Ka'Cit's Haven (Riv’s Sanctuary #3)

Apart from the weird silence that had greeted them when they first entered, this bar, if she could call it that, wasn’t that bad.

The walls were the color of mahogany and drab. Apart from a small circular window on one wall, there were no other wall decorations.

There were several tables in the small lounge made of the same material and color as the walls and the stools looked like barrels that matched the same color.

Ka’Cit was right. Apart from her, there didn’t seem to be any other females within the room.

At least, no aliens were present that she could confidently identify as being female. It felt as if she was in an alien truck stop filled with a host of drivers who transported the cargo from Hudo III galaxy wide.

They were talking together, sharing jokes, but she noticed one thing: despite the chatter, they all seemed to be glancing in her and Ka’Cit’s direction every now and then.

“They seem…uncomfortable,” she whispered loud enough for Ka’Cit to hear and he grunted.

“They should be.”

Nia took another gulp of the drink and allowed herself to enjoy the feel of the fluid going down her throat.

Despite the sideways glances in their direction, she had to admit that the chatter in the background was almost comforting.

If she closed her eyes, she could imagine she was somewhere on Earth in a regular bar.

But they were on a job. They still had to get that package.

They? Funny how she’d now included herself on that.

“Um, Crusher?” The small voice barely caught her attention and she had to pull her gaze from the room to look in the direction of the sound.

It was the Torian, the mechanic who was working on their stolen ship.

“There’s a problem.” Ka’Cit turned to regard the Torian as well.

“P-problem?” The alien stuttered.

“You wouldn’t come back to me if there wasn’t.”

The Torian gulped, his four eyes darting to the side before he forced them back on Ka’Cit.

“It’s n-not a p-problem, but I-I’m afraid there is no quick fix. It will take longer than a few minutes to complete the repairs.”

When Ka’Cit didn’t say anything, the Torian hurried on. “The vessel is…very damaged. It seems to not have been serviced, ever, though,” he spoke even faster now, “I’m sure you serviced it a lot. Maybe whoever you hired didn’t do a good job and—”

“How long?” Ka’Cit cut him off.

The Torian gulped again. “It will take at least three full light cycles to repair the engines.”

Ka’Cit let the blaster fall from his shoulders to hang by his side and the whole room hushed once more.

For a moment, no one seemed to breathe and Nia found herself looking around the room.

Fear registered on every single one of the faces she could read.

“Do it.” Ka’Cit’s words were barely uttered before the Torian nodded.

“Y-yes, Crusher.” The Torian moved quickly, almost falling over his own legs to get away.

As Ka’Cit turned back to the bar, the room released a collective sigh.

Nia stared at him.