“So, the Eki can star hop, have stellar collisions, and apparently pick up on resonance.” I leaned back in my chair, partly to convey an air of indifference, but mostly so Pedro had enough room to curl up in my lap. “Does that sound about right?”
“You are correct… to a point,” Leeloo replied. “Eki can hear a Stellarian’s resonance—most likely because we also resonated at one time—but it means nothing to us now.Mykind identifies our stellar collisions by the pull we feel from our mate… or mates.”
Thathad me sitting up, although I was careful to not displace the Trol. “You have multiple mates?”
Perhaps this is more common than I thought.
“Sometimes.” Leeloo shrugged. “It helps with raising children to have more helping hands.”
Like an alien polycule…
NowMicahwas rapt with attention. “And how do the Eki reproduce? I mean… Gah! That was totally inappropriate to ask.Jesus,just ignore me…”
Leeloo laughed brightly. “With our tendrils, of course.”
And then, to demonstrate their point, they unleashed a half dozen starry tendrils.
Of course, they did.
I didn’t bother to hide my annoyance at this latest revelation. “Are the Eki nothing but superior Stellarians, then?”
Micah tried to give me anotherlook,but I ignored it. I knew full well my anger was thanks to being raised under the old Astrum Force, with the unarguable narrative that our kind was simplybetterthan other alien species.
It’s still true.
Mostly.
To their credit, Leeloo didn’t seem offended by my tone. “I would not call itsuperior—more like a different branch of evolution. One way to describe Eki might be… fully formed Stellarians.”
“Fully formed?” Micah murmured.
The Eki nodded. “Yes. We also possess a starry core, with tendrils branching outward.” They undulated theirs, possibly just to piss me off. “However, unlike Stellarians,weare permanently embedded in our vessels.”
Oh.
My curiosity got the better of me. “If you reproduce with your tendrils and presumably start as novas, how do you become… this?” I gestured at their hooded figure.
Not that we know what you look like.
Leeloo made an amused sound. “Our bodies form around our core after birth, like theshellof some other species.”
Micah openly gaped at the Eki. “Isthatwhy you can create shields? Because it’s how you keep your young safe until the vessel has fully developed?”
“Exactly!” Leeloo exclaimed, and I simultaneously appreciated and bristled at the pride in their voice. “Although, even the vessels we have now benefit from this protection. Our shields have always been defensive armor—nothing more.”
There’s my opening.
“Shieldsdoseem to be your specialty,” I drawled. “And the skill others are more than happy to pay you for.”
The Eki froze and slowly turned to face me. “Our shields are not for sale.”
I laughed derisively. “Is that so? Then why were we sent to Ekistron by those who knew of your shields—who have firsthand experience with your supposed ‘defensive armor’ being used as impenetrableprisons?”
Leeloo continued to stare at me, and for one, unnerving moment, I glimpsed two flares of fiery light from deep within their hood—exactly where their eyes would be.
I’ve faced worse.
“Who did you say sent you here again?” my opponent finally asked in a chilly tone. “A Neluth you met at a Muonova?”
