Oath Forger (Book 1): A Sci-fi Romance by Nia Mars

Author:Nia Mars [Mars, Nia]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Nia Mars
Published: 2018-02-27T06:00:00+00:00

Chapter Eight

THE CREW SPENDS the rest of the day on repairs. I spend it in our quarters with Koah who suddenly developed an aversion to leaving me by myself. I ask him to continue to teach me to read. I can’t handle just sitting here, staring at each other.

This time, I’m in a chair. I’m not going back to bed for lessons. I vividly remember how that ended the first time: kissing.

Thinking of his mouth on mine makes me miss whatever he’s saying as he paces.

“I’m sorry. Could you please repeat that?”

“Nee.”

“Nee.” For once, I manage to say the word just like he does.

He flashes me a proud-of-you smile. I’m proud of me too. I’m making progress.

The universal Federation language has forty-four sounds, some of them easier to make than others, each represented by a letter. Everything sounds exactly as it’s written. I suppose the alphabet was made that way since the pronunciation has to be easy so everyone can learn it.

Koah brings up a string of letters on the screen.

“Meh on ah ra.” As soon as I sound out the letters, I know what the word means, thanks to the translator implanted at the base of my skull. Gift. In the sense of a bestowed blessing.

I can read!

The first thing I want to do is tell Lily. God, she’d get a kick out of this. I can read Alien, but I can’t read English.

I wonder how Lily is doing. It’s my new hobby. I worry about her constantly. I desperately want to see her.

Koah stops in front of me. “What are you thinking about?”

“My sister.”

“You miss her.”

“Don’t you miss your family? I mean, when you travel like this.”

“I don’t have a family,” he says matter of factly, with no emotion, shutters closing all over the place. “They were killed in an attack.”

I stare at him. “I’m sorry.”

“What happened to Earth?” he asks.

“Centuries of unchecked pollution, then nuclear war, about eighty or so years ago. Megatons of carbon in the air kept the sun’s warmth from reaching the surface. It got dark and cold. The ozone layer thinned and ultraviolet radiation went up. Plants stopped growing. Over half of Earth’s population died either from radiation from the bombs or starvation within a year.”

I pause, while Koah watches and waits.

“Scientists at the time said that radiation would lessen, the ozone layer would repair itself, and plants would be growing again in about fifty years, sustaining life.”

“But without plants, the soil eroded,” he says with sympathy, as if he’s heard similar tales before. “It dried out and the winds on the surface blew it away. Most of the planet turned into desert. Plant life had trouble coming back.”

I nod. “Another two billion people died little by little. I’m lucky that my ancestors found a way to cling to life.” I blink. “I can’t stand the thought of Lily being left all alone to survive.”

A muscle jumps in his jaw. “Did the pirates take your sister too?”

“No. At least not when they took me.

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