DEADLY REFUGE (The Alorian Wars Book 2) by Drew Avera

Author:Drew Avera [Avera, Drew]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2016-12-21T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter Fifteen: Malikea

Quiet fell over the crew of the Replicade as the thrusters ignited to slow their descent. Pera was the port Brendle had chosen, mainly for the ship’s repair availability, but as Malikea looked at the view of the city from the monitor on the bridge, he realized how large of a city Pera actually was. He always pictured Farax as a dusty rock in the middle of nowhere; that civilization was nothing more than nomadic herds of refugees from other worlds. What he saw was anything but what he had imagined.

Deis took his hand, but it took several seconds for Malikea to notice. His heart began to race as he realized he would have to go out into Pera with a case of weapons and fragile hope of selling them without being killed. The thing that made it worse was how it reminded him of that other place, the last city he had visited before his abduction and imprisonment. He held his breath, not wanting his fear to be heard over the soft rumble of the ship landing. Weeks’ worth of anxiety flooded into his mind, and he knew it stemmed from the horrors of the other world that he never seemed capable of fleeing. He tried to forget, refusing to even mutter its name, but no amount of denial kept him from the seemingly constant reminder of what he had been through.

“Are you all right?” Anki asked, placing her hand on Malikea’s shoulder. It was a gentle touch, but frightening as it pulled him from his thoughts.

He paused a moment, swallowing hard before answering, “Yes, it’s just been a long time since I’ve seen such a large cityscape. I did not expect it here on Farax.” He cut her a smile in hopes of allaying her concern for him. It seemed to work.

“Yeah, I was expecting something much more industrial without the larger buildings,” she said, removing her hand from his shoulder. “The shipyards on Luthia were nothing more than enormous cranes and pillars. The buildings were smaller since most of the work was accomplished on board the fleet of ships. I imagine some of these buildings are taller than the ones in our capital.” She didn’t seem to insinuate that those buildings were no longer in existence; she just stopped talking altogether and watched the monitor as the ship lowered to the ground.

Malikea felt relieved until Deis cut an awkward glance towards him. This sort of thing has been going on for days, he thought. Please stop trying to read me. Malikea felt guilty for his growing bitterness towards Deis. He loved the man dearly, but his guilt was gnawing at him in a way that affected how he looked at other people. It shouldn’t be this way. He forced a smile, trying to disarm his lover’s concern, but it did not work.

The Replicade touched down, the gentle drop settling on hydraulic landing gear displacing the heft of the warship, causing it to land posed like a leaping insect.

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