Page 98 of New World

“Thanks a lot, pal. Come on, love. I’ll see if I can explain this without you trying to kill me to see if it works,” Ash muttered, sliding his arm around Kella’s shoulders and guiding her out of the room.

“I think La’Rue won the body count,” Mei said.

“Net, net.” No, no. “The transport only counts as one,” Sergi argued.

“Definitely La’Rue,” Cassa and Julia said, grinning.

Sergi’s face fell and he gave them his best pout before he perked up. “But, because La’Rue and I are a couple, we get to add ours together! Hey, Ash!”

Dorane chuckled, his body relaxing as the healing agents kicked in and the pain in his side began to fade.

“I like him,” he murmured, looking up at Mei.

Her lips twitched. “He kind of grows on you once you get to know him,” she said in a beleaguered tone.

“Speaking of getting to know someone, how about you explain the way you fight?” Josh asked.

“Busted,” Julia murmured, pulling off her gloves and looking at Cassa. “Would you like to go grab a tea?”

Cassa chuckled and nodded, glancing back and forth between Josh and Mei. Dorane gripped Mei’s hand, and she looked down. His eyes were soft.

“I’ll be here when you’re finished,” he said, his eyelids heavy from the sedative Cassa had given him. “He should know.”

Mei sat next to Josh on the platform, staring out at the settlement. Life had returned to normal—if you could call this new world she had woken in normal.

“I am—was—a spy for the Chinese government. My mission was not quite the same as yours, not at first,” she said, staring straight ahead as she spoke.

“Oh. Well… bygones, huh? I thought I recognized a few of the moves you did; what level are you?” he asked.

Mei’s lips twitched. She knew he was asking what level of karate or jujitsu. She swallowed, looking down at the steaming tea Julia had given her as they passed the galley.

“10th dan by the Kodokan,” she murmured.

“10th!” Josh hissed.

“Only because they did not go higher,” she said, bowing her head before she took a sip of her tea and looked up at the night sky. “I don’t ever remember seeing this many stars when we were on Earth.”

Josh looked up. “I think humans have forgotten they are even there sometimes.”

“I’m glad that you made the decision to go through the gateway,” she said.

Josh was silent before he released a dry laugh. “If you had told me going through it would take us to a new world, filled with danger, intrigue, prophecies?—”

“And love?” she murmured.

Josh chuckled and nodded. “And love, I would have said you were crazy.”

Mei laughed softly. “I think you would have eagerly sent us through if you knew. You have always been the bold rule-breaker.”

“Yeah, maybe so,” Josh said ruefully with a smile. “Would you have wanted me to?”

“Yes,” Mei said without hesitation, her lips tilting in a secret smile. She drew her knees up to rest her chin on them. “So, what happens next?”

Josh stared out at the mixture of alien crew members and dock workers laughing, chatting, and going about their lives as if it wasn’t strange to be traveling to moon ports, secret bases, and worlds with floating islands. It was just another day.

“I don’t know, but for once, I’m excited to find out,” he said.

“Me too.”

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