He straightened and turned back toward the bridge, flushing the remaining tendrils of lavender out of his snout.
9
What was that?
Janet stumbled her way back toward her cabin to find Lily. Zeph had run from her, frightening her in his hurry to the bridge, and leaving her even more confused than before.
She hadn’t wanted to follow him, didn’t want to care, but then gravity had dropped out from under her feet and nausea had filled her belly. She had barely managed to make it out of the lab when the nearest porthole flashed bright red and the sirens went off overhead.
Her ears still rang from them.
Janet wrung her fingers together and brought her jacket to her nose before using the end to rub the glare from her eyes. Her hands shook. She had seen battleships outside, had seen the fire, and although it felt like the ship hadn’t been moving all that much, vertigo had hit her as she watched lasers blast in her direction. Only for the ship to dodge out of the way at the last moment.
Rather than seeing her life flash before her eyes, the only thought in her head was for Lily’s safety.
She leaned up against the nearest wall and vomited, hacking up water and what was left from her last meal. One of the other Bins came out and cleaned up the mess as she continued heading back to her room.
Please let Lily be okay!
The man on the screen had disturbed her.He talked about Lily as if he knew her.The man wore the same unadorned EPED jumpsuit as Zeph, which meant he was likely a Cyborg. Zeph’s guarded words and tension made it seem like he was hesitant to go head-to-head with the man. If that was who was after Zeph, no wonder going back to Kepler would be dangerous for him.For us.
Janet had watched Zeph and Netto battle a leviathan like it was an everyday occurrence. If the mere appearance of ‘Gunner’ or mention of ‘Nightheart’ alarmed Zeph enough to change his plans...
They don’t care about me or my sister.The ships outside had to be EPED if they were with that Cyborg. Contacting them and trusting them to get her and Lily back home wasn’t an option anymore, not even a hypothetical backup one.
They’re supposed to be the good guys, aren’t they?But all Janet wanted to do was run, run and follow Zeph to whereverhewas running to now. The thought of him being captured and made an example of made her nausea return. He’d been working for the very same people who were now chasing him not long ago. It went beyond obsessive attraction, or need on her part, and now her headspace was frantic and numb.
Please let Lily be okay…She clutched the receiver in her pocket like a lifeline, trying to get Zeph out of her head. The door to her and Lily’s shared room whipped open and she found her sister on the couch sitting next to the android, playing her video game.
It was a beautiful, beautiful sight.
Janet ran to her sister’s side. “Are you okay? Are you hurt?” Her thoughts all jumbled in her head. She rubbed her hands over her sister, who tried to push her away.
“Stop it. I’m fine. You’re gonna let Mr. Heartface win!” she said, staring at her game screen and completely rejecting her sister’s concern.
“Nobody hurt you?”
Lily shook her head. “I’m winning. You don’t really die.”
Janet sagged in relief. “I thought something happened to you. I could never live with myself if something happened to you on my watch. I love you so much. So, so much.” She pulled her sister close and buried her nose into Lily’s wispy hair. “You’ll tell me if something’s wrong, right? It doesn’t matter what, you’ll tell me?”
“Mistress Lily is safe with me,” Bin-one responded. Janet ignored it.
“Lily?”
“Shhh, I’m winning.”
“Do you know a man named Gunner?”
Lily pursed her mouth at her screen but didn’t answer.
“Did a man named Gunner speak with you?” Janet asked again. “You would tell me if something like that happened, right?”
Lily shrugged, let out a non-committal groan, and turned from her. Her sister wasn’t paying attention, or refused to respond. Janet shuddered once, searching Lily’s face for several minutes before settling for curling up beside her. She watched Lily play her game for a short time, losing herself in her relief and the cosmic colors coming from the screen.
It was normal. It wasn’t red like the lights outside the portholes. She lifted her head and realized she could neither hear the sirens nor see the flashing lights in here.I wouldn’t have even known there’d been an attack.
Bin-one, with its heart on its facial screen, shot her an animated smile before shifting its display to a diagnostic panel indicating that inertial dampening had been increased in Lily’s room. She hadn’t felt a single movement from the ship.
