Page 24 of Across The Stars
“Ooo, is he cute?”
I rolled my eyes. “Sure, but you know what? He’s probably wondering where I am. I’m pretty sure lunch is over and I’m supposed to be in the warehouse.”
“Right. I’m supposed to be filing some things and/or carrying Tollie’s things around.”
“Got it,” I said with a nod.
“Oh!” Sam said before I left. “By the way, I’m already leaving the Nexus. How cool is that? Apparently, there was some important cargo on our passenger ship we came in on that needs to be delivered to the valerians ASAP. Something my department needs to handle, I guess. So, I’m going on a cargo exchange mission. Unbelievable, right?”
I blinked with surprise, a bit jealous and stunned that she was already getting all the cool assignments while I was stuck lifting boxes. But it was what it was. I had my role and she had hers. I sighed, hugged Sam, and rushed back to do my grunt work.
11: Vahko
I was standing in front of an array of curved, glass screens backlit with a blue glow. I sifted through image after image searching the solar system for signs of the gek’tal that might have been missed and found nothing. The fact that they were avoiding detection so successfully didn’t sit well with me and I couldn’t shake the idea that they were plotting something big. I stroked my chin, thinking and watching the stars on the screens, stress turning my skin a faint shade of green
When the door into the round chamber slid open, I looked up from the screens to see Akasa stepping through the entrance. She had the grace of a feather in the wind and angular yet feminine features that made most men drool. I, however, knewher only as my sister and sighed, swiping the images of the stars away to rub my forehead.
“Those screens won’t help if the gek are hiding from our scanners, little brother,” Akasa said.
She was dressed in a white bodysuit with a flowy dress draped over it, her silver filaments hanging in divided strands over her shoulders to her waist. She was a scientist in her youth and a diplomat now. Her moon-white skin rarely changed. She was much better at controlling her emotions than most. A full thirty cycles older than I was, she was considered a much more mature and wise individual.
“Salukh told me something today,” she said, walking with almost inaudible footsteps to lean up against the desks where the screens were now blank, blue slates. “He said you experienced a surge on the Nexus.”
I narrowed my eyes, leaning against the opposite side of the desks and crossing my arms. “Did he now?”
Akasa smiled, her pale blue eyes twinkling with interest. “So, did you?”
“Salukh doesn’t know what he’s talking about. It wasn’t a surge. A surge is for mating purposes and I’m sterile.”
“Not sterile. Stop using that term. The Thinning made most of us incapable of producing reproductive hormones. A surge happens when those hormonesareactive. You should go to the labs. Let them examine you.”
“Sure. If you think it could help, but I’m telling you it was a mistake. A human can’t cause that reaction. Our bodies have been inconsistent for a long time now. We should be used to these unanswerable questions.”
“Unanswerable? Ak’suk’kaan is said to have created four races in the galaxy from himself, humans being one of them, just like we are another. We’re not so different from them. We only evolved on different planets. We’re all children of one father.Why do you think we’re using their DNA to try and get to the bottom of our own problems?”
“We’re nothing like humans. They self-sabotage. Ruin each other. The only thing we have in common with them is our genetics.”
“That’s harsh. Not all humans are the same. Just like we are not the same. And they’re young. At our infancy, our people were a lot like them. In time, they’ll learn from their mistakes just as we have. So? Who was she?”
“I don’t know. I didn’t ask.”
“And? Tell me what happened.”
I furrowed my brows uncomfortably, my crown tipped with a rich flush of purple.
“Akasa, don’t you have other things to do? Have you gone over what I said to the council? You have pull. Get them to take my warnings seriously.”
“I’ve been pushing the subject. They’re already increasing surveillance around the labs, but you know, those labs need protection so they can continue doing research that will help more valerians do exactly what you did.Surge.”
“Perhaps we should put out a request to the monrians.”
“Please. This matter isn’t big enough to present to them yet. They’re not exactly security guards. If we contact them, it had better be because we’re at war and so far, it looks like the gek weren’t trying to shoot down any human ships. We think what you saw was a recon vessel.”
“Yes, and recon vessels scout the way for warships.”
“We’re handling it. Now focus. You have not stopped working on one thing or another in a long time. Perhaps this female is a sign that you need to take a break. Focus on something inward rather than outward.”
“None of it matters, Akasa. It was a mistake. My body will return to normal soon. And I’d appreciate if you didn’t tell anyone about this. Especially the council.”
