Page 83 of Needed in the Night
“It’s beautiful.” I turned in a circle to take in the vast beauty around us. “Even if I adapted to living inside a dome, I think I’d miss the feeling of real wind on my skin too much to live here.” I took his gloved hand again and squeezed it. “I’m so happy we decided to leave the port and see what it’s like on Aloris. Thank you for insisting we do this.”
I couldn’t see his expression under his helmet, but I heard the smile in his voice when he said, “I want us to experience all the joys we can find to share, from the simple to the exotic.”
“From luxury cruisers to standard-class single-room cabins,” I teased. “And from pink waterfalls to enormous glaciers.”
“And eventually to a little home overlooking a white sand beach and lavender ocean.” He drew me tight to his chest and turned us to put his back to the wind when a gust roared across the ice. “If we can find work together and live in such a place, I will have all I need to be happy for the rest of my life.”
“Me too.” I couldn’t kiss him, so I settled for bumping his helmet lightly with my own. He chuckled and bumped mine in return.
We spent the rest of our time outside exploring the designated safe area around the station and soaking up the stark beauty of Aloris’s ice fields and blue-gray sky. After living in busy Onat’ras, packed with pedestrians and ground and air transports, the emptiness and silence were simultaneously refreshing and unnerving.
Despite the wonders around us, my uneasiness returned with a vengeance. The back of my neck prickled and my stomach churned, even with Mikas at my side and no apparent danger near other than the slim chance of disaster striking somehow during our excursion or the trip back to the port. Knowing all the equipment was triple-checked for safety before every outing meant the odds of trouble were slim, but something was making me acutely uneasy. I wished I could figure out what and why.
Mikas was unsettled too, judging by the way he scanned our surroundings and gripped my hand as if he worried I might drop through the ice or blow away in the wind at any moment.
Our guides corralled us back to the airlock just as I began to feel a chill even through my double layer of protective gear. Once we removed our outerwear, it was time to board the crawler for the return journey to the port. Mikas and I took a last lingering look at the glacier and joined the rest of the group in the crawler loading bay.
My apprehension didn’t abate much even after we were seated and underway. Mikas’s spines bristled, but he studiously kept them flat after an Engareni female in a full-body thermal suit sitting behind us squawked in alarm.
“I am too accustomed to having you on my lap with nothing between us,” Mikas murmured in my ear as the crawler trundled over the ice at what felt like a truly glacial pace. “I am anxious to book the next leg of our journey and get to our cabin.”
“That makes two of us,” I said, happy to have something to talk about to distract from my unease. “What do you think? Solan? Tivor?” I thought about it. “Or do what Pioni did and wander the port until we feel drawn to a particular ship or destination? Maybe we should let or hearts or fate decide.”
“I am not sure what is best.” He rested his forehead on mine. “I am uneasy. I do not know why. I thought it was the danger of the ice, or our lack of a definite plan, but now I wonder if there is some other cause.”
“I know what you mean.” I leaned against his bicep and did my best to lace my gloved fingers through his bare ones.
I would have given a lot to be able to curl up on his lap, but we had to stay secured into our seats in case of trouble. My argument that I’d feel safer in Mikas’s armsthan in the harness, or that we were in more danger while traveling through space than in this vehicle, was unlikely to persuade the guides to let me flout their rules. And I’d promised Mikas to be a good tourist, so I stayed in my seat.
Some of our group slept during the journey while others watched the scenery via the windows and viewscreens. I tried to relax and enjoy the trip, occasionally scanning the faces of the other passengers—those I could see, that was. Nearly a third wore protective gear that hid even their heads and faces from sight. When Mikas and I weren’t discussing our next potential destination, I entertained myself by trying to guess what species those in full-body gear were based on body size, number and locations of appendages, and mannerisms.
As much as I wanted to continue with our journey and get back to sharing a clothing-optional cabin with Mikas, I hoped we’d have time to have some drinks and food in the port and watch the seemingly endless parade of travelers from across the galaxy. In the hour between our arrival from the cruiser and boarding the crawler I’d seen dozens of unfamiliar species, some of which even Mikas couldn’t identify. We both enjoyed people-watching, as did Brae, so I suspected neither would object too strenuously to relaxing in a lounge prior to boarding our next ship.
When we were within minutes of the port, I reached out to Brae.We’re almost back, I said.The glacier was beautiful. What have you been doing?
There are four hot biospheres in the port,he replied immediately, his voice high-pitched with excitement.I’ve been basking and snacking.
I gasped softly. Mikas glanced at me and raised his eyebrows. I patted his hand in reassurance and mouthedBrae. He chuckled and kissed the top of my head through my hood. I missed the heat of his lips.
Please don’t tell me you’ve been eating anything you shouldn’thave in those biospheres, I said to Brae.You know those are carefully balanced environments.
I’m not uncivilized, my shadowbat huffed.They stock special feeding areas.
Oh, good, I said, relieved.We’ll be arriving at the same gate we departed from in a few minutes. If you’ll meet us there, we’ll go book our next ship and then decide what to do before it leaves.
I’ll meet you there.
I relayed what Brae had said to Mikas. He chuckled. “Trust Brae to find a feast of insects on an ice planet.”
“A shadowbat’s instincts are strong when it comes to danger and food.” I nestled my head against his arm. “Gods above, I’ll be glad to get out of this thermal suit. I’ve had an itch on my back for the last hour and I can’t scratch it.”
“Where?” He slipped his hand behind my back and scratched between my shoulder blades with just the tips of his claws, carefully not to shred the suit. “Here?”
I had to bite my lip to stifle an inappropriate moan. “Lower,” I murmured. “To the right.”
Obediently, he moved his hand and scratched.Ahhh. I might have slumped over if it hadn’t been for the harness. “Oh, that’s the spot,” I groaned. “Thank you.”
He gave the rest of my back a thorough scratch for good measure and took my hand as the crawler reached the ramp that led to the dock inside the port. Our guides had told us at the beginning of the excursion that all forms of transports on Aloris were designed to withstand the climate but were stored in protected and temperature-controlled areas to lessen the chance of damage or deterioration due to weather.
