Starfall

Chapter 7 - Elyse

There's something off with Ben. And I can't for the life of me figure out what it is about him that rubs me the wrong way. Even after exchanging awkward introductions, he looks at us like he's known us this whole time.

I keep an eye on him as we prep the Atlas for takeoff. While Leola messes with the helm mechanics, Kamal explains the importance of airflow valves to Ben. Our new crew member nods and listens respectfully, taking in the information and hopefully storing it.

We've never had an addition to the crew like this. It's always been us three, nothing more, nothing less. That's it. There's nothing more to it.

Until this guy.

I watch as his lips move around his words, shaping his voice into an easy-going, loose flow. My brow flickers in some form of concern. He seems too . . . fake. But not necessarily to the point where he's just straight-out phony. It's as if he's strung between two states of mind; like he wants to impress us, and like he just isn't sure about himself. It's a contradicting combination, and it makes me slightly uncomfortable.

"Check this out," Leola calls to me from the helm. I'm only on the dock, so I have to scale the steep ramp into the ship itself, where the spacious room wraps in a spherical turn to the helm at the front. The glass shield arcs way up over our heads and meets the back wall that's connected to the cabin, which is also connected to the ramp entrance. The ship's design looks simple, but really, a lot of engineering must have gone into its framework in order for it to be fast, roomy, and compact at the same time. Really, it's half the size of the Millashu, but I don't mind it.

"What's up?" I ask Leola as I come up to the helm beside her. From up here, I can see practically the entire hangar, what with the wraparound glass shield that makes up half the ship.

She steps aside and gestures for me to take the wheel. "It not only controls our movement on the lateral, but the vertical as well."

I test out this theory by messing with the movement of the wheel. I'm able to, like she said, turn it as well as slide it up and down—which means we can control a lot more of the ship with less work. On the Millashu, we had to manually adjust the sails to get it to glide up or down. It was an awful amount of work, especially for a crew of three, so this is much more desirable.

After leaning to the side to watch the sails adjust as I move the wheel side to side and up and down, my gaze catches a separate knob near the helm.

"What's that for?" I ask, gesturing to the knob.

Leola shrugs. "Dunno. Never seen one before." Then she chuckles. "But I guess I've never seen a helm that can function on two separate axes. So what do I know at this point?"

I mess around with the mystery knob, sliding it back and forth in its designated slot. I even watch the sails for any sign of a change, but I don't spot anything.

"Captain," calls Ben's still unfamiliar voice from the bottom of the ramp. I turn and meet his sparkling eyes as he comes up with Kamal. "I've learned all there is to be taught about airflow valves!" Despite the odd context of this exclamation, his tone is laced with optimism and charisma. Still, it rubs me the wrong way.

"Trust me," I tell him, "there's always more to learn."

He laughs something light and airy. But even so, I catch something heavy and taut trapped behind his voice. I squint at him as he passes, outlining the creases of experience that line his eyes. He must see me looking, because when he turns and finds my gaze, he sends back some kind of thoughtful look. It catches me off guard, and I blink away.

He's young, maybe just a year or two younger than me, but by the look in his eyes and the things hidden behind his voice, he's not inexperienced. In fact, he looks a little overexperienced. And in the place buried deep within the safety of my ribcage, I recognize that I know what that feels like. Now I just wonder if I'm right.