Dark Horse by Michelle Diener

a neat bathroom, with toilet, shower and basin. The walls were made of a deep blue and green glass-like material, much bolder than the passageway.
    “Nice,” she said.
    “You seem very comfortable with our technology. Youʼve grasped it very quickly.” Havak was looking at her like Kila had on Harmon. Like she was all his Christmases come at once.
    She quirked her lips. “We donʼt have the same level of technology as you, but some things donʼt change all that much. If they work, they work whether you can light jump or whether you canʼt. And quite a few things we donʼt have, weʼve already imagined. So it isnʼt as if I canʼt extrapolate.”
    Havak frowned. “What do you mean, youʼve already imagined?”
    “In stories.” Rose shrugged. “Weʼve imagined far-off planets, space travel, light jumps, other alien species. Iʼve seen the alien abduction movies, read the sci-fi novels and bought the t-shirt, so to speak.”
    Havak stared at her.
    The light over her door trilled, and Rose went to open it.
    Filavantri Dimitara stood in the doorway with a tray of food, and Rose stepped back to let her in.
    “You can see who it is before you open the door by looking here.” Havak showed her how to screen her visitors by first checking the lens feed from above her door.
    “There are lenses along all the passageways?” she asked.
    He shook his head. “Only outside personal living areas and in sensitive areas of the ship, like storerooms, the armory and the command center. We fought a war hundreds of years ago, where our own lens feed was used against us. Because of that, and because of our belief in individual privacy, only areas which are security concerns have lens feed now. Itʼs part of our law.”
    “And in this bedroom?” She asked because she thought they might feel justified in watching her because she was a potential danger to them, but both Havak and Filavantri drew themselves up in shock.
    “No.”
    Filavantri cast a slightly hostile look at Havak. “Despite your treatment so far, Rose, the Grih usually conduct themselves in full compliance with the Sentient Beings Agreement. That includes the right to privacy.”
    “I havenʼt been treated badly so far,” Rose said to her. “I could have asked sooner for food or drink, but I was too stressed and overwhelmed. Itʼs no oneʼs fault but my own.”
    Havak rubbed his forehead. “Saying things like that just makes it all the worse.” He watched Filavantri put down the tray on a small dining table to one side of the bed. “Iʼll leave if you wish, but would you mind if I stayed to see which foods you like? And it would be good if I am here in case you have a reaction to something.”
    Filavantri obviously wanted him gone, Rose could see from the way she huffed out a breath, but she didnʼt say anything.
    Heʼd been angry on her behalf, had helped her. Rose couldnʼt think of a way to tell him or Filavantri sheʼd like them both to leave and give her a few minutes peace without sounding churlish, so she gave a nod.
    Havak drew out a chair for her, and she saw he unclipped it from the floor by tipping it to release a catch.
    “Everything is either in holders or clips in case the ship has to perform extreme maneuvers, is that right?”
    Havak nodded. “Light jumps can be a little wild sometimes, and if we ever engage in battle, then we donʼt want furniture and crockery flying around.”
    Rose sat, and Filavantri lifted the covers of the three dishes on the tray.
    “I brought you a selection, because I simply didnʼt know what would appeal to you.”
    Rose looked at what was before her. One plate looked like it was full of fruit or raw vegetables. They were all cut into segments, and she gingerly reached for a piece of long, thin fruit whose coloring was the opposite of a red apple, bright red flesh, white creamy skin. The anti-apple she thought as she took a nibble.
    Bitterness flooded her mouth and she pursed her lips. It was strong, but not absolutely