Page 47 of Collision!
Vaguely, Suvan remembered fretting over calculations, annoyed how the anomalous energy that had seized control had also improved efficiency in plasma conversion through the drive coils.He’d wanted to study the anomaly, so he’d gone to the Starlit Salon and saw it there, shining and beautiful…
No, it hadn’t been the resonark he’d been looking at, had it?
His head ached, so he took a drink from the flask.The cool, bubbly liquid reminded him of…
When he lay back with a muttered curse, he realized he was alone again except for Lub.
The way he always was.
So why did he feel so hollow?
+ + +
He slept on and off, restlessly, only Lub’s snoring weight keeping him in place.When he was awake, the passenger cabin felt strange and wrong.Why was it so lackluster?The finishes were luxe enough, the bed large and the bedding lavish.But there should be more…
Rainbows?
The absurdity of that thought—especially when he knew his private corner of the engine module was even more ascetic—finally drove him out from underneath the complaining goblhob.In the bathing chamber, he peeled back the med-mesh stretching across his head and peered into the mirror.The adjustable reflection revealed three broken quill-scales lower on his crest, a casualty of the bashing and bruising that encircled half his skull.
Shocked at the damage, he realized he was fortunate to have any memories at all…or even his head.
Since the med-mesh readout on his shoulder showed good healing markers but the bones were not completely set, he left the bandage in place while he showered.The hydrophobic breathable fabric let water in and then wicked it away, calming the stifled sensation underneath.
Such fibers might be woven into a lovely cloak for ambling on a rainy evening beneath soft, heavy skies…
Aghast at this irrefutable evidence of brain injury, he fabricated a fresh uniform and went to gather Lub’s blanket.
As the goblhob fought him grimly for possession, his gaze fell on a bag behind the chair next to his bed.Letting Lub win for the moment, he reached into the bag and withdrew a ball wound of thread.
The ball shimmered in his hand with delicate polychromes.This must be Mariah’s?He wavered on his feet.
With a chitter of excitement, Lub jumped for the ball, knocking it from Suvan’s hand.
He let the goblhob gnaw at the ball while he stuffed the discarded larf blanket into the tote to hide it.But when he went to the door, Lub just stared at him, the glimmering ball trapped between two fangs.
“Are you coming with me?”he asked the goblhob.
Of course he was talking to Lub.There was never anyone else to talk to.He didn’twantto talk to anyone else.
He swayed again, a wave of not-quite-memory sweeping over him.Talking to someone wasn’t awkward or annoying when…
“Stay if you’d rather,” he growled.
Gripping the doorframe, he guided himself out into the corridor.The lowered ambient lighting indicated fourth-shift, and the halls were quiet.
Was he the ghost in the machine?
Lub lumbered after him, grumbling, its bobble dark and drooping.
“We don’t need a room like this,” he said.“We were fine without…”
He had to stop to grab the wall.Unfortunately, he tried to reach with his bandaged arm strapped to his side.He would’ve collapsed if not for the sturdy goblhob wedging him up from behind.
“As I said,” he groaned.“We’re fine with each other.”
With Lub under his good hand, he staggered through the ship to the lower corridor.It was dark and quiet, except for the thrum of the engines, cycling hard but true.
And yet as he let them into the module, so familiar, something about it felt as wrong and oppressive as the neutral cabin walls, like the bandage still throttling him.
