Zoo

Chapter 4

FOUR

He rounded the last turn before the ship’s mess hall, spotting Kyra looking at a series of pictures adorning the wall of the foyer. They were galaxies, placed there at Torben’s request. They were as varied as they were beautiful. They were all holographic pictures. The galaxies and nebula moved slowly in each frame, captivating the viewer with the promise of far-off wonders and mysteries. He noticed she was fidgeting. She had her hands on her hips for a brief moment, before chewing on a thumb. Then back on the hips before she seemed to slap her thighs. She sensed someone was looking at her and turned to see the ship’s captain appraising her. Kyra fidgeted some more, shifting her weight from one foot to the other. Torben approached her. “Nice artwork,” she said, instantly regretting how lame that sounded.

“My indulgence. I think they give an otherwise sparse ship a bit of character.” He motioned towards the mess hall, “Shall we?”

She made a slight bow of her head and walked alongside him through the doorway. A few minutes later they were seated in a far corner of the hall, away from most of the other occupants. “So, are you okay with the mission that you are about to undertake?”

Torben looked up from his plate of Makamaka, a local Biflux delicacy. Large cuts of dark meat, drizzled with sauce, served on a bed of red rice. “I think so. Why do you ask?”

“Well, we’re about to travel to a far-off corner of the universe to abduct members of another civilization.”

“Hmm. When you say it like that it does sound kinda bad. To be honest, I knew what the parameters of the mission were, but I got so excited about travelling to that far corner of space that I forgot about the actual task.” He looked at Kyra, who was pushing her food around her oval plate with a fork. “How about you? Are you okay with what we’re about to do?”

“Not totally. But I needed this mission. I needed to put some distance between myself and the wars.”

Torben could see that there was more that could be gleaned from her statement. “I don’t mean to pry, but how so?”

Kyra put down her fork, took a swig from her glass of beer and dabbed her mouth with a towel. “I lost someone. My partner, Relkon. He was a pilot.” She composed herself, trying to remain in control. “He was shot down on the eve of the last battle. His body was never found as he’d crashed down in the tundra.”

Torben nodded sadly. He knew that the tundra of Biflux was a place filled with predators. Even if Relkon had survived the crash, without weapons or rescue he would have lasted less than an hour. “I’m very sorry, Kyra.” He thought about placing his hand over hers, then dismissed the idea. That’s too much too soon. It might spook her, he thought.

Kyra regained her composure as she continued. “So I decided to take on a mission. No, I’m not totally happy about the task in hand, although under the current circumstances I can turn a blind eye to it. Does that sound heartless?”

“No. What if the people of Earth are living a horrible existence themselves? We may be giving some of them a chance of a new start.”

She smiled at him as her face softened. The smile reached her eyes and seemed to transform her already beautiful face. “I like your optimistic outlook, Torben.” She reached across the table and briefly squeezed his hand. The static in that fleeting contact was almost audible.

He smiled back. It also reached his eyes, smoothing out his serious face. “Believe me, I’m not normally that optimistic.”

Members of the crew came and went. The noise around them was enough to keep their conversation private. It also made them lean close to each other as they spoke, which they both seemed to enjoy. They were oblivious to anything or anyone. Kyra told Torben about her childhood, even adding the embarrassing moments that she’d never thought she would share with a relative stranger. She sensed a deepness within him. A sorrow that bubbled under the surface, never quite showing itself. He spoke about his childhood too. She sensed, though, that he omitted certain things from the conversation. Maybe they would come in the fullness of time, she hoped. She was attracted to him. Kyra sensed it was mutual, although her confidence had taken a battering over the last few months. She tried to play it as cool as possible. As plates were taken from them and beer glasses replenished, Kyra became aware that she was under the influence. She needed to be careful. Alcohol had a habit of letting the truth come out. She needed to come up with an excuse to head back to her quarters. The woman glowed inside when she saw a brief flash of disappointment as she tried to wrap up the evening.

“Oh,” said Torben. Shall I walk you back to your quarters?”

“That would be nice,” Kyra said, almost too eagerly. The journey only took a few minutes. They walked in silence for most of the way. Their swaying hands almost touching. Torben could almost feel the static crackle as they swished passed, to and fro. She turned and addressed him as they reached her door. “Thank you for a pleasant evening Torben. It was nice to finally get to meet you properly.”

“Yes, it was,” he said, also a little too quickly. He sensed that he sounded too keen. “I’m sure we’ll bump into each other soon.”

“I hope so.” Damn that beer, she thought. She flushed before extending her hand. He took it, matching her grip, liking the cool firm feel of her skin.

“Goodnight, Kyra,” he said.

“Have a pleasant evening, Torben,” she demurred before turning and entering her cabin. Torben stood there for a moment, lost in his thoughts. He walked back slowly to his cabin, a warm smile on his usually serious face.