Hollow Space Book 1: Venture (Xantoverse)
Page 35
The grief of losing all those on the Venture still lurked deep within, and she needed someone, Kina, to help her see that she had a future, that she could still make a difference.
Sara closed her eyes and tried to focus on the moment.
Nothing could be done for those poor souls anymore.
And like Dylan and Tai said last night, what else could she have done? Why did the weight of their deaths have to be all on her shoulders? DeLaney was the captain of the ship in Telo’s absence. Margo and Murlowe were also members of the crew. It wasn’t just done to Sara, even if circumstances beyond her control made her the leader of the group.
Their deaths were a tragedy, a result of the Hollow Space effect.
No one knew that would happen. Even Tai and the others didn’t foresee it, and they had lived here, like Kina, all their lives. Of course, rationalizing it didn’t make the pain of the loss go away—nothing would do that completely. But at least it helped her put things into perspective.
Perhaps it was because of the time she had spent in Haven and the extraordinary events that had preceeded their arrival, she did indeed see things differently now. She remembered back to Haggard’s first words he had for them when they first arrived. He warned them they needed to adapt. Life on Haven wasn’t a picnic.
Going against her natural empathy, Haven bred within her a survival attitude.
She hadn’t given up hope of someday leaving, but for now, this was just fine.
“Hey,” Kina said, looking up at Sara, her head on Sara’s shoulder. “I can hear your thoughts rumbling through my bones. What’s up?”
This was just one thing she liked about Kina. No messing about: just get to the point. The words initially froze on her lips, but eventually she decided it was now or never. “Last night was… amazing…”
“But?”
“But nothing,” Sara said, concerned Kina would misunderstand her hesitance. “I mean, I just…” She took a breath and got a grip on herself. “I don’t want this to end. Whatever this is, I want to be with you. For the first time in years, you’ve made me feel like I’ve got a home.”
Kina lifted herself up onto her elbows and disentangled her legs. She threw herself on top of Sara, straddling her waist and pinning her to the bed. With a mischievous smile, Kina kissed Sara fully and passionately before breaking away and staring intently into her eyes.
“You’re going nowhere, girl,” Kina said. “You and me? We’re solid. This bed will always be yours, and I want you to consider this your home. You make me feel…” She broke away, becoming serious.
Sara reached up her hand and stroked her neck. “What is it? How do I make you feel?”
“Like an actual person,” Kina said. “You don’t just see me as a weapon or a tool to fix a problem. As much as I love Tai like a brother, with you, it’s different, you know? You see me for me—truly.”
Unsure of how to accept such an honor and not wanting to say anything stupid to diminish the moment, Sara just pulled Kina down into a tight hug when an urgent knock on the door pulled them from their passion. A voice called through to them from outside.
“Come on, girls, rise and shine. I’ve brought breakfast. Open up, I’m sure you’ve worked up a fierce appetite.”
Both Sara and Kina smiled as they said, “Tai!”
***
Sara downed another cup of hot coffee, enjoying the bitterness from Haven farm-produced bean. It certainly helped clear the fuzziness in her brain.
Kina, Tai, Dylan and even Tooize were sitting around the large round table in Kina’s kitchen diner. She had to give Kina her dues; though she was an efficient killer and battle leader, she still managed to design the interior of her apartment to a high standard.
The blue-glass dividing walls reminded her of the hotel rooms back on her last mining colony job. Of course, those hotel rooms were only for foreign business dignitaries come to analyze the mining quotas. People like Sara only ever stayed in there if they were being transferred to another location and were waiting on a shuttle.
Kina’s place featured clean lines and surfaces, plush fabrics on the drapes and a luxurious carpet in the living room, where large, comfortable couches promised both a great place to rest and play.
With everyone full of steak and eggs, a natural lull developed in the conversation. Dylan had been a little quiet throughout, and Tooize naturally remained respectful as he continued to observe Lofreal’s honor period.
“So,” Tai said—it had to be him; he couldn’t just be quiet and still for one moment, “what’s next? I mean, I’m free of my mother, Dylan here is free of the Drifts, you two are free of loneliness”—he gave them an unsubtle wink—“and Tooize here will no doubt want to get back to work soon as part of his honor period.”
“It’s been just three cycles,” Kina said. She was sitting close to Sara, their legs touching. “I don’t know about the rest of you lot, but after everything we’ve been through, I kinda like the idea of chilling for a bit.”
“Chilling don’t pay the bills, Ki, and come on, that sounds really boring—even if you do have a spanky new playmate to enjoy yourself with.”
Even though he clearly meant it as a lighthearted joke, Sara couldn’t but help think there was a touch of jealousy or sadness behind the quip. Tai hadn’t talked about a special someone in all the time they’d been here. She wondered if deep down he wasn’t lonely to some degree.
“What bills?” Kina asked. “The Drifts paid you a record sum for the last job.”
“Well, it was a record job, Ki—we’re freakin’ legends now, the only ones to ever go to the Old Station and come back alive. I think we earned it, especially given the sacrifices.” Tai patted Tooize on his feathery shoulder. The kronac whistled softly back to Tai, giving thanks for his appreciation. “But the Mary-May still needs a bit of work, and besides, we need to get the Damnfine fixed up and equipped, and then there’s wages for an expanded squad.”
“Wait, what? An expanded squad? Just what are you talking about, Tai?” Kina asked.
Sara reached down to her small pack and lifted the Orb of Knowledge given to her by Old-Leaf. She placed it in the middle of the table, silencing everyone.
“What’s that?” Dylan asked.
“An Orb of Knowledge,” Tai said, his attention now fully on it like a hawk appraising its prey. “Where did you get this from?”
“The Drifts,” Sara said. “Now, with regards to that expanded squad, we’ll need to factor in a full away mission. Now that we know more about the dead planet, and we have both this orb and Telo, I suggest we head for the surface as soon as we’re able.”
Tai grinned and pointed to Sara. “See, Ki, that’s what I was talking about. Your girl is switched on and with it.”
“Aye, she certainly is,” Kina agreed.
“So, we good to go? I can get the squad together within say, a long cycle? That’s forty-eight cycles,” he explained to Sara and Dylan. “That’d give you two lovebirds a bit of time together, and give me and Dylan here enough time to get the rest of the credits together to buy the appropriate gear and find that extended squad. Are you in, big fella?” Tai said to Tooize.
“Count me in,” he replied.
“And me,” Dylan said, still having that faraway look about him. Sara would have to speak with him alone, find out what was bugging him, but at least he looked better today, and with his books safely stored with the Drifts, that should bring him a degree of comfort.
“So, ladies and gents,” Tai said. “Looks like we’ve got a vacation to a super-dangerous planet coming up. Get packing, kiddos, and remember to pack your sunscreen. It’s going to be epic.”
Clear here to read the next Xantoverse book.
COPYRIGHT C.F. BARNES & T.F. GRANT, 2014
This edition published in 2014 by Anachron Press
This is a work of fiction. All characters and events portrayed in this work are either fictitious or are used fictitiously. Any similarity is purely coincidental
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The rights of the authors to be indentified as the authors of this has has been asserted in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act of 1988.
All rights reserved.
No part of this publication maybe reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, transmitted in any form or by any means without prior written permission of the publisher. The rights of the authors of this work has been asserted by him/her in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.
Table of Contents
Hollow Space: Venture
One
Two
Three
Four
Five
Six
Seven
Eight
Nine
Ten
Eleven
Twelve
Thirteen
Fourteen
Fifteen
Sixteen
Seventeen
Eighteen
Nineteen
Twenty
Twenty-One
Twenty-Two
Twenty-Three
Twenty-Four
Twenty-Five
Twenty-Six
Twenty-Seven
Twenty-Eight
Twenty-Nine
Thirty
Thirty-One
Thirty-Two
Thirty-Three
Thirty-Four
Thirty-Five
Thirty-Six
Thirty-Seven
Thirty-Eight
Copyright C.F. Barnes & T.F. Grant, 2014