Free Aurora Saga 2 Immortality for Life by Adrian Fulcher

as you interact with people.’
    ‘Yes, that’s true. You’d be dead now if I wasn’t here.’
    ‘Ah... Good point!’ he replied. ‘Maybe it’s fortunate that you’re here.’
    Kalrea smiled, before asking, ‘How was the steam shower?’
    ‘So that’s what you call it. Unusual, I’d say. For a moment I thought I was going to be blown into space or something.’
    ‘The clothes suit you,’ Kalrea commented.
    Zoren almost jumped from his skin when a drone, the same as he had seen in the accommodation space, appeared from behind the metallic slab in the centre of the room. He noticed Kalrea looking slightly amused.
    ‘What is that thing?’
    ‘Meet a micnorit nuronic construction drone,’ Kalrea said. ‘They do everything that is necessary for the maintenance of the Aurora . You could say they’re my arms and legs. This body,’ Kalrea said, touching her belly, ‘isn’t designed to do that. There are hundreds of these drones onboard. Don’t worry about them. They’ll keep out of your way.’
    Zoren watched the drone as it entered the Pojin lift.
    ‘I’ve learnt so much in the last few hours to last a lifetime. All this technology! I’m totally amazed, Kalrea.’
    He ran his hand over the metallic slab in the centre of the room. ‘This looks very much like a seatra. It’s the same shape as the one in my room, even if it’s a bit larger.’
    ‘You’re right, it is a seatra. This one can hold up to two people inside in suspended animation. The Qinant pilot would have used it to control the ship and talk to me mentally.’
    ‘So are Qinants telepathic?’
    ‘No. This seatra and a device called a telementor were developed specifically to enable the telepathic connection. Unfortunately your mind is too different to a Qinant’s, so if you used it, it would result in permanent brain damage.’
    ‘Can I see inside?’
    ‘No, you cannot!’ Kalrea said very sternly.
    Woe! She seems very touchy over this seatra. Why would she not want to open it unless… I wonder if there’s someone inside.
    Zoren gulped and then asked quietly,
    ‘Is there someone in it?’
    Kalrea glared at him. He felt very uneasy.
    I don’t think she wants to answer that.
    There was an uneasy moment of silence.
    I’d better try and change the subject.
    ‘Where... where are the Glonvi? They don’t appear to be here anymore.’
    Kalrea replied, but her bland voice indicated that she was still a little upset. ‘I’ve constructed a large enclosure for them. It’s in one of the many small maintenance rooms that lead off the cargo bay. They will be happy enough in there for now until we can find a new home for them.’
    Zoren still felt a little uneasy. ‘Good,’ he said. ‘Er… They’re quite cute little creatures, aren’t they?’
    ‘I suppose you could call them cute. The female’s pregnant.’
    ‘Really!’
    ‘Yes. They’re the only two remaining Glonvi in this galaxy and you saved them.’
    Zoren felt very humble. ‘Well at least I did something right. I mean saving the Glonvi. I just hope Sabri and the others are fine. My wife’s pregnant as well.’
    ‘Yes, I know. She’s going to have a boy.’
    ‘A boy! But how do you know it’s a boy? We told Doc Korye not to tell us, so it would be a surprise when it was born.’
    ‘Oh! In that case, sorry I told you.’
    ‘How...?’
    ‘Like I said, Zoren, I know every creature, every person that was onboard the Polnozoo.’
    Zoren had a tear in his eye. ‘I’m going to have a son.’
    Kalrea’s expression changed and she seemed concerned. ‘I’ve lost the ion-trail,’ she remarked.
    ‘What do you mean? I thought you could track it,’ Zoren said, moving towards the monitor. He could feel the Aurora decelerating hard.
    ‘We’re now entering the Qinf star system. There are so many ion-trails here that the one we’re following has been completely masked by them. There must be at least three hundred in this area alone.’
    ‘Where did they go