Page 33 of My Tiny Giant
Chapter 8
I STRETCHED IN THE big, round bed, which must be the comfiest bed in the entire Universe. Or at least it felt that way to me after months of spending nights in sleeping pods or in the bunk on our spaceship.
When Rick had first suggested I take a leave for a couple of weeks after the incident on Tragul, I’d objected. I felt reluctant to abandon my unit while they all were still in action. He had made it an order, however, forcing me to obey.
“You need some rest, Pixie,” he’d said. “You haven’t had any time off for a while now. Have some fun in the city. Voran is full of single guys, maybe you’ll even get a date. It’s Valentine’s Day soon, after all.” He’d laughed, then added, “I can’t send you into action unarmored, anyway.”
His last point was valid; it was against the protocol to deploy me on Tragul without a fully functioning suit. And it would take at least two weeks for my replacement suit to be assembled and tested.
The Voranian government had graciously offered to house me in a cute studio apartment in the building of the Earth-Neron Liaison Committee, the organization in charge of overseeing all joint projects between our two planets.
The bed was simply wonderful. However, my favorite part was the spacious, glass covered patio off the kitchen. Decorated with live vines and vivid flowers, it was a beautiful indoor oasis.
As compared to Earth’s calendar, it would be the beginning of February right now—still deep into the long winter here in Voran. A thick layer of snow covered all outdoor places in the city. By bringing the greenery of summer indoors, the Voranians were able to enjoy it all year around.
“Good morning, Lieutenant Nowak,” Helix, the apartment AI system, greeted me through the speakers in the wall over the bed.
Its drone flew from the kitchen area behind the lattice with flower vines that separated the bed from the rest of the apartment. A breakfast tray was clasped in the drone’s shiny chrome arms.
I could really get used to waking up like this every day.
“Morning, Helix.” I grabbed the cup with the Voranian bitter-sweet tea off the tray. “What are we going to do today?”
Over the past six days that I’d spent in Voran, I’d explored quite a bit of the city. So far, I’d been to the Zoo, a huge shopping mall, The Museum of Neron’s Natural History, and the hologram amphitheater show.
“I’m not sure what I’m in the mood for today. Do you have any suggestions?”
“The headquarters of the Voranian Army,” Helix said in a flat tone.
“What? Was that a joke?” I squinted at the drone that remained hovering over my bed.
“Not a joke, Lieutenant. An order summoning you to a meeting arrived forty-three seconds ago.”
I frowned, setting the teacup down on the tray.
“An order? What for?”
My suit couldn’t be ready yet. And even if it was, Rick would have contacted me directly. What did the Voranian Army want with me?
The only thing I could even remotely come up with was that it must have something to do with that secret lab on Tragul.
An unpleasant heavy feeling had been pressing on me ever since I’d left Agan back on his planet. He had chosen to stay, and I could do nothing about that short of packing him back into my bra and taking him with me against his will.
Part of me had wanted to do something like that. I’d seen how devastated Agan was by the results of that experiment, and I didn’t entirely trust General Trulgadi to look after his best interests. The general stubbornly insisted on keeping the incident hidden from the other nations and to search for an in-house solution, despite the technological limitations of Ravils. It didn’t seem to me as a sound course of action.
During the flight in the transport shuttle back to my ship, I’d had an in-depth conversation with Rick, expressing my concerns. I’d also given him the clear, rectangular device I’d retrieved from the secret lab on Tragul, hoping that something could be done to help Agan.
I knew Rick had since reported the incident in the lab on Tragul to his superiors on Earth as was his job to do.
Now, the Voranians might have found out something about it, too.
“What is the purpose of this meeting?” I asked Helix. “Do you know?”
“The agenda of the meeting was not disclosed in the communication.”