Navat

by Elin Wyn

  “Let’s get this over with.”

  Navat took my hand and gave it a gentle squeeze.

  “Do you want me here?” He asked. “I can leave if that would make you more comfortable.”

  I was tempted to say yes just so I would stop thinking about kissing him again.

  “I’d actually like to have a familiar face around,” I said. “Besides, I always seem to survive stuff when you’re around.”

  “I do my best,” he shrugged.

  I laced my fingers through his and gave Evie a nod.

  “First, the numbing agent.” She picked up an unfortunately large needle and quickly injected the tender area around my puncture wound.

  “Wow,” I hissed through my teeth. “That was unpleasant.”

  “You can swear if you want to,” Evie grinned. “You won’t believe the string of curses I hear from General Rouhr’s men.”

  “We’re soldiers, not courtiers,” Navat scoffed.

  Evie shook her head.

  “Can you still feel this?” She asked, rubbing my side.

  “Not really.”

  “Great. I’m going to go ahead and start,” she said. “You might want to look away. Even the bravest people don’t always react well to watching themselves get cut open.”

  “Good call.”

  I turned to look at Navat. While I didn’t feel any pain, I felt an unpleasant tugging sensation where I assumed Evie was slicing. I fought the urge to look.

  “How about I distract you with some riveting conversation?” Navat offered.

  “That sounds good,” I agreed.

  “Do you think you’ll take another excavation job after this?”

  “Fuck no,” I laughed while trying not to move. “I’ll never go underground again for as long as I live.”

  “I’m in agreement with you there,” Navat said.

  “Has Maki made it to the lab yet?”

  “Nope!” Maki’s voice rang out from farther down the room. “I’m still here.”

  “Glad to know you’re doing all right,” I called back.

  “You like to tinker with things, right?” Navat said.

  “I do,” I nodded.

  “I wonder if you could tinker with some of our lab equipment.”

  “I’m listening.”

  “Well, I’m not an expert on lab tech but I know we’re going to be testing substances that we’ve never tested before. Maybe you could work with our lab ladies to make our machines more suited to our purposes.”

  “As long as they don’t mind me working strictly with the hardware, I think that’s a good idea.”

  “I’ll talk to Leena when I get out of here,” Navat said. “If I ever get out of here.”

  “I’m three fingers deep in your friend, at the moment. I apologize if that’s an inconvenience for you.”

  Evie’s peculiar choice of words made my cheek grow hot. It took all of my willpower not to glance down at Navat’s fingers and give Evie’s words an entirely new meaning.

  Did numbing agents make people a little wonky in the head?

  “Are you all right?” Navat asked.

  “Never better. Why?” I replied.

  “Because your cheeks have gone red,” he said. “You’re not running a fever are you?”

  He placed the back of his hand over my forehead.

  “Would you even be able to tell if a human was running hot?” I asked.

  “No, but don’t I get credit for trying?” He smirked.

  “You’re all clean and stitched,” Evie said. “I’ll put some regrowth serum on in a moment, but first we need to hook you up to a blood bag. You’re low.”

  “That would make sense,” I nodded.

  “I’ll grab you one.”

  Evie walked away. I took a peek at the new wound in my side. It was much neater than the old one. It hurt less too.

  “I wonder what the recovery time for this is,” I said.

  “Not long once Evie gets that regrowth serum. Hers is a proper serum and not something out of a spray canister,” Navat chuckled.

  “Thanks for staying with me,” I said. “I feel like such a baby.”

  “You’re allowed to want someone with you when your side is being cut open,” Navat assured me.

  I couldn’t describe it, but something in his words spooked me. Yes, I was allowed to want him there. But should I want him at all? The more attached I got to him, the harder it would be to return to my normal life. I thought that was what I wanted but now I wasn’t so sure.

  I couldn’t handle this right now. I needed time to sort out whether or not I really did have some kind of feelings for Navat or if this was a product of adrenaline.

  “What’s wrong?” Navat asked. “Are you in pain?”

  “Yes,” I nodded. “Would you mind fetching the doctor for me?”

  “Of course,” he nodded. “I’ll be back shortly.”

  “Thanks.”

  Once he was out of sight, I breathed a sigh of relief. It would be so much easier to sort out my feelings when his handsome face wasn’t in my line of sight. It was distracting.

  I knew what I needed. I needed space to think.

  Surely, these feelings would wear off once I put some distance between us. As nice as he is, I just couldn’t handle intense emotions right now. I needed to clear my head. In order to do that, I needed to pull away from Navat.

  It didn’t help that I still wanted to kiss him.

  Again.

  Navat

  I tossed and turned in my bed. In my mind’s eye, all I saw was the thorn sticking out of Alessa’s side. I did everything I could to shake the image away but it held fast.

  This time, we didn’t have enough supplies in the med pack.

  Alessa bled out in my arms.

  I sat up in bed. Light peeked in around the blinds. It was already morning. No point in trying to go back to sleep now.

  For the past two nights, my mind tormented me with images of Alessa dying down in the tunnels. No matter how many times I told myself she was alive and well, I spent my nights fighting off those terrible images.

  I hadn’t heard anything from Alessa since I was discharged from the med bay. Since her injuries were far more severe than everyone else’s, Evie wanted to keep her overnight for observation.

  I didn’t think too much of it. Alessa had been through a lot in the last few days. It made sense that she wanted time to herself.

  The strange thing was, the more time I spent away from her the closer to her I wanted to be. I was still in shock that she kissed me so boldly.

  There were several moments within the tunnels that I wanted to kiss her but held back. First of all, it wouldn’t have been appropriate.

  Second, I didn’t want to share that moment with Axtin and Tyehn there to snicker over my shoulder.

  The second day after we’d returned from our brush with death, General Rouhr called a meeting. I looked at the notification on my wrist unit. I saw Alessa’s name on the required personnel list. Excitement sparked in my chest.

  I hurried to the meeting room. More than anything, I wanted to see how she was doing.

  I wasn’t the first to arrive in the meeting room, but I’d arrived before Alessa.

  “Hey,” Maki jerked her head in my direction as a greeting.

  “Hey,” I replied and took the open seat next to her. Tyehn sat on her other side. “How have you been?”

  “I’ve spent the last two days resting,” Maki said. “How have you been sleeping?”

  “Terribly,” I admitted.

  “Us too.”

  “Have you heard from Alessa?” I asked.

  “I went to visit her this morning,” Maki said. “She’s doing really well. She barely even has a scar now. I think Evie was just about to discharge her.”

  Odd. I would’ve hoped she’d tell me she was being discharged.

  “How is she doing otherwise?” I asked, choosing my words carefully.

  “I think she really wants to g
o home,” Maki replied. “She misses her family.”

  “I don’t blame her. Hopefully, we can get her out of here soon.”

  “Is that what you want?” Maki gave me a knowing look. “I know strange bonds are formed when survival is at stake, but you two formed something different.”

  “Did we?” I arched my brow.

  Make shook her head and laughed.

  “Don’t pretend you don’t know what I’m talking about,” she said. “There’s something between the two of you. I know it.”

  She was right but I wasn’t sure how comfortable I was discussing my feelings for Alessa before I truly took the time to understand them.

  “It might be a good idea to change the subject,” Tyehn warned us softly.

  Alessa walked into the meeting room. She swept the room with a cold gaze looking unimpressed. I expected her to take the open seat beside me but she took one on the opposite side of the room away from everyone. Though she looked healthier, she didn’t look happy.

  She looked pissed.

  “Oh, my,” Maki said under her breath.

  I tried to catch Alessa’s eye but she seemed to be doing everything in her power not to look in my direction. I didn’t understand it. Hadn’t she kissed me? Didn’t that mean something to most humans?

  “Are we ready to begin?” General Rouhr’s voice tore my attention away from Alessa.

  “Yes, sir.” Maki stood up and took her place by the console at the front of the room. The pictures she took of the burial tombs lit up the display screen behind her.

  “What’s that?” Fen suddenly demanded. I twisted around to look at her. I hadn’t realized she was here. It’s rare for her to leave the Aurora nowadays.

  “We found evidence of a society that lived here long before we did,” Maki explained. “They were attacked by the Gorgos as well.”

  “Go back to the image of the writing,” Fen requested.

  Maki obliged.

  “I know that script!” There was a delighted gleam in Fen’s eyes. “It is the language of the Aeryx!”

  “What are the Aeryx?” General Rouhr asked.

  “They created the system that made space travel possible,” Fen replied. She was so excited that she shook her speech pad whenever she spoke. “All of our ships, with the exception of human ships, are built off of their discovery.”

  “They lived here?”

  “I was unaware that they had a settlement here,” Fen said. “But that is most certainly their script.”

  “Can you read it?” Maki asked.

  “No,” Fen shook her head. “But my people have studied the language extensively. I will be able to dig up their research from our archives.”

  “We encountered what can only be described as a spirit inside the tunnels,” Maki continued.

  “You can’t be serious,” Vrehx rolled his eyes.

  “I am,” Maki nodded.

  “It possessed the body of a young human woman,” Alessa spoke up. “It called itself Thijn. Thijn started to translate some of the characters for us.”

  Maki pulled up the picture of the single translated symbol.

  “We believe this symbol and the ones around it allude to how to defeat the Gorgos.”

  “If the Aeryx were able to successfully rid themselves of the Gorgos, they would’ve documented it. I’ll get into the archives right away.” Fen stood up and took her leave.

  Alessa stood up as well. I thought she was going to speak more, but instead, she made her way toward the door. General Rouhr watched her with a concerned frown.

  I stood up and went after her. No one tried to stop me.

  “Alessa,” I called after her as she walked quickly down the corridor. She didn’t stop though she must’ve heard me. I jogged to keep up with her.

  “What’s the matter?” I asked her.

  “Nothing,” she said in a flat voice. “I just didn’t see any reason for me to be there.”

  “General Rouhr wouldn’t have called you in if he didn’t think you were valuable,” I replied.

  Alessa rolled her eyes.

  “I know exactly what the rest of you know,” she said. “There is nothing I could tell him that Maki, or anyone else on the team, couldn’t.”

  “The General never does anything without a good reason,” I said. “I’ve worked with him long enough to know that.”

  “Well, I haven’t,” she snapped.

  I grabbed her arm, forcing her to stop.

  “Excuse me,” she snapped and yanked her arm out of my grip. “What’s your problem?”

  Her tone alarmed me.

  “I don’t have a problem,” I said calmly. “But I think you do.”

  “You’re right.” She offered a cold smile. “My problem is that no one will let me go home!”

  “I’m certain there’s a good reason for that,” I assured her.

  “Are you?” She narrowed her eyes.

  “Yes. I’ve been doing this for a while now.”

  “That’s terrific. Good for you.” She tried to walk away again but I stopped her.

  “Stop me again and I will get violent,” she warned me.

  “What did I do to warrant such hostility?” I demanded. “I’ve done nothing but try to help you.”

  “When did I ask for that?” She demanded.

  “When you were bleeding out in the tunnels for starters,” I pointed out.

  “So that gives you the right to harass me?”

  “I’m not trying to harass you,” I snapped. My patience was wearing thin. “You kissed me, remember? Twice?”

  She dropped her gaze.

  “What does that have to do with anything?”

  “I’m starting to think everything.”

  “Oh, please,” she rolled her eyes. “It was just a stupid kiss. I was drugged out of my mind the second time.”

  “No, you weren’t,” I corrected her. “Evie hadn’t given you anything yet.”

  “Whatever,” she scoffed.

  “Why are you fighting this so hard?” I demanded. “Is it because I’m an alien?”

  “No,” she said quickly. “It’s not that! I know I was a jerk about the alien thing when we met, but I was wrong. I already told you that.”

  “Then what is it? There’s something between us. You know it. I know it. Why are we dancing around it?”

  “I’m not dancing around anything!”

  “No, you’re point blank avoiding it.”

  “You need to back off.”

  “Not until you tell me why you’ve shut me out,” I said. “Don’t I deserve to know why after everything we’ve been through?”

  She looked at me with stormy eyes. Even now, I couldn’t help but think about how beautiful she was.

  “Don’t try to emotionally blackmail me,” she hissed. “I just need some time, okay? We’ve all been through a lot. I’m not sleeping. I can’t keep my thoughts straight. I just need time.”

  “That’s all you had to say,” I said softly. “You should know by now that I have your best interest at heart.”

  The heated anger drained out of her expression. Now, she just looked exhausted.

  “I need to go,” she whispered. “I want to lie down.”

  “Okay,” I nodded and took a step back from her so she knew I’d let her go.

  “We’ll talk, eventually,” she said. “I just…”

  She closed her eyes and shook her head.

  “Need time,” I finished. “It’s okay. I’ll be around.”

  She nodded, her gaze lingering on mine.

  I was tempted to kiss her again, but before I could reach for her, she turned her back on me and walked away.

  Alessa

  Tears welled in my eyes as I walked away from Navat. I wish I could make him understand how difficult this was for me.

  It wasn’t that he was an alien, it really wasn’t.

  Though, I was still struggling with the idea of falling for someone that wasn’t human. How would that work? What if w
e had a family?

  I stopped that train of thought before it could go any further.

  I hated how easy it was for me to imagine a future with him, especially when a future wasn’t guaranteed for any of us now that the Gorgos were here.

  It wasn’t until some time later that I realized that, in my anger, I’d walked the wrong way.

  The med bay was on the other side of the complex. Evie had checked me out, but I didn’t have a room here or anything. I had nowhere else to go.

  I walked back the way I came. From what I could tell, the meeting was over. I saw Maki and Tyehn leave. I hid behind a pillar until they were out of sight. I didn’t want to talk to anyone else right now. I especially didn’t want those certain, pitying looks I got when someone asks about my wellbeing.

  “Miss Naro,” a deep voice behind me startled me.

  I spun around to find General Rouhr.

  “Sir,” I stammered.

  “Are you well?” He inquired. “It’s not usual for people to leave in the middle of a meeting.”

  “I found myself in need of some air,” I said, which wasn’t a total lie.

  “Are you better now?” The concern in General Rouhr’s eyes looked genuine.

  “Not really,” I answered honestly.

  “That’s understandable. You’ve been through a lot.”

  “I really just want to go home, sir,” I pled.

  “I know,” he nodded. “I promise, I’ll send you home as soon as I’m able.”

  “Why aren’t you able now?” I asked. “Aren’t you the one in charge here?”

  “It’s more than that,” he said. “What you saw down there was valuable.”

  “I didn’t see anything different than anyone else,” I pointed out.

  “I can see how you might think that. However, everyone experiences things differently. The more I know about the collective experience, the more I know about what happened down there. Your point of view matters even if you don’t think it does.”

  There was something about him that extruded wisdom. I found that I couldn’t argue with him.

  “Yes, sir,” I sighed with defeat.

  “I’ll get you out of here as soon as I can,” he repeated. “Until then, I’ll get a room sorted out for you. The least I can do is make sure you’re comfortable.”