Starfish

Thirty-Five

By late morning the storm had lightened to a steady rain – still technically a downpour but at least it wasn't raining sideways anymore. It had been what the local Dreen called a "mild hurricane", with sustained winds of 'only' seventy miles an hour and gusts approaching ninety. But the university and its attached facilities were built to withstand the weather, and the locals were accustomed to the seasonal tantrums. After breakfast Nina asked, "Mind if I use your terminal for a bit? My tablet needs to charge."

Ardus shook his head, collecting the dishes. "Not at all, can I help you find something?"

"Nah, I had an idea that might help Boda, but I want to see if I can get a connection to the Fed hub first. If I can link back to my alma mater's library with my credentials I can look up what I need, but if I can't I'll have to make a request via the Fed's channels. It shouldn't take long."

"An idea that might help, eh?" Ardus rinsed his cup. "What might that be?"

"Nothing yet. I'm not really even sure what I'm looking for, but I feel like I'll know it when I see it."

With a shrug Ardus returned to the plates. When they were washed and drying on the rack, he found that Nina had stacked some manuals in his office chair and was browsing through a catalog of documents written in a language he couldn't read, and therefore couldn't snoop over her shoulder. Still, the sight of her propped up in his chair amused him and Ardus found reasons to pass by the open door so he could watch her swing her legs and on occasion stand on the chair in order to reach the far keys or peer closely at the screen. Every so often she would scribble something on a notepad with intense concentration, her bottom lip pinched in her teeth. On one of these trips to peek at her Ardus discovered that he was missing a text from his personal library. "I must have left it in my office," he said.

Nina shifted on the tall chair. "You can go if you need to, I don't need looking after."

Ardus nodded. He knew that, but after Major Birch's appearances the previous day he didn't feel completely secure in letting her out of his sight. Stop it, she is not going anywhere. Neither O'Connell nor Yang had reported any symptoms like Boda's or any of the other affected Dreen, and Athe had reported that Boda was in stable condition. As long as the port situation did not escalate, Ardus believed he had no reason to worry that the Federation would appear and snatch his starfish while he was out. "I will only be a short while, perhaps an hour. I will send a message when I reach my office."

"Ardus," Nina set down her mug, "I'll be fine. No one can get in that door unless they have your key code or a rocket launcher, and I won't let anyone in unless I know who they are. If Birch shows up I'll pretend I'm not here. He can come back when he has a Federation warrant and five friends. Go! I'm a big girl, I can handle an hour by myself." She gave him one of her beautiful smiles, all flashing white teeth and adorable dimples, and the ice-cold worry in Ardus's chest began to warm. 

He shook his head, "What am I going to do with you?"

"Come back with that book and we'll find out," Nina said, dimples deepening.

He stepped out into the rain, catching a runnel of cold water down the back of his tunic as he turned to close the door behind him. He squinted into the rain, peering across the apartment complex's lawn looking for humans. He saw none, and snorted at his irrational worry. But the hard, heavy ball of tension that had formed in his belly when Nina first mentioned the evacuation dragged at him like a diving belt weighted with huge stones. The black kelp he'd drank for breakfast left an astringent taste in his mouth and upset his stomach. I should not have eaten, he chided himself, but then I would feel even worse.

The rain pelted him with large, fat cold drops splatting against his face, bursting against his nictitating membranes, vaguely salty from the sea and smelling of wet sand. The occasional gust of wind pushed at him as he walked along the edge of the embankment, no stronger than the average beach blow, and as he passed a certain arrangement of boulders he thought back on the day he'd sent Nina out to gather shells. He looked for the spot where he'd watched her come out of the water, her blue suit painted wetly on her skin and her long hair dripping. Even then he'd been utterly fascinated by her body, well aware that his interest went beyond academic. He smiled, remembering that day on the beach as well as a more recent one and a much smaller bathing suit. Of the two, the pink one was his favorite. Though if I had my choice, she would swim naked as I do.