The Way It Is

well shit!

Three days have passed since we landed—three days of nothing. The search drones covered most of the ground outside the buildings in the first two days. We even used them to go through a lot of the buildings.

We only have a few rooms that need double-checking.

"Another day of nothing. Looks like tomorrow we hit the dirt, Zea."

Ufrik is eager to get out of the ship and roam this dusty shit hole. I don't feel the same. He already went out for a bit today while I used the drone remotely and said he scoped out all the possible entries to the underground tunnels. He eventually picked one he could easily break into. We will see.

Myself, I feel I have already had my fair share of outside time on this planet. I am not exactly thrilled at the idea of leaving this luxurious ship just yet.

Yet, at least we can most likely return each night, enjoy a good meal, have a wash in the sanitizer and sleep on a real bed. That is something.

"Oh, joy. Not sure I can contain myself." I roll my eyes dramatically.

Snorting at my apparent lack of excitement, Ufrik scolds my negative attitude.

"Just think, the faster we find the Human, the faster you get to leave this planet."

He gives me a deadpan look. However, his eyes sparkle with a boyish mischief. This has me dreading the verbal diarrhea that is about to spill from his lips next as he continues, "We have already covered over a third of the area with the search drones. You should be grateful Zea. Without my amazing planning, you would have been out there, all hot, sweaty, and covered in dirt already, for three days."

I feel like smacking his smirk right off his disgustingly charming face.

"I mean, if I were the kind of guy who counted favours, I would say you owe me three days' worth. But luckily, your overwhelming gratitude is payment enough."

He is barely holding in his cackle. Deadpan expression long gone.

Ugghh. I groan out loud, turning away before I do smack him.

However, I will admit he is extremely efficient and thorough in his planning. I can't confidently say I would have covered this much ground in three days without him. Unfortunately, his boasting isn't unfounded.

Ugghhh. Realizing this, I groan louder.

Rubbing my hands over my face, I prop my elbows on the table in the lounge, leaving my face squished upwards in my hands as I hunch forward.

"You're an ass, Ufrik."

"And one fine ass, at that."

I crack an eye open through my fingers. Yup, he is grinning his, I know you want me, grin. His gold eyes glitter knowingly as he waggles his eyebrows at me. He thoroughly enjoys provoking me.

I am desperately trying not to find him amusing. I feel the corners of my mouth twitch despite my annoyance.

I think I finally have him figured out. His extreme arrogance, or cockiness, is more or less his defence when he feels insecure or nervous. His bullshit is a cover for severe low self-esteem. I think. He could just be an asshole.

It took me until the end of day two before I caught on, though. He kept jumping from being sincere to being overly cocky and annoying. It had made my head hurt.

Letting out a heavy sigh, I stand up, purposely ignoring him. Just like the problem kid in the classroom, best not to encourage him.

I put my supper tray in the recycler. Right before I enter my room, I turn back to him, making sure to catch his eye. He may like to play things off with jokes and jibes, but I know he wants this job done as much as I do. Armada has something on him, something big, and he won't be free until this is over.