Page 15 of Alien in the Depths

“That’s all part of the workout,” Elena answered, bouncing on the balls of her feet, preparing to strike. “You want to test yourself to see if you can hit it hard enough to shut it up.” She attacked the dummy’s ribs like a striking viper.

“Superb!” the hologram celebrated. “You used enough power to shatter a human ribcage! Keep it up!”

“Give it a go,” Elena said.

Sofia didn’t need to be told twice. She hit the hologram with everything she had, fueling all the angst and confusion she felt toward Zaraq. She found herself only getting more ticked off by having the object of her punishment cheering her on.

“Your punches are weakening,” the hologram informed her. “Perhaps you should take a breather!”

“I think it’s right,” Elena agreed.

The sisters took their towels to sit on a pair of benches along the far wall. Elena confessed that Carmen had given her all of the dirty details of Zaraq’s story. “I won’t lecture you,” she said.

“Thanks.”

“But I will say you’re acting a tad out of character.”

Sofia gulped down her water. “How so?”

“Being mad makes sense,” Elena said, wiping sweat from her brow. “But the Sofia FloresI’vealways known would rip into him for lying and then come up with a way to prove his innocence. You’re not the kind of woman who sits by and lets terrible things happen to good people. You were right there when Arccoo andCarmen needed us to help prevent a massive war his brother was fixing to start. Why are you giving up now?”

Sofia didn’t have an answer she felt like sharing. Since waking up with a pained, if slightly clearer, mind, she had suspected that the reason for her brashness was anger over not noticing the signs earlier.I let myself get close,she thought.I jumped in without really thinking things through, just to regret it later… like I always do.

Instead of answering Elena, Sofia suggested they return to kicking the shit out of that grinning idiot hologram. When the rest of her energy was spent and she imagined that she managed to sweat out all of the alcohol, Sofia decided to head back to her quarters and shower while she considered calling Zaraq.

The call wasn’t necessary. As the door to her quarters came into view, Sofia saw Zaraq crouching by her door. Walking up behind him, she couldn’t help her inappropriate comment. “Did you come by to kill me because I know too much?”

Zaraq stood and turned. He held a jade rock in his hand. “No,” he said, frowning a little. “I came by to drop this off. I meant to give it to you on the way back from the monastery but got distracted.”

“This was from the cave?” Sofia asked, accepting the gift. It shimmered in the bronze lights. Seeing it took her back to the incredible moment she saw the ruined holy place.

“Yes,” Zaraq answered. “Anyway. I have a transport taking me off-world soon. I just wanted you to have—”

“Knock it off,” Sofia said.

Zaraq was as still as the stone.

“One fight and you’re ready to run away?” Sofia asked, hoping the light bouncing off of the stone was catching the wickedness of her eyes. “You’re gonna have to be made of firmer stuff to date me.”

Zaraq’s eyes almost fell out of his face. “You want me to stay.”

Sofia smiled. “Yes,” she said, “but we have got a lot of talking to do.”

Chapter 6

Zaraq

After Sofia showered and changed, she suggested a walk through the gardens. “If we’re going to talk about dark things, we should probably do it in a beautiful area,” she reasoned.

Zaraq considered replying with something like,“Anywhere you go will be beautiful to me,”but figured that would be too corny for her. Besides, just because she was willing to talk things outwith him did not necessarily mean she was ready for flirtatious jokes. At the risk of not appearing to take the situation seriously, he agreed to let her take the lead.

The gardens at the annex were gorgeous. During his travels, he was forced to stick to the seedier areas of the galaxy. He was used to busy places where the world looked like slate and the most water you saw was dripping from busted pipes. Thryal was the first planet he’d been able to visit that didn’t have busted architecture jutting into the sky like broken bones.

Everything was tranquil here. At first, such surroundings made him nervous. It was too quiet.

It took some time to let the jitters pass through him and accept that solitude was better than being surrounded by people because it was easier to tell who you could trust if no one was around. Still, having somewhat adjusted to the serenity of Thryal, he soaked it in with a twinge of regret, knowing he would one day have to leave it all behind.

Sofia brought him to a parterre where lemon flowers towered over them, tall enough to offer shade from the climbing afternoon sun.