Free Bloodthirst by J.M. Dillard

space, and had sent word of it to
Tijra.
For weeks, there had been no reply. Of course, the
Enterprise
was very far from Andor
    â€œCheers.” Lisa Nguyen raised her glass of pineapple juice, interrupting Lamia’s reverie. They’d just come from the gym, where Lisa had beaten her soundly in a wrestling match, and were now seated in the rec lounge enjoying a drink.
    Lamia smiled and raised her glass of Thirelian Mountain mineral water in a token gesture. No matter that she’d had years of practice at smiling to her, the expression was an unnatural one, and she always felt as if she were grimacing. But then, none of her human friends had ever complained.
    â€œYou’re awfully quiet tonight,” Lisa said, still smiling. She was pretty for a human, with Oriental features and dark, shoulder-length hair. Although she was rather short, her muscular body made Lamia feel weak and spindly. “Heard from your family yet?”
    â€œNot yet,” Lamia said into the bubbling glass of mineral water, but Lisa didn’t hear the answer. She was busy waving at someone else.
    â€œJon!” She half stood from the table and smiled broadly. “Stanger! Come have a seat with us.”
    Lamia took a sip of water and looked up in time to see Stanger gazing around the room uncertainly, with a glass in his hand. Apparently he had been deserted by his “buddy"” that is, if anyone had been willing to volunteer for the job—and had been trying to slip unnoticed into a dark corner of the lounge. Now he was headed for their table. Lamia swallowed hard and imagined she could feel the water sink all the way down to her feet.
    â€œHello,” Stanger said. He had spotted the Andorian, but he directed his attention to Lisa, returning her smile. “Are you ladies managing to keep the lounge secure this evening?” He asked the question with an easy good humor that surprised Lamia; he seemed altogether different from the irritable man who had beamed down to Tanis.
    He pulled a chair next to Lisa’s. “So,” Lisa asked, “how’s the first week on board going? Like it enough to stay?”
    â€œIt’s going fine,” he answered, without so much as a glance at Lamia. “There’re some good people on board this ship.”
    Lisa dimpled again. “Glad you think so. I hope that applies to all of us in Security.”
    â€œIt does,” Stanger said gallantly, and raised his beer in a toast before taking a sip.
    â€œWell, good for you. Not everyone hits it off with Tomson right away. She usually takes some getting used to.”
    Lamia waited for him to say something. Surely he wasn’t going to claim he liked
Tomson
, not after what happened this morning”
    â€œShe’s all right,” Stanger said casually.
    The Andorian could hold her tongue no longer. “You can’t mean that.” She leaned across the table toward him, and he was forced to meet her gaze. “Not after the time she gave you about being a minute late.” She turned to Lisa. “He was
one minute
late, and for that Tomson spent five minutes lecturing him. If she were really angry and trying to run a tight ship, then give him a demerit and be done with it. But it’s almost as if she were looking for a chance to unload on someone. I’d heard she was unfriendly, but she seems well, almost hostile toward the junior officers.”
    Stanger’s good humor vanished. His voice became quiet, but there was an undercurrent of anger in it. “It was more than a minute, okay? Besides, I’d rather not go into it, En—Lamia. Let’s just say I deserved it. In Security, one minute can make the difference between life and death. The chief of security has got to be a stickler for details, and she’s got to drum it into her crew any way she can. I damn well deserved a demerit. But I’ll take a lecture any day if I can avoid” He broke off. “Oh,