that the girl received no less. Both treats, affection, and attention.
Sher ruffled his silver hedgehog hair with her fingers, telling him about her and Dey, about Gennaro, about the fight, all very generally, trying to add lightness where possible, avoiding details so as not to hurt her beloved. And secretly understanding that the worst part there was not just dying, but leaving Nick alone, with pain under the green ice of his eyes...
"Is the similarity between Gennaro and Nick precisely in this?"
Sher pressed closer to the navigator and rested her head on his shoulder.
"Nick... I don't know how you'll see this, but..." she hesitated, wondering if it was worth Nick hearing, if he hadn't had enough worries for today. He was tired and exhausted. "I probably acted wrong today..."
The navigator turned his head to her, touching his forehead to hers.
"When you refused to accept the offer?"
"No..." Sher replied in surprise, "how did you... Ah, yes, the comm... " she remembered, the comm was on when she found him. "And you heard everything... Yes, I wanted to tell you, but that was the only answer I could give him," she said, and added with a sigh, "The worst part is that I kissed him for our rescue. Even before the fight."
"Hmm..." Nick's fingers slid through her silky strands. "And what's wrong with that?"
"I shouldn't have..." she shook her head. "Because I have a feeling like I carelessly tore off a dried blood scab on a wound that hasn't healed yet..." Sher explained quietly. "But he reminded me so much of you, the one who was Mr. Tardi... And their planet is really beautiful... " she sighed. "And the air is so fresh... But our home is here, right?" she whispered, pressing her forehead to his cheek.
"Sher..."
He turned in his chair, like a predatory beast turning - with his whole body, so as to look her in the eyes.
"When wounds are deliberately aggravated, it's wrong and bad. But no one can live without touching anyone one way or another out of ignorance... I was listening to your conversation, thinking... And I was very bitter that I couldn't offer you the same thing he offered. A home on a beautiful planet. A legal status. A job by calling, not by necessity, with the ability to choose what and whom to treat... I felt... like a beggar, Sher. Because I have none of that. Then I listened further and didn't know what to do. Because they were killing you, and I wasn't there. And I could only hope that Rick would make it in time. That this officer could protect you before he arrived. And no Force could help me get there faster than the captain would have... I couldn't help you... And I've never been so close to falling into the Darkness. To abandon the ship, steal a transport, kill the owner if he interfered. To betray Rick's trust. Or to betray you..."
Such bitterness and pain poured out in these words that Sher choked, feeling it rise to her throat.
"My poor Nick," she whispered, impulsively hugging him tighter and tighter. "What are you saying?! My most beautiful home and the most beautiful planet are wherever you are with me, do you understand?! And I don't care where it is! And I don't need anything, because I have you... And I'm richer than all the kings, emperors, and even the 'Black Sun' combined, because I have you and the whole universe beyond the cabin door... And family. And a beloved job... And without you, I need nothing," tears welled up in her eyes. So sharp and piercing was this feeling now...
"...And we'll have everything, my good one," her lips were soft and warm. "And we'll have a home..." she managed to say, kissing him. "If we need it. Somewhere on a green planet, by a lake... Or wherever you want... But I suspect we'll be traveling the galaxy most of the time. And you couldn't leave the ship under any circumstances, Nick... Otherwise, we'd all be killed anyway... And what's the point of my rescue by you if you'd be arrested for killing the transport owner? They would have tried... But you wouldn't have let them, would you? And then what?" she carefully turned his head to her, looking into the turbulent ocean of his green eyes. "I love you too much, Nick, to die or give you to the Darkness..."
"That's why I stayed," his whisper became hoarse, his hands lay over hers, pressing them to his cheeks in a familiar gesture.
"How did he endure this torture?" Sher marveled, looking at his gaunt face, which had returned to its former thinness, and replaying in her memory all the events from the moment Gennaro threw the comm into the back seat. And if she had known and heard how he was being killed here? She shuddered, and her embrace became even tighter. To warm him with her warmth, to distance him from that terrible edge, beyond which lay the hungry Darkness...
"I see and understand what it cost you, my good one... I can't even imagine how you managed it," she admitted. "And I'm so proud of you, Nick..." her half-whisper reached his ears, and her disheveled strands tickled his neck. Sher, like a small felinx, rubbed against his emaciated cheek.
"...Oh, and what's with your voice?" she suddenly asked, alarmed. "Is your throat constricting? Is it harder for you to breathe?"
The navigator shook his head almost imperceptibly - no.
"No. I just imagined it... And I can remove the marks from my neck myself... There's nothing serious there, really."
"Let me?" Sher asked. "Like in 'The Refuge', remember? Besides, you have a turtleneck now that covers your throat," Sher changed the subject for a reason. Nick was still reliving the terrible hours of this day, and she wanted to erase this pain from his soul... "And anyway, I'll put you to bed."
"Turtleneck?!" Nick didn't remember having such clothes in his wardrobe. Surprise was immediately replaced by playful indignation. "Sleep?! No 'sleep'! Such a wasteful use of time..."
"Then how will we spend it?" Sher, hugging him, tried to reach for the spray can. But the spray was out of reach of her outstretched arm. But...
"And I think I know how. Get undressed," she sighed.
The navigator's eyes sparkled.
"Talent has its drawbacks," he complained, pulling off his t-shirt over his head, and immediately hissed like a deflated ball. "It's stuck..."
"It's stuck," she agreed with a sigh, sliding off his lap and examining the long bloody abrasion on the already scarred thin back of the navigator. "Why didn't you tell me right away, Nick? I felt with my hand that something was sticking there..."
A wipe with antiseptic passed along the abrasion, washing away the dried blood. The wound was superficial, but long.
"Bear with it a little, my love," she whispered, leaning down. It was impossible not to touch him with her lips. "This is a painkiller," she explained imperturbably. Another treatment with antiseptic, then a regenerator and antibacterial gel, and finally, synthetic skin covered the injured surface.
"And what are the drawbacks for the talented?" she looked at the navigator, carefully distributing the spray with her fingertips over the surface of the bluish marks on his neck. This was completely unnecessary. The resolving and anti-swelling spray would have absorbed very well after some time. But for the second time since they met, she pretended that this was how it should be...
"It's such a trifle that I forgot about it," Nick winced from her touch, not even trying to hide from Sher how pleasant they were to him. "And the drawbacks... Well, I could have thought you meant something else, if I didn't know for sure that it wasn't so."
Sher looked at him, trying in vain to hold back the corners of her lips, which were uncontrollably stretching upwards.
"You know, yes. It's much more pleasant to be mistaken..." judging by her trembling shoulders as Sher, turning away, took something out of the closet, she was still quietly laughing.
"Try it on, please," she asked, handing him two packages. "I hope I didn't make a mistake with the size... There was such a... slender Zabrak, and... Maybe you'll decide it's worth wearing," she smiled and sat on the edge of the table, looking at him with her warm watercolor eyes.
"Slender Zabrak, security officers with interesting offers..." the feigned angry grumbling didn't stop the navigator from looking into the packages with boyish curiosity. "I'm starting to suspect I'll need a squad of guards... Is this really for me?!"
"Oh, really?" Sher, with feigned indignation, tried to snatch the packages from Nick. "A squad of guards? For me? You come back, and you have... ambiguous marks on your neck! Not to mention what's going on on your back... Also a veeery suspicious scratch!" she couldn't help but laugh. "Look at the colors of what's in the packages..."
"The fighter was very passionate," Nick said with a repentant look, starting to unpack the gifts. "He pounced on me like that... Listen, what an eye you have... To pick out shades so accurately..."
The navigator raised his head and met her gaze.
"Thank you, my dear..."
"How could I not know the color of the eyes I drown in, without trying to resist..." she said quietly, not taking her eyes off him. "I love you very much, Nick..."
The lock on the door clicked softly: the navigator had violated the captain's prohibition on using the Force on board without extreme necessity.
Hylan and the prisoners could wait. The next departure point - no. The captain strode briskly to Muha's cabin; he needed to talk to the intermediary about some matters.
The Toydarian was not asleep. He lay in a hammock and trained his wings, which dangled from the slit in the blanket - he moved them very carefully.
He reacted to Rick's appearance with a welcoming cry.
"You're recovering, Karvo," the guy smiled, examining the alien, "how's the service?"
"Thank you," Muha croaked hoarsely. "Shai brought me something to drink."
"Even so?" the guy smiled, "not bad, not bad. The next destination will involve great risk, Karvo, so I want to resolve one issue. You understand that you owe me now?"
The alien sighed, moved his trunk and wings.
"I really appreciate what you did for me, Mr. Monroe. The question, as I understand it, is how much you value what you did?"
"Let's leave the mortal metal, Karvo," the guy sat on the first suitable surface he found, making sure it would hold him, "You're going to open your shop again. I would like a percentage, but I'm not that mercenary. We'll soon arrive at Nexus Ortai. It's a crossing of two hyperspace routes. One of them leads to Bothawui. Can you follow my train of thought?"
"Quite," the trunk moved again. "You're suggesting a touching farewell and parting. I have no objections, otherwise it would be an abuse of your hospitality."
"If only it were that simple, Karvo," Rick sighed, "the problem is that I need time to put all my affairs and the ship in order. This must be done on an inhabited planet, and Bothawui suits me. What doesn't suit me is having to land in an unprepared place. And I have you, an intermediary who owes me. We'll part for a while so that upon my arrival home among the botanists, my rear is covered. Naturally, I'll give a small starting capital, even without interest."
A surge of interest came from Muha.
"That sounds... pleasant to the ear," he admitted. "So, you'll need a dock or hangar where they don't ask unnecessary questions, and do what you pay for, right?"
"A dock with equipment, a free corridor, and full legality from the authorities with minimal questions," the clarification turned into a whole list, "and information on how to more easily and quickly change some characteristics in the ship's documents."
"This will take time," the alien thought. "You don't want the too hastily found executor to later profit from leaking information to your ill-wishers... How much time will I have?"
"For the first two points... Two to three days, for the rest a week, maybe a little more, maybe a little less," Rick mused, calculating how long it would take to rework some compartments, a non-trivial task even for Rick. "And it would also be good to find a couple of ship scrapyards in the system. This also needs to be done within the first day of arrival."
"That will be difficult," Muha sighed again. "But I'll try. And now, in return for future merits, can I have a little something to eat? Shai, for some reason, flatly refuses to go to the galley."
"I'll assign someone for this difficult mission," Rick nodded and stood up, "yes, Lis asked to contact him as soon as there was an opportunity."
"Good boy," Muha informed him, closing his eyes. The conversation through his damaged trunk tired him.
The captain didn't bother to find out who the Toydarian called a boy, leaving the galley and heading to the next "problematic" person on the ship. To Shai.
The Arkonka was in her cabin, sitting on the bunk, surrounded by scraps of long fur, and doing something with it. Her long, slender fingers flickered over her work.
"How are you feeling?" the guy skipped the greeting.
"We are well," Shai raised her head, looked with golden eyes. "Today is good... Only very lonely."
Her fingers rolled a bead-sized ball from the damp fur.
"Lonely? Why?" he asked, looking around the room and sitting on the chair opposite, "there's always someone on the ship."
"We don't know the ship," the Arkonka dropped the ball into a pile of similar woolly peas. "We went to the sick person because he called and asked for a drink, but then we returned..."
"You'll be shown the ship," Rick nodded, thinking about something, "I'll find Weymi and send you on a walking tour of the ship. Although Weymi probably knows a little more than you... Okay, I'll send someone. Do you need anything else?"
Shai moved her long fingers.
"If you have something that needs to be repaired..."
"As far as I know, no," the captain shook his head negatively, "everything works. I can give you a tune-up for the blasters, we have about a dozen of them, and all in an unknown condition."
"Yes," Shai was clearly pleased - idleness weighed on her. "We'll do it. We'll do it well."
"You'll be taken to the workshop," Rick stood up, "wait for now, I'll try to speed up this moment."
The Arkonka nodded and bent over her strange handicraft again.
Rick left the room, closing the door behind him and immersing himself in the Force: he needed to find Weymi.
The Lethan was in his cabin and, judging by the emotional echo, was in a great mood.
Together with the girl, the guy found an echo of something else in the Force. Something that he absolutely did not like. Casting a disapproving glance at one of the closed doors, the guy walked quickly to his cabin.
"What are you doing?" the guy asked from the threshold, taking out a blaster and putting it on the nightstand, then removing a bracelet.
Weymi showed him a deck with an open file.
"Reading."
She glanced at the pistol but didn't flinch, then shifted her gaze to the handmade decoration.
"Oh, it fits your hand perfectly."
"Uh-huh," the guy agreed, casually tossing the bracelet, worth several ships, onto the bed, "except I'm not used to wearing jewelry. I'm afraid of damaging it. What are you reading?"
"I talked to Sher," the girl reached for the bracelet. "She made me understand that free people are different from slaves in that they make their own choices and are responsible for their consequences... To make a choice, you need to have a good idea of what you're choosing from, that is, to know a lot. So I... I'm reading materials for the training program for your children. For free people," she explained. "If, of course, this wish - to behave like a free person - wasn't just the master's game."
The guy sat on the table, sighing:
"I'd hit you on the head, but it would be useless," he explained, then delved into clarification: "On my home planet, slavery... is barbarism. A thinking being cannot belong to someone; for us, it's nonsense. A lot is built on the concept of will. Everyone has the right to self-will, limited only by personal morality and law. But I've flown a lot, I have to admit that on some planets slavery is commonplace, but I can't accept it. I needed someone to take on the routine work that I have no predisposition for. And I decided that with your help, I could kill two birds with one stone. Find a person and make the world a little better. Will you answer your own question?"
Weymi scratched her temple with the tip of her lekku.
"So it's not a game," she clicked the clasp, adjusting the bracelet on her head-tail. "So I'll keep learning more and more."
"Learn," Rick agreed, "but now I need you to feed Muha and take Shai to the workshop, she knows what to do there."