StarSet (The Warrior Prince's Claim - BBW Science Fiction Romance) by Calista Skye Page B

pretty for one of the gruffer types, but Shala wasn't one to distract herself.
    On with the business at hand.
    “Alamna,” she offered in greeting, noting the already uncooperative body language in his pristine build.
    He grunted.
    It was something.
    “This is just a formality. I won't keep you from your... whatever you had planned on getting into tonight. Just need a few details about the dead AI on Level 8.”
    Another shiver passed through her saying the word AI. Until she heard back from the medical bay, it was a placeholder for whatever the girl thing might actually be.
    Cricking a brow, the Teleran looked her over, his eyes like night intense, but unreadable. For a displaced people, they weren't exactly grateful to be aboard. But then, the allied forces weren't truly offering them a choice. The directive to preserve life often meant ruffling cultural feathers when there was a perceived need.
    Shala could understand both sides of it. It was surely uncomfortable for everyone involved. The Telerans made it known just how displeased they were with being force fed ship regulations; even something as simple as a debriefing like this was a kind of affront to their closed-off culture.
    He'd cooperate, but she'd have to ask the right questions to get what she needed out of him. He certainly wouldn't be forthcoming about the slightest thing.
    “So... The AI. When did you realize there was an intruder on the ship?”
    The warrior looked her over, clenching the strong set of his jaw before drawing a sigh. It was obvious he was having the same difficulty sitting across the table from a half-human, half-Kalion officer who represented the containment of his people.
    Telerans didn't take shit like that lightly.
    It meant things, of course.
    “When he took a false step on the deck panels behind me.”
    Not bad. A one sentence answer was certainly better than a word or sentence fragment. She'd half-expected him to answer her with something like “an hour ago.” It was nice to not have to pull teeth.
    Brightening some, Shala moved on, forcing her mind to distance itself from the distracting scent of wood and sea. Even away from their planet, Telerans smelled of their home, like they themselves were made of trees and water.
    “Is that when your injury occurred?”
    The warrior grit his teeth.
    “Yes.”
    Shala's fingers flit over the data sheet.
    “At which time, you incapacitated the AI?”
    “Did you not see the evidence of that?”
    Grinning, Shala pushed down the reactive part of her that would have matched his sarcasm.
    “Yes, but we need to verify what we saw when a first-person account is available.”

 
    Sighing, the Teleran settled back in his chair, looking her square in the eye when the door burst open behind her.
    “Please accept our humblest apologies, Prince Tarik. Officer Kane wasn't made aware of your identity.”
    Mena.
    Captain Von's boot-licking assistant.
    Great.
    Prince Tarik looked from Mena to Shala and rose, clearing his throat before turning his eyes to Shala again.
    “To answer your last question, yes.”
    Shala flushed despite herself. Gracious of him, considering his standing. She'd no idea he was the son of the Warrior King Therin. His father was a frigging idol of legend . Even Shala had read about him in the galactic news. She wasn't the type to get starstruck, but shit. She'd not expected to get this close to Teleran royalty. They had their own level on the ship, and it was heavily guarded.
    The only time they were typically seen was in worst case war-scenarios.
    “Timini.”
    It meant thank you. Using his tongue to convey her gratitude was Shala's way of letting him know she'd meant no disrespect, that she actually hadn't known who he was. Maybe that was in itself a careless thing. But his own name hadn't risen to the heights of his father's just yet.
    Even still he would be King one day.
    “Amsem,” he replied, sweeping past her then without a look back.
    It was probably the last time