Page 35 of My Tiny Giant

I quickly smoothed my hair pulled back in a bun, then brushed my hands down the skirt of my dress uniform.

The nervous flutters inside my belly intensified as Alcus touched the button on the AI screen at the entrance. I’d never felt this flustered and expectant when about to receive an assignment. Why did I now?

Was it because I knew Agan was going to be inside that room?

The door slid open, revealing a brightly lit room with flower garlands hanging from the ceiling and draped over the walls. The far wall of the room was made entirely out of glass. Pots of various shapes and sizes framed it, dripping with colorful flowers.

“And there’s Lieutenant Nowak.” Rick smiled at me.

He was sitting at a hexagonal glass table, in the company of a Voranian male in the gray uniform of a high-ranking officer of the Voranian Army.

“General Craxus. Lieutenant Nowak.” Alcus introduced us.

The ranking system in Voranian Army differed from the others. The head of the Army held the rank of the Colonel here, with generals being below.

I knew that Colonel Kyradus was currently the highest official in the Voranian Army. According to the insignia on General Craxus’s epaulets and the carvings on his right horn, however, the general must be pretty high up on the ladder of authority, too.

“Madam.” Rising to his feet, the general gave me a long measuring stare.

Relatively modest as compared to the civilian clothing on Voran, his gray uniform was decorated with gold and red embroidery on the sleeves and around the neckline. Carvings spiraled about half-way up his right horn—the record of his rank advancement in the Voranian Army.

I squared my shoulders under the scrutiny of the general’s dark-orange eyes and saluted. “General.” I then turned to Rick. “Captain.”

“Take a seat, Lieutenant.” The general gestured at an empty chair at the table.

“Nice to see you again, Eleven,” the quiet voice reached me as soon as I sat down.

My heart made a wild flip as I spotted Agan among the tablets and papers scattered on the table. He reclined in a pink armchair that appeared to be a piece of doll furniture.

Despite his tiny size, there was nothing small about his posture. Sprawling in the chair, he had the appearance of someone who owned the room and the building it was in—this wasn’t even his home planet.

I could guess how a man like Agan would feel about being this small, though. He must be uncomfortable and self-conscious right now. Yet he hid it well.

“It’s very nice to see you, too.” I smiled when our gazes crossed, then followed my words by a salute, remembering the protocol. “...Lieutenant.”

“We have a mission for you two,” the general went straight to business. “We have reasons to suspect Professor Voltuds of colluding with the enemy.”

“I beg your pardon,” I turned to him, tearing my gaze away from Agan’s green eyes. “Professor who?”

“Voltuds,” the general explained. “The one who performed the illegal experiment on Lieutenant Drankai.”

“You’ve identified the scientist from the lab?” I gasped as relief and excitement spread through me. “Does it mean you can help Agan... the lieutenant, now?”

“Unfortunately, we don’t expect Voltuds to cooperate with us on that.” The general shook his head.

I glanced at Agan, noticing the slight shadow moving over his features.

“The professor’s work in the lab on Tragul hasn’t been sanctioned by our government,” General Craxus continued. “He was banned from doing any research on Neron a while back, due to his unethical methods. We’re still working on discovering his reasons to conduct illegal experiments off planet as well as who else may be behind it. The scale of his work on Tragul would require a sizable investment. The professor couldn’t be financing it entirely on his own.”

While listening to the general, I kept studying Agan.

He was shirtless, as was the norm for Ravils. The gashes on his leather pants must be still from the last mission we were on together. It occurred to me that these were probably the only pants he had that fit. The rest of his clothes would be uselessly too large, now.

I noticed dark circles had formed under his eyes since the last time I saw him. Had he been sleeping well? The uncertainty of his future must be nerve-racking.

I stifled the sigh of compassion that painfully pressed on my chest.

“What is the mission?” I asked when the general stopped talking.