Page 10 of The Explorer
“The hell I will.” Aubri narrowed her eyes. “I didn’t get away from my overly protective family to be controlled by you. I’d rather be raped than follow your orders for the next year.”
I gasped. “You don’t mean that.”
She looked away. “Just stop bossing me around, Indy. I’m not your daughter or sister.”
I huffed out loud in irritation. “I’m aware of that. You’re my fucking headache is what you are.”
CHAPTER 3
Crew
Aubri
Indiana and I had met Banni yesterday when Belle had introduced us. When he picked us up, we had a quick stop at a doctor who looked us over and made sure we had the right vaccinations. After that Banni walked us to the Exploration Headquarters while sharing more about himself.
Besides being the leader of the South-Western Explorer squad, Banni enjoyed climbing and running in his free time. He was twenty-six and had been in the same English class as Belle when they were kids. His English was accented, and he warned us that the two other members of the crew, Val and Alex, weren’t as fluent as him.
“Val has a speech impediment. He can go days without saying a thing and when he does, it can be difficult to understand him because he mumbles and mispronounces words. He understands English but you have to speak slowly. Don’t expect him to answer you directly.”
“Okay, good to know,” Indiana said. “But then how do you communicate with him during stressful situations?”
Banni tapped a finger against his temple. “We all have brain implants. He sends me pictures of what he sees. It’s sort of like having a telepathic connection. It’s also the reason I can speak English this well. I have the translation program running.”
“How does that work?” I asked with fascination.
“Oh, it’s just that words I think about in French are shown in English. I may not always get the pronunciation right though.”
“Isn’t it distracting to have all of that going on in your head?”
“It was in the beginning, but now I’m used to it. It’s like having a personal assistant living in your brain. Anyway, I should tell you that Alex has been with me and Val for three years. He had his prison sentence lowered by volunteering to work as an Explorer. He’s loyal and good at his job.”
“What did he go to prison for?” Indiana asked in a serious tone with a concerned glance in my direction.
“He was in prison for eleven years for selling Hallus.”
“What’s that?”
“It’s a strong hallucinogenic drug that the officials banned years ago. It keeps popping up. Alex got recruited as a dealer while he was still in school. He got caught when he was sixteen.”
“Is he okay with you telling us?” I asked as we turned a corner and walked down a street with multi-colored pavement.
“Within the squad there can be no secrets. Our lives depend on each other, so we need to build trust. Alex is a good guy, you’ll see.”
Once we got to the headquarters, the drone we’d seen yesterday was loaded with equipment and ready to go.
Banni gave us green uniforms that matched the one he was wearing. “I’m sorry that we didn’t have time to custom make it for you. We’ll do that before the next expedition. Here, Indiana, I’m giving you the biggest of my uniforms. It stretches so I’m hoping it will fit you well enough to be comfortable. Aubri, try this one on. It’s Alex’s and since you’re about the same height, it should work. It’s either that or you can have one of Colette’s uniforms.”
“Who is Colette?”
“The female squad member I told you about yesterday. The one who went on a single expedition with us before she quit.”
“Oh, right. The one who said she’d rather kill herself than go on another expedition.”
“Mm-hmm.” Banni flashed his white teeth in a grin. “They don’t look like much, but these uniforms are well designed. The fabric is strong and won’t rip easily. The first version they gave us four years ago was designed as a one-piece, but that was a hassle when we had to relieve ourselves in the wilderness. Now it’s a two-piece, but they did something clever with the way the two parts stick together almost like magnets.” Banni lifted his shirt and revealed that he had abs before letting go of the fabric, which instantly sucked itself to his pants. “See! It’s practical in the wintertime when you want to stay warm. I know they look like thin fabric, but these uniforms are temperature regulated. Now, hurry and suit up. We’ve got everything else you need on the drone and we’re ready to go.”
“Is there a place where we can change?” I asked and looked around.
“There’s a bathroom over there, but I hope it’s not because you’re shy. We French are relaxed about nudity, so you don’t have to worry about us. We’ve all seen plenty of naked bodies: male and female.”
