Page 12 of Crash Landing
“Ilisa and Keril,” I said. “Stay here. Make sure no one’s grubby fingers touch my ship. Puro and Anis, come with me. We have a litter of humans to fetch.”
All of us wore our traditional black suits made of temperature-regulating material that hugged the body like a second skin. As temporary captain of a crew and ship, my uniform came with a jacket that reached my mid-thigh. Energy veins ran from a central temperature regulator in the suit near the chest and ran down the arms, legs, and spine. As captain, mine were blue. It was kind of nice to wear blue for once. I could get used to it. My crew members wore green, which was typically my color.
With the sleek helmet and reflective visor, we were completely concealed. The moment we stepped off the ship, however, concealed or not, all eyes were on us. Three tall humanoid shadows didn’t exactly blend into the pure white uniforms most of the personnel at the docks wore.
“Captain,” a voice said.
I almost didn’t respond to that title. Glancing to my right, I saw a gray-haired woman I didn’t recognize walking over to me with a data pad hugged under her arm. She was small and frail,but she had a look on her face that said she didn’t think she was. I recognized her from the roster. Ulia Fost. A professor at Sam’s University. Behind her were two Nexus officials standing by to get us all checked in.
“I’m Ulia Fost,” the old woman said, spinning on her heels to head toward the back of the docking bay. “The interns are gathered over here.”
I glanced over my shoulder at my men and though we couldn’t see each other’s expressions, somehow, I could tell we were all thinking the same thing. Internally, we were rolling our eyes. This frail old woman thought she was the boss…
We followed the grumpy woman toward the back of the docking bay to a waiting area where about a dozen men and women were waiting, all dressed in gray flight suits. Which were essentially just jumpsuits. Most of the humans wore them on the Nexus. Each other intern also had a small backpack, likely filled with their research supplies. I scanned them all and like a bug to a flame, my eyes zeroed in onher.Sam. She was standing in the back, her shoulder against the wall and one ankle crossed over the other. Her hands were casually in her pockets and her dark blond hair was pulled into a low ponytail. Unlike the last time I saw her, she looked like she really didn’t want to be seen.
“Captain Sal—”
“Captain,” I cut off the old woman. “Just captain.”
All of the interns perked up at the sound of my voice like they were all suddenly realizing I was real. A couple of the girls let their eyes roam across our bodies, licking their lips like they hadn’t eaten breakfast and someone was dangling a kili cake in front of them.
They were a bit more ravenous than I remembered humans being.
I cleared my throat and took a military stance, feet apart with my hands behind my back.
“Everyone, this is the captain of the ship that will be bringing us to our destination. According to our information, the air there is breathable but thin. Oxygen will be in your packs so do not misplace them.”
As the woman talked to the group, I glanced over at Sam again. She was listening, but she had shadows under her eyes. She was sleep-deprived. Maybe a little underweight since I saw her last. I never expected her to be into botany or science considering plants were nearly her undoing the last time I saw her. Maybe it was some twisted kind of revenge to plant life everywhere.
Looking her up and down, I envisioned the body under that jumpsuit. She was small with feminine curves and soft features back then. Her face had thinned a little and the bright pink shades in her hair had disappeared, but she was the same Sam under it all.
Beautiful.
Annoying. Soft. Fragile.
Mean.
Nearby, a man much older than her was sitting with one leg crossed over his other in one of the many chairs. He had his eyes trained on Sam and though it was subtle, it didn’t escape my notice. I narrowed my concealed eyes at him before turning my attention back toward the older woman when I heard her address me.
“Whenever you’re ready, captain,” she gestured. “Anything you’d like to add?”
I stepped forward. “Valerian ships are much the same as yours. Everyone file in, put your bags in the storage compartment on the far wall, and strap in. The trip to Phesah will be smooth until we enter her atmosphere. It’s thin and therefore warm and humid, but your suits should be fashioned with breathable, light material if your tailors tookour suggestions. Some of our own scientists have set up a base camp in the Liu Tehn Forest. Since humans have never been on Phesah before, everyone needs to stay cautious and alert and you need to speak up at the first sign of a physical reaction to the environment. We have a medic on the ship that will be taking vitals every hour. We advise you to wear your masks the entire time. It’s easy to—”
“Excuse me,” a familiar voice said. I looked up to see Sam raising her hand. “I thought we were going to Sylos.”
Speaking directly to her without her knowing who I was nearly caught me off guard. Even if my voice was a little skewed by the helmet, I was expecting her to call me out.
“We will be going to its moon, Phesah,” I corrected.
She looked upset. A thin smirk touched my lips at the idea that she wanted to go to Sylos because she thought I was there.
But that was nonsense. The woman couldn’t stand me.
“If you’re all ready,” I said. “The moon has a day and night cycle when Sylos eclipses our star, so arriving during the day would be ideal.”
Ulia clapped her hands together abruptly and waved everyone onward.
“Alright, let’s get going then,” she said.
