I like that. It's clean. Direct. Appealing.
She trots after me as I head down the hall, and I feel like I have the upper hand in the situation again. "I feel like I should point out that your clothes are too big for me."
"I know. They're falling apart anyhow. We must have picked up moths in the ducts somewhere."
"Hate it when that happens," she murmurs, stepping into place at my side instead of walking behind me like my men. "So what's the plan, then?"
"There's a clothing bot that can print something provided we put in the appropriate patterns and sizing. We just need to have it scan you to take down your information, and it'll craft you a serviceable dress."
She makes a noise of irritation. "What if I don't want a dress? What if I want pants?"
Pants? Does she mean trou? Like the ones that she's wearing that hug her ass and point out to all the world that she has no tail? That I find her ass far too round and fascinating and I keep staring at it? "A dress," I say firmly. "A dress will be appropriate for visiting my uncle."
"Oh god, is he one of those?"
"One of those what?" I glance over at her.
She gestures at nothing, a disgusted expression on her face. "You know, one of those guys that thinks the little woman should be barefoot and subservient? Waiting on the man and tending to his every need?"
Based on what I know of my uncle's relationship with his human wife, I very much doubt that is the case. I pause, clasping my hands behind my back and pretend casualness. "You disagree with this, yet you were offering to wash me moments ago."
Her eyes narrow. A smirk curves her mouth. "You mad you didn't take me up on it?"
Yes. "No."
"Liar."
I put my hands on my hips. "It makes me wonder why you'd offer such a thing."
"Why do you think?"
I shake my head, irked that she keeps lobbing the ball back to me. "I think you like to argue, that's what I think."
Ruth laughs, following behind me again. "For a ruthless space pirate, you sure do get offended easily."
"For a human in love, you sure do offer yourself freely."
"I do what I must in order to get what I want."
That makes me pause again. I stop just outside of supply storage, where the uniform bot is kept, and I study her. She does like to argue, I decide, noticing the color in her cheeks and the lively flash in her eyes. She likes this game as much as I do. "And what is it you want, Ruth? Freedom? You'll have it, no need to manipulate. Your friends? I've already promised we're going back there. Wealth?" Her expression grows reluctant, and I suspect she has no idea what she wants. She's just trying to take control any way she can. "Power? Love?"
She doesn't answer right away. Ruth continues to watch me, ever defiant, and my admiration (and annoyance) grows. They had no idea what they were unleashing when they opened her stasis pod, did they?
Ruth recovers, a smile curving her mouth again as she leans against the wall and gives me a flirty look. "Hard to know what to ask for when the game keeps changing the rules."
I put a hand on the wall over her shoulder, leaning in. "You think I'm changing the rules on you?"
"Aren't you?" She lifts her chin, as if daring me to lean in further. Perhaps daring me to press my mouth to hers like humans do in vids. I wonder if she'd let me, or if she'd bite me. I'm definitely keffed in the head, because I like the thought of both. I like her defiance as much as I like those rare moments when she yields.
"You should know—"
The comm chirps, followed by a second chirp that indicates urgency. I bite back a curse, because the timing is rotten. Ruth's eyes had just softened, and I could have sworn she'd looked at my mouth for a brief moment, just like how I watch hers.
"Captain!" Aithar's voice rings out over the comm. "We're being approached by another vessel that refuses to identify itself."
I shoot one last look at Ruth, then race back to my office. I half-expect her to run away, to disappear into the ducts again, and I'm surprised when she follows after me. I rush behind my desk, activating all of my screens to get a good look at our surroundings. "What kind of ship, Aithar?"
"Class II Silencer, sir. They won't answer our calls, but I could swear the cannon mounted on the under-side is of Homeworld make."
A Class II Silencer? That's an elite ship, and rarely seen outside of the more popular locations in space. They're known for their stealth, and as such, they tend to be the kind of ship one uses for secret missions…or assassinations. The fact that she has a cannon mounted tells me it's the latter.