Muses of Terra (Codex Antonius Book 2) by Rob Steiner

Author:Rob Steiner [Steiner, Rob]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Quarkfolio Books
Published: 2014-09-01T22:00:00+00:00

25

Ocella lay on the gel bed staring at the opening to the endless corridor. No sound came from the corridor. No sound came from anything in the room besides Kaeso’s breathing beside her and the occasional stomach growls from them all. The opening had not closed since the Lucia-golem entered.

Its body still lay on the floor where Kaeso had beaten it to death hours ago.

Had it been hours? Days, weeks, months? She had no idea, and she was at the point where she didn’t care.

Apathy was dangerous and led to defeat, yet how could she not feel defeated right now? Libertus was dead, Kaeso was as non-responsive as a way liner who had stayed conscious during a jump, and she was stuck inside an alien prison with a corridor outside that went to infinity in both directions. She knew the corridor simply went in a circle around the vast ship, but even that logical explanation held no reassurance.

Right now, she felt like they were going to die of old age in this room.

Even Varo lay on the gel bed next to her, staring up at the ceiling with glazed eyes. He had not spoken in… She couldn’t remember.

Hours, days, weeks, months?

She couldn’t even feel a hum or vibration from the ship’s engines. They could be deep beneath the surface of a rocky planet for all she knew. The wall display above showed unchanging stars. The blue lights in the room and the corridor never changed.

But it was the complete silence that attacked her sanity.

She looked down at the remains of the Lucia golem. Its face and head were a pulpy mash of yellow fluids and biological circuitry similar to the innards of human-made golems. Was this more tech that came from the Muses?

Had humans ever made anything on their own?

Her growling stomach broke the silence, and she giggled. She glanced at Kaeso and Varo. Neither one looked at her.

“Come on, gentlemen,” she said, her voice sounding shrill even to her ears. “Let’s play a game. Let’s see whose stomach can growl the loudest. I just went first. Who’s next?”

Varo rolled onto his side, his back to her. “No thanks,” he murmured.

Kaeso only stared at the display.

“Fine, how about a flatulence contest?” When neither man responded, she said, “Belching?”

She shook her head. “I’m stuck in a room with the only two human males not interested in flatulence or belching. Are you men or what?”

Without turning around, Varo growled, “How about you shut your mouth?”

“Excuse me, pilot?” Ocella said slowly. “Watch how you address your centuriae.”

Varo sat up and faced her. “Sorry, Centuriae. How about you shut your mouth, Centuriae, sir, madam, my Lady? Is that better?”

Ocella stood. “Calm down, Varo. You’re losing your grip.”

He laughed. “You’re the one suggesting fart competitions, Centuriae. Who’s losing her grip, Centuriae?”

She knew Varo was right. Her juvenile suggestions proved it. And picking a fight with Varo wouldn’t help their situation. But she just wanted to feel something other than apathy.

Ocella strode to Varo, who stood up from his gel bed with his fists balled at his sides.

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