Chapter 35
Fleet Business
It had been almost two hours since his chat with the Sovereign.
Davik had spent the majority of it mumbling with Carissa.
Waiting, wondering. The lights in the water had flashed brightly with a fascinating flutter of different colors before Fia and the others returned to the surface.
She looked exhausted. Defeated. She was nude like the rest of the Icthians, but this was the first time she truly seemed exposed.
There were words exchanged in fevered Teelish. Vek looked ready to kill someone, and several others were embracing each other.
Maybe the Sovereign wasn’t too keen that you’re trying to bang her favorite little datastream savant?
Davik dismissed the thought with a sour chuckle. While he had worries that his affection for Fia would be a problem, he wasn’t so self-important as to think that it would cause a political uproar.
She did not walk to him, though. She did not join him to commiserate. She walked in lockstep behind Vek as he shouted something that sounded official. A small band of Icthians snapped into formation, along with a scant few humans, and they left with no fanfare.
And she never met his eyes.
His stomach plummeted. He barely registered that he and Carissa were being ushered away. The world had dulled to a strange, monotonous hum.
They returned to the dressing room, dried off, and donned their clothes again. Nobody had answers for them, just platitudes that this was official Fleet business. Entirely normal.
While they waited, their guide led Davik and Carissa to a cozy little leisure hall. Ornate light spheres hung along the partially translucent wall, illuminating the space. Despite the relaxed atmosphere, Carissa’s impatience was showing in her huffs and fidgeting.
“I’m not a fan of this, Dav.”
“Really? You look incredibly comfortable.”
She chucked a small pillow at him, and he caught it square in the chest with a grunt.
“No, you shit. I mean this waiting game. You think they’re reneging on our payment?”
“Huh. Hadn’t even considered that. I don’t think that is a decision that would be a cause for an all-hands war room meeting.”
Carissa sighed and rolled up to the edge of her cushion, sitting upright. “Probably not. I just feel … open. I don’t like being away from the ship, with nobody on it to keep an eye on things.”
“Want to head back there? I can wait up and ping you if I hear anything,” he offered, squeezing the pillow that had been chucked at him between his arms. The thought of being alone on the massive alien ship sent a wave of anxiety through him, and he could feel his nerves rattling.
But he could manage, especially if it helped put Carissa at ease.
“You wouldn’t mind?” she asked, tipping her head at him. He shook his head in reply, and she let out a relieved sigh. “Alright, I’ll get one of the cult ladies to show me how to get back to the docks. Stay safe, okay?”
He rose to give her a parting hug, and then he was alone.
The chair he had reclined in was surprisingly comfortable. Comfortable enough that his exhaustion won out against his nerves, and he had been pulled into a light, dreamless sleep.
And that sleep was interrupted when the noise from the corridor outside flowed into the room. Someone had opened the door. The lounge was still empty, save for him and the flock of cushions that dotted the place.
With a few steady blinks, he made out the blurry outline of Fia standing in the doorway, dressed in her flight suit. Not entering. Just standing. He had been expecting an excited embrace, a warm smile. Something. Eye contact, at least. Not this. Not cold, calm detachment.
“Fia…?” he muttered, rising from his chair to walk towards her. The door closed with a soft click as she took a few steps into the room. Her gaze was fixed on the floor, hands clasped behind her.
“Fia, what’s going on?” he asked, his voice creaking as he spoke.
His throat was dry. Every breath made him realize how cumbersome his tongue was in his mouth. He was even standing wrong, as if his joints did not know how to behave. Everything was fitting together just a few degrees away from normal.
If she said nothing, they could just stay like this. A strange, pained, quiet space. He would be okay with that. It was uncomfortable, but if she just stayed right here and let them be, he would be okay.
That is all he would need. Her, here.
The air was still, thick, too heavy to breathe in. Every nerve in his body knew what this was. He had been here before. On the threshold, watching as someone he loved braced to deliver words they had practiced, as if that would make it hurt less.
His imagined future was sinking into shifting sand. The ground beneath him was giving way, pulling him down with it.
As her lips parted, he noticed an almost imperceptible tremble. Then, with a breath, her features locked into a beautiful, otherworldly, stoic visage.
“The Fleet is leaving Tau Ceti, and I am going with them.”