Page 46 of Across The Stars
“Yeah,” I said, rolling my eyes. “She gets like that when she’s uncomfortable. Like a chihuahua.”
“A what?”
“Nothing. Never mind.”
Vahko let out a long sigh like he’d been holding his breath through most of the conversation.
“Get dressed,” he said, gesturing toward a stool near the bed. On it was a folded bundle of white fabric. “Meet me outside.”
22: Innifer
I slipped into a loose, white shirt and some gray leggings, every movement straining my pained muscles. My joints weren’t doing so well and I felt sore in every nook and bend of my body. Gravity was definitely not my friend. Why 0.3% felt like a hundred-pound barbell was a mystery to me, but I had just gotten into the worst accident of my life. I complained to myself about it before I stepped out of the room, trying to get it all out in private so I didn’t look like such a squishy wimp in front of our new alien friends.
Vahko was in the hallway standing next to the door. I jumped, despite knowing he’d be there. It wasn’t easy getting used to that face. I kept expecting him to rip off a mask.
I straightened, trying not to stare. He inclined his head again at me and began walking, his strides long and effortless. I was used to walking fast to avoid being around people on Earth, but I was not used to feeling twice as heavy. Aside from that, there was still a slight soreness in my leg from the injury. It had healed over, but it felt like a deep bruise now and every step was a chore. I considered myself fairly fit on Earth. On Sylos, after a gek attack, I was a mess with a slouch.
As we walked, I kept catching glimpses of a deep red and purple sky outside the many windows we were passing. I was so dazed that it didn’t register until we were well into our walk that I was seeing another planet. I snapped my head to a long glass wall and my feet slowly came to a halt. My jaw dropped and I sawa magnificent horizon of fuchsia over undulating waters. It was an ocean and it was gorgeous in the most alien way.
I moved toward the window. It was a big barrier as tall as I was so I could see everything. Putting my hands on the glass, I peered over a sheer cliffside on which the building was built and realized we were in a long, enclosed overpass. Looking one way, I saw other buildings constructed with slick, reflective metal that reached up high in the sky. In the other direction were rocky coves where the water crashed on black rocks. The hills were a deep black-purple with sprays of odd colors. I thought it was the evening before I caught sight of a large, reddish orb in the sky. A star.
Vahko appeared beside me, clasping his hands loosely behind his back. I couldn’t tear myself from that view. Not even to look at him.
“Holy shit,” I muttered.
“Your home is much different,” he said.
“Yeah. It’s much brighter during the day, that’s for sure.”
“Yes, I know your star is not visible for some time every sub-cycle.”
My head snapped toward Vahko. “Your star doesn’t do that?”
“Our star is always in the sky. There is no night here.”
“It’s tidally locked,” I nodded.
“On Valer, there is a night, but the sub-cycle is quite long. The planet orbits a kal’pal. It is a blue giant, according to your astronomers.”
I wanted to raise my hand and tell him I knew what that meant like a kid in a classroom being proud she knew the answer on a test, but I didn’t. Instead, I silently celebrated the fact that I was actually picking things up from studying all the information on my Buddy.
“Seriously?” I said instead.
“Yes. The winds here can be very unforgiving, but the climate is comfortable. In this zone, that is. There are outposts on the night side of the planet and some on the day side, but their numbers are not as many. We are in the twilight zone.”
“That’s a good word for it,” I scoffed. “So, do you live here? On Sylos, I mean.”
“I have a home here in Sikai and one on Valer. It depends on what I’m doing. Right now, I need to be close to the Nexus for business.”
“So what happens here on Sylos? In… what did you call it?”
“Sikai. That’s the name of this settlement. And what happens here is mostly diplomacy. It’s a halfway point between other territories and part of the council is always here to delegate. That’s where we’re going right now.”
I turned to keep walking and I almost choked on my own tongue.
“Oh yeah. That,” I said. “Are we talking a small group or some big room full of officials? Because I’ve been to court on Earth. It’s not fun.”
Vahko stopped to look at me. “It is a small portion of the council. There isn’t time to arrange a formal meeting with all of the members.”
