INHERITED // STOLEN

Honoré walked behind her straight to the main room. She followed him. The room was spacious, better arranged than a first class on an expensive plane. It had a bar, a screen where he could watch the news and another screen where he could see the route, distance, temperature, nearby objects and the time. The second screen was connected to a larger device and had a complete menu where he could access movies, games and series.

A sofa was positioned in the middle and next to it, there were 2 armchairs. In front of each one was a white carpet, with a type of flower drawn on it. A table stood in the middle, and on it, a glass with a lid was placed in a fixed holder. A soft pleasant smell could be felt in the room, probably from a spray fixed somewhere. Everything was welcoming and quite luxurious for a not very large ship, which seemed to be more of personal use.

The wine bottles arranged by color in a large display case stood out. There were 4 rows of wine bottles - white, rose, red and one that had a combination of colors, most of which were blue and purple.

"This man is a drunkard!" thought Lua.

"Take a seat! If you don't hold on tight you'll fall and hurt yourself." Honoré had told her as he sat down on an armchair.

"A thoughtful drunkard" - Lua added this thought to the first one and then did what Honoré told her.

“What is the last thing that you remember?” he asked with a surprisingly soft voice.

"I remember..." Lua stopped. She wanted to tell him, but stopped. After all, she didn't know if she could trust this man, but it was clear that she made an oath to his family.

"I only remember bits and pieces. Nothing clear. I've tried, but nothing so far," she said as she looked at the ground. She was afraid her gaze would betray her. Her heart was already beating fast, but it was the right decision. She didn't trust a man who had so many types of wine and yet spoke lucidly.

"I understand. When you remember, do well and come to me first. No one in this world can help you like I can. Please don't forget that, Lua! I'm not your enemy, although that's probably how you see me now. I have high expectations of you."

"From me?"

"Yes, your adapter is impressive in every way. You can't be born with something like that, but there are ways you could have acquired it."

"What kind of ways?" Lua's eyes widened as the man in front of her turned his gaze to the wine bottles.

Lua ​​took a seat on the couch, while he stood up to choose a wine. The movement had happened so synchronously that it seemed staged. From the outside, it seemed like he wanted to stay as far away from her as possible.

"Do you drink?"

"No, thank you." she replied, although her initial reply was more like “No, but I knew you were an alcoholic, you old weirdo.” - Then she continued "How can someone have what I have?"

Honoré sat back in his chair, a glass of white wine in his hand, he stared for a second at its shape and color that resembled the autumn sky, and took a sip. He was enjoying the intense taste with enough pleasure to hear himself say "Mmm."

Lua felt like she was watching a commercial break. She waits for an answer. And she wants it now.

"Well..." the man finally continued. "An adapter like yours could be inherited or stolen. You're old enough to receive an adapter, but you don't have stardust, which means we're ruling that out. You probably stole it from someone and appropriated it. The fact that you don't remember confirms that. The question is - did you kill the person you got the adapter from?"

"WHAT?! I wouldn't hurt anyone! NEVER!" she snapped.

"And yet you're going to join the army, aren't you?"

She fell silent and felt a lump in her throat. He was right, no matter how she put it. Even though he had the glass, her mouth was full of an aftertaste of dry wine.

"I don't have the physical condition!"

"On the contrary, you'll pass that test without a problem. Maybe you're not ready for the elite yet, but you have the physical condition and energy necessary to enlist."

"I don't know the language!"

"That's why you have an adapter."

Damn…This man has answers to everything! She can't escape this and looking around, she had nowhere to go anyway.

"How long does the army last?"

"Your whole life. Registration ended a week ago, but don't worry, you'll get into the tests anyway. After you join the army, your goal is to protect the system that protects and feeds you. Listen to the rules and don't cause any problems. Stand out in training and missions. With what you have, it's almost guaranteed that you'll be fine."

Lua didn't continue the conversation with him and it seemed that Honoré also turned his attention to the wine. Lua leaned on the back of the sofa and started to look at the ceiling. Was she selected? No, she was sent by Mr. Abdraham Stone. Her adapter is special, she knew that for sure and had already been confirmed to her by several people. Did Mr. Abraham sell her? No, it didn't sound like Mr. Abraham, but then again, she maybe she didn't get to know him in only 7 days...

How complicated…Sleeping was out of the question and the company wasn't so great. Maybe it is best if she waits to see what this stardust was.