Adrift (The Sirilians Book 1) by Krizek Nicole

Author:Krizek, Nicole [Krizek, Nicole]
Language: eng
Format: azw3, epub
Published: 2016-06-24T04:00:00+00:00

*****

They worked solidly for a few hours, and only stopped when Deian forced them to.

“I think my teams have enough to keep them busy for a few weeks!” he exclaimed. “We’ve earned a break.”

They decided to head to lunch. As they walked towards the exit of the quarantine bay, Karo looked back and noticed that his security entourage wasn’t shadowing him.

“Lukas cleared you,” Deian explained. “We trust you to be on good behavior.”

“I absolutely will,” he promised. There was no way he was going to mess up the relationship he was forging with the Arathians. “It’s going to be nice not having security following me, but now I won’t have anyone to ask for directions when I get lost.”

Deian stopped in the middle of the hallway and looked at Karo disbelievingly. “Did you just make a joke?”

“I did.”

Deian’s face lit up. “Yes! I knew I was rubbing off on you!” He patted Karo’s back as they continued.

Noise reached them long before they stepped through the doors. The Dining Hall rang with the sound of voices, as if the entire ship was inside the room. Karo slowed his steps, overwhelmed by the noise and the thought of the crowd of people.

Deian sensed his discomfort. “You okay?”

“It’s been a long time since I’ve been in a room with that many people… all at once.”

Deian’s expression turned empathetic. “We can eat somewhere quieter if you’d like. I don’t want to make you uncomfortable.”

Karo appreciated the gesture, but he knew that he needed to push through his anxiety. He was no longer isolated on his ship; he was amid a race of friendly, welcoming aliens, and could almost hear someone’s voice telling him to experience their culture. Karo wasn’t sure if it was a memory or not, but it didn’t matter. Wherever it came from, it was good advice, and he was going to follow it.

“No, I’d like to eat here,” he replied with determination.

Deian looked at him for a moment, probably gauging his body language. But he must have been convinced that Karo wasn’t going to have a psychological breakdown, because he patted him on the back and they walked into the Dining Hall side by side.

They didn’t stay that way for long.

The facility was packed to capacity with crew members of varying races and genders. They all sat together at long tables, eating and enjoying the companionship of one another. Karo followed behind Deian as he veered towards his mates.

Lukas sat backwards on a bench talking to a man at an adjacent table, while Jayda was laughing along with people sitting across from her. Once they arrived, each stood to kiss Deian, then moved aside so that he and Karo could join them. Karo sat next to Jayda, who immediately introduced him to everyone within hearing range.

“This is Karincin Abishek of Siril. Karo, these are some members of the ship’s crew.”

Karo inclined his head. “Hello. It is an honor to be onboard your ship.”

The words had barely left his mouth before he was inundated with hellos and welcomes.

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