Page 23 of Crave
When Kinsley returned from clearing the tray, she asked, “What does that aggravated clicking mean?”
“That’s the shuttle guidance system.”
“I meantyouraggravated clicking.” She nudged his shoulder with her hip before settling into her seat again.
“You said you felt like you were drifting—which we are not—but neither am I quite certain about this route.” He grumbled as he recalculated the coordinates. “Sensors can’t see anything through the mess out there. But Roxy seemed so clear.”
“I guess this is just one of those times where we have to believe in ourselves—and in a rock.”
He slanted a glance at her. “This is also one of those times where I’m not entirely sure I am interpreting your words correctly. Was that sarcasm?”
“Yes.” She hesitated. “But also no.”
“Just in case I wantedlessclarity in the moment.”
She nudged his arm again, and somehow, even as she jostled him, the contact settled something within him. “Well, you’re the one who gave me the translator,” she reminded him. “So maybe it’s your fault. Or maybe you’re the only one who can really understand me.”
“That’s not how a universal translator works, at all.” And yet, as much as her contact, her teasing felt good to him. “But that does make me wonder…”
She tagged along behind him when he returned to Roxy in the hold. “Do you want me to ask it again?”
She’d been so doubtful before, yet now she was volunteering. If he could win over the skeptical Kinsley, he might just start believing in himself. “Get it talking, about anything,” he said. “While I make some changes to the sensors.”
Fiddling with his datpad—he hadn’t brought along any of theDeepWander’s more refined sensors—he half listened as Kinsley spoke to Roxy softly.
“No, it’s okay if you’re not sure either,” she was saying. “Even if you can’t find your way back to wherever you came from, it’s all right.” She paused. “Well, the people of theDeepWanderwill keep you, if you want. You said you like it there, right?” She paused again. “I think that’s a yes? Well, Sil here is a good person, and he’ll make sure you are warm and, er, moist, since you say you like that kind of thing too.” She cleared her throat. “Anyway. You won’t be lost or alone again, so you don’t have to be afraid, not anymore.” When she patted the rock, little lights flickered out from beneath her hand, playing through the crystalline structures within.
Sil gazed at her a moment. The captured starlight in the stone shimmered across her skin and twinkled in her eyes, illuminating her as if she too were a numinous creature of the cosmos.
As were they all, he supposed, even if that was hard to remember when he was lost and alone.
Alone only because Kinsley might finally believe in aliens, but she didn’t believe inthem.
Wedging the datpad in the cargo webbing that stabilized the rock, he stood beside Kinsley and put his hand next to hers. “Let us try this again. Greetings, Roxy.”
“Glitter and glory!” The words boomed through the datpad, decibels louder than the small speaker should’ve been able to cast. “Splendorous serenity to you!”
Kinsley squeaked in alarm, jolting against Sil’s side.
Curling two arms around her protectively, he reached for the volume control. “Gentle,” he admonished. “You are pushing too hard through the datpad. It can’t contain that much energy.”
“Soft and sweet,” the voice whispered. “Like distant suns.”
“That’s better.” He patted the rock, triggering another scintillation of lights through the crystal.
Kinsley’s fist tightened against his torso. “Is that…uh, Roxy talking?”
“With words!” The voice was still soft but exuberant. “Words like light like feelings. Distant but connected. Like close now!”
Sil vibrated his amusement. “I think I understand why you reached out to Ollie first.”
“A rock with the enthusiasm of a seven-year-old, just great,” Kinsley grumbled. “But why me?”
“I modified the datpad for Roxy the same way I patched a translator for you. I suppose that’s why you were able to hear Roxy too.”
“Words along trajectories,” Roxy said, seemingly in agreement. “Now silence unless sought.”
Sil gave Kinsley a light squeeze. “I think it means it won’t bother you and Oliver anymore now that it has another voice.”
