Before it departed Earth, Eakran was sure to disinfect the inside of his home, or ship, to be sure that no unknown passengers hitched a ride to the IP headquarters. Many of the germs and microscopic organisms of Earth can be deadly to foreign life if they are allowed to grow and spread undetected because foreign life doesn’t have the benefit of natural defenses against them as humans do. Eakran had a healthy collection of secured samples that he intended to give to the IP for study.
Disinfecting the ship was a simple procedure. Druinte ships are outfitted with technology capable of doing this work, but it meant that the crew of the ship was confined inside during the three-day procedure before take off.
Eakran was in the ship’s command center activating the protocols, and Darker was reviewing the notes that Eakran had prepared for him as an introduction to the basics of navigating a ship in hyper-speed. Darker was in a swiveling office chair, hunched over the flat portion of the command panel and he gently moved his knees in a semi-circle; the rhythm helped him to memorize the words that he had been reading and rereading since Eakran finished the improvised manual. He was happy that Darker was taking the assignment so seriously, even though Eakran could easily handle the incredibly intuitive navigation systems on his own. The entire crew had been very studious since preparations were finalized for their trip and Eakran was happy that he could give them all the very unique experience of leaving their homeworld. He felt that he owed them all something for the man he had been, who had impacted the lives of each member of his crew in negative ways and he hoped this trip would allow them all to become friends, maybe even a family, which Eakran had never truly known in all of his existence. He would take them to the IP command ship and then to his home planet of Druont, and they could return to Earth in a couple years. Eakran believed that it would all go smoothly and they would be back in no time.
“The decontamination will start when I flip the last switch,” Eakran said to Darker when he was finished engaging the system. “Is everyone inside?”
“I think so. Giovanni was supposed to meet us when he was back, though, so maybe he’s not back yet.”
“I thought he had already finished clearing out the basement.” Eakran said as he sat next to Darker.
“He’s just grabbing some stuff he couldn’t fit into his car on the last trip. He said it wasn’t much, or I would have gone with him.”
Eakran shrugged, then changed the subject. “At what point do you engage the engines?”
“Trick question,” Darker smiled proudly. “The engines are always engaged, they’re the power source of the cloaking mechanisms. The thrusters work in tandem with the engine to breach Earth’s atmosphere, and we go hyper-speed once we reach clear space.”
“Very good,” Eakran said proudly. “You’re ready for this? Excited about our voyage. It should be the trip of a lifetime.”
Darker’s smile melted to confusion. “Thomas, I’m here for Maria. You know that.”
“You can’t mean that. You’re living your second life and you will see more than you could have ever imagined. You must be excited for this.”
Darker shook his head. “You know what I was excited for? The chance to be honest with you.”
Eakran looked away and shook his head.
“You pretend like I didn’t kiss you, like I didn’t tell you how much I care for you, but I did. It’s fine you don’t feel the same way, but ignoring it doesn’t make it like it never happened. It happened. I was rejected. It was the best thing too, because we can be friends, if that’s what we choose. I want that. I want to save you from Maria, but I need a reason.”
“She’s not going to kill me,” Darker said, “we are bonded as a family! She only thinks she has to kill me to avenge things, but I have a plan to make things right. And we will all see it through together as a crew. We need a name.”
“You’re doing it again. You don’t have feelings for me like I have for you. Say it.”
“Why? Why do we have to do this? We’ve found a peace together without talking about it.”
“Because when I’m with you like this, I see it Thomas. I see why I want to be with you. We are good together. Tell me why we’re not. Otherwise I don’t understand you, and I can’t be your advocate to Maria who will kill you because you underestimate her resolve. She is on a ship to your homeworld after all, and that’s what she’s always wanted.”
Eakran shook his head. “I’m not a man, James, I am Druinte, and not the strange social type either. You can’t understand what that means and you can’t love what you don’t know.”
“So talk, let’s be the friends we always pretended to be.”
Giovanni entered as the two sat silently. Eakran was ready to tell Darker all about his life on Druont in the Hall for Orphans where all Druintes are raised, and about his work in adulthood before arriving on Earth, and he would as soon as they were blasted off and safely on their journey.
“I made it back in time, right?” Giovanni asked. “I didn’t mess up anything by coming inside?”
“I’m sure the doctor thinks you’re right on time G-money,” Darker said.
Eakran turned to the panel wall behind him and saw that the decontamination indicators were waiting for his final authorization before the ship sealed completely. He stood and flipped a switch.
“We’ll be in space in three days,” he said smiling at Darker who had no emotions on his face.
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