Page 109 of Every Almost

So far.

Charlie opened her eyes and stared at the woman in front of her. And then she nodded.

The woman sat up and leaned forward. She placed the device against the skin behind Charlie's ear. Charlie closed her eyes and braced.

Nothing happened.

Charlie opened her eyes. The woman was a foot away, worry etched along her face. Her face clearly showed that she was questioning if Charlie was still okay with this. Charlie realized this woman would not do it without her explicit permission. She understood she wouldn't do it with even a panicked nod or some sort of general consent. She sought purposeful consent, the kind you give when you know what it is you're agreeing to and you're making the choice to choose it anyway.

Surprised, Charlie realized that was all she needed to trust her.

Charlie reached up and touched the woman's chest, right at the collarbone, the same spot from earlier. Then she moved and placed her hand against her own chest, the same spot again. Charlie nodded one last time, smiled, and dropped her hand.

Something crossed the woman's face. Surprise, maybe. Or something gentler than surprise. She nodded at Charlie, her eyes not leaving her.

She raised the device, found the spot, and placed it against Charlie's skin behind her ear.

And pressed the trigger.

A ringing torethrough Charlie's skull. Loud and sharp, vibrating through every bone in her head. Gratefully, the injection itself was painless, but it was as though her brain was reacting to the invasion, throwing up alarms and flashing every warning light it had. She closed her eyes tight, dropped her head into her hands, and started counting.One, two, three.Count and focus on the numbers. Let the train of thought pull you through.

After a few minutes, Charlie began to feel the flood subside and the disorientation ease. Her mind slowed its emergency broadcast and returned to something approaching normal.

Charlie opened her eyes slowly, checking to make sure she could register the incoming light without flinching. After successfully taking in her surroundings, she raised her head gently.

The woman was still there. Right there in front of Charlie, inches away. She was looking directly into Charlie's eyes, worry carved along every line of her face. Charlie nodded gently.I'm fine.

Her gaze tore to the others around the room, realizing everyone was staring at her.

She looked back at the woman and took her in again. The skin and the hair, those gold constellations and the amber eyes.She watched a smile form on the woman's face, slow and sure and steady. And Charlie couldn't help it.

She smiled back.

"Hi."

Charlie's whole body went still.

Emotions welled up inside her that made her feel as though she might cry.

Hi.One syllable. Two letters.

It was easily the most extraordinary ordinary word she had ever heard.

A person, someone she couldn't understand seconds ago, someone she'd never encountered, from a place she couldn't have imagined, was suddenly speaking to her in words she could understand perfectly.

"I... I can understand you," Charlie almost whispered, afraid to break whatever it was causing this magic.

The woman nodded and chuckled softly. "And I can understand you."

Charlie was overwhelmed all over again. This voice, its timbre and warmth, settling into Charlie's chest in a way she didn't expect.

"My name is Reyna Solas," the woman continued. "I'm the captain of this ship you seemed to have crash landed in." Charlie listened as the woman chuckled again and she smiled.

"Captain... Solas?" Charlie asked, ensuring she pronounced the name right. The woman pulled back, one eye closing while the side of her nose scrunched up.

"Mmm... no need for that," she responded. "Call me Reyna." And there it was again, that smile that brought theokay."I'm Kaelari. That's my species. And this," she gestured around the room, "is a ship with quite a few different ones." Charlie looked around again before returning to Reyna's gaze.

"Reyna," Charlie repeated, honored that a Captain of a spaceship wanted Charlie to call her by her first name. "It is really nice to meet you, Reyna."