Page 17 of Across The Stars
I laughed, rolling my eyes. For some reason that comment made me relax a little. It meant he was an honest guy (unlikeme). When Omar laughed back, I felt myself adapting to my strange situation, comforted by the normalcy of his company.
“Sorry,” Omar said, his smile charming and genuine. “There aren’t a lot of ladies on base and definitely not a lot that look like you.”
“Yeah? Maybe I don’t want to look like this. I was actually thinking of picking up a workout routine. I feel a little too soft for this place. Especially with people like you walking around.”
“Not that I can’t already see some muscle tone on you, but I can definitely train you.”
Thank pole dancing for making me look a little fit, I guess.
“That’d be great.”
“I’ll get you to Rogue’s level in no time.”
“Rogue?”
“Yeah… like from X-Men.”
“If I’m trying to get stronger, don’t you mean Wonder Woman?”
“Nah, Rogue had super strength, too. Everyone forgets.”
We laughed again before Omar did a quick sweep of the room and walked to the dresser. There were two metal cuffs set on top of it. He picked one up and snapped it on his wrist like he knew exactly what to do with it and then tapped the small, round portion on the face. A blue ring lit up and from it came a hologram with various commands displayed. I grabbed the other cuff and put it on, unsure exactly how to use it.
“These are so much more advanced than the ones we had at our base,” Omar said, sifting through menus too fast for me to follow. “Your Buddies were probably fancy like this at Cooper, huh?”
Buddy. I knew about Buddies. They were like portable hubs to assist people in the most elite fields. I didn’t know how to work one though and now I felt put on the spot.
“I mean,” I said. “We had some, but this is totally different. Plus, I’m a little loopy. I’m gonna leave navigating to the mess hall to you.”
“Loopy? You answered all of Penny’s questions right. But that’s ok,” he said with a salute. “I’m on it.”
8: Vahko
As soon as I stepped into the mayor’s office, I saw him speaking with a woman in a white suit. She had an updo that pulled her skin too tight around her forehead. They both looked at Salukh and me as we entered and inclined their heads in respect.
The office was bright. Every wall was white. Every piece of furniture was white. The lights were orbs of equally white light and without the tinted visor, I suspected my head would explode. Salukh and I looked like two coal stains in the meticulous room.
“Captain Vahko,” the mayor said, motioning for me to sit across from him at his desk. “It’s unlike you to show up here in person. I’m used to your sister.”
“I thought it was too urgent to organize something for a later time,” I said.
The mayor sat, his somewhat plump body molding into his chair, while the woman stood behind him with one of those digital pads they all carried. I remained standing, not ignorant of the men stationed at the door. They had suspicions. I didn’t blame them. I was a soldier and not an ambassador. Their defensive stares still weren’t welcome.
“We got your transmission,” the mayor said.
He looked down at the surface of his desk, wiping his palm across it. The top lit up with scanner images and layers of data, which he sifted through until he uncovered a recording from one of the blockade drones. I watched it closely to see a small, green light flicker in the distance behind one of the Earth shuttles.
“This was captured by one of the drones seconds after you contacted the Nexus,” he said. “Care to explain?”
“We have reason to believe it’s gek'tal,” I said outright.
“I thought you said gek'tal haven’t touched your people in decades.”
“They have not. This reappearance was unexpected.” I stepped forward. “They destroyed a transport ship filled with material from your labs in the Ofan Quadrant. An attack so direct hasn’t happened in a very long time. Not since before I was put under.”
The mayor took a deep breath and spoke with practiced sympathy. “I’m sorry. I know that research is very important to your people. Important in a way humans truly can’t understand given our differences.”
“It’s done. Our concern is that they will act again. The gek know we’re allied with humans and have your military at ourbacks. Your scanners aren’t made to pick up their particular energy signatures, though. They use something called xeron metal to build their ships. It’s capable of cloaking energy signatures from the inside of the ship and can read as the temperature of its surroundings while maintaining a completely different temperature inside, so heat sensors can’t pick them up. We have alterations we can provide to your drones if you approve them. They will help track their ships.”
