| |
I stand at the window, staring into space, literally into space! I might not trust Akiyra and her motives, but I have to be thankful to her for making one of my dreams come true.
“Roberd?” Akiyra calls, making me jump.
Spinning around I look into the rest of the common area where the other guys are either reclining on the couches or in Tobis’ case leaning against one, his legs crossed. “Sorry. The stars are mesmerizing. What did I miss?”
Akiyra laughs, “I thought you might like a tour. This is the common area, as you probably figured out. The kitchen is yours to make use of, though we will need more supplies when we land on Zanthia.” She starts to walk towards the kitchen and pushes a button on the wall that has a door sliding open. “In here is the fitness center, feel free to use it.”
I walk into the large room, that is easily the same size as the common area. Two of the four walls are windows, giving an unobstructed view of the vastness of space. She has weights, a bike, and a few other pieces of equipment, all facing the windows. But it is the two large boxes, one on either of the main walls that has me curious.
“What is that?” I ask, pointing at the box in front of us. It stands about seven feet tall and is made of an opaque material. Akiyra grins, walking towards it.
“This is my favorite way to exercise.” She looks us over, then picks me out. “Strip down to your skivvies.”
I back away, “Uh, no!”
“Oh, come on! You wanted to know what it is, well I will show you. You can get in dressed, but I am not sure you will appreciate it as much.”
I look at her, not knowing what game she is playing. Slowly I strip my shirt off but decide I am not ready for a show. If she really means all this about that part of our life being over, then she won’t push me.
She shrugs her shoulders and then pushes an indented button on the end of the box. The sound of a seal releasing precipitates a door opening on the end closest to us. I look in to see a small space, just large enough for a person to stand in.
“Get in!” Akiyra says, pushing me towards the door.
I don’t want to ruin my reputation, so I enter the small space. She pulls a small round disc from the wall and attaches it to my chest, right over my heart. Then she pushes a few buttons on the side of the compartment and smiles.
“Have fun. When you are done, just push the disc on your chest and the box will do the rest.” She steps back out of the box, pushing one last button. As soon as her arm is out of the doorway, it slides shut, locking me in.
“Hey!” I yell, pounding on the wall as water starts to fill the compartment. Panicking I start to hit the door harder. By now the water is at my waist, panic filling me that Akiyra is trying to drown me. A puff of warm air hitting my back has me turning around. The wall that had been there before is now missing. The outer walls and ceiling are holographic images of a beach. The water even has an ebb flow to it, just like the real thing.
My pants cling to me, weighing me down. But the water doesn’t go higher than my chest. I stretch out and roll onto my back. It feels as if the sun's rays are beating down on me.
It isn’t until a crisp, upper-crust voice speaks that I realize how long I have been in the water. Looking down at my fingers I see that they are more wrinkled and pruned than the oldest person I have met in my life. “Roberd, Akyra would like to show you the rest of the ship. Please return to the entrance.”
The walls return to the opaque material as I make my way back the few feet to the entrance, the wall slides up out of the floor as the water is sucked out of the small compartment. A sudden wind whips through the small space, drying my skin and almost drying my pants. When it stops, the door opens to Akiyra smiling at me.
“Have fun?” She asks.
“That was bubbly! I have never heard of one of these before.”
“It is one of my guilty pleasures. Sadly, we can’t use it for the whole flight. Later I will show you the hydroponics where we clean the water supply. But there is only so much cleaning we can do before it becomes waste.”
I look around and notice the guys are missing. “Hey, where are the guys?” While in the pool I had completely forgotten about them.
Akiyra walks over to the other cube and points to a pile of clothes.
“You vaporized them?” I say, horror in my voice.
Her laugh makes my cheeks burn. “No silly! They had to take their clothes off for this. It is my favorite way to relax, well besides stargazing and swimming. But this time, for the love of light orbs, take your pants off.”
I watch as she pulls her shirt up, revealing white skin and perfectly toned abs. She whips her shirt off, looking at me with a raised eyebrow. My cheeks heat again as I quickly follow her example and strip down to my skivvies. She pushes a recessed button and a door slides open on the box. A wave of heat and steam hits us in the face, and then she is gone.
“Akiyra?” I say, hesitant to enter this place.
“Get in here, you big baby!” Sawyr yells.
Stepping into the steam, a sigh escapes me. It soothes muscles I hadn’t even realized were tight. Between the pool and this, I could think I was in heaven. Opening my eyes, I can barely see the guys and Akiyra sprawled on benches around the room.
“What is this?” I ask.
“An old earth device that someone I once knew created. I was able to use it once and fell in love with it, so when I designed the ship, I made it so I could have one. He called it a hummhum. I call it heaven.”
“But how is the steam made?” I look around, trying to figure out where I hear the slight sizzle coming from. Finally, I notice a small box near the door where it appears the steam is coming from, which is confirmed as a small droplet of water hits the box, releasing steam
“This box is filled with wood chips from Rinkichi. It is a small planet that specials in wood production. I picked this wood because it handles moisture well and smells so sweet. Along the ceiling a pipe has water running through it, a small pump keeps the water flowing and has a valve to add more water if the pressure becomes to low. The water drips onto the heated box, causing steam.” She says, pride in her voice.
“This is amazing. I never thought that space travel would be so. . . grand.”
“Not all are. But this is my home and I could make it what I wanted. We best get out of here. Too much steam isn’t good for you and the others have been here for a while. Plus I want to show you the bridge and your rooms.”
I try not to stare as she stands to leave the hummhum, but no red blooded male alive would not be able to stare at her perfectly molded body.
Tobis slaps me upside the head and hisses “Stop being a Littlie. Mind yourself!”