Mechanics of Survival (Corwint Central Agent Files Short Story) by CE Kilgore

Author:CE Kilgore
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: scifi, android, space opera, scifi romance, corwint

~*~*~*~

Day five, Veira sighed. She had seven ration bars and nine fizz-tabs remaining. She’d already been stretching her intake thin, trying to conserve what was left of the supplies. Kel had been helping by supplementing the ration bars with local fruit and one hard-caught lizard. She’d had a rather good laugh when he came back, covered in mud, proudly displaying the little thing. It’d tasted like grekka.

She’d also been continuously asking him to slow down and conserve his own energy, but he insisted on making the hour trek from the campsite up to the top of the ridge to check on the transponder every morning. He had also made a trip back to the escape-pod for more blankets and to see what else might be salvageable. The seat cushions had been a welcomed addition to their temporary home.

Home. Veira shook her head. What a strange thought to have in this place, even as a temporary concept. She had to admit, aside from the unpleasant latrine situation, the jungle was not as bad as she thought upon arrival. After living her entire life on a world of strict etiquette, cold steel and genetically-perfected flora, the alien jungle had become a place of daily discovery.

Her eyes lingered on the bright orange flowers Kel had brought her that morning before leaving to check the transponder. After their initial arguments and misunderstandings, he had become very appreciated company. They never seemed to run out of things to talk about, from their homeworlds to their missions and what they each planned to do once they found their way back to civilization. His plans sounded much more appealing to Veira than her own.

She expected, once she was found, that she would be debriefed, then interrogated, re-educated and then sent on another diplomatic mission. If she was lucky. If not, then she’d be sent to Antari, where the rest of the imperial rejects ended up. She knew that the changes that had occurred within her perspectives would be impossible to hide from the interrogators’ mind-reading Trexen Observers.

When she’d told Kel her worries the night before, he had grown quiet. Then, he had asked her a question that still had her heart racing as she headed to the stream for a bath. He had asked if it would be possible for her to leave the Empire. She hadn’t answered him.

Leave the Empire?

The thought drew a gasp from her throat as much as the cold water from the stream. Naked and standing thigh deep in water, the warm sunlight evaporating the beaded water on her skin made her smile. Untying her traditional Xen’dari bun, she combed her fingers through the thick black hair before kneeling and dunking her head back. The water felt amazing on her itchy scalp, and she wished she’d been brave enough to get naked in the jungle much sooner.

Modesty in the middle of nowhere. Only the Xen’dari would instill such a ridiculously ridged formality. She laughed, certain the lizards and birds had little interest in the strange creature washing herself in the river.

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