Page 114 of Colossal

“Don’t call me that,” Kaia's mouth quirked up, compromising the impact of her frown. “Any luck?”

“Not yet,” Orion mumbled through a succulent mouthful of meat.

He’d been in the lab with his head biomechanic all night, running tests on the latest trial batch of gene variants. Their experiments makingColossal’scontrol system more sensitive to lower compositions of Orion’s uhyre genes had yielded no results so far.

“I’m not worried,” Kaia shrugged.

He knew she wasn’t. Kaia had complete faith in Orion’s theory of New Earth’s location, and so as far as she was concerned, it didn’t matter that Orion may be the last to controlColossal. If it were up to him, they’d have been well on their way to the Kann Galaxy by now, searching for what had to be there. Instead, they were two days from entering the territory of X1s.

If he could have, Orion would’ve aborted this entire mission two years ago. He’d tried, attempting to divert the ship to a safe location within the confines of the known universe until they could prep to set off for Kann.

Unfortunately, Orion’s mother had found a way to prime the ship with instructions Orion couldn’t override even after her death. In theory, that shouldn’t have been possible. But Ptolin Geeson found a way. Ptolin Geeson now resided in the brig for his interference in a colony’s chain of command. Orion had intended to space him, but Kaia had made a convincing enough point that they may still need him someday.

Colossalwould do anything he said, except for change its present course.

But once they entered the boundary of X1s, Mare Halena’s instructions would be obsolete and it would all be over. That was the plan. Turn around and never look back. The waste of it all was maddening. All the stockpiles they’d chewed through for nothing. Worse than nothing: the possibility of stepping into an uhyre nest. Orion wasn’t convinced it was even there, but no way was he taking the risk.

Once they got out of there, regrouped, and made their journey to Kann to find their real home, the gene dilution problem would be a nonissue. They wouldn’t needColossalanymore after his lifetime, which it would spend the remainder of as a transport vessel for planetside refugees. Kaia had worked on a plan for that while he was busy running the ship, and she’d had two years to make it a fucking good one.

“Hey.” Kaia reaching for his hand atop the table brought him back. “We’re almost home free.”

Orion nodded, wishing he could be as confident in himself as she was. So much had changed since they first met. The crude little scavenger who didn’t trust Orion far as she could throw him had turned into an unflappable force of nature. She seemed to have redirected all her energy and fight to making shit happen, planning their mission to Kann, and managing him in the process. Orion finished the last bite of his steak appreciatively and proceeded to down the fries soon after in easy silence.

When he was done, Kaia rose and held out her hand, expectant. He took it. She led him to the master suite. Orion discarded the towel around his waist and got in bed, sinking into the pleasant foam. His eyes were already closing, head already drifting as the weight of her leg sprawled across his stomach. Kaia pressed her length against his side, molding herself tightly against him. Finally her cheek nestled in the crook of his shoulder, and warm breath puffed against his neck.

Two more days. Two days and they’d be beginning their two-year journey back into known space. It would be a year after that before they could make another jump, but what was another three years when New Earth was on the other side? Humanity had waited for millennia already. And he had Kaia to wait with. Waiting with her would be fun. Despite his exhaustion, Orion stirred at the thought.

Tomorrow.Kaia chuckled through the subvoc, transmitting a brief image of a blood passage they’d recently discovered. It had become a favorite for its labyrinth twists interspersed with long, narrow stretches. Twisty enough to hide, long enough to run and to chase.

Orion grunted his approval and turned to his side, wrapping his arms around her to pull her into a sleepy embrace. He slept better with the bundle of her body against him, their limbs intertwined and their brains pinging warm goodnights and whispered affections.

Good night. Kaia pressed a kiss to the faint white line at the side of his neck, nuzzling closer beneath the lazy stroking of his hand.

* * *

Orion sat in the command center, watching the nav scans projected onto the hull. Kaia was in her co-pilot’s seat next to him, absently stroking along the veins in his forearm. He was plugged in, staring at the output of the debris scans that were just beginning to come in.

They were about to enter X1s, and Orion was ready to finally turn this ship around. Per Halen was already locked in his quarters to ensure minimal interference.

Two minutes from X1s entry,the lead navigator’s subvoc alerted him.

Orion looked over at Kaia. She returned his nod.

Focus,she nudged him.

Orion focused.

One minute from X1s entry.

Orion worked out the tension in his shoulders, rolling them against the padded backrest.

Strap in,he instructed. Kaia’s harness clipped across her ribs as she complied, followed by the clicks of others throughout the command center.

Three… two… one…

“Max turn to starboard,” Orion instructed. The ship registered his words, and he was already plugged in, so when navigation made the relevant adjustmentColossalshould have listened. Orion held his breath, braced for the possibility of another rejection of instruction due to Mother’s fuckery.

The jerk of his belt against his left side told him it worked before the navigators did.

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