Chance of Stardust

Stardust (ch 11)

He’d kissed her. Cassie fought the urge to rub her lips together, to remember the taste of him. Yes, she was aware of him as a very male, very beautiful creature, but they were different species for goodness sake. His fascination with her hair, while obvious, was hardly a reason to believe he was attracted.


He walked behind her toward the mess hall, his footfalls silent but his presence a constant rub against her senses. A part of her wanted to peek at him and see if he was watching her, but she forced her eyes to the floor.


He’d kissed her. Heat edged through her making her more aware of the man behind her than her own steps. She’d never been kissed like that before. Intense. Overwhelming. Hungry.


A tug on her braid pulled her to a halt a few yards from the mess hall door. She could hear the others inside and the soft murmur of conversation. Revelin’s breath on her ear filled her awareness until she couldn’t hear anything of the conversation ahead, only feel the heat of him as he moved closer to her back.


“If you keep spilling your scent into the air,” he murmured, “there will be bloodshed at the dinner table.”


Embarrassment heated her cheeks but the warmth that moved through her veins only ratcheted up a notch.


“You can—” she began and then covered her face with a groan. “Oh, God. Why did you have to kiss me?”


“I was curious. So were you.”


He might as well have slapped her.


“Curious?” She spun to glare up at him. “You kissed me because you were curious?”


His brow furrowed. “As were you. Now there will be no more nonsense to come between us working together.”


She wasn’t going to grace that bit of male stupidity with an answer. She jerked her hair out of his grip and stomped into the mess hall. Four pairs of eyes jerked to her and the hirrient rose. She ignored them, taking her place at the table which put Kyall between her and the arrogant, clueless male that followed her, still looking perplexed. He didn’t think she was pretty or desirable. He’d kissed her because he was curious. Let’s kiss the proscribed little alien and see if it’s any different from the women I normally kiss. There had to be a large number of them, she reasoned. His kiss was too devastating to be unpracticed and, with his looks, he would have lines of women wanting a piece of him.


Everyone sat, the hirrient sharing odd looks as the food went around. Cassie passed on the first few plates, her appetite nil. Revelin shifted at his place at the head of the table, irritation edging across his face as he watched her. Cassie shot him a glare but slapped a small scoop of the bland, white stuff on her plate. He shook his head but began eating.


Ari and Kyall shared a look and then bowed their heads over their plates. Leiv nudged a food tray closer to her, his eyes never leaving his own plate. She wasn’t interested in more food. She didn’t want what she had. She poked at the dab of food on her plate. The few bites she managed sat like rocks in her stomach.


One more day. One more day and she would be free. All she had to do was find an engine part. Okay, so it was a rare and high tech part, but that should narrow the search.


Llyr finished his food and slid from his seat. “I’m going to bed.”


He patted her shoulder and gave her a smile as he passed her. The small kindness lightened her heart and she wrapped him in a one armed hug. He shuffled off with a soft laugh.


Her smile faded as he left and she poked the blob on her plate her again.


“You’re angry.”


Four hirrent rose in a rush and left. Ari took his plate with him, still shoveling food into his mouth, leaving her alone with Revelin. Cassie tossed her utensils aside.


“Very observant.” She rubbed at her face and rested her elbows on the table. “Just for the record, I’m not talking to you.”


“You just spoke.”


“I’m being polite. Next time, I’ll just hit you with this tray Leiv left me.”


It occurred to her belatedly that Leiv had put the tray within her reach for just that purpose. The hirrient must have known she was angry and at who. It explained the mass exodus.


“Why are you angry?” Frustration crept into his voice. “Our curiosity is satisfied and now the matter can be forgotten.”


She shoved to her feet. “It’s a wonder you’ve ever been kissed if this is the way you talk to women, you jerk.”


“Honesty is not appreciated?”


“No woman wants to hear she’s a curiosity and easily forgotten.”


He rose, blocking her path to the door and escape. “We both wondered about it, Cassie. Admit it. And it would be wiser if we put the matter behind us and focus on our goal. Nothing can come of such curiosity.”


“Wiser. Yeah. Right.” She looked away, her throat tight. Damn him, he was getting her worked up again. “Just leave me alone, Revelin.”


“Cassie.” Kyall poked his head in. “The signal is back.”





She sat in the seat, staring at the screen Kyall called up. Well, damn. The owner of the smart phone had apparently not noticed the tampering after all but had simply been updating their device. She pushed the screen and the view slid aside, revealing another page. Over a thousand photos of various people in restaurants and on beaches filled the photos folder. Apps in a vast variety sprawled across four separate screens. This wasn’t someone who worried overly about their data usage. It made stealing some of that data easier. A little. Cassie sighed and called up a search engine. She would deal with her conscience later. This was her freedom on the line.


Parts. Aviation. Power conduits. Metal power conductors. She tried everything she could think of. Pages of hits scrolled past, offering images and links, but nothing that looked remotely like the crossover piece Kyall had shown her. An ache blossomed at the base of her neck. She rubbed at it, frowning as she sat back. This wasn’t going as well as she’d hoped.


“It would have to be something to do with flying,” she muttered to herself. “Concept plane or shuttle, maybe. Back off, Ari.”


The hirrient straightened from where he leaned over her shoulder. His soft huff of disgruntlement made her want to smile, but this was too important to waste time laughing at Ari.


“Let me see. NASA. Aeronautical parts. Space travel.”


It was a long shot and returned a list of bestselling science fiction novels and an even longer list of video games. She scanned through them, spirits sagging along with her hopes. 


“What’s that” Kyall reached over her shoulder to tap the screen. An image popped up and Cassie straightened.


“Kyall, you may just be a genius.” She called up the link and began to scroll through the details. “Or not. This is a military controlled area, a boneyard for their out-of-service planes. The security on the place would be impossible to get through.”


But the link gave her an idea. There were other places less controlled with that sort of technology. While they wouldn’t list all the parts of all the planes for her to peruse, they would be easier to get into and search physically.


“How good are you guys at breaking and entering?” she wondered aloud.