First Encounter by Scott Jasper T

Author:Scott, Jasper T. [Scott, Jasper T.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Science Fiction, Fantasy
Amazon: B07Z6SPM72
Goodreads: 52236060
Publisher: Anthem Press
Published: 2020-03-01T08:00:00+00:00

Chapter 22

Lori woke up in a fog, her body heavy and sore from carrying Keera around the night before. In addition to that, her head still felt thick and fuzzy with sleep. She’d had a rocky night even after Keera had finally calmed down and drifted off. Richard had haunted her dreams, always coming after them, trying to get at her and Keera.

Lori sat up with a grimace and kneaded her eyes with her fists in an attempt to push back the dull ache building behind them.

She couldn’t leave things between her and Richard like this. Especially not now. They needed to present a united front to Captain Cross and Lieutenant Devon when they woke up. They both needed to be singing the same tune. Keera wasn’t dangerous. She wasn’t a threat, and she didn’t need to go into cryo early.

Glancing over her shoulder, Lori noted that Keera was still fast asleep.

Good. She would rather talk to Richard when Keera wasn’t around. She didn’t want Keera to overhear anything that would do additional damage to her relationship with her father.

Sliding quietly off the bed, Lori padded over to the door and waved it open. The metal deck was cold as ice, so she stopped to put on a pair of UNSF slippers along the way. The laurel wreath was green around a golden star, just like it was on the Space Force’s flag—she wished they would have made it that way on the uniforms, too. It would have looked better than the monochromatic silver version that she and everyone else had to wear clipped to their uniforms.

Cinching her nightgown tight around her waist, Lori walked out and shut the door behind her with her ARCs.

The gleaming metal deck curved gently up. Glowing lines of recessed lighting curved along the tops and bottoms of the bulkheads. Every couple of feet or so a safety handrail jutted from the bulkheads and ceiling. Just like any other part of the ship, The Wheel was designed to be navigated just as easily in zero-G as while under simulated gravity. Staggered doors with glowing numbers and letters on them lined the length of the corridor on both sides. Each door led to a different set of quarters. They’d chosen the largest room for themselves, designated W1.

Soon Keera would need to pick a room for herself. She was already at a point where that would make sense, but these fits Keera had been having were going to make the transition harder than it needed to be. Still, they’d had a breakthrough last night. Keera had finally described what was bothering her. It was just her fears about herself and her own nature, partly instilled by Richard’s attitude toward her.

Which was the other reason Lori needed to speak with Richard. He needed to know how badly he was hurting Keera. And he needed to stop. Or else leave them and go into cryo by himself.

Lori spent a moment scanning the doors, trying to decide which one of them Richard might have picked last night.

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