Our eyes meet, and his expression conveys strong displeasure and embarrassment.
“Oh.I…I’m sorry.I didn’t mean to—”
“Nevertouch me again, human, or I will drag you back outside and gladly watch you suffocate.”His tone is filled with pain and anger.
I’m not sure why he’s so furious.Maybe he’s ashamed, and sees his arm as a deformity?
“I th-think it’s beautiful.”I nod to his hand, then meet his stare, letting my eyes travel across his face, his silver-white hair, his full bottom lip.He’s the most striking Volderen I’ve ever met.
His shoulders relax, and he clears his throat.“Do not stare at me like that, human.”
A smile forms on my lips.“I do have a name, you know.”I point to my suit, where my name tag rests on the sleeve.“Elaine Myles, but I prefer Ellie.”
His black irises watch my mouth.
The silence feels too silent.“I’m part of a small team of xenolinguists sent to examine older Volderen outposts to find ancient tech and review it with your scientists.Kind of a joint mission to test out our new alliance.We’re hoping to prove we can work together and bring everything out in the open, instead of keeping it secret like XVU has tried to do, which is a disaster so f-f-far.”
At the mention of XVU—earth’s secret,or not so secret anymore—shadow military branch called Xeno Vigilance Unit, his lip curls.“We should be ridding ourselves of XVU, and all humans who support it.”
I push myself up and sit, testing out my arm and wrist.No pain or blood, so that’s good.“I agree about the XVU part.But I think they’ll end up imploding from the inside out.President Channing is p-p-pissed at how much death and reputational damage they’ve caused.She’s made it a top priority to hunt every member down and bring them to trial.Good riddance, I say.”The room, about twenty feet wide and fifteen feet long, is empty in the middle.Smooth white tiles cover the walls, and bright blue light glows from the seams, where the walls meet the ceiling.At the farthest end, a desk meets the wall.On the right, information scrolls across a portion of the area; a mix of news articles from Earth and Mars in the Volderen language.On the left side, a seven-foot-tall replicator station takes up the entire corner.A set of doors next to it lead deeper into the shelter, I assume.
It strikes me as strange.This place feels too vast, too quiet for one person.“Where’s the rest of your research team?”My voice echoes faintly against the smooth walls.
He slips the pen-sized scanner into a pocket on his cargo-style pants, his movements sharp, controlled.Then he folds his arms across his chest, the muscles taut beneath his pale green skin.“Team?”His tone is a blade.“I do not need one.I do not want one.I am alone.”
His gaze locks onto mine, black eyes burning.“At least, Iwasalone…until you.”The curl of his lip is pure contempt, but there’s something else buried there, something raw.“I do not know why I brought you back.Humans are nothing but trouble.Nothing but pain.”
I swallow hard, my pulse hammering, but force a smirk I don’t feel.“Well, I have no plans to stay.Loan me a sparrow, and I’ll fly myself out of here.”
His eyebrow arches, slow and deliberate, and for the briefest moment, the corner of his mouth tilts—almost a smile, but sharper, like a predator amused by its prey.
“Where exactly,” he murmurs, voice low and dangerous, “do you think you are?”
I think back to the ancient lifecord falling onto my arm.It now lies open on a small table next to the bed, and I remember the falling sensation; of waking up in a dark, dusty, rocky area where the stars shone brightly overhead.The dirt didn’t carry the normal reddish quality of Martian soil, which means it had probably been impacted by a recent crater, which would’ve burrowed beneath the iron-rich topsoil.
“That old lifecord must’ve teleported me to a crater, so…I’m…hmm.”I tap a finger against my lips, thinking.Doctor Rana and I had been working in Reull Vallis, which meant the Hellas Basin hadn’t been too far.This also explains why the Volderen post had been built in that area since water flowed underneath the surface due to the lower pressure of the impact crater region.“You work here in the Hellas Basin.”
“Not even close, little human.”He taps his lifecord, and it projects a hologram of a green planet and three white moons above his wrist.“You are here.”He indicates the smallest moon, then nods to the planet.“Andthatis Voldera.”Tossing a square, white packet onto my lap—a temporary blanket to stay warm—he strolls to the metal doors and opens them, pausing to glance at me.“Which means you are not in your solar system any longer.You will die here, like me.The sooner you accept the situation, the easier it will be.”
3
Chapter 3
Thedoorsbangshutas my mouth falls open.
Voldera?That can’t be right.It took the original Volderens decades to reach Earth from their system.How could I have been transported to the HD3167 system, over one hundred fifty-fourlight yearsaway?
My stomach clenches, and I wrap my arms around my knees.I have to get back home.My dad, my brothers…they’ll never know what happened to me.What about Dr.Rana?Does he even grasp the circumstances?
Tears pool in my eyes and run down my face.
The door swooshes up into the ceiling, and the Volderen re-enters, holding a pouch and a sealed food pack, similar to MREs used by the military.He tosses them to me.
I fumble but manage to catch both.
“Even though I should not use extra rations, especially foryou, I will so you can get your strength back and leave.”
“Wow.You really know how to make a lady feel welcomed.”I wipe tears from my cheeks, a slow anger simmering underneath the sadness.An urge to throw everything in my hand at his face rises, but I squash it down.If I’m truly in another solar system, I need his help to survive.
