“Wait, you’ve been here for twoyears?”How has he not gone nuts being alone for so long?
He nods.
“Don’t you get lonely?I mean, I sort of understand wanting to die, but I don’t know if I could stay sane if I had no one to talk to.”
“I do not like people, so it has been satisfactory to me.”
“Humans are social creatures.Research shows that we need other people, and even in our ancient times, we could not survive alone.”
With a shrug, he taps on his lifecord.“I am not human.”
Another rumble rolls beneath my feet.A metallic clang bangs behind us, and the scant light from the shelter goes dark.
“Gods,” he groans, taking a step toward me and then stopping since I’m blocking the way back.“I think the out building, our shelter, may be damaged from the cave walls above.”
“That can’t be good.”My heart beats wildly in my ears.I feel like an ant trapped underground.
“We can either go back and spend time trying to clear it, or we keep going.Farther back, there is a small barracks where the rest of the rations are stored, and another tunnel that leads to the main doors heading down to the ground.If there is a ship with a power core, that is where it will be.Records show our ancestors kept their fleets outside under electrical shielding, ready to fly at a moment’s notice.However, I have seen no evidence of any defensive programs running.”
“I vote we keep going where the supplies are at.The sooner we find power, the sooner I can get back home.”
Without a response, he turns around and marches forward and I follow.
“If there’s a power core in a working ship, could we use the ship itself to reach your planet?At the very least, we could leave this moon which is going to kill us for sure, and maybe your Volderen scientists can figure out how the wormhole works.”
“It is possible.”
Only the sounds of our echoing footsteps fill the dark hall as it widens into a square, where a rectangular door is outlined in the blue emergency lights.
Kael touches a white circle near the edge of the frame, and the door hisses, retracting into the wall.Bright white light floods the hallway as the alien steps inside.
Following him, I find myself in a squarish room, similar to the shelter from earlier.On the left, a set of sealed double doors with small windows set into each lets in weak sunlight.I walk to them and push my face against the cold glass.
Identical doors two feet farther out show the moon’s landscape.Outside, the scant sunlight reveals a straight black walkway, partially covered in grayish-white sand and rocks in some places.
“I am picking up a power core signature a klick away.”
I turn to Kael.“That’s great, then.Let’s go.”I tap on my suit’s readout, ensuring my oxygen supply has refilled.The suit’s filtration system uses outside O2 when it’s available to keep the reserve filled, which means at one hundred percent, I’ll have four hours of oxygen if I’m breathing at a normal pace.Considering the terrain outside seems flat and relatively clear, I should be able to count on the full four hours.
“In case you have forgotten, the crust of this moon is heating up and slowly being torn apart, resulting in quakes.Just because the ground looks clear, does not mean it is or that it will continue to be safe.”
“Geeze, you sure know how t-to bring a lady down.Do you always look at everything with a cynical eye?”
“I am pragmatic, thus I see the situation with an electrical eye.”He rifles through a tall cabinet, grabbing something from a top shelf and pivoting toward me, holding up a small, silver sphere.“This is a scouting drone.I will send it out to locate the skirmisher and scout the area.”He squeezes it with his index finger and thumb, then tosses it into the air.It hovers near his temple and green, blocky font appears in the Volderen language—Scout mode activated—scrolls across its middle.
He strides to the inner door, pressing the open button, and the drone drifts inside.When the doors close, the outer doors open and the sphere zooms outside.
Kael touches his lifecord.A holographic screen projects above his wrist, revealing the area outside of the base.With a tap, he directs the lens to travel farther out.“Once I verify this location is stable enough to travel on foot, we can head out.”He nods to the tall cabinet that reminds me of high school lockers.“There are four ration packs inside, which is the last of what this place has.Put them inside your pack.”
“Shouldn’t you take half, in case we get separated?”I walk to the cabinet and shrug my backpack off, putting the square blocks of sealed food and water inside.
“If we are separated, then we are dead.”
“Guess it’s a good thing you want to die, then.”I offer him a smile to soften my words.
He lifts his eyes from the drone feed, his inky black stare troubled.“I do not seek death, but if it is inevitable, why fight?”
“So you’re giving up?”With the locker emptied, I zip my bag and close the metal with a bang.“You’re letting them win by getting in your head like this.”
