Read Adrift (The Sirilians Book 1) for Free Online Page B

What was he going to do? The answer could change the course of the rest of his life.
    “I’ll start by apologizing… and hope that she gives me a second chance.”
    Reus nodded. “Sounds like a good plan. If I were you I’d start practicing that apology now.”
    They sat in companionable silence for a long time. Finally, Reus sighed and stood.
    “My ass is getting numb,” he mumbled.
    Karo chuckled.
    “Hey, not all of us have virtual rooms like yours. The floor probably molds itself to your butt cheeks to minimize pressure points, or something crazy like that.”
    Karo laughed harder at the mental image Reus’s words incited. “Yeah we’d better get to sleep. But make sure you shower first. Even your hologram smells.”
    Reus laughed heartily before his image faded. Karo shut down the exercise room and made his way to the ion-shower in his chambers. He practiced different apologies as the warm mist cleansed his skin, but decided that the best thing he could do was be honest with Aevum. He hoped she would appreciate that more, as opposed to him reciting all of the factual reasons for his defensiveness during dinner.
    He changed into casual clothing and stood in front of his large vid screen. He felt anxious, and took a couple of deep breaths before initializing the communication feed that would record his message.
    Since it was so late in the night, he didn’t want to call her directly and risk waking her up. This way she’d see the message when she woke.
    “Begin recording.” Karo cleared his throat nervously.
    “Good morning Aevum. I want to send you an apology for the way I acted tonight… or… last night, since you’ll be getting this in the morning.” Karo sighed. This was already not going well.
    “I was wrong to dismiss your concerns regarding the Scout missions. I’m hoping that you’ll allow our pairing to continue and agree to go on a Second Meeting with me.” Karo smiled. “I promise to be on better behavior.”
    Karo had every intention of stopping the message at that point, but something dawned on him. He stood shocked for a moment as he realized that what Aevum had argued about him needing companionship was correct.
    After arriving home Karo had had every intention of remaining alone in his rooms, but instead he’d immediately contacted Reus. It had been more than just relieving his anger: Karo had needed his friend in a time of turmoil; had needed to talk about his problems, work it out with another person, and feel the comfort of being close to someone who understood him. He suddenly couldn’t imagine his life without those who supported him.
    Karo looked directly at the screen. “You’re right. I couldn’t handle being alone in space.”
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     

CHAPTER 6
     
    The sound of alarms punctuated the quiet.
    “Not again,” Karo grumbled to himself. He’d just gotten the damn things to shut up. If the environmental system was going haywire again he was tempted to just lock himself inside his stasis unit and say to hell with it all.
    For several days he and LINK had worked on repairing the ship after the unknown aliens had attacked. Nothing could bring back his engines, but at least he wasn’t in any immediate threat of dying anymore.
    Karo swung himself up from where he’d dangled while replacing a conduit. Wiping the grime off of his hands, he hurried to the ship’s main controls, slid into his command chair, and quickly scanned the consoles that surrounded him. The alarm was from navigation. Something had just appeared at a very close proximity.
    What the hell? How did they get past the long-range scanners? Navigation should have alerted him well before anything got this close. He initiated a video feed and was shocked at what he saw: the sensors weren’t mistaken.
    An unfamiliar ship was off his starboard side.
    The cloak was still initiated from his last run-in, but nonetheless he watched the vessel closely. It didn't look anything like the one that had