Free Hunting Kat by P.J. Schnyder

overcome her trauma enough to interact normally with males of any humanoid species. She lost a close friend during the final battle when the Terran forces arrived, the cadet Lieutenant Katzer. The guy was an ace pilot. He died opening up a clear line of attack for the rescue forces. The reports said she wouldn’t talk for days to anybody but Captain Devron Rishkillian, a merc captain the cadets rescued from the brig during the alien occupation.” The next words cut deeper, made him bleed guilt. “You’re the first man she’s allowed to touch her since the incident.”
    “Can’t be.” Fuck. He’d been more than a shit. There weren’t words for it.
    Boggle’s voice turned bitter, continuing over the denial. “When it ended, the Academy wanted to study her, make her a lab specimen. Did you know she was a biology major? Devron Rishkillian gave her a position on his ship and had enough clout to get assigned as her handler. He’s got connections so high and deep in the service, I haven’t been able to hack it…yet. Almost all of the data available on the virus is through her research, done in between missions on his ship. She’s brilliant. She’s overcome all of it and built a life for herself. Ready to take the next step.”
    Rygard wouldn’t kiss and tell. Kaitlyn had taken the next step, and a running jump. And he’d hurt her because he’d thought she was merely another butterfly.
    “Read her files,” Boggle finished. “I’ve got intel to gather.”
    “Why do you do this stuff for her?” Rygard asked, wanting to find solid ground to stand on again.
    A hand reached out for a beaker of coffee, another noisy gulp. “Look at her cadet files. Back then, Kaitlyn existed as a bright, vivacious girl—beautiful, larger than life. Since then, she’s become deadly attractive.” His voice became breathless. “The data never lies. It’s there if you know how to see it, in her history and psych profiles. She has an integrity you don’t find in people anymore, not real ones. Once she makes you one of hers, she’ll do anything for you.” A pause, more tapping at the terminal. “When she met me yesterday, she didn’t let the surface stop her from taking a chance…shaking my hand.”
    Looking at the obesity, the sloppy habits, and gamer stats on comp tablets stacked in the corners, Rygard would have left. But he could guess what friendship meant to the man. Still, it couldn’t only be the data.
    “You’re about the same age.” Rygard watched Boggle closely, saw the clammy skin pale further. “You were there too. You knew her.”
    Boggle shook his head, licking his lips. “I was in the same school, not a cadet. When the attack happened, her group led us all into hiding in the BioDome. She dove into the thick of it. All I did was hide until help came.”
    And so he helped her now.
    “And you’re obviously one of hers.” Boggle jerked his head at Rygard, his multilayered chin jiggling. “Look at what she’s doing for you.”
    “She knows this is temporary. It can’t go anywhere.” Even to him it sounded cheesy. Way to bat with no balls.
    A wave of dismissal answered him. “Doesn’t matter. Once you’re one of hers, she’ll move planets for you. The data doesn’t lie. Whatever is between you two now, no matter how short-lived, when she gives friendship, it’s forever.”
     
    “For the record, I am not happy.”
    She answered with a low growl, butting her head against his thigh. Then she turned, powerful muscles bunching under sleek fur before launching herself onto the hovering grav platform. Her tail lashed from side to side, betraying nerves, before she touched the controls with a single claw and yanked her paw back quickly. The containment field rose up, enclosing her on the platform.
    She did it for him, putting herself at risk and facing captivity again. She’d stepped back into a cage and locked herself into her nightmare. And all without actually speaking to him about what it meant to