She blinked."What?No.I am fine."
"Are you certain?"he asked as he held out his hand."Do you need a scan?"
"I am fine, truly," she said as she took his hand.
The energy that flew between them was intense and quick.
It gave her pause.She'd never experienced that kind of contact before.
She looked into his white eyes and realized his eyes were wide too, like he was surprised about the sensation.
She held on tight, the intensity not fading exactly but relaxing a tiny bit.His hand kept her steady as he walked her back onto the center of the platform.Her white dress billowed in the breeze, and the fabric knocked her around, being as heavy as it was.
Fighting the fabric as she walked broke the spell between them, or maybe that was her loss of balance that had her tumbling.
Bahran managed to pull her up.
And it wound up landing her right against.Completely.
"Um," she stammered as she felt his muscular body against hers.He was big to look at, but he felt even more so up close.More intimidating and more powerful.
She glanced at him, where her white overdress touched him, and his suit shifted and started to adapt to the dress's color.
She blinked."Your suit adapts to colors?I thought it was your skin."
"Both.They work together."
She nodded as she pushed herself off him."I'm sorry, I just--"
"Do not fret.I shall get you out of the wind, and you shall feel better."
"Out?What do you mean?Where else is there?"
He raised his eyebrow."You did not think we were just going to sit on this landing platform, did you?"
She shrugged."I did not know.It seemed isolated enough."She turned to the ship and pulled out the survival bag that Veta had packed for each pod.The darn thing was heavy, and she had to jerk it out, making her stumble again.
He took the bag from her and flung it over his shoulder like it weighed nothing.To him, it probably didn't.
"I have a better place."He led her to the side of the mountain.Hidden in the wall of stone was a large door.Probably big enough to get their ships inside if they needed to, but it had been well blended into the rock face, and she would have never guessed it was there.
"Wow, what kind of secret base is this?"she asked as they walked inside.
"It was an old processing plant, established when we first settled in the system.Then it was a vital part of our manufacturing process to create what we need.Now the process has been mastered, and we have better techniques."
"What do you use this space for now?"she asked, her words echoing off the large entrance chamber.Inside, the fighter could easily fit.Already there were several other ships inside, scattered about the hanger, though covered in dust.
The metal everything was made of had aged into the same color as all the rock outside, a dull gray and very different from the metal on Bahran's ship.
She saw the dust on the floor coating the bottom of her dress.
Yesterday, this would have probably irritated her.Today, she wasn't perturbed about it.She was glad to be alive.
"You have risked a lot for our people," Bahran said.
"It is for mine as much as yours.The war is taking its toll on the Terran Empire as well.It needs to be stopped."
"Our population is dwindling."
