Ethereal Lives: A Romantic Sci-Fi Novel

Chapter 8

It had been a week since Ariane first arrived on the ship and she had now met everyone and seen everything here. She entered the control room and glanced out the window. All she could see was the same thing as the past few days... stars. Even they had lost their novelty now.

Sighing, she flopped into a nearby chair, a few heads turned her way, but no one spoke. Tapping her fingernails on the arm of the chair she started to make up a tune in her head, before long her foot was tapping too.

Ax's hand landed on top of hers, stopping the noise. "Was there something you wanted?"

"I'm bored."

Ax looked around the room at his men, who simply shrugged. "What do you mean, you're bored?"

"I can't find anything to do."

"You're a woman, can't you cook something?"

A choked gasp that came from Trel was the only sound in the room.

Carefully sliding her hand from beneath Ax's, Ariane got to her feet. "What did you say?"

A cough, which sounded strangely like the word "nothing", seemed to alert Ax to the fact he'd made a big mistake.

He plastered a huge smile on his face. "Why don't you go to your room, and I'll be along shortly with something to keep you entertained."

Ariane narrowed her eyes and studied him. She was sure he had no bloody idea what he was going to bring to her room. Still, it would be interesting to see what he came up with. She forced a smile to her lips. "All right, I'll expect you in a few minutes."

As soon as she exited the control room, the smile fell... cook something? Why did all men assume women could cook? You'd think since aliens were so advanced they would be passed that way of thinking. Hitting the button to open her door with more force than necessary, she stormed into the room and flopped onto the bed. It wasn't long before Ax knocked signalling his arrival.

Sitting up, she shouted for him to enter. He strolled in looking extremely satisfied, and with a flourish, dropped something on her bed.

Ariane stared at the items before her. Carefully picking one up, she turned it over in her hands to confirm it was what it appeared to be.

"You brought me some kind of paper and crayons."

Ax's face boasted the largest grin she had ever seen on him. "I did."

"Why did you bring me crayons?"

"I researched what Earthlings like to do, this is our equivalent." The expression of pride as he spoke made her bite back a laugh.

"Did your research include pictures?"

"It did."

"And were the Earthlings in these pictures children?"

The moment he understood his mistake was plain to see. The smile dropped. "Earthling adults don't like crayons?" he asked with a resigned sigh.

Ariane couldn't stop a giggle from escaping. "We tend to prefer things like computers."

At her comment, a light lit up Ax's eyes. "Hold on." He dashed from the room, returning a moment later clutching a rectangular object, which he promptly held out to her.

Ariane reached forward and carefully took the offered item. To her surprise, she was holding a tablet computer. Elation swept through her. "I can use this?"

"Of course. It's only a PD."

"PD?"

"Personal Database."