Page 58 of Across The Stars
Sam’s nostrils flared and I would not have been surprised if smoke started coming out of her nose. Then, like she was at her wit’s end, she stood from the table and stormed off. Solukh looked at Vahko as if waiting for instruction and Vahko simply jerked his chin toward Sam, commanding him to go after her. I would have followed her myself, but my mind and body hadn’t exactly been working at full capacity lately. So, instead, I watched as Salukh stood and took long, leisurely strides in her wake. The two disappeared from the mess hall, leaving me alone with Vahko… again.
I slowly turned to look at him. His elbows were perched on the edge of the table and he was watching the door where our two friends had disappeared.
“Don’t worry,” I said. “We’ll be out of your hair in no time.”
His eyes met mine. “That is not what troubles me,” he said.
“So, something is troubling you?”
“Something is always troubling me,” he said with a faint smirk. “I am a military captain.”
“Right.” I paused for a moment, staring at the alien fruit juice that painted my now empty plate. “You know, we really didn’t come here with malicious intent.”
“I believe you,” he said. “But whydidyou lie your way to the Nexus?”
“Does it matter?”
“Maybe. We can’t hand you over yet. The Nexus won’t send anyone past their security drones until they’re certain there are no gek to interfere. And I’m not sure how long it will take for us to guarantee that.”
“Really?”
I felt relieved. Of course, it didn’t mean I was in the clear, but at least it meant I had a little time to process.
“So?” Vahko pressed. “Why’d you lie?”
I laughed a little at that. My story wasn’t interesting to myself so I couldn’t imagine it would be interesting to him. But I did want to talk. It might have been my only chance considering I was likely going to prison as soon as I was with humans again. And if I was going to prison, I was probably never going to see another alien ever again. Or space, for that matter. Or anything but a few walls and a tiny bed.
“I lied because it was the only way,” I explained. “And because there’s nothing for me on Earth. I mean, you’ve studied us. Earth is an overpopulated cesspit of cruelty and lies. The happiest people don’t even live in reality. They live in these virtual worlds and sometimes I don’t blame them. But is that happiness? I mean, if it’s not real? But then I think about how much reality blows. I should know. You realize the suicide rates on Earth have almost doubled over the last few years?” I scoffed. “We’re like sardines, all squished together and yet constantly being told not to get too close. Fear is what we wake up to and depression lulls us to sleep. Humans all seem to want something, but we’ve forgotten how to figure out what it is so we all just exist in constant longing. I wanted to find out what I wanted so… I found a way to get off world and broaden my horizons.”
I’d spilled more than I wanted… shit.
Vahko absorbed it all. He seemed like a good listener, although, at the moment, I would have preferred that he just zoned out.
“You said you were a stripper on Earth. What exactly did that entail?” he asked, his tone more friendly than I would have expected. I expected to be interrogated like the criminal I was, but he seemed genuinely curious.
“It means I was a stripper. As in, I stripped. I took off my clothes for people,” I said flatly, figuring I had no more pride to lose. “Actually, I was a pole dancer first. But like most artistic outlets, there was no money in that so I quit. And then I got various jobs I hated. Took language classes for a while until I couldn’t afford them. Took kickboxing until I couldn’t afford that either. And then I took my hard-earned skills and danced around in little to no clothing and people gave me money. Not enough money,” I chuckled. “But that was my job.”
“You seem like someone who needs a lot of stimulation.”
I had never thought of it that way, but once he said it, I couldn’t deny that my mind was not easy to please. I got bored quickly and restless even quicker.
“People who need stimulation are often the smartest,” Vahko added.
I almost choked on my own breath. “No,” I laughed. “That’s not the case here. If I was smart, I wouldn’t have to lie my way to the Nexus.”
“Smart doesn’t mean you can put numbers together well or build space ships. Ifrik makifi il’shat asholtha.”
I quirked a brow. “Huh?”
“The mind is a tower. It is a saying we have. Every brick you add to a tower makes it taller. As it grows, you see more. Those who do not add bricks can never see as far.”
It took me a second to understand what that meant and once I did, I was in awe.
“Ifr…” I muttered to myself, trying to remember the words.
“Ifrik,” Vahko said, rolling his “r” more beautifully than I could.
“Ifrik,” I repeated.
