Nijello crossed the room, a pleasant smile on his face. “Nice to see you again, dear. I see the translation rune has healed nicely.”
“It sure did. Whatever was in that ointment, it made my whole body feel better. And I’ve gotta say, the sonic bath thingy? It made my tattoos look pretty amazing.”
“You possess runes already?” Nijello asked, flashing a questioning glance at Zoldana.
“Runes? No. But tats? Yeah, I’ve got a few. You want to see them?”
“Yes, please.”
“Suit yourself,” she replied, quickly shedding her jacket and top.
Standing there in just her bra, Olivia felt a little uncomfortable at their stares. She was used to people looking at her ink, that was just part of having tattoos, but these two seemed to be gob smacked.
“I-I have never seen the like before,” Nijello gasped in awe. “Overseer, may I bring in my understudy?”
“Of course,” Zoldana replied, out of her seat and standing close to her guest, equally amazed by the designs.
Nijello pressed part of his sleeve and a section of it illuminated for a moment then went back to normal. It seemed they had some sort of communications device built into their clothing. Again, a fascinating bit of tech from these people.
“These are beautiful,” Zoldana marveled. “Such quality to the line work, and such utterly novel designs.”
The hidden door opened, and a younger man came through, carrying what looked like a clear tablet of some sort. It was the closest to familiar tech that Olivia had seen since her arrival.
“You called?” he said before his mouth fell open at the site of Olivia’s tattoos.
“Lithos, I want you to document these,” Nijello said with excitement. “Document them all. I want a full catalog.”
“At once,” the man replied.
The Skrizzit reached out but hesitated. “May I?”
“You may.”
With great interest he gently touched the design on Olivia’s right shoulder, tracing the lines with his fingertips. “What powers do they give?”
“No powers.”
“Enhancements, then?”
“Uh, beyond looking pretty? Nothing. They’re just decorative.”
“Really? How remarkable. This is a beautiful design.”
Olivia blushed at the attention, but she was also enjoying it. For at least the momentshewas the one surprising the super-advanced aliens.
“Yeah, that was for my twenty-first birthday, though it could use a touchup right here. See how the ink faded. Too much sun, I guess. And over here, I got this one on vacation in the Yucatan.”
“I do not know that planet,” the man said.
“It’s not a planet. Just a region in Mexico. Lots of artists down there. My old friend moved there, and I went to stay for a while.”
“I would like to visit this Yucatan one day to study their techniques.”
“Well, it’s a bit of a trek,” she replied with a chuckle, though the reality of just how far from home she was nagged at the back of her mind.
“What about this one?” Zoldana asked, pointing to the design on her lower back.
“Ugh. Well, it’s not a true tramp-stamp, but let’s just say it was a drunken night I’d just as soon forget.”
