There were even elegant black heels to match—Christine hoped she wouldn’t trip in them. She almost never wore heels, since she had no occasion to dress up in her everyday life.
After a quick shower, doing her hair, and slapping on a bit of makeup, which Kat had also thoughtfully provided, Christine thought she looked better than she had in ages. She also felt more confident and hopeful—she was going to go and see Roarn and bring him back to his senses, she told herself. She was going to save him and keep him from being sent to that damn prison planet!
“You look lovely,” Emilia said, smiling at her.
“Those clothes make you look like a whole different woman!” Dr. Liv agreed.
“They look great on you, Doll,” Kat said, nodding. “Now go save your man!”
“Yes, let’s go—I have a shuttle waiting to bring us to the Monstrum Mother Ship,” Emilia told her.
“I’m ready.” Christine nodded. She turned to Dr. Liv and gave her an impulsive hug. “Thank you again for saving me,” she told the other woman. “Thank you for giving me a second chance!”
“I just hope everything works out for you,” Dr. Liv said, hugging her back. “Please let us know.”
“Yes, we have to know the outcome!” Kat added, nodding eagerly.
“I promise,” Christine told them. She hadn’t known any of these women long, and yet she somehow felt as though she’d made three new friends. She felt especially close to Emilia, who took her by the arm and led her down the long silver corridor of the Mother Ship towards the Docking Bay.
Christine marveled at everything as she went. Since she had been unconscious when they brought her aboard, she hadn’t had the chance to see the enormous Kindred Mother Ship before. It was all sleek silver corridors and sliding doors and people walking here and there, clearly intent on their business, though everyone seemed to have a friendly smile if they chanced to make eye contact.
“This is huge,” she remarked, as Emilia led her through the corridors. “Is the Monstrum Mother Ship like this?”
“It is huge—the Kindred Mother Ship is about a quarter of the size of the Moon,” Emilia confirmed. “The Monstrum Mother Ship is about the same size, but it’s considerably different. It’s…wilder, I suppose is the word I would use to describe it. Also, maybe more organic, if that makes any sense.”
“Wilder?” Christine asked, frowning. “What does that mean?”
Emilia gave her a little smile.
“You’ll see. Come on—the Docking Bay is just through here.”
They reached the Docking Bay, a vast open area bigger than an airplane hanger that was filled with rows and rows of sleek, silver ships. In the first row was a ship that stuck out because it had a shiny golden exterior instead.
Standing beside the golden ship was a Monstrum warrior with glossy black fur, gleaming emerald eyes, and feline features. He looked a little like a black panther, Christine thought. Like all Kindred warriors, he was extremely tall and muscular.
“Greetings, Mate of my Commander,” he said, bowing to Emilia. “I am Dakarn—I have been sent by Chief Commander Rarev to bring you to the Monstrum Mother Ship.”
“Thank you, Dakarn.” Emilia nodded. “This is Christine—she’ll be coming with us.”
“So I understand. Please, let me help you both into the shuttle.”
The tall Monstrum warrior opened the side door of the shuttle and gave them both his hand to help them climb into the plush back seat. They settled themselves inside and Christine looked around eagerly. There were windows on the side of the shuttle she noted, which she hoped were greatly reinforced, since they were going to be flying through space. She supposed she’d been in a Kindred shuttle before, coming up here, but of course she couldn’t remember it.
“How far are we going?” she asked Emilia, who was pouring herself a glass of something pink and fizzy from the bar which was located under the window near her elbow.
“Hmm? Oh, only to the orbit of Mars,” Emilia answered carelessly. “That’s where the Monstrum Mother Ship is orbiting right now.”
“Only to Mars!” Christine’s voice came out in a squeak. “That far?”
“Oh, I know it seems far when you’ve never been outside our solar system before,” Emilia told her. “But it’s honestly not far at all in terms of Kindred technology. We won’t even have to fold space to get there.”
Christine didn’t know what she meant by that, but she did know that getting to Mars ought to take months—if not years.
“Won’t it take us too long to get there, though?” she objected.
“It will take only about thirty of your Earth minutes to reach the red planet you humans call ‘Mars’,” their pilot, Dakarn, rumbled from the front seat. “I will engage the hydrogen scoop drive for maximum speed.”
As he spoke, the ship lifted up into the air and flew through the clear ceiling of the Mother Ship’s Docking Bay, which Emilia explained was a permeable oxygen barrier that kept the atmosphere in while allowing ships to land and take off.