Aurora Burning (The Aurora Cycle #2)(27)
Auri looks around with a smile. “We made it.”
“We did.” Tyler nods. “But we still have a long way to go.”
Our Alpha turns in his chair, his voice all business as he looks at me.
“Legionnaire de Seel?”
“Yessir?”
“Bring up those coordinates. Let’s go find the Hadfield.”
7
FINIAN
The doors to our quarters lead off a gleaming white hallway, the auto-lights slowly glowing to life ahead of me. Some of the doors are unmarked, but the second on the left has the image of a khyshakk beetle—the indomitable symbol of my people and the oldest species still living on our planet—outlined in blue paint.
I brush my fingers across the access panel, and as the door hums aside softly, I can see why this room is for me. Instead of the clean, light colors that adorn the rest of the Zero, the walls are dark gray to give the impression I’m underground. There’s even a flic vine growing down the wall to my right, taking me back for a moment to my cousin Dariel’s den on the World Ship, and further than that, to my parents’ home on Trask. As the door hums closed behind me, the flic vine’s leaves come to life, glowing gently enough that I could take my contact lenses out if I wanted.
I’m so busy relaxing into the dark, breathing in the cooler air, that it takes me a moment to realize there’s no bunk. My heart thumps a quick rhythm—ohpleaseohpleaseohplease—as I turn back toward the door.
And there it is. I hit the button, and a soft voice speaks in Terran. “GRAVITY REDUCTION IN THIRTY SECONDS. PLEASE SECURE ALL LIQUIDS.”
I count down, breath catching in anticipation, and then the weights that have been dragging me down for weeks slowly lessen, until with the tiniest push of one foot, I can lift off the ground. It’s like wading into cool water on a scorching day. Like all the tension just bleeds out of my body, and for the first time in a long time, I’m not in pain, I don’t ache, I’m not working just to stay upright.
I had quarters like these growing up with my grandparents and at Aurora Academy. They were meant to be fitted on our Longbow, but of course we never returned from our first mission. The low grav means I’ll be able to take off my suit to repair it, which will make everything easier. With this much weight removed, I can maneuver with almost no effort. And now I take a closer look, I see the left-hand wall is covered in tools—an array of everything I could want or need.
I’m almost crying with relief. This is my way out. I’ve been bluffing I’m okay since the World Ship, while my body and suit have been getting progressively worse, dreading the moment my Alpha wouldn’t be able to ignore my condition any longer. But now I’ll be able to do something about it.
The speaker in the ceiling chimes softly again, and this time the voice that issues from it is Tyler’s.
“Once everyone’s situated, let’s meet up in the main cabin. It’s time to open Pandora’s box, squad.”
As I make my way back down the hallway, all my aches and pains reasserting themselves, I wonder who Pandora is—and why we’ve got her box. Tyler and Zila have the Zero humming along on autopilot now, well clear of the Emerald City. We’re headed for a FoldGate, and the countdown above the main console says we’ll be through it in about an hour. Shamrock is tucked into position above the pilot’s chair, and my eyes drift to the stuffed dragon as I slide into my seat. There are six seats here, six cabins aft. Between that and the ship’s name, it’s pretty clear that whoever did all this for us knew Cat wouldn’t be here to need anything.
One by one the others emerge. Kal and Auri have found the infirmary, because she’s looking a little less rough after her run-in with the agonizer, and Scar’s munching on a stack of cookies that suggests she found the galley.
Zila peers at the pile in Scar’s hand. “That stack represents significantly more than your required daily calorie intake, Scarlett.”
The redhead smacks her butt. “Just more of me to love, Zee.”
I can’t help but smile. Zila purses her lips, mulling it over, and finally reaches out for a cookie.
Quick enough, we’re all in our chairs, leaning forward in anticipation. Everybody wants to know what’s in the box. Tyler swivels the pilot’s chair away from the forward displays to face the rest of us around the console.
“All right,” he says. “Scar, Kal, let’s see what you withdrew from the bank.”
Scarlett brushes away the crumbs, rises to her feet, and pulls the lid off the box. “Okay, first up, there are a bunch of packages in here we didn’t have time to unwrap. But they have our names on them.”
She hands a small parcel to Zila. Our Brain peels aside the blue wrapping and holds out her hand. Nestled against the cloth is a pair of gold hoop earrings like the ones she usually wears. But these charms are birds.
“Hawks,” Auri says, looking more closely.
“Very pretty,” Zila murmurs. “I wonder how they knew I’d like them.”
Next is a bigger package for our fearless leader. Goldenboy pulls the wrapping aside, all business, that handsome brow creasing when he finds a pair of boots inside. They seem perfectly ordinary: black, shiny, heavy tread on the soles.
“Something wrong with the ones you got?” his sister asks.
“No,” he says, puzzled, looking downward. “I mean, I haven’t been able to polish them for a couple of days… .”