Karuk had just slippedhis work uniform on when there was an alert at his door.
He glanced at the crono, and saw he wasn’t late for his shift, but the foreman was standing outside.
When the door opened, the foreman looked him over. “You. Come with me.”
“What for?”
“Come with me,” the foreman said again. His usual scowl was replaced with an even more angry one. The pace he set through the corridor emphasized his anger. The floors quaked under his steps.
Well, that didn’t bode well.
Karuk followed him through the station. Not a word was said, though the foreman’s frustration grew the further they went.
They went past the cafeteria, and Karuk saw Girrick and Resko eating. They both paused and stared as he headed through with the foreman. They made eye contact for a moment.
“Well, that doesn’t look good,” Resko muttered.
Girrick nodded, and they both watched him walk through, as though he was on his way to a sentencing.
Karuk would agree with him if he was in their position.
They continued through the station, moving away from the construction areas and deeper into the station. Areas that he rarely frequented as a builder. He stayed in the less polished areas.
This was not that.
Which did not bode well for him.
Was something wrong? Had he messed up something?
Worse, had the Vorjan House found him here?
He prepared to find himself face to face with more Dalgurians, ready to haul him back to their homeworld for punishment. Or would they just jettison him out into space, never to be seen or heard from again?
Either was possible. The Vorjan House didn’t particularly like orders being rejected. Especially those from their king.
He patted his side as they walked and realized he hadn’t bothered to strap on the knife blade he usually kept on his person. The blade was a tool.
But it was also a defensive weapon.
Facing Vorjan House unarmed was a fool’s choice. Perhaps it was a fitting end for him—dying at the hands of his house, because he refused to be who they demanded.
Sad as he was, at least his travels brought him here, where he met Jenny, the Earthling.
Even her talkative pet brought a spot of light to his darkening heart.
He regretted he would not get to see them again.
The foreman headed toward the administrative offices. No more hard metal floors and ambient noise. This part of the station was clean, had soft flooring, and a sound dampening that removed most of the evidence of being in space.
Except for the windows that showed the stars and the world below.
Jenny would like this view, he thought to himself.
And then pushed the thoughts away. He shouldn’t dwell on her and her little creature. He wasn’t here to make friends. This far away from his homeworld, he remained here to hide.
That was ending.
Maybe it was better this way. That she did not know who or what he really was. Hopefully, she remembered him fondly.
