Page 57 of Kintolf Rising

Zeno gets to his feet, leans over and lifts me into his arms as if I weigh nothing. First stop, the sonic shower. It takes only a few minutes, and then Zeno places me naked in our bed.

Kissing my forehead, he says, “Take a nap. I need to go help the others.”

“Mmmkay.” I turn onto my side and within minutes, I’m sound asleep.

20

____________

Myla

After waking up from a long nap, I throw off the blanket Zeno must have placed over me, and climb out of bed. I slide into another pair of pants, and a blue long-sleeved t-shirt, then head out.

Every sore step I take extracts a smile as I remember my earlier sensual liaisons with Zeno and Tekil. And then the smile drops.

Why didn’t Vi’del come too?

A strange ache blossoms inside my chest as I quicken my stride to find the others.

The galley doors slide open and the noise hits me immediately—talking, laughing, a few grunts. A nice change from the earlier chaos.

“Hey you!” Jax calls from behind the bar. When I glance over, he’s smiling at me.

“Hey Jax.” I’m relieved to see him on his feet and already mostly healed. I change direction and head over to the bar. “Have you seen Tia?”

“No, sorry.”

“What about Zeno, Tekil, or Vi’del?”

He’s shaking his head. I wonder where they are...

“I’m not sure.” Huh, I must have asked that aloud. “Want something to eat? Something to drink?”

“No,” I reply absent-mindedly with a quick shake of my head.

Where could they be? I wonder.

“You should try the Control Room.”

“Huh?” I squint. Have I ever been there before?

“The Mission Control Room. Just follow the signs.”

Sounds easy enough. “Thanks, Jax.”

“No problem.”

I begin heading out of the galley and toss a smile over my shoulder. “I’m glad you’re okay.”

“You too!” he calls.

Through the corridor I follow the directional signs as Jax instructed. It’s not that difficult, but as I walk, I begin to doubt myself.

Maybe I should just wait in our room? I muse, then I scoff. Not a chance.

Up ahead, I see large, looming metal doors, with a sign on the outside that simply says, ‘Mission Control Room.’ In small print underneath, it also warns ‘Authorized Personnel Only.’

That’s clearly not me.

---