measures the fluctuations of the gravity field around the Dark Anomaly. It calculated that the engines didn’t have enough power to break free from it after take-off. So, it didn’t even launch.”
“Is that what the error message meant?”
Not enough power...
It’d flashed on the screen as I desperately tried to escape Nocc’s clutches the day of our arrival.
Svetlana rested her hand on my shoulder. “The capsule’s system saved your life, Nadia. If it took off, you would’ve crashed and possibly died.”
“So, the escape capsule can never be our escape?”
“I’m afraid not.”
My heart dropped as our last hope disappeared. Was I destined to spend my life here, on the Dark Anomaly? The thought chilled me with dread. My carefully planned future had disappeared into the dark fog of fear and uncertainty.
Wyck came up silently and enclosed me in a tight embrace.
I cried into his chest, and he made sweet love to me that night. He masterfully used everything he’d learned about my body. Each tender touch of his soothed the pain a little, as if he tried to prove that not everything about being stranded on the Dark Anomaly was horrible.
In that, he was right. Wyck coming into my life had turned out to be the best thing that had ever happened to me. He was my safe place, the one bright ray of light that pierced through the dark, scary gloom of the future.
As calm as our life on the ship had been in the past week, the rest of the Dark Anomaly was far from stable. From the brief conversations between Vrateus and Wyck, I’d gathered that the situation outside of our sanctuary was heating up.
Although the captain had been able to control the outbreaks of mutiny so far, the crew hadn’t forgotten or forgiven my sudden disappearance, and they blamed Wyck for it. Their hostility had spread to include the captain and Svetlana, too.
Living in the confinement of the ship might not be the best. However, there was no safer place for me anywhere else. The times I’d been forced to spend with the crew were still giving me nightmares. For now, I was happy to remain behind locked doors.
“WELL, I BETTER GO.” Svetlana took the last long drink of her tea after we’d finished lunch. “Are you sure you’re okay doing the dishes?”
“Yes.” I got up to take our empty lunch plates over to the cleaning unit. “It’s not like I have much else to do around here.”
“I’ll try to finish early in the kitchen today.” She followed me, carrying her mug to the unit. “You and I can cook something fun for dinner tonight. The crew sure loves their stew. Their tastes don’t leave me much room for experimenting.”
“I’d love that. Let’s do a dessert, too. I’ve been craving a cake—a simple vanilla cake. Can we come up with something like that? Even if it ends up looking tar-black?”
“I guarantee it will turn out looking black.” She laughed. “The bark flour is black, remember?”
She smoothed the long skirt of the red-and-gray dress she wore over a pair of pants. I’d noticed she always wore several layers of clothing when leaving the ship. The captain kept the air temperature mildly warm on the Dark Anomaly for the comfort of the majority of the species here. Svetlana didn’t dress in layers to keep warm, I suspected, but to add any extra barrier in case of an attack.
I liked the colorful dresses she wore but decided to stick with my suit for the time being—its material was nearly impossible to tear. My clothes’ most important value to me was in how difficult they’d be to rip off me—a sad and scary fact.
Svetlana walked over to the main control panel in the front of the ship. She turned on the screen with the feed from the camera mounted in the corridor over the entrance to our ship.
“Is Wyck there?” I asked.
“Nope. Not yet.”
It was unusual for Wyck to be late for picking up Svetlana to escort her to the kitchen each afternoon. Vrateus maintained a strict schedule, running our daily routine like clockwork. Wyck barely had time to give me a long kiss before rushing off when picking her up every day.
“Why would he be late?”
I tried not to worry. Things happened; people got delayed. Except that the things that happened in this place were never good.
“And there he is!” Svetlana pointed at the screen then hurried to the door. “Since he’s late, make your kiss quick this time,” she said