I look out across the field to the debris still scattered in a trail behind his ship, the blood of my omenotau kill leading to the dark spot behind the ramp. But there’s nothing left. Either Elixused everything, or the other omenotau came back and cleaned it up.
Elix pulls us up onto a landing and sneaks back into the cracks in the rock. We weave through the tunnel into slightly warmer air. Before long, the ice turns to dripping water, and a pale blue light paints the rocky walls.
We enter a cavern filled with radiant creatures hanging from ferns and vines in the ceiling. Pools of vibrant blue water freckle the inside.
“All the shelves cut into the mountain used to be families’ nests,” Elix sets me down and takes my hand. “I remember this one when I was very young. We came here to trade pelts and meat for alternative foods.”
He breaks off an icicle from the ceiling and hands it to me. “That algae is the most critical nutrient. Savor that.”
I look at the dark green chunk of ice and wonder if he’s serious.
Elix nods and points to it, then breaks one off for himself. He sucks on it as we make our way deeper into the cavern. “It’s mostly empty now, after raids and salvage missions. I came here looking for answers when I was younger, made it my mission between missions to clean up, send the dead back to the planet, and protect any remaining tech.”
I finally get up the courage to put the icicle in my mouth. It doesn’t taste as grassy as I expect. It’s surprisingly sweet with a smoky, almost meaty, undertone.
Ahead of us is a set of doors that seem out of place. Elix sets a hand on one, and it unlocks for him. “Everything security-related on our planet is DNA coded. I’m sure you noticed that on my ship. If it doesn’t detect Lazariot DNA, it won’t permit anyone inside.”
I look up at the guns that swivel to point at us. “But I’m not your species, yet the cabinets are opening for me.”
He leans back and nips at my ear. “You have my DNA all over you now.”
I bite a lip. “Inside, too.”
Elix strokes my back as he leans over a railing and peers down. “This was a military engineering lab where they designed weapons for ships like mine.”
“How did you acquire the Scintilla?” I ask.
“Found it on a mission with the Sol Federation recon team. It didn’t respond to anyone but me. It had been infiltrated, and everyone on board was killed. But since I was the only one who could fly or operate it, I was reassigned. Terran commanders gave me a chance to be independently contracted so they could get me to do off-the-books missions. That’s how I got started and found the courage to come home, find all of this, and build what I have now.”
“Elix, MONA. Do you copy?”
Elix lifts his wristband but doesn’t let go of my hand. “I copy. Report.”
“Aurelius is approaching.”
“Understood.”
Elix motions for me to climb onto his back again. “Never get to stay as long as I want to anymore.”
“Do you ever think you’ll be able to revive your people’s ways?” I ask, sensing his sadness.
“I don’t know.”
Elix weaves us through the tunnel back out to the snow as I suck on the last of my icicle. “Ready?”
I crunch down on the ice. “For what?”
A shiny silver starship about the size of Elix’s sets down in the debris trail, purple engines crackling with green electric arcs, distracting me.
He grins and jumps.
My stomach greets my throat, and my shout in disorientation gets strangled.
We fall through the brisk wind and plummet into a snow bank. Elix lifts me up and helps me climb out of the hole, all the while laughing hysterically.
“You’re insane!” I sit atop the snowy field while he climbs his way out.
When he pokes his head above the surface again, he looks so happy that I can’t be angry with him. “Used to do that as a kid. Saw some other younglings doing it. My mother was so mad when she found out.”
