Today, it was a series of window panels that needed exterior adjustments. Construction crews considered outer hull work the worst position to be in. Heavy labor and one of the more dangerous locations available to work.
That being said, Karuk had enjoyed it. When he could stay away from the others, anyway.
The silence gave him the best peace he'd had in a long time. At least, when the others were silent as well. That wasn't often. But when it was, he appreciated it. Just the sounds of his ownbreathing and the mechanics of his suit. If he had a moment, he could look into the stars. See the arm of the local galaxy, they called it the Milky Way, in the star field. It was pleasing to observe, he thought. Peaceful.
Something he was lacking in his previous post.
His daily meditations to keep himself in check and keep control of his telepathic abilities helped him find his center. It let him listen to his higher self, not his emotions and worry. He still kept a diligent watch on those around him, but that was a habit he may never truly get over.
Trained to be a warrior guard for most of his life, some habits never went away.
He glanced outside a nearby window at the crest of the planet below, bright and blue in the star field, wondering about the humanoids on the planet.
Who were they?
What was their reason for this merger? He hadn't seen additional crafts when they had come in. How much experience with space travel did they have? What was their world like?
He felt the pull of the planet, the desire to walk on solid, organic ground.
To feel the —
"Karuk!" Bardon snapped in his earpiece. "Why aren't you checking your block of windows?"
"I am almost done," Karuk said, slipping the communicator off and dropping it in his pocket. He heard enough of Bardon’s bellows while in his company. No need to hear it now.
Karuk pulled out his scanner, focusing back on the task at hand. Testing the window to confirm the repair they'd done had taken hold properly, Karuk didn’t look down at the blue planet again.
He missed an organic life, but that was to be expected. He had to make peace with the lives in space, away from the solidityof organic living. The longer he lived in space, the more he would feel the rising yearning. It had been several months since he was on organic land, and it was wearing on him.
The constant cacophony—station engine hum, voices, equipment moving, clattering of metal on metal—it all grated on him.
He tried to adapt to it, but it wasn’t the same as organic sound.
While some noises he heard in a rhythm enough that they had faded to the background, everything else drew his attention. Especially anything out of place for that area.
Like a harsh stomping.
Loud conversation from two who were in distress.
The cry of a female voice.
He turned toward the sounds and headed directly for the voice. Around a curve on the walkway, he could hear the argument.
A female, standing near a staircase to the lower level, cried out and fell backwards. The male with her stood over her and laughed.
Karuk didn't hesitate. He reached her before she fell to the floor below.
He caught her in his arm, righted her position and then spun round, slamming his arm into the male who laughed at her falling.
The male stumbled backwards and growled at him.
"This doesn't concern you."
"It will when you throw a female down open stairs," Karuk countered.
The attacker, an alien with an antenna on his head and thick arms, lunged forward, swinging at him.
Karuk dodged him easily, and with two quick hits, had him bent over. A kick to the back of his knee dropped the larger male to the ground.
