He didn’t bother correcting her, instead, he looked to the open hatch and then back to her. “We need to find a place to wait out the storm. We can’t stay in this shuttle.”
She pretended to look around. “I don’t know, it’s not too bad in here.”
“Not an option,” he said, thinking about what he had on his person to help her. “To get to the buildings, we’ll need to walk into that storm. I can activate my armor's helm to shield my face, but you have nothing.
She seemed genuinely surprised by his concern. “Don't worry, I can just pull the hood over my face. It won't be comfortable, but it will keep most of the sand out of my mouth and nose. I can keep my eyes closed since you're the one doing the walking.”
“That will have to do,” he agreed. “Can you lock your legs around me, or will that hurt your ankle?”
“Easy.” She tightened her strong legs around his waist and then wrapped her arms around his neck. He knew that even if he let go of her, she’d remain where she was. This would help if he needed his hands to get them through the storm.
“Helm up,” he ordered his armor in Hissa. The armor responded by expanding a plated helmet around his head with a holo, heads-up display inside so he could see.
He waited for Nova to pull her cowl tightly over her head and bury her face in the neck of his armor. He wished there was bare skin for her to touch.
The sooner they found shelter for the next few days, the sooner he could strip down and invite her to continue what she’d done earlier.
Trying not to jostle her more than necessary, he rushed out the door and headed to the nearest building. The wind pushed at him, one gust almost taking his legs out from under him.
How did the willowy Fielden move so well against such violent weather? He could hear the sand pelting his armor. This couldn’t be good for Nova. She only had the light clothing to protect her delicate human skin.
The thought drove him to run faster. He didn’t care about jostling her now, his only concern was getting her out of the storm.
He hit the antechamber of a large building almost at full speed and had to struggle to stop before hitting the closed inner barrier.
It was understandable that they’d have this type of construction. He could feel the antechambers' pressure build to push out the winds so the doors could close behind them. Suddenly everything around them was calm, the sound of pelting sand muted by a combination of ion barrier, pressure system, and the building’s thick walls.
Despite all this, he was impatient to get inside the main building. It seemed to take forever for the air around them to clear so the inner door could slide open. Ordering his helm down, he strode inside.
“We’re sheltered,” he said.
She struggled a little with her clothing. She must not have had it wrapped correctly before a few trailing ends had gotten tangled. Finally, her head emerged, her chestnut hair a riot of loose curls around her head, her face flushed from trying to breathe through so much fabric and sand.
“I didn’t like that,” she said, rubbing at her eyes with one of her hands. “I didn’t like that at all. Why would anyone live in a place where the air attacks you with sand?”
“The Fieldens,” he reminded her. “They evolved to handle it with little issue. That’s probably why they have domes instead of eyes and ears.”
“They have such pretty poetry about the desert sands. They make it sound romantic and inviting,” she grumbled, her eyes watering as she rubbed at them. “They were so casual about walking off the shuttle that I thought it couldn't be that bad.Then boom, sand got everywhere, even though I was covered! Why didn’t they warn us? I’ll never trust another species again.”
He chuckled. “I think we might have used up all our goodwill with your earlier antics.”
She said something under her breath and it was probably good he couldn’t hear.
Looking around, he noted that the building was empty of Fielden but included several kiosks. One looked like it was for renting space. Striding over with Nova still tucked against him, he used his free hand to tap the screen.
There wasn’t much available, but he was happy to pay a premium for the last room when he realized it was a luxury suite.
After giving the kiosk all the information required to rent the room, he put in an order for medical supplies and a medic to visit the room. That was going to get expensive, but he didn’t care. Not only were the Hissa a wealthy species, but he individually controlled a huge amount of credits he rarely spent.
He also ordered human-suitable food to be delivered to the room. There were standard vending machines in the room, but they’d have a limited selection. Ordering freshly prepared food would be better for both of them.
After making sure he'd ordered everything they might need, he slid his data bracelet over the kiosk port to pay for everything. Pressing his hand to the pad on the machine, it marked his print and flashed a final agreement.
His data bracelet pinged. Lifting his hand, he looked at the device and saw a map to their room displayed. It also displayed the predicted time for the deliveries and medic.
When he looked back at Nova, he was startled to see that her eyes were red and puffy, and she was still rubbing at them.
“Stop that!” he ordered. “You’re going to hurt your eyes.”
