Chapter 5

5

T he incoming personal deliveries arrived, and many of the workers lined up to pick up packages from their homeworlds that they ordered.

Karuk stayed back.

He had nothing coming. He doubted he’d ever see anything from his homeworld again.

At least not as a care package.

Still, he watched as others received their things, observing the materials. Part of his habit to always know what was coming in and going out, from his previous life.

He stayed away from everyone, as much as he could, anyway. He interacted with as few humanoids as possible. He needed no one around him, only the basic nutrients and protection from the vacuum of space.

He was better that way.

He took a bite of the mush they were serving. It had no flavor, and the texture made him angry. He grimaced while eating. What he wouldn't give for a proper piece of Darvian Grazing Beast. Thick, hearty, burned by a fire?—

"No one cares about you?" Cher asked as she and Bardon walked by, digging through their packages they had received.

Karuk swallowed the mushy, nutrient meal and met her gaze. "No.”

"Not surprised," she replied and continued on her way.

"Come on, let's go make this food up," Bardon said. "Much better than the gruel they're serving today.”

"Absolutely," Cher said, smiling as they headed back to the private apartments. The two of them carried a private relationship that granted them a lot of time alone. No one else on the team minded.

Karuk didn’t care. If they were together, then they were away from him.

Karuk normally ate alone in his room, but today, he ate in the main hall where everyone was.

Watching.

Though why, he wasn't sure, just an impulse that he needed to be where he could see the others.

So far, there was nothing new to see here. Just workers getting their meals, those with packages going through them. A buzz of conversation filled the air as many socialized. A general sense of camaraderie seemed to permeate the sterile silver and white room.

Occasionally, some looked his direction, but it was merely for a moment, before they looked away. His other team members, Resko and Girrick, had their own table with another group of workers.

Like him, most of the workers on the station migrated from location to location, working on projects throughout the galaxy and moving on to another project in another place.

He wasn’t the only one who didn’t socialize. There were a few others he saw who kept their distances from others. They weren’t friends, but they all seemed to have a mutual agreement of distance, unless working. Some faces he recognized from previous jobs, but very few.

They were a long way away from the Galactic Alliance’s borders.

The unusual assignment gathered those who didn’t want to be noticed, or paid that much attention to.

Exactly why Karuk chose it.

Far away from the past. From his mistakes.

A chance to start again, to begin life anew. No longer the King's Assassin. A top position in the King's Guard, Karuk did what the king ordered without question or remorse. For many years, he did exactly what his king ordered, with no hesitation. A position that required relentless discipline.

Karuk thought he was strong enough to do the job.

He was not.

A failure in his king's eyes, he would die for questioning the king's orders. The King's Guard would hunt him down until they killed him.

For a while, Karuk had considered letting them. Finding purpose after the incident had been a challenge, and it seemed it was a wasted choice. Another would have fulfilled the order without hesitation.

And his moment of rebellion would be the death of him.

Though every day he lived outside of the king’s reach was another day that he proved his point.

Blindly following a king was just as dangerous as questioning one. His being alive would make a much bigger impact than his death. If they caught him and killed him, he would be forgotten.

If he were alive somewhere? Then they would remember him.

So he fled, if only to keep the importance of his choice alive with the people.

That’s what he told himself while eating the mushy gruel.

That his choice meant something more than just disobeying orders.

He forced a few more bites down just to finish it. He stood to take his used utensils back for sanitation, and as he placed them down, a commotion drew his attention.

“And this is the cafeteria,” came the booming voice of a Charro. His green tail flicked from side to side as he spoke.

Karuk immediately recognized the Charro—it was Erzo, the partner of the Earthling, Polly, that started this project here. She was in step with him, holding his hand as they walked in.

Occasionally, they were seen together at the station. He’d never interacted with either of them, but he knew their importance, as well as those that followed them through the cafeteria.

More of the Earth beings. Built like the humanoids from the Terran Empire, they didn’t seem like much.

At least, until their emotions hit Karuk.

The wave of conflicting emotions, so big and bold, it overwhelmed him for a second, and he had to steady himself on the wall. They were both excited and terrified. As his gaze ran over each one, he could sense the whirling emotions, even with the chip behind his ear dampening the influx.

He’ll have to adjust his settings to block their intensity.

Still, these Earth people were like an explosion of emotion, bigger than?—

“What is this? I don’t like it! Stay back,” came a telepathic voice in the back of his head.

Karuk blinked. Where did that come from?

He looked around, and saw the one female, her dark hair pulled away from her face, and she carried a box with holes in it.

A paw came out of the box.

Karuk stared. “ You’re telepathic?” He started toward the female and her box.

The group that was following the Charro walked through the room, swerving around the tables. Karuk adjusted his path so he could reach out and feel the telepathy again.

It had been a very long time since he'd felt such strong direct telepathy. He wanted to know who could do that. No one had mentioned anyone from this Earth planet was telepathic.

The closer he got, the stronger the emotions got. Fierce irritation mixed with fear. And curiosity.

It contradicted everything and was very raw. Primal, almost.

Who were these Earth beings?

The group continued through the cafeteria, the Charro talking about the features, like no one knew what a food prep unit was.

Maybe they didn’t.

Karuk weaved around the tables to get the most direct route to them.

As he approached, several turned to look at him. A couple moved away.

The female with the box turned her head and looked at him.

Her dark eyes met his, and he stopped.

“You? What are you doing? Get away!”

She stood still and adjusted her grip on the box. “Yes?”

“Get away!”

A hiss escaped the box, as well as a paw.

“Shh, Mister Fluffikins! Be nice. We don’t know what his intentions are.”

“Males bad! They’re all bad!”

Hiss! Hiss!

The paw darted out again.

Karuk raised his eyebrow, staring at the box for a moment, before meeting her eyes again.

Was the voice coming from the box?

And what in the stars was a Mister Fluffikins?

The female pulled the box closer to her body and looked at the creature in the box. “Be nice,” she whispered, then looked back at him with her intriguing dark eyes. “Mister Fluffikins is not a fan of strangers.”

Karuk blinked. “Males, in particular, it seems.”

This made her blink twice. “Uh, sure.” She took a step toward him. “I’m Jenny. From Earth.” She held out her hand.

What did that mean?

She froze for a second. “Right, you probably don’t shake hands.”

Karuk held up his hand and shook it in the air. “This?” It seemed a strange way to greet someone.

“No, like this,” She said, and turned to one other. “Brooklyn?”

The other female, Brooklyn, held out her hand. “Hi, nice to meet you,” she said, loudly and exaggeratedly.

Jenny clenched her hand, and they raised and lowered their hands together. “Nice to meet you too,” she said, again, overly necessarily.

Well, Karuk was understanding why they were looking for mates. These beings seemed to be odd, to say the least.

“That’s a hand shake,” Jenny said, and she let go of Brooklyn’s hand.

“It’s what we do on Earth,” Brooklyn added. She patted her chest. “I’m Brooklyn.”

Karuk nodded. “I am Karuk—” he almost added more to his name, like his old delegation, but he stopped himself. “Karuk.”

“A pleasure,” Brooklyn said.

The Charro came over to them. “Nice to see some interaction, but for now, we do have to get the Earthlings settled.”

Karuk glanced at him. “Earthlings?”

“That’s what they call themselves,” Erzo said. “I’m sure you all will see each other around. Ladies, however, we need to be moving along.”

“Right, of course,” Brooklyn said.

“Yes, well, yes,” Jenny said, and adjusted her carrier with her little creature in it.

It almost slipped out of her hand.

Karuk reached out, catching the box before it hit the ground, and held it out to her.

“Oh, thank you!” Jenny said. “I appreciate that.”

“At least someone cares if I fall ,” snarled the little creature inside.

Karuk glanced at the box, seeing the fur through the holes. “A feisty one, you have there.”

She nodded. “Mister Fluffikins certainly has plenty of attitude from time to time. He’s just ready to get out of his box.”

“Then you should release him soon. Let him run free.”

“I will, as soon as we get settled.”

She smiled at him.

Karuk stared at her, enchanted by the smile.

Those eyes.

He felt a stirring inside that he hadn’t felt in a very long time.

She waved as she walked along with the rest of the Earth people.