What happens in the Drift, stays in the Drift.

Art featuring the characters of myself (Rak, Orange) and  Koviell (Will, Green), who paid for this commission by the wonderful  SajoPhoe.

I also wrote a short story to accompany it.

---

It was called a Limbicate.

Fighting for our lives against Time Eaters, our ship frozen in the Drift, all of us struggling to kill the things before it could come. I could see Niruali hit by one of them, their movements visibly slowing, enough to cause brief moments of panic as we focused fire on the one that hit them, only for them to recover immediately upon the Time Eater's death.

I remembered as the last one fell, Ves's calm, yet insistent urging that we get back in, the ship rocketing off as the stored momentum was unbound. The pilot in me could only really think of the possibilities of such a thing, just a few moments of stillness, followed by what was easily the fastest momentum I'd ever experienced out in the Vast, the soldier in me was glad the things were dead.

I'd seen Will and Niru both struggling to regain their composure, Niru had the worst of it, so I helped them stay standing, and that's when I felt it. An overwhelming wave of grief and sorrow, a long lost echo of someone lost and afraid, unable to go home.

It was Will's mind that broadcast it, maybe he wanted us to know what he'd sensed, maybe he didn't want to be alone with the knowledge. Maybe he simply couldn't keep it contained. All I knew was he was hurting.

He was the one who sensed it first, and in the Vast, in the Drift, unknown things could be anything from someone needing help, or dust and echoes slowly grinding to nothingness. It was Ves who detected the Time Eaters, though we didn't know it at the time. They were just life signs, something unknown, we were faced with the choice of either continuing on to our destination, to Amran, or checking it out.

Even on our time off, we were sticking our noses into trouble.

I walked over to Will, hugging him. The emotion I'd been subject to was intense, deeper than even my loneliest of homesickness. I needed one, and considering how he put his arms around me, I was certain he needed it too.

Will was a private person, didn't ask for much, didn't bother anyone else with his problems. I cared about him, because I was much the same. He wouldn't say the words he needed to, so I said them for him. “I don't think I want to be alone right now.”

He nodded, and within moments we were in his room.

We sat in silence, like many other times that I'd managed to be alone with him, I couldn't figure out what to do next. Words always failed to come out, and I was afraid of just... opening myself to him, saying what was on my mind.

“Y'know, I wouldn't mind you talking with me with your mind.” Will looked at me, brow ridge raised. “I mean, it might help block out the stuff out there, I hope. Y'know, kind of like how a buoy words in a lake, you can use it to orient yourself and hang on.”

The words came out without any real thought behind them, a desperate attempt at filling the silence. I was afraid I said the wrong thing, that I'd angered him, or made myself look like a fool again.

“Don't worry.” He said, “I am able to pause my mental communication, it will likely somehow put my mind at ease, at least for a while.” He paused, patting my shoulder and grabbing it firmly in solidarity. “When I'm ready, I'll see how I reconnect.”

“I reckon if you're okay with that...” I trailed off.

“This vacation was meant to be my time to 'disconnect' regardless, to show that I'm still a man who can enjoy things, and not just a strong-willed telepath.”

I nodded. “I understand.” I said. Did I? Probably not. About the best I had was being the runt of the clutch, unable to really keep up with my platoon during training, I learned to use small arms for my fighting out of necessity. I wondered, briefly, it Will was put-off by my still keeping my guns on me.

“I just don't really know all that much about this stuff.” I admitted, the words coming free without any real effort on my part. “And I figured it would help.” I paused, looking at him. “And at the risk of sounding rude or inconsiderate, I think you're a great guy who's also a telepath, not one thing or another, not ignoring anything. Just the whole picture.”

I knew how much it could hurt, having people ignoring something, only ever focusing on the positive. I was strong, yes, but it was all lean muscle, only really good for being quick, nimble. I couldn't charge into an enemy group with a Doshko, screaming my head off or dedicating my next conquest to Damoritosh, not like the others at the base dreamed of doing.

I just hoped Will didn't take it the wrong way, that I was trivializing his experiences.

“I don't expect you to understand.” He said stoically. “It's very esoteric, and outside the reach of the common folk. It's my burden to bear.”

Silence settled in the space between echoes, and for a long while, I was afraid that I'd offended him. I was about to apologize, when he said, “It doesn't sound rude to me at all.” I was surprised, and tried not to wonder if he'd read my mind, to trust that I really was that easy to read. “Typically, people are more afraid that I would pry into their mind all the time. It doesn't work that way, and it's not exactly subtle either if I want useful info.”

I nodded. “For what it's worth, I'm not afraid. At least, I'm not anymore. I probably haven't handled it all the best, but...” But what? “Well, I am trying and...” I paused, what exactly was I trying to say? What did I want to convey to show him that I trusted him?

“It's common to be afraid of the unknown, it's an innate self-preservation ability of some sort, and only a few would ever understand what it is.” Will rattled off, like he'd said this many times before, like he was used to justifying the fears of others. “And it's not like if I would try to fry your brain if you upset me. I'm not like that.” He met my gaze. “I'm not going to inflict such pain on a good friend of mine.”

“But that's not what I'm trying to say...” I said dejectedly. Will was getting the absolute worst impression of my thoughts, part of me took this as proof that he wasn't reading my mind, and part of me hated myself for thinking this way. “And I guess the problem is, I don't really know what I want to say. It's not like they train you how to process basic emotions at training- only to bury and suppress them so you can kill your enemy before they kill you.”

Will patted my shoulder again. “It's okay, emotions are irrational. Don't overthink it, you would end up frying your own brain without the need for outside assistance.” He chuckled, I managed a small smile. “They're there to remind you that you're still someone inside.”

I nodded. “I reckon you're right, I just wish I knew how to express them in a way that made sense.”

Will hugged me, it wasn't like before, where we were both terrified men having just faced a life-or-death situation. It was tight, warm, and when he pulled away, I just... leaned up against him, not wanting to lose that connection, my head on his shoulder, and soon, his resting on mine.

“I do need some rest.” Will said after a few minutes. “If you still don't want to be alone, there isn't that much space on my bed, but...”

“I'd love to.”

Will nodded. He went to the adjacent bathroom, paused at the door, and then said, “We can share the shower, if that's okay with you.”

I nodded. We both stripped naked, and though the shower was only really meant for one person, I didn't mind. This was the first time I'd seen him naked, properly naked, I could not help but appreciate his muscles, the lovely sheen of the water against his scales. “I'll get your back, if you get mine.” He said.

I was firm, yet gentle, as I rasped the brush against his back, and he did the same for me. It wasn't like the quick and rough scrub down I was used to, unlike the communal showers at the base, where the only focus was getting as clean as quickly as we could. It was slow, intimate, deliberate.

“Done.” He said. I turned around, our eyes met, and as the warm water from the shower cascaded over us, I reached over, pulling myself closer as I craned my neck upward, as he lowered his head, and our lips touched.

I don't know how long we stood like that, our arms tight around each other's bodies, him pushing against me, me pulling him closer, eyes closed. All I know was that when we finally parted, my heart was thundering like a mortar bombardment on a test planet. Will turned off the water, and he gently led me out of it, where we both dried each other off. Taking me by the hand, we stepped out and he pulled me into his bed. I was on top, my body weighing on his, and as much as I dreamed of us enjoying a solid rut together, the circumstances of the past few hours had simply sapped any particular desire I had for that.

I laid my head against his chest, and he wrapped his arms around me, and for perhaps such a short few hours, we at least had one another. I smiled as I gently drifted to sleep.