Not glowy.
And not looking happy.
For a moment, Freya was thrilled to see him, but his unhappy expression killed any joy. Especially now that he no longer glowed.
Well, he wasn’t blue. Almost kind of gray, like the surrounding walls. He wore a suit with a blue stripe down the front, similar to Wrathin's. The only difference was the stripe.
"Kian?" she said, his name a whisper on her lips. Seeing him felt more comforting than she would have thought. If she had to stay here, with him, then it would be all right.
When he faced her, she felt a flutter in her chest. She didn't know why. He looked like he had when she first saw him. If anything, he wore more clothing than she'd seen him in thus far.
He was more than he had been.
More to her, possibly.
Maybe.
Veta stood. "Come on, Wrathin. Let's go find more Terrans."
“I need to assist you,” Kian said.
“You need to care for your Terran,” Wrathin said. They nodded at one another. A male greeting, for certain. One that had no words but communicated between each other.
"Trust me," Veta said, giving her a wink as she walked by. “Try tapping into their systems and see what you can learn.”
Freya sighed. “Of course. I will take care of it.”
Kian took a few steps toward her. "You exhaled. Have I frustrated you yet again?"
"No. Just something Veta said to me. That's all."
“What did she want you to scan for?”
“Anything. To see if there are any lingering data in your systems that may help locate the others.”
"That should be simple to accomplish. You were able before to tap into our systems and gather information. Here, it should be even easier a task."
“It should.” She didn’t know what she could find if anything.
Based on the events thus far, the Rhimodians truly did seem to want peace. It was the Terrans that were attempting to sabotage it.
She changed the subject to him, more curious about what his people thought of his newly acquired skill. "What did the technicians say? Were you able to reconnect with the system?"
Kian sat next to her on the couch. His long legs stuck out far enough to bump the low table. "Yes, I was able to connect with Master System. All my processes are functioning in normal parameters."
"You exploded like a bomb, and it cut two Terran ships in half." She picked up her teacup again and took another sip.
Even with that kind of power, she wasn't afraid of Kian. But he was safe. For her, anyway. For anyone else? Well, that was up to them. He wouldn’t turn his programming on her.
"All part of the programming."
"I think I would have heard of Rhimodians who can blow things up."
"It is the-Anmodels. An unexplored feature in the system. Based on emotional reactions."
"What does that mean? Are you going to be okay?"
"I am fine," he replied. "A new protocol unlocked. It allows more passion-driven responses. It seems that it was an emotional response to the situation. Specifically, anger.”
