Rougneck

"Is that good or bad?" Alexis asked.

Domina chuckled.

"It's good, I promise," Nyx said. She motioned them forward with her silver arm. "Come on, the lift can carry all four of us."

"Even me?" Alexis asked.

Nyx looked her over. "Two twenty five, plus or minus twenty kilos?"

"Two oh five," Alexis said.

"I could carry you and another four or five," Nyx bragged. "Well, not me, personally, but my lift can."

"Oh, okay."

"Do you have anything you need to get?"

Alexis turned to Synthia.

Synthia frowned and thought about their meager possessions. Everything they had or wanted was on them. "I'll miss Duster and Needle the most, but I'm not bringing them with me," Synthia said.

Nyx frowned. "More survivors?"

"No, Duster is one of the cliff rats that got friendly with us up here. Needle is the snakefish that checked me out in the pond and decided I wasn't good to eat."

"Oh... all right. All aboard then, you ladies look like you could use a good meal!"

"Fuck yes we could!" Synthia said. "Oops, sorry... We've been alone for a long time."

Nyx grinned and led them back to the lift. She kept studying Alexis out of the corner of her eyes. Not her still active weapons, but her body in general. "I think we're going to get along just fine."

Synthia slipped her hand into Alex's and gave the cold metal a squeeze. Alexis offered her a smile and waited until everyone else was in the crate before she climbed in. As promised, the lift rose smoothly and fought off the winds until it was back safely inside the Rebexa's hold. Another woman was waiting on them, a tall Zendari woman covered in a fine blond hair. She had a medical scanner in her hand and she walked over to begin a check of the castaways.

Synthia's eyes blurred and she had to cling to both the crate and Alex's arm as the reality of their rescue set in.

"Are you okay?" Nyx asked.

Synthia nodded but couldn't speak past the lump in her throat.

"We hoped... but never expected to actually be rescued," Alexis said.

"Oh! Well, you are! It might be a little bit until I can get you back to a human station or find another New Horizons ship, but you're welcome to stay as long as you like. I have cabins to spare. This is Jahn'Kar, the ship's doctor. Between the five of us there's only one other person on the ship, Tara, and she's probably busy discovering something new and amazing in the field of exobiology."

Synthia nodded and tried, but failed, to speak. Instead she grabbed Nyx and hugged her. Squeezing the thin woman tight while her tears ran down her cheeks.

"We're in no hurry to return to a company ship or a human system, Captain," Alexis said. "I won't hug you, but I will say thank you. I-- we-- are in your debt."

Nyx smiled. "Good, then why don't you two get settled in and see if there's anything else we can help you with? Clothing, food, any technical help? When you're comfortable and ready we'll talk about the bugs."

Synthia shuddered and let the woman go. She blushed and nodded. "Sorry, I... I've only been rescued once before, I'm not very good at this."

The gathered women laughed. "Jahn, if they're okay can you show them to some rooms so they can rest a bit?"

"One room," Synthia said. She slipped her hand in Alex's again and said, "She's my girlfriend, we only need one room."

Alexis smiled at her.

Synthia swallowed another lump in her throat. She'd said it and she meant it. They'd been rescued and, fuck the universe, she was going to prove to Alexis that she'd meant what she said. They were going to make it, damn it. Just as long as she could convince Captain Nyx to stay the fuck away from that nest of killer bugs...