Bright Shards (The Vardeshi Saga Book 2) by Meg Pechenick
Author:Meg Pechenick [Pechenick, Meg]
Language: eng
Format: mobi, epub
Publisher: Ink Sigil Press
Published: 2019-07-31T16:00:00+00:00
CHAPTER TWELVE
Elteni Starhaven had all the imposing darkness of Arkhati and none of its grandeur. It was the first large-scale starhaven the Vardeshi had built, and its architects had prioritized function at the expense of form. At my first glimpse of the narrow corridors with their murky green underlighting, I recoiled in visceral distaste. My impression of the place declined from there. I was separated from my crewmates almost instantly, ushered away with both minimal fuss and minimal explanation by anonymous figures in sinister black hazard suits that covered them from head to toe. Their features were obscured behind opaque face shields, which was unsettling enough on its own, yet somehow less troubling than their hands. I’d grown accustomed to the fact that Vardeshi fingers were longer than human, and it had never bothered me before. Now, though, I found myself staring at those slender black-gloved fingers, unpleasantly evocative of a score of low-budget horror movies. Well, shit, I thought, reaching for humor to fend off the fear. I think I’ve been abducted by aliens.
By the end of that day, I had both a fairly clear idea of what Reyna had meant by “rigorous” and a newfound respect for her power of understatement. My duffel bag and flexscreen had been confiscated. I had been asked to strip off my uniform and undergarments, wash myself thoroughly with astringent-smelling blue soap in water that went beyond lukewarm into outright chilly, dry myself, wash a second time, and finally dress in a flimsy beige jumpsuit. I had then sat, shivering slightly, in a small gray room for an hour before I was cleared to advance to the next stage of processing. I had done all this in apparent solitude, following the commands of a disembodied voice issuing from somewhere in the ceiling. The man giving the instructions spoke quickly and with a regional accent I didn’t recognize. The accent, added to my rising anxiety, had led repeatedly to confusion on my part, and I knew I must appear slow-witted to whoever was watching me. And there was no doubt in my mind that I was being watched.
Now I found myself sitting opposite two figures wearing the black hazard suits I’d seen earlier. The man on the left had spoken for both of them, introducing himself as Specialist Irnik, Elteni’s resident expert on human anatomy, and the woman beside him as Specialist Anash, the starhaven’s supervising doctor. His had been the voice giving me instructions before. My skin crawled at the thought that he’d been watching while I stripped and showered.
“You appear to be trembling,” he observed after the introductions had been made. “Are you ill?”
“No, just cold. Could I possibly have my duffel bag back? I have warmer clothes in there.” Also underwear, but I saw no need to draw attention to that particular omission.
“I’m afraid your belongings are still being processed.”
I squinted at the opaque face shield. “Is there any way for me to see your faces? This feels a little impersonal.”
“Of course,” said the woman, her tone as cool as her companion’s.
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