Adrift (The Sirilians Book 1) (7 page)

He took off his jacket to get comfortable, drank the last of his beverage, and popped another fried vegetable into his mouth. He was too caught up in the atmosphere to care that the food was unhealthy. It was delicious!

He avidly watched the teams, and cheered along with Aevum when the players in stripes achieved another point. He looked at his companion and smiled. She seemed alight—such a stark contrast to the woman he'd sat across the table from the previous evening.

She was obviously more comfortable in this environment, and he could see why. In most ways he preferred this evening to the previous one too.

Now that he was looking at Aevum he found it hard to refocus on the match; she truly was a beautiful woman.

Tonight she had chosen a lightweight dress in a yellow color that complimented her deep cerulean skin perfectly. It hugged her torso, showcasing her breasts, then flared to where it stopped at her knees. Her arms and lower legs were bare, except for black slip-on shoes, and a wide black cuff on her wrist with the Pulsar’s team logo emblazoned upon it.

For the first time since he’d met her, Karo felt a kindling of hope. Perhaps the Assembly for Eugenics hadn’t chosen wrong.

She had her differences from him—and they’d have to work on her punctuality—but she was a lovely woman. 

Before he knew it, the game was almost over. The Pulsars were leading, twenty-six to twenty-two; everyone sat anxiously and watched the clock count down.

When the horn sounded the end of the game the spectators were instantly on their feet, including Karo, who yelled and raised his fists into the air in victory. He turned towards Aevum just in time to catch her as she hurled herself excitedly into his arms.

She hugged him around his neck, and Karo held her snugly against his body. He breathed in and caught the scent that came from her skin and hair. Too soon she let go, and he let her feet fall back onto the floor.

Their eyes met and Karo hoped that she was as effected by the embrace as he’d been.

She turned her attention back towards the arena and clapped for the teams, who were congratulating each other. The gravity was engaged, and once all of their feet met solid ground, a ramp descended and the players waved to the crowd as they exited.

Waves of people immediately began to flood out of the arena. Karo grabbed his jacket and led Aevum through the throng towards the exit. He didn’t want to be separated from her, so he reached back. Without hesitation, he felt her fingers entwine with his. He couldn’t help but smile.

He kept a firm hold on her during their descent in the lift and until they were outside, where the crowd finally dissipated. He enjoyed the cool breeze on his heated skin, and watched Aevum fan herself. Her skin was slightly purple on her cheeks, showing that she was overheated, but her expression was alight.

“Wow! That was amazing!” she exclaimed.

Karo smiled. “I’ve never seen anything like it. Thank you for taking me.”

She stilled and looked closely at him. “You honestly liked it?”

“Yes, absolutely! It was a great idea for us to attend.” He also hoped that their date wasn’t over. He wasn’t ready to put her into a transport and say goodbye.

She looked relieved by his words. “Oh good. I thought that you’d probably played sports, and hoped that this was a good place to take you.”

“It was great,” he replied honestly. “Is there something else planned for the evening?”
Please say that our time together isn't coming to an end.

She looked around where they stood near a street intersection. “We’re actually not far from where I work. Would you like to see what I do?”

He saw uncertainty on her features, and felt guilty that she was worried about his reaction to her suggestion. Last night he’d been blinded by pride, and had made her feel as though he didn’t respect her work. Tonight that would change.

“Yes, I’d like that very much.” His guilt intensified when she looked surprised by his answer.

“Okay. It’s a couple of blocks this way.” She pointed down one of the streets, and they began walking.  

The two made their way down the wide sidewalk, and Karo enjoyed the evening breeze as it cooled his skin. He felt emboldened by how well the evening was going, so he reached to take Aevum’s hand in his own. She smiled up at him and kept walking, unaware that he felt an emotion blossom in his chest: a fondness for her that was unlike anything he’d ever experienced.

It wasn’t friendship like he felt towards Reus, or the regard he felt towards his parents; this was altogether different, and he couldn’t believe his feelings for anyone could change so quickly. Only a day ago Aevum had walked out of their First Meeting and exclaimed that their pairing was over; now they had shared a very pleasant evening—one that Karo didn’t want to end.

“This is it,” Aevum said, interrupting his thoughts. He looked at the building they stood before, and read the large letters above the door: “Department of Anthropology & Biology”.

She led him inside, where the foyer was similar to most other buildings in the city. But when Aevum scanned her wristunit and they entered the heart of the building, that’s where the similarities stopped.

The area they entered was one massive room that looked as if it took up the entire department building. The ceilings were several stories high, and there were no walls to partition off the open space. As if that wasn’t impressive enough, the entire room was alight with blue-colored holograms.

Some scurried across an uneven holographic floor, but most swam through the air, their images fading as they came into contact with the walls or ceiling. Most were small—in fact some were smaller than Karo’s fingernail—but there were a few that were larger than the city’s autotransports. It took him a moment to realize that they were moving as if they were swimming through water.

“Amazing isn’t it?” Aevum asked.

“It’s incredible,” he said in awe, as he took a few steps forward and a group of tiny creatures floated gracefully next to his head. He waved his hand gently causing their images to disperse in blue particles before coalescing a few inches away.

“This is where marine biologists study the species that live at the bottom of the Western Sea.”

“These creatures are on
our
planet?” he asked incredulously.

“Yes,” Aevum said with smile. “Years ago scientists modified space sensors to withstand the extreme pressures at the bottom of our oceans so that scientists wouldn’t be put in danger. The detailed information they gather on the creatures and their behavior is now projected into holographic images, so that they can be safely studied from shore. There’s no risk to life, and we’re learning more than ever.”

Aevum pointed to a group of people across the room, who stood around a cluster of scuttling bottom-dwelling creatures, and were using mobile hovering consoles to record their notes.

“Is this where you work?” Karo asked.

“No. The Anthropology Department here studies entire cultures of sentient beings: usually the dominant species of a given planet. We have our own section of the building where we work.”

She led him around the outside of the holograms and through an archway. Unlike the open room, this area was divided into individual work stations. Aevum walked past a few closed doors before placing her hand onto a console on the wall. The door opened, allowing Karo to see into the room.

“This is where I spend most of my time.”

Karo let go of her hand and stepped into Aevum’s office. It was exactly like he expected her space to be: brightly colored, inviting, and full of things. Unusual art was scattered throughout—paintings, three-dimensional sculptures, stone carvings—Aevum had collected the widest array of mediums Karo had ever seen.

They must have come from many worlds. 

He perused the space and saw shelves lined with books, along with numerous vid-images of creatures from other worlds. He recognized a few species from announcements the Department of Anthropology had sent out to the public, but all of these photos showed Aevum in various states of interaction with them. One particular image caught his eye, and he moved towards it to get a better look. It was of Aevum sitting on the ground with her legs crossed. She was smiling with her eyes closed as a white fur-covered being one-quarter her height painted black designs onto her face.

“She was painting my face as a goodbye,” Aevum explained from over Karo’s shoulder.

Aevum’s voice sounded forlorn, and Karo turned to look at her. “How long had you been there?”

“Five months. It was hard to leave.”

There was no mistaking the emotion in her voice; Aevum had obviously become attached to the inhabitants of that world. He looked around her office again at the variety of pieces. She must have visited a half-dozen different worlds, double what he’d done.

“How many worlds have you been to?” Karo asked.

“Nine.”

“Really?!”

“I know, it’s a lot. Some anthropologists stay for years on one planet studying a species’s complex culture, but I don’t have the patience for that. I’m the one they send to a planet to determine if an entire research team should come or not.”  

Karo was still in shock at the number of planets she’d visited. Nine was nearly unheard of, given the travel time and physical rigors involved with space travel. He had only been on three space assignments, and had loved every moment of it. If given the choice, he’d live his entire life exploring the galaxy.

“Your judgment must mean a great deal to your department,” he finally replied.

“I suppose so.” Aevum looked around a little uncomfortable. “Do you get to travel for work?”

“Not often. My current position keeps me bound to my department’s headquarters, but I wish I could see other worlds. I’ve always wanted to explore the galaxy; go further than anyone else has ever gone.”

“I wouldn’t worry too much, you’re still young,” Aevum joked.

Karo laughed, and her eyes went wide. He suddenly felt self-conscious. “What?”

“I’m sorry, your laugh just caught me by surprise. You’re usually so stoic.”

That was certainly true. “There’s something about you that brings out the lighter side of me.”

“I like your lighter side,” she declared. “It feels more genuine.”

It was his turn to be surprised. “Really? What makes you think that?”

Aevum thought for a moment before picking up a small disc-shaped object from one of the shelves. She flipped it over to show that it had designs on both sides.

“You’re like this token. One side is the serious part of you that I saw last night; the other is the side you’re showing me now. Together, they make up who you are, but are very different from one another.”

Karo’s brows knit together as he thought about his daily life, and how he was expected to act at home and work. It was regimented, and frankly, stifling.

“I like this side of myself better too. I wish I could let it out more often.”

Aevum neared him and reached to take his hand. She ran her thumb over the back of his palm in a reassuring gesture. “So do I, but I’m glad you feel you can be yourself with me.”

Karo reached to place the vid-image back onto the shelf, and his wristunit caught his attention. It showed the time, which was very late. Karo knew that he needed to end the evening, but that was harder than he thought it would be.

“I really hate to say this, but we’d better get going.”

Aevum glanced at her own wrist and looked surprised. “Oh my, that’s the time? We have work tomorrow.”

She pulled back and Karo reluctantly let his hands fall to his side. He followed her out of the office, and took her hand again as they exited the building. She put her arm into the air to call an autotransport, then turned to him with a look of uncertainty. 

“May I talk to you tomorrow?” he asked.

She looked relieved and smiled. “Yes, I would like that. We need to set a time for our Third Meeting, right?”

It was Karo’s turn to be relieved: she still wanted to continue with their pairing, which was even better news now than it had been a few hours before. Then he remembered what the “recommended” Third Meeting was—meeting his parents. Karo’s stomach fell.

“Are you sure?” he asked. It wasn’t a simple question and she knew it. Traditionally the Third Meeting was at the man’s home, where the woman met his parents and shared a meal. He wasn’t sure how Aevum was going to react to being in the environment where he’d been raised. He was also nervous about his parents’ behavior.

Would they accept her? The uncertainty made his stomach lurch. 

“Yes, I’m sure,” she replied confidently. “If we’re to move forward with our Pair Bonding then I’ll need to meet your parents sooner or later. I’d rather do it now. Although I am a little frightened that they’ll convince you that I’m a bad influence.”

She smiled slightly and Karo could tell that she had meant it as a joke, but instead a real fear was coming forth. He stepped in close to her, and made sure to look her straight in the eye.

“You’re a wonderful influence on me, and they will never convince me otherwise.”

She stared into his eyes, probably searching for any falsehoods, but there were none. She smiled and then did something completely unexpected: she raised up onto the tips of her toes and kissed him.