ShakenandStirred by Viola Grace Read Free Book Online Page B

into the tank.
    Reset smiled at Shake. "Well done. I have rarely had an assistant who could handle an irrigation rig like that."
    "Thank you. I guess. Doesn't he need a breather?"
    The healer smiled. "He will actually do better without one. Oshanic immune systems are only triggered when you remove most of their oxygen. Can I fix the gouges in your neck?"
    "Oh. Are they still there?" Shake turned to Reset and the woman's features grew hazy.
    "Yes. Hold still."
    Reset's hands closed over Shake's neck and tingling warmth flowed over Tosha. A small burst of energy got her moving as well. "I think I need a sandwich."
    "I think you do, too. You are running on empty. Wish Vortex a speedy recovery and we will get you fed."
    Tosha walked to the tank and pressed her hand against the plexi. She put every emotion she had been feeling in the forefront of her thoughts and when a hand mirrored hers from inside the tank, she smiled. She broadcasted her hunger and he nodded, eyes still closed.
    "Okay, we can go now. I am Tosha, by the way."
    Reset took her arm. "I'm Gralial. Call me Gray. Come on. Let's get you something to eat."
    "Funny that your name is Gray and that is the colour I am wearing." Tosha was babbling again.
    "You don't have to talk."
    "Oh. I wish I could stop."
    Gray laughed and hauled her into the commissary. She dragged her over to a table where other men and women were sitting. "This is Shake, but off duty, she is Tosha. She has been injured and is in desperate need of food, so don't quiz her before she has a chance to eat."
    Numb, Tosha sat with the strangers. Two of them bore species similarities to Relay. "Hello."
    One of the men looked behind him. "Where is Micix?"
    It was all it took, she burst into tears while one of the women hissed, "Esur, what did Gray say about questions?"
    A comforting arm was around her shoulders as she sobbed out her stresses of the last few days.
    A bowl of soup appeared under her nose and she sipped at it in between blubbering episodes.
    Her eyes were puffy and swollen when her episode ground to a halt. "I am sorry."
    "Don't be. We were trying to get the guys to leave us to girl talk anyway." The speaker was the woman who had been sitting with the gold-coloured Drai.
    The petite woman across from her smiled with gold-green eyes. The woman extended her hand. "I am Drahali or Gravity when I am on duty."
    Tosha took her hand and accepted the greeting. "Pleased to meet you."
    "I am Roxanne or Finder when on duty." The woman next to her smiled and extended her hand.
    Tosha finished her greeting and the final woman winked. "I am Past Tense on duty, Mayden when I am relaxing. I am a Reader, so don't shake my hand unless you want to share your history with me."
    With nothing to hide, she extended her hand to Mayden and let the woman make the decision. When the warm fingers closed over her own, she smiled. "Pleased to meet you, Mayden."
    Gray laughed. "All are introduced, now eat."
    Feeling the peculiar lightness that followed an emotional outburst, Tosha started consuming the food that Gray had selected for her. She got stronger with each mouthful and the women around her carried on a low conversation until she was finished.
    Mayden gave her a strange look, "Okay, I have to ask…are you really trying to get a groomer here?"
    A little drowsy but otherwise fine, she felt like sharing. "Yes. I used to work in a natural-cosmetics shop and I am really feeling the lack. I confused the heck out of Mix the first night when I worked on making my own hair fixative."
    Mayden reached out and touched Tosha's hair. "It looks like it held."
    She shrugged. "I do good work. If I had some supplies, I would be making up some skin lotions. I find the process cathartic."
    Roxanne looked interested. "But what about the groomer?"
    "Oh. He was working at Talimatic and just seemed to have an energy that didn't really match the facility. He needs a challenge and I think massaging the Sector Guard could be that challenge." A