Adamant Spirits, page 123
One of the first rules we’d established was to not worry about accuracy when translating technical terms; alignment crystal might be a meaningful description in his language, or a brand name. I didn’t need to know. What he was telling me was that a vital part was missing, which explained why I hadn’t been able to get it working.
“That doesn’t answer my question,” I reminded him, and he laughed.
“At my current rate of work?” I nodded. “Then my best estimate is now.”
Behind him, on the workbench I’d grudgingly cleared for him, a crystal glowed and emitted a high-pitched whine. The rats’ nest of cabling leading to the odd Prytheen technology vibrated.
And the room warmed up.
It was like magic. The heat didn’t radiate from the glowing crystal, it didn’t seem to come from anywhere. The air was simply, uniformly, warm. Too warm, in fact—overheating, I pulled my coat off and threw it aside.
Karnac watched me, the intensity of his gaze impossible to ignore. Perhaps the heat in my cheeks just came from the sudden rise in temperature. That’s what I’d tell anyone who asked, but I knew better.
It’s not like I’m underdressed or anything, I told myself. It was true, too. Defense against the mountain chill came in layers, and I’d only taken off the outermost. Under it I still wore the red knitted sweater I’d brought all the way from Earth.
“How does that even work?” I asked, trying to force my thoughts away from the smoldering look Karnac gave me. “The heat isn’t coming from anywhere.”
He grinned, holding his hands wide. “I do not know. The heater sustained damage in the crash, made worse by heavy use—it’s not designed for so large a volume of air. It went out of phase, and without an alignment crystal, hard to compensate for. An easy fix when you know what to look for, but it tells us nothing about the principles it works on.”
I blinked, confused by that and intrigued enough to keep talking to him. As long as we kept it about business, it would be okay. I could keep focused. Really.
“So, you don’t understand your technology any more than I do? You just know which bit plugs in where, and what to look for if it doesn’t work?”
His forehead creased. “I am an engineer, not a scientist. I have never studied either physics or metaphysics. When would I have had the time? I do not even remember the Homeworld, we lost it when I was a kit.”
“Wait, what?” That came from nowhere for me. Perhaps it was common knowledge, but I’d never wanted to learn about the Prytheen. “What do you mean, you lost your homeworld?”
“It is not something I care to talk about,” he said, face blank and unreadable as sheet metal. “That wound cuts too deep. Suffice it to say that there’s a reason the only Prytheen you meet are warriors and pilots, and there was a reason we tried to seize your colony ship with its terraforming equipment. Not a good enough reason, but a reason.”
So many questions buzzed around my brain. Who had done this to them? Why didn’t they lead with a trade deal to get what they wanted? What was he doing on a warship, so young he didn’t remember his homeworld at all?
I didn’t ask any of them. Perhaps there would come a time to ask, perhaps not, but this was not it—Karnac’s muscles tensed, his eyes were cold, he bared his teeth.
Apprehensively, I crossed the workshop and put a hand on his arm. He needed contact, someone to ground him in the present, not the failures of his past.
His skin felt strange under my hand. Rough, not human, but pleasant. As soon as I touched him, my mind decided to spin off on a fantasy, wondering what the rest of him would feel like, would taste like.
Karnac growled. Not a threat, not a warning. Something more direct, personal, primal. A shiver ran through me, my breath catching, my heart racing.
I’d met some of Crashland’s wildlife. I was familiar with the fight-or-flight response. But who’d ever heard of a fight-flight-or-fuck response?
I froze, trying and failing to hide my reaction. Karnac turned his head to look at me with an intensity that should have burned my clothes off.
“I, uh.” Stringing words together was a challenge. I bit my lip, thinking, and his cat-like eyes watched my mouth. Drifted lower, to my throat, as his own smile widened. “I don’t think that, um….”
Glitch’s static-filled hiss stopped me from having to answer. He sat on a workbench, watching the door—or most of him did. His forepaws still rested on my bench, disembodied, and his tail wasn’t visible at all.
“Again, Glitch?” I asked, pulling my hand from Karnac’s arm as though his skin had turned red hot. This was why I’d set Glitch up as an early warning system.
Glitch had no chance to answer before the door slid open and Allison strode into the room. Still running with the pink theme which I thought looked even more ridiculous than her outdoor outfit—at least there, the pink served a purpose, making her easy to find in the snow.
Here, her otherwise sensible business suit made my teeth itch. Why would she waste maker credits on something so saccharine? Or, worse, had she brought it here from Earth?
I’d never realized how annoying her color choices were. Though I’d had no cause to find out until now: since Karnac’s arrival, she’d been a constant visitor, stopping by several times a day. I’d seen her more often than I had in any previous month.
“I see you’ve got the heating back up and running,” she said, or rather gushed. Karnac’s lips narrowed, his only response a nod. Allison showed no sign of noticing his discomfort, but then her eyes weren’t on his face. Her attention was lower down, tracing the muscles of his torso with her eyes.
Which suited me fine. If they got together that would make life so much easier for me. It would be madness to object to her trying to get her hooks into him. I definitely believed that, one hundred percent.
So why were my hands balled into fists? Why were my muscles trembling?
Get this straight, body, I snarled internally. I am not interested in this Prytheen or any other. Yes, he has the most bangable bod I’ve ever seen, but that doesn’t change the fact that he’s one of the assholes who stole my life.
“While we have your attention, boss,” I said as politely as possible, hoping to interrupt before she jumped Karnac right in front of me. “I’ve got some requests for the next supply run? Karnac’s been using a lot of parts, and we’re still low on—”
“Fine,” Allison glared at me, making a brushing off motion. “Send it over. It’ll be easier to justify now that Karnac is doing something worthwhile with the parts.”
That was almost a physical slap. Allison had been mean before, but she’d never come so close to calling me useless in front of someone else before.
Karnac growled, a low, angry, dangerous sound. “Allison, that is unfair. Molly has handled vital maintenance; work without which this station would fall apart. I’ve made one repair.”
“Oh, you’re right of course.” All smiles again, Allison turned back to Karnac, leaving me seething. “It’s not that I don’t recognize the work Molly does, just that I have to justify my requests to Captain Joyce, and when there’s no change to report that’s not easy.”
I will not rise to the bait. I will not. Allison aimed her apology, such as it was, at Karnac instead of me. More than that, she was lying. While I didn’t know Captain Joyce well, she’d been the Wandering Star’s engineer before the Crash. She’d understand the need for regular maintenance, even if Allison didn’t.
“Anyway, I must get going, there’s the weather forecast to put together,” she said with another bright, plastic smile. “There’ll be a little get together this evening though, to celebrate the new heating—I’m sure that lots of us will be glad of the chance not to bundle up, so why not make it a party?”
With that she swept out, leaving a cloying scent of perfume behind her.
I’d never looked forward to a party so little, but I didn’t see any way out of attending. It was in honor of the technical staff, at least that’s what the message on the datanet said. Karnac’s honor, really, but still, I should be there when they celebrated my department.
“What do you think?” I asked Glitch. The mirror in my room was too small to get a good look at my outfit, and he was the only one whose opinion I’d trust.
I didn’t trust my judgment—I’d been back and forth on the outfit ever since I spent the maker credits to have it printed. It belonged on someone with more self-confidence than me, someone who knew they looked good in it.
Black with a subtle pattern, more a texture than a color, it emphasized my figure without showing off. Was it too low cut, though? Too short?
A thousand memories of people I’d thought of as friends mocking my fashion choices cried out that it was wrong, somehow. I shoved them aside to look at Glitch.
The hologram cat looked me up and down, purred, and rubbed up against me before dissolving into static and reappearing on my bookshelf. A bright green tick-mark appeared with him, glowing above his head, and an audio clip of applause played. I’d passed the Glitch test. It was enough reassurance to let me relax.
As nice as warmth was, I’d enjoyed the cold and the way it forced us all to wear layers. The fixed heating let us dress up again, and that wouldn’t be optional for events like this. I’d never enjoyed that kind of thing.
Okay, a little lie there: I enjoyed dressing up for the right person. There just wasn’t anyone here I wanted to impress that way.
Glitch watched me, his static-filled eyes amused, an impish smile on his lips. All in my mind, obviously—he couldn’t read my thoughts. Still, I blushed, heat spreading across my cheeks.
“I am not interested in Karnac,” I protested. Glitch’s smile didn’t change, he just cocked his head to one side. I grabbed a book and threw it at him, the much-annotated air recycler manual passing through the hologram with no effect. “Oh, shut up.”
Glitch licked a paw, looked back at me, and disintegrated. Only his smile and eyes remained, and then even they faded.
I laughed, shaking my head. “How very Cheshire Cat of you, Glitch. I swear, sometimes I’m sure you’re putting this all on.”
One last look in the mirror, one last round of doubts, and it was time to go. Stepping out of my room, I heard the music playing in the commons, someone singing badly over the lyrics. Great. We’d skipped straight to the karaoke part of the evening.
My heels clanged on the metal floor, making me wince self-consciously. I almost turned around and changed back into a t-shirt and jeans. Each time I paused, though, the image of Karnac flashed before my eyes, and somehow gave me the strength to carry on.
The ridiculous welcome banner hung on one side of the commons, and I winced to see it. I spoke no Prytheen, not even the scattered handful of words most colonists had picked up since the Crash, but the sloppy lettering made me itch. I wondered what Karnac thought about it.
Opposite hung a newer banner: “Thanks for the heat, Karnac.” My fingers flexed, face darkening—fair enough if the crew wanted to single him out for praise, he had gotten it done. But they hadn’t even asked me to contribute. That stung.
Other than the two banners, the commons looked the same as ever. Ratty, patched seating, mismatched tables, an empty area optimistically referred to as a dance floor. The low lighting might have been for the party or a result of more issues with the power supply—I’d only know if I checked my jobs list.
Music played through the speakers, someone’s playlist of songs brought from Earth. The current one was pleasant enough, though the lyrics were unintelligible. The public announcement speakers were cheap, and not designed to play music.
I was the last of the station personnel to arrive, it looked like. Everyone else gathered with their friends, chatting over the music or drinking. Their hologram companions buzzed around the room, chasing each other and giving the party a playful look.
“Molly, you made it!” Michiko pounced before I got two steps into the room. She had the bouncy enthusiasm that always clung to her while drunk, and her arms were around me before I knew she was there. Her rainbow-maned pony clip-clopped up to Glitch and headbutted him, inviting him to play. “Love the dress! It suits you!”
She nearly knocked me over with her hug, giggling and swinging me around, and I couldn’t help smiling. Michiko sober was a dry loner, but a few drinks in and fun Michiko came out to play.
“You look great too,” I said, though I hadn’t gotten a look at her outfit. I didn’t need to; Michiko always looked stunning, on air or off. I almost felt sorry for the guys, being trapped in close quarters with someone so attractive and so unavailable.
Heat spread over my cheeks again. I wouldn’t know anything about that, would I?
As though my thought summoned him, Karnac stepped into view. My breath caught and I stared.
His long coat flowing almost like a cape, Karnac surveyed the room as though it was his domain. Long dark hair pulled back into a ponytail, chest and scars on display, he looked every bit the pirate king. Every bit the sexy space warrior, come to snatch me away.
He’s a Prytheen, I reminded myself. Yes, he’s a pirate, but not the sexy fictional kind. The real, murderous kind. So keep away.
Reason didn’t stop my body reacting to his appearance, a tingle spreading through me and a sigh escaping my lips. I might have put Karnac off limits, but my body rejected that decision with every hormone it could throw at me.
Michiko giggled and relaxed her hug, looking around to see what had caught my attention. “Ooh, juicy. So you’re interested in our newest arrival too? I don’t see the appeal myself.”
“There might be a reason for that,” I said, smiling. Michiko spent as much time as she could on the comms to her wife in the colony proper, and I’d never been able to imagine her interested in anyone else.
“Yeah, yeah, fine,” she said, elbowing me in the ribs. “You may mock, but at least I’m not throwing myself at the aliens like some people.”
“I am not throwing myself at him,” I said, aware that I was protesting too much. “Or anyone else.”
Taking a step back, Michiko looked me up and down.
“Sure you’re not,” she said with a shake of her head. “That’s why you’re showing more skin than ever. You’re even wearing heels for heaven’s sake.”
I bit back an unkind response. I hadn’t picked this outfit for Karnac…had I?
“You’ll have to work fast, though,” she carried on while I was still trying to think of a reply. “Allison’s already working on him.”
And there she was, appearing next to Karnac like a vampire from an old horror vid. Her arm linked with his, she pulled him towards a table laden with refreshments.
My mouth twisted. He deserves better.
“I didn’t dress up for him,” I said, not sure how much of a lie that was. “I just thought it would be nice to have some fun.”
“That’s the spirit,” Michiko grinned up at me. “C’mon, let’s enjoy the party. Let’s dance.”
Fun Michiko can be an experience, and I didn’t waste energy on futile resistance as she dragged me onto the abandoned dance floor. I did catch Alf’s eye and mouthed “help me” but he just grinned and went back to feeding his holographic parrot. Everyone was on the receiving end of Michiko sometimes; I didn’t blame him for not wanting to get involved.
I’ve never been a good dancer, Michiko was drunk, and we were the only two on the dance floor. I couldn’t imagine a combination to make me more anxious, especially when Karnac was in the audience.
Being self-conscious made everything worse, and my already limited dance skills went out the window. Michiko didn’t seem at all embarrassed, and I wondered how she did it. Her flailing limbs were no more controlled than mine, but somehow she made it look good. Or, if not good, fun.
My logical brain pointed out the obvious—perhaps I looked just as good. Perhaps you should shut up, my anxiety replied. Not a reasonable argument, but a winning one.
Still, it was fun. No one laughed, Michiko danced as badly as I did, and Rod pulled Amy onto the dance floor. Once we weren’t the sole focus of attention, I started to enjoy myself.
“May I join you?” He phrased it as a request, but the tone left no doubt about what would happen now. Karnac loomed over me, a smile on his scarred, rugged, too-damned-handsome face.
I opened my mouth to answer and it just hung there. Silence. No words emerged as my brain came to a screeching halt, torn between the desire to tell the Prytheen to fuck off and the urge to leap into his arms.
“Sure, you kids have fun,” Michiko said after the silence dragged on for approximately five billion years. “I need some water anyway.”
With that she vanished, abandoning me with Karnac. My heart thudded so loud I was sure the whole room heard it. I couldn’t decide whether Michiko leaving was a favor or a betrayal, but either way I had no words to respond.
Karnac took my hand in his, the contact overwhelming. Like lightning shooting through me, his touch lit up my nerves and I gasped as his rough thumb stroked across the back of my hand. Suddenly my anxiety and self-consciousness vanished and we were the only two people in the world.
The rest of the universe could go hang. Nothing mattered apart from us.
The moment stretched into infinity before Karnac pulled me closer, slid an arm around my waist, and led.
“What are you doing?” I gasped, my body pressing to his. Suddenly my dress felt like too much clothing—I wanted to feel his body against mine, nothing between us.
Karnac moved with grace, precision, and no skill at all. His hip slammed into a refreshments table, spilling punch, and I couldn’t help giggling.
“I do not know,” Karnac said, laughing too. Pressed against his chest as I was, I felt the laugh more than heard it. A deep vibration that made my body want.
“I have watched several videos,” he continued, pronouncing the last word as though he’d never heard of this primitive tech before. Maybe he hadn’t—Prytheen culture, from what I’d learned, was entirely about war. “Dancing with one’s khara is always shown as romantic, so….”
