Page 21 of Collision!
Why did this place send an odd jolt of recognition through her?
Maybe it wasn’t his bedroom.Maybe he lounged here to secretly read sci fi romance novels when he was supposed to be working.But somehow—she remembered him saying that he didn’t sleep much—she knew this was what he’d chosen for his space.Not merely austere but devoid.
She hadn’t actually seen this lonely little corner before, not even in a dream.And it might’ve served as a humorous opposite of her own apartment bedroom with all her friends’ art, bright and shining as if a hundred resonarks had puked rainbows across every surface.
And yet…sherecognizedthis place, this feeling.
It was why she’d been thrilled to receive the ticket to the Cosmic Connections Cruise.
Finally averting her gaze for privacy, she pushed to her feet.Lub reclaimed its blankie with proprietary glee, using its fangs, stubby horns, and all four clawed feet to make an untidy nest.
Nuzzling down, the goblhob’s orange eyes gleamed at her by the light of its bobbing lure.
“I’m glad you keep him warm,” she whispered.
With a grunt, it closed its eyes, and the lure blinked out.
She was dismissed.When she turned away from the lonely little bedroom, she heard Suvan deep in some engineering conversation with the captain and pilot, so she retrieved her yarn tote and crept out, managing not to stub her toes.
She needed coffee, but also a chance to think.
After dropping her tote in her cabin, she wandered onward to the salon, trying to tease apart the tangles of her thoughts.She was late for breakfast, and only a few passengers were still lingering over their mugs, but in the doorway, she paused to stare up at the resonark.
Shadowlight.That was what Suvan had called the energy.She liked the word.
Not as good as loveffervescence, but still.
Was it strange how they’d now accepted the presence of the anomaly that had hijacked them?But they’d allfeltthe harmonic resonance as the resonark responded to their shared emotion during the recital.
The IDA brochure hyped love above all, but there was so much more to the quest for connection.Curiosity.Hope.Wonder.A song that was a signal into the silence.A survival instinct stitching one heart to another across the void.
Not so strange after all.
With a sigh, she went to the bar where Remy was standing in Ikaryo’s place.
Mariah smiled at her.“Good morning.When did you get hired?”
Remy leaned an elbow on the shiny bar.“It all started when I didn’t burn my golden ticket to the first Cosmic Connections Cruise…”
There’d been a time, Mariah reflected, when Remy might’ve said that with more than a hint of bitterness.But now her green eyes went a little misty and unfocused.“Sounds like the start of a song,” she murmured.
“I hope you’ll play it for us sometime,” Mariah said.
It had been such an amazing, unlikely coincidence to find out one of her favorite musicians was on the same cruise.When Remy had lost her stage name back on Earth, she’d lost her love for singing too—only to find it against out in space with Ikaryo’s resonating implants.That had to be more than random chance.
She glanced again at the resonark, then looked back when Remy said, “Tea?”
“Still got coffee?”
“Sort of.”The redhead filled a mug halfway with gently steaming black sludge that she diluted with hot water.“Chef is trying to synthesize beans.Don’t tell him what you really think.”
“As long as it’s caffeinated.”Mariah took a sip.And choked.“Oh.That’s a kick.”
Remy chuckled.“Ikaryo said you were up all night inventing a disguise for our cruiser.He’s overseeing the fabrication, which is why I’m covering here.”
Tentatively, Mariah drank again.“I wasn’t sure if the captain was going to tell everyone what’s happening.”
“You know I was always a solo act, but…I’m coming to appreciate the power of a chorus.”Remy glanced toward the viewport.“The only way to find out where the resonark was going is going together.”
