Alpha Centauri

Forty-Two - Nathan

We're all silent as we hike back to camp. Julian has scooped up Jaden. She rests in his arms with a scowl hardened onto her face.

I wanted to see the humor in her words, but there was none. I don't want to guess what happened out here. I just walk along beside Nizami with my hands thrust in my pockets in silence. I'm saving my voice, because I have a shit ton of explaining to do.

Proxima Centauri is just beginning to sink. I squint and scan the camp for help. I'm relieved and almost excited when I see Hermes jogging up to us.

"Thank the bloody stars you found her," Hermes says as he catches his breath.

"Yeah, but Raev's gone," I say in a glum voice, but something worse than glum is stirring inside of me.

"So is one of our only space pods," Hermes says. "What happened back there?"

All of us turn to Jaden. She just clenches her jaw and says, "I need my prosthetic."

I take this as some kind of compromise—give her a leg, and she'll tell us what the hell happened.

"Fair enough," Hermes sighs. "Just got a message from the Roc. You two... Julian and Nizami, right? Take Jaden to the big tent, and Nathan and I will fetch her a leg." He nods toward the camp's largest tent.

Julian and Nizami give him a firm nod and start towards the tent, and Hermes leads me in the opposite direction. I follow Hermes as closely as he dare, feeling excitement and nervousness rise inside my chest. Hermes.

We enter a tent on the edge of camp and start down the winding metal stairs into the Undercamp, as the Proximians call it—where they keep the infirmary, where they hide and store their massive Warbird, where all their research is performed. The two of us stick shoulder to shoulder as we descend below the desert ground and into the cold, mechanized, metal below.

"You all right, mate?" Hermes suddenly asks.

It takes all that I have not to throw my hands in the air squeal "AUSTRALIAN!" Hermes weird subtle but definite (and cute) accent has been driving me crazy since I met him. His first use of 'mate' was what tipped me off.

I try desperately to avoid his brown eyes. Hermes is almost looking down on me with a concerned, painfully cute expression on his face. "Yeah," I reply bluntly, staring at his distorted reflection on the smooth walls. Hermes seems to stick to me like my reflection.

"You don't look like it," Hermes says. Australian. Wow, that's hot.

"Hermes, I've been wondering..." I stare back at him. I want to get off this subject. "What's with your accent?"

Hermes raises an eyebrow. "My accent, eh? I think you're the only one who's mentioned anything about it."

"Raev and I were wondering..." I feel myself smiling shyly. "If you're a Proximian, why do you have one of Earth's accents?"

"I was born there. A small group of us settled there for research while the Proximians stayed on Earth." Hermes scratches the back of his head. "Suppose it kinda stuck."

"Well, I like it," I say before he can stop myself.

Hermes laughs. "Thanks. And your American accent is cute."

I feel my cheeks heating up as we enter the infirmary. "Thanks, man, but Americans aren't the ones with the accents."

"Now..." Hermes says, rubbing his perfect square chin. "Where was Jaden's room?"

I stare down the ward's hallway and realize that all of the doors look exactly the same. "I can't remember." I glance at Hermes, and as much as it hurts me to say it, I say, "We should split up."