“I’ve heard that.”
“Well, she happens to be the crowned princess, and is next in line to be queen, whenever her mother and fathers decide to step down.”
“Doesn’t that mean you and Lukas will be kings when that happens?”
Deian ran a hand through his hair making it stand up in disarray. “Yep, that’s why I hope her parents decide to stay in power a very long time.”
They both chuckled. “But seriously, Jayda has some great connections throughout the galaxy. She’s already enlisted the help of our allies, and will widen the search if you don’t get the answers you need.” Deian patted Karo’s shoulder as they stepped into the quarantine bay. “Don’t worry, we’ll get this all figured out.”
Karo’s eyes widened at seeing his ship after the few days he’d spent away from it. No longer did it sit alone; now there were work stations, equipment, and parts scattered throughout the bay. Scaffolding had been erected along the outer hull, and crews worked to repair the damage that he hadn’t realized the ship had sustained.
He followed Deian up the ramp, and was amazed at how familiar—yet different—the inside felt. He certainly wasn’t alone any longer: there were at least a half-dozen Arathians working within his field of view.
Some had removed panels in the walls, floor, and ceiling, and were either repairing or replacing various parts… actually it looked like they were replacing everything.
His heart rate sped up, and he had to remind himself that the Arathians were only helping.
“It may be easier to build an entirely new ship,” Karo commented, trying to ease his anxiety.
Deian chuckled. “Yeah maybe, but where’s the fun in that? Plus, we know how attached you are to this one.”
Karo appreciated the gesture. He was really fond of this ship, and would have had a difficult time had it not been salvageable.
“What we need your help with are the main systems,” Deian said as he crossed to the command consoles. “The more you can tell me the better.”
Karo nodded and began reciting everything he knew.
*****
They worked solidly for a few hours, and only stopped when Deian forced them to.
“I think my teams have enough to keep them busy for a few weeks!” he exclaimed. “We’ve earned a break.”
They decided to head to lunch. As they walked towards the exit of the quarantine bay, Karo looked back and noticed that his security entourage wasn’t shadowing him.
“Lukas cleared you,” Deian explained. “We trust you to be on good behavior.”
“I absolutely will,” he promised. There was no way he was going to mess up the relationship he was forging with the Arathians. “It’s going to be nice not having security following me, but now I won’t have anyone to ask for directions when I get lost.”
Deian stopped in the middle of the hallway and looked at Karo disbelievingly. “Did you just make a joke?”
“I did.”
Deian’s face lit up. “Yes! I knew I was rubbing off on you!” He patted Karo’s back as they continued.
Noise reached them long before they stepped through the doors. The Dining Hall rang with the sound of voices, as if the entire ship was inside the room. Karo slowed his steps, overwhelmed by the noise and the thought of the crowd of people.
Deian sensed his discomfort. “You okay?”
“It’s been a long time since I’ve been in a room with that many people… all at once.”
Deian’s expression turned empathetic. “We can eat somewhere quieter if you’d like. I don’t want to make you uncomfortable.”
Karo appreciated the gesture, but he knew that he needed to push through his anxiety. He was no longer isolated on his ship; he was amid a race of friendly, welcoming aliens, and could almost hear someone’s voice telling him to experience their culture. Karo wasn’t sure if it was a memory or not, but it didn’t matter. Wherever it came from, it was good advice, and he was going to follow it.
“No, I’d like to eat here,” he replied with determination.
Deian looked at him for a moment, probably gauging his body language. But he must have been convinced that Karo wasn’t going to have a psychological breakdown, because he patted him on the back and they walked into the Dining Hall side by side.
They didn’t stay that way for long.
The facility was packed to capacity with crew members of varying races and genders. They all sat together at long tables, eating and enjoying the companionship of one another. Karo followed behind Deian as he veered towards his mates.
Lukas sat backwards on a bench talking to a man at an adjacent table, while Jayda was laughing along with people sitting across from her. Once they arrived, each stood to kiss Deian, then moved aside so that he and Karo could join them. Karo sat next to Jayda, who immediately introduced him to everyone within hearing range.
“This is Karincin Abishek of Siril. Karo, these are some members of the ship’s crew.”
Karo inclined his head. “Hello. It is an honor to be onboard your ship.”
The words had barely left his mouth before he was inundated with hellos and welcomes. It was overwhelming. It was also kind of nice.
Jayda set a plate in front of him, and did her best to field questions so that he could have a chance to eat. Some wanted to know about his homeworld. Most were interested in his ship, especially the self-healing systems and large robotic arms.
He partially lied about the arms, saying that their purpose was to assist him. He didn’t mention LINK, but listened closely for any indication that the AI had been found. There was none, so Karo assumed that he’d been able to hide his matrix successfully.
Karo finished his meal, and was listening to a woman explain her plans to increase his ship’s hull integrity, when a group of Arathian males entered the Dining Hall. Each were large, rowdy, and the front man carried a ball in his hand. Karo’s stomach dropped slightly as they descended on where he sat. When he got close enough, the leader threw the ball at Lukas. It hit his head and bounced back.
What the hell?
It hadn’t been thrown hard, but was enough to get everyone’s attention. The entire room quieted, and Karo couldn’t tell if it was in anticipation or dread.
The group’s front-man was the first to speak. “You ready to get your ass handed to you, Earther?”
His voice was loud and reverberated off of the walls. The words were obviously meant to taunt, but even though his tone and body language were menacing, the look in his eyes was almost… playful.
Karo looked at Lukas, concerned that he was being challenged. Usurped. Didn’t the man know that Lukas was going to someday be their high king?!
Instead of reacting the way Karo expected, Lukas stood up slowly, calmly, and looked him straight in the eye. It didn’t seem to faze Lukas that he was several inches shorter than the huge Arathian.
Lukas’s hand shot out—eyes never leaving the larger man—and quickly snatched the ball from his hand. He threw it several feet away to where another non-Arathian caught it.
“I’ll be generous and give you fifteen minutes to write your concession speech. You’ll need it for after the game. Make sure you make it original—something with less grunting, and more than two-syllable words.”
The man grinned at the challenge. “I hope your tongue isn’t the only muscle you’ll be working out today. I’m in need of a decent challenge while I score game-winning points.”
“Gerad, the only scoring you’re going to be doing is after the game, at your five-finger-pity-party.”
Everyone snickered. “Five fingers?” Karo quietly asked Deian.
“I’ll explain the nuances of Earther trash talk to you later,” he whispered back.
The man named Gerad laughed heartily. “See you on the field.”
He held up his hand, and the ball sailed into his palm, before their group stampeded out of the Dining Hall in a frenzy of movement and excited conversation.
Karo watched the
interaction in bewilderment. What the hell had just happened? Had Lukas just been threatened? Challenged? He didn’t look concerned. On the contrary, Lukas’s expression was one of anticipation.
Several other non-Arathians began to gather around him, and each looked as excited as the next.
Karo turned to Jayda. “What’s going on?”
She didn’t look worried, more like… amused. “We’re going to play runkall right after lunch. It’s the most popular sport on Arath.”
Deian continued, “We can’t play on a normal-size field, since we’re on a ship, but it’s still the highlight of the week!”
He sounded as excited as the rest of the people surrounding them. Anticipation gleamed in his, and Jayda’s, eyes. Would they be participating or watching?
Karo had loved to play sports while growing up on Siril. At his parent’s request, he’d joined several teams throughout the years, and found that he was very fond of the camaraderie, and especially the strategy required to win. He’d loved pushing his body to be better, faster, while his mind thought of new moves, new game plans.
He turned back to Jayda, planning on asking her if he could watch the match, but she interrupted him before he could speak.
“You should come play too!” She spun in her seat. “Lukas, I found you another player for your team!” She had to shout to be heard over the din of voices.
Part of Karo leapt in anticipation, the other was overwhelmed at being tossed into a game of which he had no knowledge. What kind of sport was it? Did it require specific skills? Would he make a fool out of himself?
Lukas was buried amidst a group of non-Arathian aliens, but he still heard his mate’s words. “Hell yeah, Karo!” he exclaimed. “We’re playing Arathians versus non-natives. You in?”
The circle of players all turned their attention to him. They looked eager to hear his response.
“I don’t know how to play,” he answered.
Lukas waved him off. “Details. It’s not hard to learn; we’ll explain on the way.”
It would feel good to do something physical, but he’d been living in artificial gravity for years—not to mention his small ship hadn’t been conducive to aerobic exercising. He would have been in the worst shape of his life if not for his stasis chamber.
He thought about the rowdy team that had stormed into the Dining Hall, and didn’t relish being amidst the crush of bodies. You did fine while eating, his mind piped up. Actually, after getting over his initial apprehension, he’d liked the feeling of being close to others—of hearing others talk, even about mundane things. He missed feeling close to people— missed the contact.
“I’m not sure he can handle it, Lukas,” Deian taunted with a twinkle of mischief in his eyes. “He’s been on that ship for twenty years. We should respect his advanced age and let him stay on the sidelines. Wouldn’t want him to break a hip.”
Karo smiled at the jab. It was clear Deian would be playing for the other team. He stood. “I’m in.”
CHAPTER 15
People cheered and clapped Karo on the back, while he was ensconced within a group of bodies and led from the Dining Hall.
“Are you sure you can handle this, Sirilian?” The jab came from a woman with green scales covering her body and a smile on her face.
“Can you?” he retorted.
Her reply was to laugh and skip ahead of the group. She disappeared through a large set of double doors which were marked with the words “Recreation Center.” Lukas, Karo, and the rest of the group followed after her.
Inside was a large space that was sectioned into several smaller areas. Karo saw equipment that looked vaguely similar to the type used for exercise and entertainment on Siril.
Lukas led him past the machines and into a smaller room with lockers and showers. Inside were at least twenty other men, all changing their clothes and getting ready for the match. Lukas opened a locker and tossed him a set of loose-fitting shorts and a sleeveless shirt.
“You won’t want to play in what you’re wearing,” Lukas assured him.
Karo quickly changed into the borrowed clothes, and stashed his in one of the empty lockers. After glancing around and seeing everyone barefoot, he also removed and stored his boots.
“So, how do we play this?” he asked.
“It’s not too hard to learn. We’ve had to change the format because, obviously, we’re onboard a ship and aren’t able to have a full-sized field. But there are still three teams and two balls in play at a time. Each round players try to grab a ball and throw it through a goal at the other end of the field. First team to make twelve points wins.”
“Doesn’t sound too hard.”
Lukas chuckled. “That’s the easy part. The hard part is getting past everyone on the opposing teams. It’s a full contact sport. Of course we tone that down a little, since we are on a ship and everyone is expected to report for their next duty shift. Injuries during the game can’t be used as an excuse for missing work.
An alien called from down the bench, “Yeah, we can’t ruff up the Arathians too badly.”
Another added, “Guess that means I can’t use my fangs on them, huh?”
The group laughed and Lukas shook his head in mirth. “We’ve never had an entire team of non-natives before; the Arathians aren’t going to know what hit ‘em.”
Karo looked around the room at the many different races. Lukas was right; this should be very interesting.
When he and Lukas were done, they walked out of the locker room and back into the Rec Center. It was completely empty except for the sound of loud voices. Lukas led him off to the side, where an archway led into a much larger room. This was where everyone was gathered.
Long sets of benches lined four walls, and all were packed with people who’d come to watch the match. In the center was the large field, upon which the game would be played. Some of the players had already gathered into three groups—two were made up of Arathians—but their group headed towards the non-natives, as Lukas had called them.
As they walked, Deian jogged by and slapped Lukas’s ass. Lukas spun around to retaliate, but Deian was already out of reach. He turned and winked at his mate before joining one of the other teams. He had on a blue armband that matched the other player’s. A moment later Jayda emerged from the women’s locker room, passed both of her men, giving them heated looks along the way, and joined the third team.
She had changed into black shorts, bare feet, and a snug-fitting long-sleeved white shirt. Her long hair was gathered securely at the top of her head, so as to not impede her movements, and she wore a red armband to match her team.
As she past Deian, his arm shot out and banded around her waist. He pulled her close and whispered something into her ear. Her eyes went wide in shock, and she pushed him away as her cheeks turned pink. She quickly joined her team before he could snag her again.
“…you listening?”
Karo swung his attention back to Lukas. “No, sorry. What did you say?”
The other man grinned. “I was saying that you can feel free to hang back and watch for a bit before joining in. Once you get the gist of how the game’s played, your job will be to get the ball in the goal, defend any of our players that have the ball, and block the others from making a goal. Got it?”
Karo nodded.
Gone was the apprehension he felt earlier. Now he was excited to get the match started. Lukas gave him a quick rundown of the rules, then whistled to gather their team. Karo glanced around at the others he’d be playing with; all were bipedal, although some looked like they could walk on all fours, or on their hands. They were an array of colors, sizes, and two individuals of the same race had spikes around their heads instead of hair.
All were psyched and ready to begin.
They stood in a circle and raised their hands to each other’s shoulders. Karo mirrored their stance. He had a woman on his left who was covered in green scales—the same woman who’d teased him earlier—and if he wasn’t mistak
en, she also had a forked tongue and tail. On his right was a rotund male that only came up to Karo’s hip. His skin was a deep black, eyes of the same shade, but he wore a wide grin showcasing pointed, double rows of teeth.
This was really going to be interesting.
He looked around at the others. They came from at least a dozen different worlds, but all of them now called Arath home. It was reassuring. Suddenly his future seemed a lot more optimistic than it had before. Others had chosen to make their lives here, why not him? He could be part of something.
Actually, I already am, he thought. Now he was the one grinning.
Behind them they heard the Arathian teams give battle cries, then his team did the same, the aliens’ voices raising as one. The three teams came to the center of the field to face off.
Karo hung back around the edge of the group, taking Lukas’s advice about watching how the game was played before jumping into the fray.
Anticipation thickened the air as everyone waited. For a moment the room was silent, then a ball was thrown high into the air signaling the start of the game.
Everyone at the center of the group jumped, but it was the rotund alien who’d been standing next to Karo that soared the highest and caught it.
Someone must have thrown him in the air! Karo thought, amazed.
He hit the ground and rolled, his limbs snug against his body, securing the ball against his chest. The Arathians fumbled in shock when he rolled through their legs. Suddenly he uncoiled and threw the ball to a teammate, who stood directly under a goal. She caught the ball, and just like that his team had their first point.
There was no rest; another ball was already in play. Karo wasn’t sure which one to focus on, but the Arathians were having more trouble than he was. They were quickly learning that they couldn’t play this runkall match like normal, since each race had vastly different strengths.
Now I just have to figure out what my strengths are.
He focused on watching the Arathians who were clearly the largest race on the field. Their bodies were packed with muscle, but Karo knew that strength was relative to the size of the planet where they’d all been raised. Siril was larger than Arath; he’d grown up on a planet with more gravity, therefore—even though he didn’t look it—he was stronger than the Arathians.
Adrift (The Sirilians Book 1) Page 12
