Leila of the Rogue [Book Four]

Vermin

  It had been a few days- or, well, the time equivalent of a few days- since the ship had been repaired, and within that time, I had explored nearly every inch of the ship. I was currently in the little workshop-like room, tinkering with the giant Bio-Mask to try and make it better fit me. There were plenty of tools in here to do so; all I had to be sure of was not messing up the circuitry and keeping it in working condition.

  Once I had the Bio-Mask to where I could comfortably wear it, I would learn how to use all the functions it possessed. I knew it had mimicry software, not to mention various ways to see in different spectrums. However, these different spectrum sights would look very different to me since I saw in color while Ro's kind saw with heat signatures.

  Pausing, I lowered the screwdriver in my hand while looking at the wall in front of me.

  Ro saw heat. Ro could not see in color.

  He probably thought I looked weird as Hell.

  Looking over my shoulder at the doorway, I opened my mouth to yell at the big alien in the other room.

  "Ro! Do you think I look strange? Like a weird heat blob?" I waited and listened for an answer but the only thing that happened was a bag of that white jerky was thrown into the workshop. The bag smacked against the wall before slapping onto the table, and my brows furrowed. "That doesn't answer my question!" Silence followed, and I rolled my eyes while turning back to the Bio-Mask. "What, am I some animal to throw food at now?"

  "Yes." The Bio-Mask stated.

  "I heard that!" Twisting in the chair, I pointed at the doorway even though Ro and I couldn't see each other. "The masks are still linked, you shit!"

~

  Looking out the window to the vastness of space outside the craft, I leaned back in the large chair Ro usually sat in. For once, it seemed, he wasn't at the controls plotting courses and planning ways to avoid capture. He had the ship on auto-pilot while he slept; something I at first questioned if he even needed to do, but apparently, he did.

  I couldn't see any planets nearby from where we were, so all I saw were stars and distant twinkles of light. Leaning forward, I plucked Ro's Bio-Mask up from the control panel and pulled one leg up into the chair while using my other leg to spin my seat slowly. Looking over the mask, I curiously ran my fingers over the deep scrapes on the left side that went over the eye.

  'Those must have come from the crash.' I thought, remembering how Ro had been found near a wrecked escape pod. Tilting the thing back, I saw small imprints near the bottom that looked like fingers from when I had accidentally slapped it off Ro's face.

  "Pffft." I tilted my head, spinning the chair in slow circles before flipping the Bio-Mask over to look inside. It wasn't that much different from my own but there were variations. That was more than likely due to the fact my mask was an older model from a long-dead Yautja whereas Ro's was not.

  Suddenly stopping the chair, I looked up, seeing the closed door that I knew the big guy was passed out on the other side of. If I wanted to do something, now would be my chance to. But what would I do? I couldn't go back home, I didn't know how to fly the ship. Hell, I didn't even know what direction Earth was in from here.

  I could kill Ro, but then I'd be stuck floating in space until I either starved after running out of supplies or until I crashed into a planet after getting stuck in its gravitational pull. Killing the big guy would be a bad move.

  Maybe I could tie him up and threaten him to take me back to Earth? I could use wires as binds- No. He could probably break free of those, his biceps were the size of my skull. Glancing at my right arm, I clenched and unclenched my hand a few times.