Kate
“We can get to the hangar without being seen, General. That I can ensure you.”
“Undoubtably, Sentinel. The question is, how do we get the pods out and re-enter the Earth’s atmosphere without being seen?” Jex and Rune sit on either side of a three-dimensional digitized map of the spaceship.
It looks like the Death Star from Star Wars. This thing is huge. “What’s that, right there?” I ask pointing my finger to a large open area in the middle of the sphere.
Neither idiot acknowledges me, instead Tore comes up from behind me and points alongside my finger. “That is the arboretum.”
“Is that an alien thing?” I ask, repeating the unfamiliar word in my head.
“It’s a botanic garden,” he says with a smile. “Not an alien thing. Grounders have them as well, do they not?”
“Yeah, I guess we do,” I say, taking a step back and folding my arms across my chest. Tore’s eyes follow my movements.
“Why do you want to return to Earth?” he asks.
“My sister and father are there and they both need me,” I say quietly.
His eyebrows scrunch up and squish together. I have to keep on reminding myself that these men have not had any interpersonal relationships until now, it’s got to be hard for them to comprehend why I need to get home.
“My sister, she’s my twin sister, you know?” I sigh and stammer a bit. “And uh, she’s special, well…she has special needs, she and my father always need someone to help them and take care of them,” I say, finding it hard to come up with the right way to explain it all.
“What is a twin sister?” he asks.
Oh wow, okay. “Uh, we were born at the same time, together.”
“Understood. Sentinel Jex and General Rune and I and the others are all twins then,” he says, nodding.
“Well, no. Not really. You have to be born at the same time from the same mother,” I try to explain.
“We have no mothers here,” he says quietly.
“Somewhere you do, Tore. Somewhere there is a woman whose egg was used to create you,” I say, softly.
“It matters not, I guess. But this twin needs you? And so does this father you speak of?”
“Yes, they both need me,” I say, fighting the tears that are threatening my eyes.
“We need you here as well, don’t we?” he asks, innocently. “Or our species will face extinction.”
I flash my eyes up to where Rune stands and he’s already staring back at me, listening for my answer. Listening to our whole conversation. I drop my gaze and turn to Tore and take a deep breath, “Let’s not talk about any of this, okay? Why don’t you tell me about the garden?”That’s a safe conversation that won’t make me feel awful.
“Would you like to view it?” he asks with a smile and a gleam in his eyes. How in the world are all the men on this ship gorgeous? It doesn’t seem very fair.
“Yeah, I guess,” I sigh, still thinking about Claire and Dad and how terrified they must be. I don’t even know how long it’s been since I’ve seen them. I don’t even have a clue as to how much time has passed since I got up here.
“Reapply your faceplate and plug in to the docking station,” he says, stepping toward the machine behind us. As I follow him, I sneak a quick glance over my shoulder. Rune isstillwatching me. I wonder if he’s worrying over his promise to me. Listening to him and Jex discuss exit strategies doesn’t give me any hope for there being any exit strategies that won’t alert Pious of our escape. And everyone here is positive Pious with disintegrate any and all pods that leave the ship.
Even when I break eye contact with him again, I can still feel his gaze lingering on me. My cheeks heat thinking about it, about how much I honestly like when he does it, and I quickly cover them with the armor, disregarding any pain.
I plug my armor into the docking station while Tore swipes at the dashboard next to me. Through the faceplate’s viewfinder I can sneak another glance at Rune without him knowing.
He’s still staring. The same warmth from my cheeks tingles down my neck and across my breasts. God, this is the worst time to be attracted to someone. What the hell is wrong with me?
Instantly I’m standing in the middle of a garden with trees that canopy over my head. Light beams fall softly through the leaves and spread a glow on hundreds of flowers that line the small pathway I’m on. I’m momentarily dizzy from the abrupt scenery change.
Jeez, these Caelum have their virtual reality gear on point. I feel like I’m standing in the middle of a beautifully landscaped conservatory. I spin slowly around, taking it all in. Pine trees. Evergreens. Other trees I have no ideas the name to. Roses and daisies and strange exotic flowers I’ve never seen before.
