Chapter 32 #2
Fia cocked a brow-ridge at him. “Perhaps? Is a principal anything like a spiritual leader?”
He shrugged a little. “Kinda. If your parents can’t afford tutors and babysitters, you get stuck in classes on the station during the day.
So, to a kid, they are the highest authority while you’re there.
Usually, you only ever see them if you have done something very good,” he paused, clearing his throat.
“Or, often in my case, something very bad.”
Fia pursed her lips, and he was relieved to see she was barely holding a smile at bay.
“Then yes, this is very much like that.”
They entered an elevator of sorts as it descended into the belly of the ship.
It was a series of platforms that constantly moved along a track at a slow speed, with no doors to speak of.
Passengers seemingly just hopped on and walked off at their destination.
He had hesitated a moment too long before hopping on, but Fia had guided him on with a sneaky squeeze of his ass that made him forget his fear almost immediately.
What do these people have against doors? This feels like a great way to lose an arm.
The chattering of the surrounding entourage increased into tones that sounded excited, and Davik tried to catch Carissa’s eye.
She was just as enchanted and weirded out by this whole situation as he was, and when he got her attention, they exchanged a baffled shrug and a silently mouthed “what the fuck?”.
Once again, he hesitated to hop off the elevator when they reached their destination, but Fia ushered him to make the quick step off the moving platform.
He followed her along as they entered a room with floors carved from what must have been a single, massive stone.
Dark, shining, streaked with deep brown stripes and flecks of green throughout.
He had been examining the stone so closely that he didn’t realize that they had finally reached a proper set of doors and walls. The first that Davik had seen thus far. The entryway was flanked by side-rooms veiled by opaque curtains.
Their group split in twain, an Icthian leading the other Icthians aside to one set of side-rooms. Fia gave Davik’s hand one last squeeze before she filed in behind the others, disappearing into the room.
Before he protested, a human guide ushered Davik and Carissa aside. She was a short, sweetly smiling woman with long, braided black hair, wearing a cream-colored set of flowing robes.
“What? Wait, I thought we were all going to meet her together?” Davik asked as the guide corralled him and his sister-in-law.
They were led past the curtains of the room opposite where Fia and the others had disappeared. They emerged, after a bit more fussing, into what looked like a very ornate locker room.
“You are, don’t worry,” their guide intoned with a gentle, sweet voice.
She closed the curtains behind them and then opened a storage closet, presenting a pair of silken, multicolored robes to Carissa and Davik. Both of them exchanged a confused glance, and the guide nodded expectantly.
“It’s weird at first, I know. But you probably don’t want to go swimming in what you came aboard with,” the woman suggested with a tilt of the head.
“Swimming?” Carissa asked, her question half a laugh as she eyed the robes. “I spent thirty minutes getting this damned dress on. Nobody told me I’d have to meet her highness in my birthday suit.”
The guide went bright red in the cheeks and frantically shook her head. “No, not naked! We have bathing suits you can wear in the changing stalls over there. It makes the decontamination process much more straightforward.”
Carissa reached forward to take the offered robe, but held her hand there, staring intently at the guide.
“I know that people in a cult are the last people who would admit that they are in a cult, but on a scale of one to ten, how culty is this place? Because I’m getting a weird vibe.
If I’m about to jump into some weird cult orgiastic sex pool, I should fish my husband out of cryo first so he can at least join in. ”
Their guide barely held back a laugh and shook her head fervently.
“Oh my God, no, absolutely not. The Sovereign is just too weak to move above water anymore. We need to minimize the risk of any contaminants in her pool. She would absolutely love to hear that you thought this was a prelude to an orgy, though. They just do things a little different here. I didn’t grow up on the ship, so I understand your hesitance. ”
Carissa tentatively accepted the robe but kept her analytical stare. “And how did you end up here? It’s not like there was an aptitude test in high school for joining the definitely non-existent Sovereign Fleet.”
“Oh, my station got sold to the Fed. Took them barely a week to start extorting the locals and jack up the rent and taxes. The Fleet had a hand in getting it back into our hands. Not openly, of course. But I did some digging and offered to pledge to whatever mysterious force was supplying us with arms to take back the magnetite processing facilities, and—”
“The Kolac Station Riots?” Davik asked, his eyes wide.
“Yep. Well, in the beginning, it wasn’t a capital-R riot.
Just an impassioned disagreement. Didn’t know where that help was coming from at the time, but when everything was over, I figured, I’m going wherever I can do the most damage to Sol,” she said with a shrug and a chortle.
“Had no idea I would have to get so used to saunas, but I get to help jettison Feds into the ink. Can’t complain. ”
He had put two and two together by now to realize the Fleet had been maintaining some presence in Tau Ceti for years, but he hadn’t considered how they might tip the scales.
The Kolac Station Riots were a thing of legend, a tale of worker solidarity and victory, seizing control of the station after a strike and a semi-violent coup. And apparently, the Fleet had a significant hand in it.
Carissa gave an impressed dip of the head. “Well, shit. That’s the kind of cult I can get behind. No orgies though? Damn shame.”
The woman cackled. “I’ve heard some wild stories, but I can’t confirm how true any of them are. Now, go get changed. There’s a decontamination stall around the corner. I’ll be waiting for you outside.”
The robes were a tad short, covering just a scant few inches below his ass, and Davik felt exposed as they rejoined the group at the main door.
Exposed, and incredibly embarrassed at having spent so much time fussing over the clothes that now hung unworn in a little cubby.
Unsurprisingly, all the Icthians were nude, and Davik lost himself examining how Fia’s back muscles looked in the pulsating light of the foyer.
Exquisite. Spectacular, delicious, lickable, and—
The doors before them swung inward, and their guides gestured them to enter.
“The Sovereign is ready for you.”
He was expecting a gleaming throne room and ladies-in-waiting. Maybe even fastidious drone males milling about, bringing a recumbent queen food on silver platters. Not a gloomy stone cavern deep in the belly of a ship.
Gentle purple and yellow light emanated from several draped glowsilk banners along the walls, and spiral filaments gleamed orange within lanterns that marked their path.
They followed their guide forward until the dim lights finally revealed the centerpiece of the room: a massive pool of deep green, nearly black, water.
Every time the water lapped at the stone edges of the pool, the surface lit with a flare of bioluminescence that matched the pulse of the ship. The same pulse that he was certain matched Fia’s heartbeat.
This queen, the Sovereign, the hive-master of the Fleet, was nowhere to be seen. Or, more disconcertingly, she was simply unseen. As he stared fixedly at the water, two golden-scaled Icthians rose from the depths in unison from a set of underwater stairs.
One by one, the pair escorted those gathered below. Sometimes one at a time, sometimes in small groups. All delving for just a moment or two before surfacing again, looking somewhat glossy-eyed and awestruck.
Were they just giving their sentiments? Is this just a formality, like kissing the ring? Fuck, am I about to make a giant fool of myself?
He reached out for Fia, and without prompting, she snaked her arm around his waist and tugged him close.
“Yes?” she asked quietly.
“Is there some etiquette I should know here? A secret handshake, or gesture, or…”
She shook her head and gave his waist a soft squeeze. “No, she will just talk to you. Answer her as little or as much as you wish. She will hear you more than see you, so no need to fuss much about your posture.”
Davik stared flatly at Fia. “I know I seemed like an idiot forgetting you could breathe underwater, but I definitely can’t talk underwater. I can’t even swim!”
As she nodded, a slight smile played on her lips. “It will not be an issue.”
He had only a moment to mull that over before the golden pair rose from the water, pointing at him.