“Our exit,” Dalox calls up. “Five more steps.”
I count down. I will be glad when we get out of this constricting tube and somewhere it will be easier to fight if I need to.
Although this ship only holds the ghosts of the Sarkarnii past, nothing tangible.
I step off the ladder onto solid ground and almost right into Dalox who is waiting for me. He puts his hand under my chin, sweeping his clawed thumb over it. His burning eyes study mine.
“We will find the mapping system and get out of here, my little spark,” he rumbles. “It will take no time at all before we are back in my hidden quarters to mate until we can no longer stand.”
After everything I’ve seen, celebrating life is what I want to do, more than anything.
Dalox leans in and presses a kiss to my lips, the double tips of his tongue gently whisking my mouth. It is a gesture he has only recently learnt, and yet he does it as if he’s done it all his life. I press my hand against his chest, leaning into the kiss.
Because you never know when it might be your last.
When he finally lets me up for air, I find myself towed along the passage, lights blinking on to illuminate our way as we continue through the ship which creaks occasionally, almost as if it is alive.
“Why is it making that sound?” I ask as we turn a corner.
“It’s probably settling. I doubt the ground beneath it is strong enough to support the weight,” Dalox says. “Another reason we chose our part of Vorostor for our base.” He huffs.
Another turn and we reach an open doorway. I find myself hesitating slightly before we enter, in case there is something else I do not wish to see.
But instead it opens up into a wide area very similar to the one on the flyer, only bigger. Here there is evidence of the jungle, however, with green flowing down the walls and creeping across the floor.
Dalox stares around him. “There must be an open vent,” he says, eyes alighting on the ingress of green.
He moves over to the consoles, his ever-present tail back once again, as I walk over to the viewing window, which is mostly covered in vines and vegetation. I wipe at the grime on the window with my jacket sleeve to look out.
We are still high up in the canopy. I can see various creatures moving from branch to branch, but they’re too far away to identify. Mist swirls through as if driven by a wind as it rises over the ship and dissipates.
Below my feet, there is a steady growling rumble, causing the ship to tremble. As I look back at Dalox, the lights start to glow brighter and there are more of them, covering the walls and the flat black tops of the consoles dotted around.
“There is still power.” Dalox grins at me. “And there is the mapping system too,” he adds. “You will be home in no time at all.”
My heart drops to my boots. I should be ecstatic there is a way home.
But now I don’t know if I want to go at all.
DALOX
Iam getting some strange readings on the console, but given this ship hasn’t been fired up since we arrived on Vorostor many nova-years ago, strange readouts should be expected. It will take a while for the sensors to realign themselves and to show their true readings.
The main thing is the mapping system is incorporated within the ship, just as Dante predicted. All I need to do is identify the part of the mainframe which holds the system and extract it. Something which will take longer than I would prefer in this old hulk which hasn’t been maintained in this atmosphere.
And there is still the small matter of how we are going to get back to the main continent on Vorostor with the system.
I check through the various working feeds until I reach those of the hangar, a few floors below. Half expecting it to be empty, I spot a flyer in the far corner. Whether it has the capacity to reach home is something we’ll need to deal with later.
“Stay here.” I look over at my Gillian. Her face seems pale in the artificial light of the bridge. “I’m going to look for the switching room where the mapping system is located. I won’t be long.”
“I’d…” She looks out the window and then back at me. “Okay. If you need me, I’ll be here.”
I stride out of the bridge, but instantly I want her with me. Leaving Gillian behind seems like leaving my tail behind, not something I should be capable of.
I give my shoulders a shake. I am Dalox. I can manage a few nova-minutes without her in my life. After all there is going to be a time when we are apart because there is no other option. Such as before I dance for her. So, I can do this. I will do this.
Every step seems like I am walking through mud as I make my way through the ship to the main switching rooms where the mapping system is located.
