The Human Pet: A Sci-Fi Romance

Part 27

***

I charge into the room. Rigel flicks through information on his wall unit.

"Commander Tarak? What brings you here?" His eyes go from me to my pet.

Between her heart racing and her shaking, I need to comfort her. I massage that little divot in her neck.

His lips immediately turn down in the way they do when he is disappointed in me. "Why are you touching that spot on her neck? I thought we established that touching her on the neck scares her and–"

I take a deep breath. "She wouldn't cooperate, and I had to get away."

His eyebrows rise. "Get away from where?"

His wall unit chimes twice. I put my pet onto Rigel's couch, removing her muzzle.

"Oh, these messages look urgent. I need to check on some of these," says Rigel, turning so that he fully faces the wall unit. The wall unit chimes another two times.

Rigel's wings flutter. He knows.

The wall unit chimes again.

"It wasn't my fault," I blurt.

Rigel whirls, his eyes an intense blue, and his wings widen. He has an impressive wingspan, and his wings fill the entire corner of his office.

I had always thought this behaviorist to be weak but between his wingspan and the angry shouts coming from him, I realize only too late that Rigel would make an admirable foe.

"You and your pet disrupted a surgery?!"

"In my defense, the room was not on the medical ward, nor was it labeled as such because naturally, I would not let my pet run around in a surgical ward."

"Why did you even go into the room?"

"My pet wanted to explore?"

"Oh, my stars—these reports say she was unleashed? Why would you let her run wild when you know she already has a strike?"

"I did just as you told me. I leashed and muzzled her, but..." I take a deep breath. "When I started to go down a particular hallway, suddenly, she would not go with me and... She removed her leash, ran down the hall, activated the door, and entered that room. All of this she did on her own. I only followed her." My ears ring. He probably thinks I'm lying. Had I not witnessed it with my own eyes, I would not have believed it.

Rigel grips his temples. "I do not want to see this pet destroyed. Tell me what happened, from the beginning."

I need her. Even though she squirms, I pick her up and sit down with her on that awful-smelling couch, holding her to me. She needs to be calmed, too, so I kiss the top of her head and start by telling him the entire story.

To his credit, Rigel listens. He must see my side of what I tell him because his wings drop, no longer filling up part of the room, and his eyes no longer flash in anger at me. My pet is calming, too, and she stays listless against my chest as I pet her.

When I finally finish my entire explanation, Rigel rubs his chin, staying silent and gazing at who knows what on the wall.

Because my pet already has a strike against her, I need his counsel.

I thump my tail on the floor. "Will they take her?"

He looks at my pet, still in my lap. "May I?" he asks.

"Go ahead," I say, understanding his need.

Rigel sits on the couch, stroking her head and she leans forward so that her body is between the two of us, with her legs in my lap and her head resting on his knee. I never would have suspected that a pet, especially one that could cause so much trouble, could bring such comfort.