Cassie shambled back from the kitchenette with a bottle in one hand and a mug in the other. Ben took the bottle from her and motioned with his chin toward the futon. “Rest.”
“I won’t argue with you.” The medical doctor slid down onto the thin cushions. She took a tentative sip of her tea, then sighed. “That’s nice. Where’d you find this recipe?”
Dr. Cassandra Ruger turned as her partner came through the door. Her springy black hair stuck out at odd angles from her braid, except for the sweaty strands plastered to her forehead and neck. Her usually light brown skin had a gray cast to it. Even her eyes—always so ready to sparkle with mirth—looked weary.
Screams echoed underneath the sand-scoured habitat dome of Dremiks. Their rising pitch and intensity promised a coming storm that the protective structure could not abate.
The chalky, blue-gray soil of the planet carried on the wind. Not yet the nightly gale, the dust-laden drafts created visible eddies around the massive dome.
