Page 66 of Fighting Gravity
“Oh… right. I used to.”
I crossed my arms for a moment and quickly uncrossed them, realizing it was a gesture I used to do when I was younger and feeling vulnerable. I didn’t want to look weak in front of Rhone. Or any gek for that matter.
“But the god I used to believe in demanded too much of my time. Time I wanted to use to fix the pile of shit my life had become. When you put too much faith or power in something that may or may not exist, you lose faith and power in yourself. I realized I was doing that… so I forgot about god and I changed.”
“Changed what?”
“Everything,” I shrugged.
Rhone went silent for a moment, thinking.
“Our gods control nothing,” he finally continued. “But focusing on what they represent helps us focus on what we want.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?”
“It means that the gods are us. Figures from our history that accomplished great things and when we need that strength, we pray to them. We focus on their example. Their spirit and the legacy they left behind.”
“So, they’re not all-powerful beings who can predict the future or some shit?”
A light smirk fell across his lips. “How can they be? They are all dead.”
I didn’t fully understand what Rhone was talking about, but it was good food for thought as we neared the actual outpost.
As we got closer to the buildings, I realized the tall figures roaming the streets. Gek’tal. Lots of them. Women. Men. Tall and slender. Short and stocky. Long tendrils. Short tendrils. Some had facial markings like Rhone and others were bare of them. And a few had them extending down their necks and even their arms. They ranged from yellow-green to blue-green and even olive-brown. None, however, were true green like Rhone and I found that to be intriguing. Even Veron, whose shade closely resembled his, had hints of brown tones in her complexion.
“This isn’t inducing anxiety at all,” I said sarcastically.
“The way it looks, you belong to me. And I have too much authority here for anyone to take you.”
“That almost sounded reassuring.”
“And unlike Ket…” he paused for a moment, cracking his thick neck. “Gek frown on mating with other species. Even if just for pleasure.”
My skin grew hot at that comment. Hell, I still felt the mild, burning aftermath of his giant cock stretching me to capacity. So none of it was in my head. We’d definitely fucked. But now I was wondering what the hell Rhone really thought about our spontaneous and tense sexual hate fest. I wondered if he was as confused as I was about the whole thing or if it was all just a passing joke for him.
29: Quinn
There was no hiding from the surrounding eyes, which all zeroed in on me as soon as we started walking into the port. Rhone hadn’t given me a cloak to hide my features that time and it was pretty obvious that I stood out. I wanted to inch closer to him only because he was familiar. How ridiculous was that?
But I wasn’t the only one who felt a need to stay near him. Lin and her son moved closer the further we went like he was their guard dog. Their protector. Lin pulled her son close and held him tight, cautious even of her own kind.
As we ventured further into the town-sized outpost, I began constantly reminding myself to stand tall. If all gek’tal were even remotely similar to Rhone, they would frown on any sign of weakness and approach to snuff it out like goddamn animals. The one good thing I had going for me was the realization that flashed across every gek’s face when they noticed Rhone with me. Their stares cut deep, peeling me apart, but broke when they noticed who I was walking beside.
It made me wonder who the hell he really was. He hadn’t told me anything about himself. Not really. I knew he was a commander of his own crew, but that was easy to deduce. I knew people were scared of him. What I didn’t know was why. Somehow, I doubted it was just because he was a good fighter because behind the nervousness in every gek’s eyes was respect. I even caught a few quickly inclining their heads and tapping their fingers on their chest in passing greeting. Rhone returned the gesture to a few but ignored most others.
We strode through rows of buildings made of black metal that had a strange, peacock sheen to it. I wanted to ask what it was, but I was too busy feeling on edge.
Other than the buildings, the place looked more primitive than I expected. There were no cars or anything equivalent to Earth vehicles. The only docking area was back where Rhone had parked the ship and the sky was empty of other flying vessels. I had expected an advanced alien race to have outposts and settlements filled with technology, but Kahten’nak was quiet. No machinery whirring. No holograms. Nothing. Even further in, the road was still just packed dirt.
Now and then, giant monuments made of stone stood with alters beneath them. Each altar was filled with bowls of food, trinkets, and burning incense. I guessed they were their religious figures. They looked vaguely similar to gek’tal but they were grander. Their silhouettes were exaggerated and they were dressed in different, dramatic garb or armor. Rhone even stopped briefly at one of them, placing a hand on the altar and bowing his head before speaking a few words in his language. I peered up at the particular figure he’d halted at to see a male with a strong stature holding an intricate spear in one hand and clutching the head of some beast in the other. After what he told me about how their gods worked, I was tremendously curious to know which one he favored.
Rhone didn’t bother explaining anything to me after we moved on and I wasn’t going to ask. I was far too distracted.
To top off the primitive feel of the place, two giant creatures turned the corner in front of us as we were walking. They had four strong legs that looked like arms propped up on large hands. Their skin was thick and gray with purplish stripes tracing the curve of their muscular necks, down their backs, and over the rear of their hind legs. Their snouts were long with lengthy fangs in the front that protruded downward and their ears were erect, tall, and pointed. They were like horses from hell… that were actually kind of pretty in an alien way.
On the beasts’ backs were gek riders dressed in fitted blue suits with a texture akin to scales. I couldn’t even begin to assume what the suits were for, but the plugs down their backs made me think they weren’t just a fashion statement.
When we came to a triangular entrance to a large building, Rhone stepped over to a control screen on the side and pressed his hand to the frosted glass surface. The triangular entrance parted right down the middle and the two halves disappeared into the black walls.
