Page 9 of Krin

I quickly checked out the shuttle bays to see if the Chetok’s shuttles were there. After walking past half a dozen ships, I had a mini panic attack when I thought I missed them.

Then I spotted the familiar spacecrafts. There were two, just as Krin mentioned, there would be.

I sighed with relief as I admired the sleek, polished metallic gray ships shimmering before me. I recognized the Protectorate shuttles because it was one of these that Avery, a fellow abductee-tried to steal, back on the slave planet.

The memory of my time with the Zinids seemed like a lifetime ago. So much had happened since being abducted.

My life was now better than I could have ever imagined. If someone had told me a long time ago I’d be here, about to go into space as an explorer, I would have laughed my ass off.

All I needed now was for Krin to accept me, and maybe even make me a member of the ship’s crew.

With that thought, my eyes darted around the crowd of fit, bare-chested warriors, searching for even the slightest glimpse of Krin.

A pleasant shiver ran up my spine when I spotted him talking to a few members of the crew.

His gaze suddenly shifted to me, meeting my eyes.

Butterflies fluttered in my stomach as I smiled at him.

He nodded, and gave me a quick smile before turning back to continue his conversation.

A group of approximately twenty or thirty warriors were gathered around the ramp to the shuttle closest to me, chatting and laughing among themselves.

Gathering my courage, I forced a smile, adjusted my ponytail, and took a step towards the ship.

I reached the ramp, heading towards the shuttle’s open door, looking back for another glimpse of Krin. As I scanned the area,there was no sign of him, and a wave of disappointment washed over me.

As I hesitated at the entrance to the shuttle, an unfamiliar warrior approached, avoiding direct eye contact.

Chuckling at his awkwardness, I noticed how he moved cautiously, as if afraid of brushing against me.

I came to a halt upon entering after him. On my left, there were two seats in front of the cockpit. Avery and I had sat in those very seats when she tried to steal the shuttle all those weeks ago.

One of the seats was taken by the pilot. As he prepared for takeoff, his hands swiftly moved across the control panel. Thankfully, he didn’t look my way.

A corridor stretched towards the rear of the ship in front of me. I opted for a seat near the door so that I could watch the viewscreen in front of the pilot.

It had nothing to do with wanting to see Krin if he entered the shuttle.

Warriors briskly strode past me, chatting to one another. The door closed, but there was no sign of Krin. Knowing he probably opted for the second shuttle was disheartening. I hoped he wasn’t trying to ignore me.

With my heart racing, I buckled in, and held my breath. Relieved at not being asked to leave, I pretended not to care as the crew ignored me.

BIG SPACESHIPS COULDN’Tland on the planet, so they stayed docked above Alara. I couldn’t stop staring at the incredible sight as we approached.

From different areas of the expansive oval-shaped structure, ships could be seen arriving and departing, creating a constant ebb and flow of activity.

Nestled within the outer ring were the hanger bays, awaiting the arrival of incoming ships.

We received instructions over the comms to make our way to a particular hangar bay.

With precision, the pilot navigated us towards two immense hangar doors, and they smoothly parted as we drew closer.

Before us, inside the space dock, the Chetok loomed like a giant metal beast.

The spaceship’s immense size left me questioning where I would find my place among the crew.

I started to wonder if I was being realistic about wanting to work on a vessel this huge.

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