Chapter 15 #2
A oddly shaped grouping of Basiforuximycota in the center of the lab caught my eye. I had not found them growing in any other formation than clusters in the forest.
Ardruc took my hand. “The symbol, Elena. Do you see it?”
I looked again, and then I saw what had caught Ardruc’s attention: the same strange symbol that had been scorched into the floor of the medbay and had appeared between my breasts, formed in the grass by glowing Basiforuximycota.
Suddenly cold even in the warm lab, I pressed my palm to my chest. Up to now, the station’s transformation had caused me far more awe than fear.
Maybe that was a lingering effect of the strange euphoria combined with the gentle touch of the vine in Ardruc’s apartment, or just my curiosity and scientist’s thirst for knowledge overriding my nerves.
Plus, my burns and being drugged aside, we hadn’t been physically harmed in any way, so I hadn’t felt especially threatened.
I was afraid now, though, and growing more so by the moment.
What did this all mean? Intelligent korae, flora that acted more like fauna, fungi growing in a distinct shape that matched the symbol on my skin that had been left, as far as we could tell, by a tendril of plasma…
What the hells was happening at Nova Cal? What was happening to me?
Caught between curiosity and the urge to flee—somehow—I looked up at Ardruc. He must have read my thoughts in my expression. Or maybe he shared my feelings.
“I suspect we will find the transports inoperable,” he said, touching my face. “But we will look to be sure.”
“Let’s check the roof.” I squeezed Ardruc’s hand before letting go. “Come on, Forux.”
With a yip, Forux followed us away from the lab and down the hall to the roof access door. We found the stairs carpeted with grass and lined with foliage, but traversable.
When Ardruc opened the roof hatch, his wings fluttered and his tail swished. A moment later, I joined him at the top of the stairs and saw what had caused that reaction.
The grass that had once grown only above the imaging lab now covered the entire roof. And the transports and landing pad had nearly disappeared under a thick canopy of tree limbs and vines.
We could try to hack our way through to reach the transports, but I had a feeling the branches and vines would simply keep growing back as fast as we could break them.
And that might elicit an angry response from whatever intelligence wanted us to stay here.
Who or what it was, why we were its prisoners, and what it might do if we decided to fight our way free, I didn’t know.
Maybe I should have been angry, or terrified, or something, but mostly I felt numb. Shock, maybe, tinged with defeat.
“That’s it, then.” I slid down the wall and sat on the grass, my knees against my chest. “We’re trapped, at least until someone realizes we’ve gone silent and comes to investigate.
Or until the supply delivery.” My stomach lurched.
“Assuming the forest and korae let anyone get close to us. Nothing can land here now, with the landing pad covered. And if the forest has filled in nearby clearings too…” I let my voice trail off.
“Elena.” Ardruc knelt beside me and took my hand again. He did that a lot now. Was it for my sake, or his? “Do not despair,” he said softly, brushing my cheek with his fingertips. “We will solve these mysteries.”
“How do you know?” My throat felt tight. “We have no idea what’s going on or why.”
“We have some clues.” His touch on my face became a caress. “Whatever is at work has had ample opportunity to do us harm if that was the intention.”
I rubbed over the mark on my chest with my fist. “Other than this, you mean? And taking us prisoner?”
“Your burns may have been caused accidentally,” Ardruc pointed out.
“Those injuries aside, our welfare seems to be of concern. Our extended sleep was peaceful and even euphoric and our labs and the station’s life-sustaining functions remain fully online.
That all leads me to believe we are welcome to stay here, and that some task has been laid before us that we do not understand yet. ”
“Maybe whatever the kora wrote on the floor in the medbay is a clue,” I said. “I wonder if the computer has been able to translate it yet.”
“We will check after breakfast.” He tugged on my hand. “Come to the kitchen. I will make you coffee and food, and we will attempt to reason this out.”
“I appreciate the offer, but I’m picky about how I make my coffee.” I let him draw me to my feet. I tilted my head back and looked up at the empty sky. “We need to talk to that kora again, or one of its brethren. We need some answers.”
“Maybe they are waiting to see how we react,” he suggested. “And then they will send an emissary to speak to us again.”
“Let’s hope so,” I grumbled. “I don’t like being kept in the dark.”
Ardruc escorted me to the roof hatch. Over his shoulder, he whistled for Forux. To my surprise, my arval companion bounded over from where he’d been sniffing the transports and obediently followed us.
“Unbelievable,” I muttered. “First he lets you scratch his head and pet him, and now he comes when you whistle. The last person who tried that, he bit. Twice. And he used to not like you any more than I did…or at least, that’s what I thought.”
“He certainly disliked me strongly.” Ardruc steadied me on the stairs with his hand on my elbow. The grass and vines made the steep steps treacherous. “Considering my behavior, he had every right to do so.”
I harrumphed. “He sure forgave you quickly.” A sudden thought made me glare at my arval’s fluffy tails as he bounded ahead of us down the steps. “Was it because of the comfortable bed, Forux? He went from enemy to friend that quickly because of the bed?”
Ardruc chuckled, then rumbled and puffed smoke out his nostrils to cover the sound.
I hadn’t ever been this close to him when he did that. His smoke smelled very good—even better than the hints of it I had enjoyed seeping from his pillows and bedding.
While humans could be true mates of Fortusians, we had no biological imperative like they did.
And yet in this moment, I could believe there was something about Ardruc’s natural scents that had a similar effect on me.
I just wanted to breathe him in because when I did, I felt…
better. Safer. Comforted. But why, if as a human, I didn’t feel the draw of a mate bond?
“Oh,” I said aloud, pausing mid-step.
“What is it?” Ardruc asked.
“Those pheromones you mentioned last night—well, the night we fell asleep,” I amended. “Are you releasing them now?”
His brows went up. “I may be. Not consciously, but it is instinctual. Why do you ask? Do you feel…not yourself?”
“I don’t know,” I confessed. “I’m not sure how I’m supposed to feel with all this going on. But…” I cleared my throat. “Your scent makes me feel better. Scientifically speaking, as a human, I don’t know if that’s psychological or biological or both.”
“I could go to the medical bay and check.” He tilted his head, his brow furrowed. “Does it bother you that my pheromones may influence how you feel? If so, it is likely with some research I can find a way to cease production of them.”
The way his eyes tightened let me know he didn’t want to. His instincts demanded he care for me, and if his pheromones eased my fears, taking them away would do the opposite.
It meant a lot to me that he’d asked what I wanted, without hesitation, despite his instincts. It was a reminder that while the draw of a true mate was powerful and innate, we both had choices to make.
Still, I was a scientist, and as usual my dominant reaction was curiosity.
“I think I would like to know for sure, one way or the other, so I don’t have to guess,” I said.
“But I don’t think I want you to take anything or stop producing the pheromones.
Just knowing is enough for me. I have enough mysteries in my life at the moment. ”
“That is true.” He smiled, clearly relieved. “If you change your mind, please tell me so. I will not be offended.”
At the bottom of the stairs, I preceded him into the hallway. If it weren’t for the mark on my chest and our apparent captivity, I could lose myself in the station’s new beauty. The forest had always been where I felt most comfortable.
Halfway to the kitchen, though, a sudden thought made me stop in my tracks. Ardruc had to almost hop to one side to avoid running into me. “Oh, gods,” I whispered.
“What is it?” Ardruc was in front of me in a blink, his wings fluttering and his gaze searching my face. Forux circled our legs, his tails vibrating in alarm.
“What if the supplies can’t get here in two weeks?” My lower lip quivered. “I’m almost out of coffee!”
Ardruc’s mouth twitched before he schooled his features and became solemn once more. “We will endeavor to find a way to avoid that calamity. If nothing else, I am certain the station’s food synthesizer can reproduce coffee.”
Synthesized coffee? I very nearly gagged.
With his hand on the small of my back providing warmth and reassurance, he led me to the station’s kitchen.
I expected the combined kitchen and dining area to look similar to the rest of the station, and they did…
except for a key difference. All but one of the tables in the dining area had disappeared—somehow—and in their place was a small fruit orchard and vegetable garden, bathed in bright sunlight coming in from the enormous skylights and floor-to-ceiling windows.
The orchard was comprised of short, almost bushy trees laden with a variety of small, colorful fruits native to Hyderia that usually made up about a quarter of our monthly supply delivery.
I also recognized the vegetables growing in the garden bed, which had been formed by living branches and filled in with rich soil.
Neither the fruits nor vegetables looked ready to harvest yet, but after all, we’d only been asleep for a day and a half.