I am about to explore further when Leelee’s stomach gurgles audibly, bringing our kiss to an abrupt halt. I immediately pull back, the sweet taste of her lips still lingering on my tongue.
A blush blooms on Leelee’s cheeks as she presses a hand against her stomach to muffle its noise. “Um, we missed dinner last night. I’m hungry,” she admits with a chuckle.
I grin at her. “I am hungry as well.”
“You should be. You worked pretty hard last night. I imagine you worked up quite an appetite,” Leelee teases, her cheeks becoming even pinker at her bold words. “You want to help me make some breakfast?”
“Absolutely.”
I follow Leelee to her cooking station and assist her as she makes ‘breakfast’. She acts as if it is simple fare – and perhaps it is on this planet – but for me, it is the greatest of cuisine.
As I eat, I focus inward, commanding my nanites to communicate with my vessel. My ship’s computer instantly responds, giving me a report of the locations of telrinite.
Leelee must see the stunned look on my face because she asks, “Is everything okay?”
I shake my head as if to dispense my confusion. “My ship’s sensors are reporting that there is telrinite in the immediate vicinity. I’m shocked that there is a source of telrinite so close to our location. It might even be enough to finish the repairs I need to complete.”
Telrinite is relatively rare in my solar system, found only in a few locations. Perhaps it is more abundant on this planet. If that is true, then it is imperative that my people never find out. They would gut this planet, leaving nothing but a smoking husk to get their hands on the metal. I knew that this planet had at least some traces of the mineral based on the information I pulled from my initial scan when I first arrived.
“That’s great news. What a relief,” Leelee says with a smile that doesn’t quite meet her eyes.
I nod at Leelee’s words, trying to muster up the enthusiasm I know I should feel at the news of finding telrinite nearby. However, I’m having trouble faking an emotion I don’t feel, so I hide my expression by taking a large bite of my sandwich. A small, noisy part of my psyche would love an excuse to be forced to stay here with Leelee. My logic tells me what a terrible idea that is, but it is nevertheless very appealing.
“We should look for it once we finish eating.”
I push away my plate which only has crumbs left. “I am done eating.”
CHAPTER 39
Lily
Our footsteps crunch on the narrow gravel path leading from the cabin’s back door to the garage.
As I follow behind Ravok, I watch him. He moves with an almost predatory grace, loose-limbed, yet looking like he is only a moment from exploding into action. With his dark metallic skin, he looks like a sexy battle droid that’s come back from the future. Who knew that I’d be so very into that?
Ravok’s head is practically on a swivel as he monitors our surroundings. It seems wholly unnecessary but I’m also not gonna lie – it’s nice that he’s so serious about keeping me safe.
Ravok cracks the door to the garage open, checking to make sure the space is empty before holding the door open for me. As I turn on the lights inside, Ravok checks around the ship. Once he is satisfied with his inspection, I follow him into the dark interior of his vessel. I pause near his cryo-chamber as he heads toward the cockpit. I pause, not wanting to get in the way.
Suddenly, his graphite-skinned hand captures mine, gently tugging me forward. Without a word, he guides me to sit next to him. He tucks me close to his side on the bench-like seat. I watch silently as his hands skim over the strange console, his touch light and quick.
Ravok taps various sequences into the panels, digits of glowing alien text flickering to life across the display. My eyes widen when a 3D hologram shows a majestic view of Earth from space. On the map are glowing pinpoints, reminding me of a map my roommate in college had, marking with pushpins all the places she’d visited.
Ravok navigates the spinning globe with precision, zooming in on the distinctive outline of the New England coastline. My breath gets caught in my throat as the map further zeroes in on our isolated neck of the woods.
Ravok does a double take before his deep voice breaks the silence. “The telrinite alloy is somehow located inside your home, Leelee.”
In bewilderment, I stare at the zoomed-in image of the cabin, which has a glowing dot marking what I think is the bedroom.
“That’s… I mean… I guess that’s good news. It’s just weird, right?”
“Not necessarily. This planet has more telrinite than my initial scans indicated.” His voice is hesitant, but he squeezes my hand reassuringly when he sees my concerned look. “Let me grab my scanner and let’s see if we can find the alloy.”
We step out of the ship together and Ravok grabs the long-handled scanning device he’d left sitting on a workbench the night before. He turns in a circle, waving the wand back and forth while concentrating on the small screen built into the handle. When Ravok stops moving, the wand is pointed back towards the cabin.
He looks up from the device and meets my eyes. I already know the answer, but I ask, “It’s in the cabin?”
“Yes, my scanner confirms the ship’s findings. Follow me, and let’s see if we can locate the telrinite, Leelee,” he murmurs, his luminous eyes turning back to the tracking tool.
I trail after him, giving him plenty of room as we leave the garage. Ravok strides back into the cabin with an air of silent determination. The device pulses and hums in his hand as he waves it around the living room. I keep expecting it to start beeping like a Geiger counter, but it stays silent other than a low steady hum.
The machine guides us, the screen pulsing with alien script as he approaches the bedroom. Ravok walks around the bed that is still covered in crumpled blankets and sheets that speak to what we were up to last night. He finally stops beside a small bedside table. Upon it, a nondescript bag sits. Inside is the gift pendant I’d picked up a few days ago from the craft fair.
I can’t stifle my surprise when Ravok’s machine starts to glow fervently as he hovers it over the bag. Inside the paper bag sits the necklace with the obsidian pendant I bought from the Malachite Maid for Aunt Zizi. He looks up from the scanner as if asking for permission to look into the bag.
I round the bed and join Ravok at the nightstand. Pulling a piece of thin tissue paper out of the bag, we peer inside. At first, I only see the small burgundy velvet pouch that holds Aunt Zizi’s necklace.
I empty the bag onto my palm and display it for Ravok. He waves his wand over the necklace. When he consults the scanner’s screen, he shakes his head at me. I’m about to question him if his scanner is wrong when I remember the gift the stall owner gave me. When the lady gave it to me, I barely gave it a second thought. I think it was like a small lump of silver or something similar.
I turn back to the paper bag and dig through it. My fingers close around a small, hard lump. Opening my hand, I show Ravok what I’ve got. It looks like a lump of raw silver, small but shiny, gleaming even in the dim room. I’d forgotten it was in there, to be honest.
“Is… is this telrinite?” I ask, feeling a strange sense of unreality creeping in. Ravok looks confident that he knows the answer to my question but runs the wand over the rock anyway. The display lights up so quickly that it makes his face glow ghostly in the light.
“Yes, it is telrinite. How did you come to own some?” he asks after a moment of silent scrutiny of the metal.
“I… I got it in town. I told you about the festival they’re having, right? I found this lady selling pretty rocks and jewelry, so I purchased a necklace for my aunt. The woman gave me this bit of metal as a gift. How weird is that? She gave me something we desperately needed before we knew we would need it. Before I even met you. Totally for free. Then you crash, almost in my backyard, and now the exact thing we need to fix your ship, I just happened to get for free just a few days ago. Doesn’t that seem weird to you? It’s so random.”