5 Saleuk
At least I was piloting a ship…
Even if that ship was about to fill up with a bunch of science geeks from Earth looking to dissect a few alien plants.
Science geeks and Sam.
We departed Caeol and set a course toward the Nexus. Myself and four others manned the Haelo, which I could see now was a junker from before we all went into stasis. Lucky for me, I learned on the same model so flying it wasn’t a problem. Wondering if we would need to use the two escape pods at the back was.
The design wasn’t as aerodynamic as what I had grown used to. It had a spacious interior with the bridge being only a stairwell away from the passenger cabin. But its shields were refurbished, so it was a good ship for entering atmospheres multiple times without problems. In theory.
The four other crew members were somewhat new to… well… everything. None of them had seen humans up close and none of them had been in combat outside a training simulation and only two of them were wilderness experts. I tried to put that all out of my mind, though. I was a military guy expecting the worst, but we were just escorts. Glorified babysitters. Our job was to taxi the humans around, watch them ooo and aaahh at a bunch of plants, and then taxi them back to wherever they needed to go.
Highways were built between major solar systems. Wormhole gates that only valerian officials had the means to open with codes transmitted from authorized ships. Once I reached the nearest one, I shot right through it until we were in Nexus territory. From there, it was a few hours in FTL to even reach the barricade. Since the gek attacked a human cargo ship a year prior, the Nexus had doubled their security. Not that it would matter much if the gek ever decided to launch a full-on attack. Which, to our luck, hadn’t happened yet and Vahko and Innifer were out there somewhere trying to find out it if ever would.
“Approaching the Nexus,” I announced, punching my docking code into the comms as the blockade came into view.
Hundreds of drones surrounded the Nexus, scanning space for threats. Without contact codes, a ship was flagged before it even came into view. But we were valerian and the valerians had been trading with the Nexus since it first turned on its lights. We gave them syfer in exchange for genetic samples. Syfer was a crystal that could be transformed into a powerful energy source. It was one of the most valuable resources in the galaxy. In return, the humans gave us specimens to study so we might one day fully cure our fertility issues. Human and valerian DNA was so close that it wasn’t that farfetched to think it could work. Perhaps we could even cross-breed. Innifer hadn’t gotten pregnant yet, but the mere fact that they surged was a complete wonder.
The docking bay was ready for us when we crossed the blockade. There was a spot on the far side that I always took if it was available. I didn’t like being sandwiched between human ships.
“Helmets on,” I said to the team.
Stars above, I sounded like Vahko. Some humans had discovered that we didn’t need our helmets on their space station, but Vahko always preached that no one should know all of our weaknesses or all of our strengths. Although, despite not needing them to breathe, the tinted visors did help with the blindingly white light that lit up the inside of the Nexus. Humans seemed to need massive amounts of light at all times.
Once the ship was docked and my crew’s helmets were on, one of the men lowered the boarding ramp. A gust of filtered air flew through the cabin and that white light seared my visor. I stood from my pilot seat and walked to the front of the crew. Zoval had made me captain for a short while in order to get through the assignment. Not that it meant much with a crew of four, but it was nice to be barking orders for once.
“Ilisa and Keril,” I said. “Stay here. Make sure no one’s grubby fingers touch my ship. Puro and Anis, come with me. We have a litter of humans to fetch.”
All of us wore our traditional black suits made of temperature-regulating material that hugged the body like a second skin. As temporary captain of a crew and ship, my uniform came with a jacket that reached my mid-thigh. Energy veins ran from a central temperature regulator in the suit near the chest and ran down the arms, legs, and spine. As captain, mine were blue. It was kind of nice to wear blue for once. I could get used to it. My crew members wore green, which was typically my color.
With the sleek helmet and reflective visor, we were completely concealed. The moment we stepped off the ship, however, concealed or not, all eyes were on us. Three tall humanoid shadows didn’t exactly blend into the pure white uniforms most of the personnel at the docks wore.
“Captain,” a voice said.
I almost didn’t respond to that title. Glancing to my right, I saw a gray-haired woman I didn’t recognize walking over to me with a data pad hugged under her arm. She was small and frail, but she had a look on her face that said she didn’t think she was. I recognized her from the roster. Ulia Fost. A professor at Sam’s University. Behind her were two Nexus officials standing by to get us all checked in.
“I’m Ulia Fost,” the old woman said, spinning on her heels to head toward the back of the docking bay. “The interns are gathered over here.”
I glanced over my shoulder at my men and though we couldn’t see each other’s expressions, somehow, I could tell we were all thinking the same thing. Internally, we were rolling our eyes. This frail old woman thought she was the boss…
We followed the grumpy woman toward the back of the docking bay to a waiting area where about a dozen men and women were waiting, all dressed in gray flight suits. Which were essentially just jumpsuits. Most of the humans wore them on the Nexus. Each other intern also had a small backpack, likely filled with their research supplies. I scanned them all and like a bug to a flame, my eyes zeroed in on her. Sam. She was standing in the back, her shoulder against the wall and one ankle crossed over the other. Her hands were casually in her pockets and her dark blond hair was pulled into a low ponytail. Unlike the last time I saw her, she looked like she really didn’t want to be seen.
“Captain Sal—”
“Captain,” I cut off the old woman. “Just captain.”
All of the interns perked up at the sound of my voice like they were all suddenly realizing I was real. A couple of the girls let their eyes roam across our bodies, licking their lips like they hadn’t eaten breakfast and someone was dangling a kili cake in front of them.
They were a bit more ravenous than I remembered humans being.
I cleared my throat and took a military stance, feet apart with my hands behind my back.
“Everyone, this is the captain of the ship that will be bringing us to our destination. According to our information, the air there is breathable but thin. Oxygen will be in your packs so do not misplace them.”
As the woman talked to the group, I glanced over at Sam again. She was listening, but she had shadows under her eyes. She was sleep-deprived. Maybe a little underweight since I saw her last. I never expected her to be into botany or science considering plants were nearly her undoing the last time I saw her. Maybe it was some twisted kind of revenge to plant life everywhere.
Looking her up and down, I envisioned the body under that jumpsuit. She was small with feminine curves and soft features back then. Her face had thinned a little and the bright pink shades in her hair had disappeared, but she was the same Sam under it all.
Beautiful.
Annoying. Soft. Fragile.
Mean.
Nearby, a man much older than her was sitting with one leg crossed over his other in one of the many chairs. He had his eyes trained on Sam and though it was subtle, it didn’t escape my notice. I narrowed my concealed eyes at him before turning my attention back toward the older woman when I heard her address me.
“Whenever you’re ready, captain,” she gestured. “Anything you’d like to add?”
I stepped forward. “Valerian ships are much the same as yours. Everyone file in, put your bags in the storage compartment on the far wall, and strap in. The trip to Phesah will be smooth until we enter her atmosphere. It’s thin and therefore warm and humid, but your suits should be fashioned with breathable, light material if your tailors took our suggestions. Some of our own scientists have set up a base camp in the Liu Tehn Forest. Since humans have never been on Phesah before, everyone needs to stay cautious and alert and you need to speak up at the first sign of a physical reaction to the environment. We have a medic on the ship that will be taking vitals every hour. We advise you to wear your masks the entire time. It’s easy to—”
“Excuse me,” a familiar voice said. I looked up to see Sam raising her hand. “I thought we were going to Sylos.”
Speaking directly to her without her knowing who I was nearly caught me off guard. Even if my voice was a little skewed by the helmet, I was expecting her to call me out.
“We will be going to its moon, Phesah,” I corrected.
She looked upset. A thin smirk touched my lips at the idea that she wanted to go to Sylos because she thought I was there.
But that was nonsense. The woman couldn’t stand me.
“If you’re all ready,” I said. “The moon has a day and night cycle when Sylos eclipses our star, so arriving during the day would be ideal.”
Ulia clapped her hands together abruptly and waved everyone onward.
“Alright, let’s get going then,” she said.
I turned to my comrades, speaking in our common tongue. “Woman thinks she’s the captain of this outing.”
My crew mates chuckled as they ushered the interns across the docks to the ship. I waited for everyone to pass, including Sam, before taking up the rear. She was the last one to start walking save for the middle-aged man. He followed her closely, giving off a certain aura that I didn’t like. The way his eyes roamed over her made my jaw clench. Not that I had any claim—or wanted a claim—over Sam, but the man oozed unclean thoughts.
On the ship, I stood in the middle of the passenger cabin waiting for everyone to get situated. Most of them knew exactly how to put their things in the storage compartment and how to strap in and they did it quickly. A few of them fumbled about, unsure what to do first, but they figured it out eventually. Sam was among the ones to put up her things without a problem and once people started finding their places, I made my way up the stairs.
“Uh, excuse me,” I heard her say.
I wouldn’t have turned if she hadn’t tapped me on the arm to get my attention. I spun to face her, already two steps up the stairs and towering over her small frame.
“Sorry, I thought we were going to Sylos.”
I shook my head. “I already said—”
“Right, I know.” Reaching into her pocket, she pulled out a folded piece of paper with a hand-drawn picture of a plant on it. A flower, to be exact. “See, I’m looking for this plant and I know for a fact it’s on Sylos.”
I reached out and took the paper. I didn’t need to, of course. It was an arlakh plant. The plant she was so deathly allergic to the last time we saw each other. It was well drawn down to the details of the stripes on the dual petals.
So she was looking for revenge on the flower and not looking to see me on Sylos. I was both amused and let down.
“The arlakh plant,” I said, handing the picture back to her. “They do grow on Sylos.”
“Right. So, is there some way I could do my studies there?”
“No,” I said plainly. “My job is to escort you to Phesah. We’ll only be going to Sylos for a brief rest afterward before I take you all back to the Nexus.”
I turned to keep walking when I caught the droop in her shoulders like she’d been completely let down.
“But it doesn’t matter,” I sighed. “The arlakh plant isn’t native to Sylos. It comes from Phesah. You’ll find plenty of them there. I don’t know why you’d want to if you’re allergic, though.”
I nearly choked on my words and hesitated a beat, waiting for Sam to react. It took her a couple of seconds, but then she blinked, lifting a brow.
“Huh?”
“I mean… a woman came to Sylos years ago and had an unpleasant reaction.”
She smiled awkwardly. “That was me. And that’s why I want to find it. I’m trying to study it so I can find a way to not be allergic.”
“Why would you want that? Planning on an extended visit?”
Her cheeks went pink and she furrowed her brows, stuffing her drawing in her pocket.
“I’m just a science geek,” she surrendered, backing away.
I couldn’t help it. I chuckled at her response and as she walked away, the sound made her glance back at me with that mean glare of hers.
She hadn’t changed, the little geshi.