Opalina Outpost

Chapter 19: The Truth Below

"Did you miss us?" Aziri swatted the back of Lio's head as he passed with a lunch plate. Lio only smiled in reply, because he was quite sure the answer of, "Could you all please leave for another couple of weeks, months, or years," wouldn't go over well. At the very least, it would require an explanation. Or perhaps he wouldn't have to explain himself because it would be obvious that he wanted Ravi all alone. Teres was already eying him beadily beside the steamer, assessing his good mood. He needed to talk to Ravi about that, because she was sharp enough to figure things out even if he didn't tell her. He wanted to tell her. He wanted to tell the whole crew, and leap around on the mess hall tables singing, and carve Ravi's name all over the deserts the Mastali had walked.

The crew had only been back for half a day, and already Lio missed being able to touch him. It was going to be more difficult than he'd predicted. But undoubtedly worth the wait, however long it was.

"I wish I'd stayed here," Duhar said gloomily, finishing his second bowl of whatever gloppy stew Yorune had conjured on mess hall duty. "Dispensation was boring."

"Agreed." Rosareen sighed. "Never thought I'd say it, but it's more fun being here."

Lio nodded. "So true."

Teres turned from scraping off the rest of the dishes to arch an eyebrow at him. "Really? What exactly did you do that was so fun, Lio?"

Fortunate that he'd already thought of an excellent misdirection. "I made a great discovery." He nodded down the table at Orvaska. "Thanks to Orvaska and Aziri, actually. I realized something about the Mastali text. When it says—"

Jossen stuck his head into the hall and bellowed, "Main entry in ten, we've got a supply delivery coming in!"

Everyone started wolfing down their last bites, piling their dishes and streaming to the door. Lio glared around at them. "What, no one is interested in my discovery?"

"Tell us while we walk." Aziri swooped out into the tunnel, and Lio scrambled after him. Enthusiasm about supply delivery was a first for the Opalina crew. They must have truly missed the place. And really, part of him was glad to see them all, noisy and teasing and jostling each other. If the world were perfect, he could have this forever and kiss his com forever, and he might be the happiest person in all the land.

While hauling fresh supplies up to the storerooms, he told Aziri and Teres about the Amphitheater, with Orvaska listening in. They weren't quite as ecstatic as he anticipated.

"Well," Aziri said, when he pointed that out, "It's exciting to think that the Mastali made it, but why? What'd they do with all that rock? What's the purpose of creating a—"

"Yes, yes, more to be discovered, but come on! We were sitting around on top of something Mastali-made every time we chucked rocks at cans. It's marvelous."

He had to wait until free hours before he could continue his discovery. Three days of inspecting and searching the Amphitheater for fresh clues had turned up nothing. He ought to bring the Mastali alloy wand with him. Maybe it wasn't faulty if used precisely where the Mastali had been.

It took him a moment to remember where he'd squirreled it away. Shoveling through one of the trunks where he kept junk unworthy of his shelves, he realized he hadn't been back to his own room in days. For a moment, he sat back on his heels, eyes closed, head tipped back, submerged in the feeling he'd tried to stave away all day. He missed Ravi. He'd seen him of course, greeting the crew, hiking back and forth with supplies, managing the hectic storage room with unflappable calm, disappearing with Jossen into the muster room to plan. Getting accustomed to watching him be a com again filled Lio with a strange combination of pride and yearning.