Chapter One

I Left My Heart On Sirius

Eva Green

Published by:

Eva Green

I Left My Heart On Sirius

Copyright © 2021 by Eva Green

All rights reserved. Without limiting the rights under copyright reserved above, no part of this publication may be reproduced, stored or transmitted without the prior written consent of the copyright owner and publisher of this book.

This is a work of fiction. All names, characters and incidents are the product of the author's imagination.

*

Yet another place on her route, the vast empty space opened before her as Evie descended from the plane in base Knox. Hot Sirian sun was frying the top of her head and her bare shoulders and the hot dry wind was lashing her cheeks with tiny sand grains swept from the red ground. Evie stood on the runway shielding her eyes with her hand looking towards the buildings until the pilot cut off the engines and ushered her towards the base. She hoisted her bag on her shoulder and moved on.

Base Knox looked more or less the same as any other base she’d been stationed at before. The huge dome covered numerous offices and laboratories and the living area at the back. The pilot showed her into the main room where Commander Norton was waiting for her. He was more than glad to welcome Evie as they’ve been waiting for a good translator for a while now and life without one was tricky when one had to deal with natives every day. And what's most important when one's safety depended on that contact, to be honest. Norton was a man of curt manners but he seemed just and frank, the qualities Evie appreciated in her chief and she felt from the beginning that they would get along just fine. He showed her to her room which she was to share with another girl, Sybil- a talkative biologist.

‘I’m Sybil, I’m so glad you’ll be staying with me here. The single room’s been making me go nuts recently. Here, this is your bed, here’s the bathroom. Shall we go to the canteen, you must be starved.’ The girl prattled happily. ‘I’ve been told you came from Sauron, is that right? What is it like there? I’ve been bored to death sitting here for over a year.’

‘Base Sauron is basically similar to Knox, I suppose. You know, they are all more or less the same. At least all the ones I’ve been to were.’ Evie smiled. She liked the curvy blonde girl with a shock of curly hair immediately.

‘That’s too bad, I’ve been thinking of a transfer.’ Sybil sighed. ‘You know it’s too bad to be enclosed in a small space with the same guys for too long.’ The girl winced and laughed.

Her new friend proved to be a mine of information, she was an easy talker but at the same time she was very nice, it was impossible to not like her. Thanks to her Evie quickly got acquainted with all the goings and relations in the base. Sybil was nice and sociable and they kicked on right away.

Evie felt good on Sirius. The planet was hot and dry but she hated the cold so here she felt in her element really like a lizard basking in the sun. She came three years ago and she quickly got over the isolation and homesickness. Being an easy-going person she easily made friends anywhere and her curiosity made her venture out a lot more than other people. She used every opportunity to go out, to travel, and get to know the planet and its inhabitants. Her friend Gabi who stayed on Earth said laughing more than once: “Just be careful Evie. You know what they say: curiosity killed the cat.” That last bit got so customary that lately, Evie recited it before Gabi. But that was true. She was curious. That curiosity combined with her weird aptness for languages made her master Sirian quite quickly. That in turn opened for her a wide path for choosing where she went and what she did. Jobs searched for her so to speak, not the other way round. She had enough offers to serve as her backup plan for the next ten years. A good thing considering after her toxic relationship with Josh blew in her face quite literally she had to run away and look for shelter. Base Knox seemed a perfect place so far away from Earthian settlements and so close to the real wilderness.

Now Evie was waiting for her first job in the new place. Not that she had to wait too long. The very next day after her arrival she was called to the boardroom by Norton and she hurried there excitedly feeling pleasant anticipation. She sat in the room with the commander at her side and waited for the Sirian guests. As three men entered the room she looked at them with interest. All of them were tall dark Sirians looking pretty much the same just except the one who came in first. Tall –yes, dark- quite, though not as much as the others, his brown-green eyes locked on hers from the minute he entered and she lost the grip on reality for a moment. Those hypnotic eyes held hers like magnets until commander Norton spoke at last.

‘Welcome chief Nacher, have a seat please.’

The captain addressed the green-eyed guest and nodded towards the other two. His command of the language was just enough to speak a few simple pleasantries. ''That’s why he needs me here'', Evie reminded herself coming back to reality.

‘This is our new interpreter, Miss Crichton.’ Norton introduced her.

‘Hi, I’m Evie.’

She held out her hand. She was usually easy with open gestures speaking trust and good intentions and her openness were generally in line with Sirian way of interacting. But for some reason, the Sirian chief seemed to hesitate for a second, before he gently squeezed her palm and his hand burnt hers like fire when he did. She'd noticed before the Sirians' body temperature was higher than the Earthians' but somehow the fact seemed to get fully to her conscience only at this moment.

‘I’m Ethan Nacher.’ He introduced himself.

His voice had a pleasant harsh tone in it. She vaguely thought that he was looking at her like a predator might look at its prey but she quickly brought herself to senses concentrating on the talk. She wasn't usually intimidated by men.

Ethan couldn’t concentrate at all, though. The moment he entered the room he felt as if someone had punched him in the stomach. This wasn’t the first time he was in the base and he felt perfectly at ease there, that is until he saw the new interpreter girl. He had seen plenty of Earthian girls before and he didn’t know why this particular one caught his attention. But as he was looking at her slightly tanned face, the way her fair hair fell over her cheeks he just couldn’t concentrate. The delicate structure of her cheekbones, the outline of her side-face made him wish he could put his hands on her face, feel the soft skin under his fingers. He was absorbing every detail of her slim figure, the way the fabric of her white T-shirt emphasized her breasts or the way her fragile fingers played with a pen. The girl’s skin was golden on her long slim forearms and legs and her eyes looked like two ponds of deep blue water. She tugged a strand of hair behind her ear and he felt the urge to feel the touch of it in his hand, too.

‘Chief Nacher?’ He realized Commander Norton had said something to him.

‘I’m sorry. What did you say?’ He asked hopelessly.

Evie patiently translated Norton’s words again. She had a pleasant low voice. The way she pronounced words in his language a bit softer than anyone else he knew made him stare at her pink plump lips and want to savor them, check whether she tasted as sweet and soft as she sounded. Ethan barely grabbed the meaning concentrating more on the tone as he answered the question. He noticed that Norton was looking strangely at him. He asked yet another question and was waiting for an answer.

‘What?’

Ethan felt as if he got in some stupid loop. He felt like an idiot, a dumb savage unable to comprehend a simple question.

‘Are you all right chief?’ Norton asked in a curious tone.

‘Yeah, I just got distracted, I’m sorry.’

He noticed the girl was biting her lip. ‘Great, she’s laughing at me,’ he thought in furious frustration.

Evie bit her lip in despair. Was her command of Sirian worse than she has praised herself on? This man couldn’t understand her obviously. Maybe he spoke some kind of a dialect she was unfamiliar with? It seemed he spoke exactly like the others, though. She noticed one of the men on delegation smirk and a hot wave of embarrassment hit her face. Was he laughing at her inadequacy? She managed to facilitate some awkward information exchange between her commander and the other two Sirians and the meeting ended before she had a chance to solve the puzzle.

Evie left the boardroom and headed to the main office. Sybil was sitting at her computer but as soon as she saw Evie she turned to her eagerly.

‘So, how was your first meeting?’ She asked.

‘I don’t know. A bit frustrating? I mean, I thought I knew Sirian quite well but apparently, they speak a different dialect here. This guy, Ethan Something couldn’t understand me at all. I repeated myself over and over and he just didn’t get any of it.’

Evie threw herself on the chair next to Sybil.

‘Ethan Nacher? That’s strange. I never had any problems, the little of the language that I know. Come to think about it, the only thing I was able to ask him was “You want a drink?” and “How are you?”’ Sybil laughed.

‘Well, maybe he didn’t take to me as an interpreter.’ Evie mused. ‘That happens, you know.’

‘I wouldn’t worry if I were you. Ethan is not very talkative or sociable anyway and he seems quite moody. It’s a shame though, as he is such a handsome guy. One of the best looking Sirians that has ever come here.’

‘Are you talking about chief Nacher?’

A guy called Mike sat at the computer next to them.

‘I don’t understand what all of you girls see in him. Honestly, for me, he’s just an arrogant asshole.’

‘You are just jealous Mike.’ Sybil made a face and stuck her tongue out at him. ‘Anyway, just as if you guys weren’t salivating at the sight of any new girl.’

‘We stick to our own kind at least and so should you as well. Honestly, it’s disgusting that you’d go for aliens.’

Sybil rolled her eyes.

‘That’s crap Mike. You are unreasonably prejudiced. They are not one hundred percent aliens, you know that. They came to Sirius from Earth.’

‘Yeah, five thousand years ago. And since then they went through a process of evolution which wasn’t exactly parallel to ours.’

‘They are taller and darker but that is just an outside adaptation to the conditions on Sirius. Inside they don’t differ from us.’

‘Are you sure of that? Have you checked? Hell knows what genes they’ve developed since then.’ Mike seemed to get quite agitated.

‘Hey, hey guys?’ Evie put in trying to calm them down. ‘The matter is disputable. But we have work to do.’

She switched on her computer and pretended to look at the screen for some time. Her mind had other ideas though supplying her with questions about how far the physical differences went between the two races. She wondered whether any of the girls at the base had ever had any experience in that field. Why the hell was she suddenly interested in it?

Mike seemed to be hooked on the subject though.

‘They shouldn’t be allowed to come here just to socialize like that.’ He said in a vengeful voice after a while.

‘You know, you make me sick Mike.’ Sybil turned to him abruptly. ‘It’s not like they would want to steal something from you because they can’t really steal something which you don’t own, anyway. So don’t behave as if you were the master of the station, will you?’

‘Okay, calm down.’ He put his hands up.

‘So, do they come here often?’ Evie asked trying to ease the tension again and satisfy her curiosity at the same time.

‘Quite.’ Sybil ignored Mike’s snort. ‘Their supplies are quite scarce so they come to our canteen for food.’

‘You meant to say drink.’

‘And chief Nacher comes too?’ Evie pretended the question to be indifferent.

Sybil laughed not fooled in the least and it was Mike's turn to roll his eyes.

‘I’d spare myself the trouble. He comes rarely and he doesn’t seem to notice girls at all.’

‘Conceited bastard as I said.’ Mike put in.

‘Maybe he has a girlfriend already.’ Evie ventured.

‘Maybe, but certainly not here.’ Sybil shrugged.

‘Whatever, I just want to be prepared for another unpleasant encounter.’

Evie shrugged with pretend indifference and turned to her computer for good putting an end to the discussion.

Evie thought she would be prepared but as she heard Ethan’s voice behind her the next morning she was caught off guard completely. She jumped up startled at his sudden “Hi,” and almost spilled her drink all over her running top. For a moment she forgot where she was going at all.

‘Hi.’ She answered her eyes wide with surprise. ‘Did you come to talk with Commander Norton? Is there any new info for our management?’ She asked the most obvious question trying to speak clearly and hoping her Sirian was understandable.

‘No, not really.’

Ethan suddenly realized he forgot what he’d wanted to say. Why did she have to look at him like that? He got distracted by those blue eyes of hers. Evie studied his face for clues why he might be so uncommunicative with her but all she saw was a pair of dark gloomy eyes under well-shaped brows, straight nose and the smooth skin stretched over his cheekbones with a hint of stubble over his jaws. In the end, her eyes rested on his lips set in a stubborn line.

‘Well, is there anything I can do for you, then?’

‘What?’

Here he was again, a proper jungle monkey. Ethan felt hot with embarrassment.

The girl bit her lip as yesterday.

‘I’m sorry. I don’t think I quite get to you. I suppose I don’t speak your accent well enough. Maybe they should have found a better interpreter.’ She said pulling the delicate arches of her eyebrows together in a frown.

‘No, your accent is really okay.’

Ethan was surprised by her assumption. She spoke incredibly good Sirian, a lot better than any other interpreter they had had before and her voice was pleasant to listen to. But suddenly he couldn’t think of anything else to say to her. His mind just seemed to be completely blank. For the first time in years he felt like running away from a girl because he felt intimidated. Quite ridiculous considering he was taller by a good seven or maybe even ten inches.

‘Well, if you don’t need me then I shall go. Excuse me.’

Evie turned and walked away wondering what this was about. She was usually comfortable talking to anyone even when she encountered language barriers but this guy plainly made her uneasy. She felt out of her depth with him. She was going jogging before she'd bumped into Ethan but now she lost her interest in exercise.

‘This is insane.’ She fumed as she entered the office.

‘What is it?’ Sybil asked looking up at her.

‘I’m going to end up hating the guy.’

‘Which guy? Oh, Ethan.’ Sybil understood at once. ‘Was he here again?’

‘Yes, I saw him five minutes ago in the passage.’

‘Strange. He doesn’t usually come like every day. What did he come about?’

‘I have no idea. He seemed to intend to ask me something but then he misunderstood me again and gave up. I feel so incompetent with him, you know and it’s so frustrating!’ Evie moaned.

‘I think if he can’t understand you he must be a dimwit. You are the best interpreter we've had for ages. Honestly, you are not the first person to be trying to get through to Mr. Handsome but Distant. If anything it's him, not you where the problem is.’

Sybil dismissed Evie’s worries. Long ago she promised herself to not waste her time for someone as unattainable as Ethan Nacher and she thought the quicker Evie adopted the same attitude the better for her.

Ethan stormed into the camp fuming with rage. Going to the base was a huge mistake. What did he do it for? He had no business going there today whatsoever. He kicked his bag lying in front of the tent. His best friend Olve looked at him questioningly.

‘Damn!’ Ethan grabbed a bottle of water and drank from it for a while like he hasn't had a drink for days.

‘Shall I ask what happened or do you want to keep it to yourself?’ Olve asked.

‘I’m just tired of sitting around here. I wish we had orders to move to another post.’ Ethan replaced the cap on the bottle and threw it on top of his things then he looked ahead of him just to avoid Olve’s eyes.

‘You’ve seemed to be quite pleased with this post so far. Did you have an argument with Norton? You went to the base again today.’

‘No, I didn’t speak to Norton. I ran into their new interpreter, though.’

Ethan wasn’t intending to tell anybody about it but the words just escaped his mouth before he could stop them. That was weird. But what the hell, Olve was his best friend, he could as well know about his humiliation. He shot him a quick glance and noticed Olve was observing him, his face a poker mask.

‘What?’ He asked in a defensive tone. ‘I just bumped into her on the way to the canteen. She is really annoying with that northern accent of hers. Makes it hard to communicate.’

‘Sure, right.’

‘Don’t you sure me!’ Ethan was well aware his comment was as plain bitchy as untrue.

‘I’m sorry. I just thought she spoke really good language. Anyway, I haven’t noticed any accent. Only that she’s very pretty.’ Olve added carefully trying to stop himself from smirking.

‘As if that was an asset!’ Ethan sneered. ‘You’d better take up the patrol instead of talking nonsense.’

Ethan turned his back on him and Olve got up with a sigh. When Ethan was in one of his moods it was no use arguing with him. The best one could do was get out of his way.

For the next two days Ethan rambled around the camp scolding his team mercilessly for any minor faults. He made them train harder than any time before and they started to wonder what had provoked his bad mood and what was more crucial, when they would see the end of it.

Ethan was fighting with the desire to go back into the base. For some reason he felt the urge to see the girl again, to talk to her. She seemed to be pulling him like a magnet. He’s never felt so submissive and he hated the feeling. He couldn’t stand her thinking of him as a dimwit for that was certainly what she had to be thinking. He needed to talk to her to prove he was not an idiot. What a pathetic excuse. At the same time he was afraid he may be left short for words once more and he hated that fear even more. And the best way to deal with one's fears was to face them, right?

The force dragging him towards the base buildings was too strong to resist no matter what arguments his mind presented him with and so on the third day he found himself crossing the door again.

Evie didn’t want to admit it to herself but she was looking forward to seeing Ethan Nacher again. Every day now she was scanning the boardroom or the canteen or the base corridors for his tall figure. Somehow she couldn’t stop herself from envisioning his face or the look in his dark eyes. They were of such a strange color which made them stand out from his tanned face. Few times that she saw him she still remembered all too well the way he held himself straight, the pace he walked, his every step decisive and purposeful. She shook her head trying to get rid of the vision as she entered the canteen. She’s moved here to get away from man trouble, Evie reminded herself. She didn’t need to get into new drama. But then she stopped abruptly for there he was, right at the bar getting a soda.

She came slowly to the counter and stood beside him.

‘Hi.’ She said quietly her heart accelerating for no reason and he turned his head to look down at her.

There was something in Ethan’s eyes that made Evie’s stomach twist. A quick glimpse of pleasure was immediately replaced with…aversion. Was it because he was expecting somebody else and he was disappointed seeing her? That must be it. He was waiting for somebody else. Evie felt a wave of heat wash over her face. Sybil might have said Ethan didn't socialize much at the base but Evie knew all too much that it was good practice to keep a base romance to yourself. They got too complicated too often.

Ethan seemed to regain control over his expression in a second. His face was again a mask of polite distance. He seemed really good at it. She wondered briefly if it was part of his training.

‘Hi.’ He said but there again was just a void in his head.

He desperately racked his brain for something intelligent to say but as usual there was nothing. This damn girl was sucking intelligence out of him like a black hole. She bought a bottle of water and rushed out of the canteen not bothering to as much as a nod for goodbye. Ethan took his soda and left as well. He was sure she now added rude to the previously existing dumb definition of him.

Anger and disappointment boiling in his heart Ethan went outside heading towards his camp and stopped for a while as he saw Evie in the distance. He didn't want anyone to think he was following her. The girl was going across the outside field and he was just about to turn away and walk in the opposite direction when he suddenly realized where she was heading. Didn’t she realize that was a danger zone, the landing spot for planes and AirPods? The girl seemed not to notice that one of them was approaching the runway behind her and Ethan cursed under his breath.

‘Hey, Evie!’ He called out but she didn’t hear him.

Ethan started to run.

‘Evie, turn back!’ He shouted though it was too late to turn back now. Was she deaf?

‘Get down!’

He got even with her at last and threw himself over her pushing her to the ground. The girl cried out with surprise and pain as his body crushed over hers. He felt the gust of air tear at his clothes as the pod passed close over their heads and came to landing a few meters away rising the brown dust from the ground. For a few seconds Ethan lay motionless taking in the smell of her hair so close to his face and the feel of her fragile body under his.

‘Get off me!’ She gasped trying to push him away her eyes half confused half-mad. ‘What the hell do you think you are doing?’

She pushed at him and Ethan scrambled up and helped her up as well. The moment would forever remain etched on his memory: Evie's hair tossed around her confused face by hot dry wind, the smell of her skin heated by the scorching sun still in his nostrils.

‘Well, how about I’m saving your life?’ He pointed at the AirPod landing a couple of meters away. ‘So you might at least thank me. And watch where you are walking next time.’

Evie looked in the direction he pointed. There was a brief notion of shock and understanding on her face when she looked back at him.

‘Oh, thank you.’ She stammered. ‘How stupid of me. I just got so deep in thoughts I didn’t realize…’

‘Well, you should be more careful. I hope I didn’t hurt you or anything.’ Ethan stepped back looking her up and down with apprehension. For the first time the girl seemed more lost for words than him and that seemed to break his dumb spell somehow.

‘No. No, I’m okay. Thank you again.’ She mumbled confused and ashamed of her first reaction. It could have been the pod instead of Ethan that flattened her on the ground just now. So much more deadly and so much less exciting.

Ethan shook his head and turned to go away. Somehow the panic and adrenaline of the last few minutes made him forget all awkwardness he felt with Evie. Or was it that the physical contact when he shielded her from the pod took out that invisible barrier between them? So why was he so angry if the whole event only enabled him to act like a hero and gain in her eyes. Wasn't it why he came here today in the first place, to change the way the girl viewed him? He needed to get away to work out all the contrary emotions in his head.

Mike was the last person Evie wished to see when she entered the base still shaken after what's happened.

‘Oh, hi Evie, I was just wondering where I could find you.’ He said joyfully.

‘Really? What is it?’ She asked impatiently.

She didn't want to speak to anyone right now. The feel of Ethan's body on top of her, the way his dark eyes glittered as he looked at her so close by still fresh in her memory she wanted to savor it before it faded away. She needed to process her own reaction to him which was stronger than she would like to admit. Distractions were not really welcome.

‘I just wondered if you’d like to go swimming tonight. You know, we have a great pool here, I don't know if anyone showed you yet, and we could have a drink afterwards.’ Mike babbled nervously looking at her expectantly. The new girl was definitely on the good-looking side as far as he was concerned and Mike was determined to get to her before anyone else could.

‘Oh, swimming.’ Evie said barely registering his question. She loved swimming and any other time she'd jump at the offer but...‘Sorry Mike, I still have so much work with those metal samples. Maybe some other time.’

‘Right, sure. Another time.’

Mike’s voice was regretful but he turned and walked away without pressing her further. He knew when he was defeated and had his own pride as well. Evie sighed and went her own way. She had enough for today. Back in her room she stood in front of the mirror in the bathroom and looked at her face for a while before getting undressed and getting into the shower. She was smudged with dirt all over, red dust sticking to her skin and her ribs hurt slightly on one side from the weight of Ethan’s body and the impact of the fall but all the same she lingered on the memory of his breath on her cheek and the touch of his hand as he helped her up. His greenish eyes seemed really worried when he apologized for tipping her over. And yet she wouldn't mind being tipped over by him again. She went over their exchange once more registering that for the first time there seemed to be no language barrier between them. Was it that the danger of the situation made her brain sharper to understand Ethan? She could only hope this would make for a permanent change for she hated the feeling of failing the job she was sent here to do.

Ethan sat in front of his tent poking logs in the fire with a branch. His boys were eating supper around the bigger bonfires but today he preferred to stay alone. He wanted to linger on his memories in peace. When he recalled the moment he pushed Evie on the ground he couldn’t help but clench his fists in frustration. Didn’t he do her more harm than good? Her body seemed so fragile under his. What if he broke one of her bones? He still remembered the gentle smell of her perfume. When he scrambled back half dizzy with her closeness and she turned to face him her eyes were indignant but he could only focus on the softness of her skin and hair seen from such proximity. The outline of her cheekbones made him yearn to put his hand on her face and feel it. And then, the angry blush creeping up her cheeks made her look even lovelier.

Ethan shook his head desperately. What has come over him? He had a job to do; he couldn’t afford being distracted by some girl. He was responsible for the lives of his crew and this girl was beyond his reach anyway. For God’s sake, she was an Earthian, she lived in another world. And he was a Sirian, she should certainly not think much of him especially after he’d made such a fool of himself several times. He’d never be more than a primitive native for her. And they could both be sent away at any time anyway. He knew some Sirians got into relationships with Earthians, after all they were permanent residents on Sirius for many decades now, with treaties in place to regulate their status on the planet. They mainly lived in dome-shaped bases doing research and swapping technologies with the Sirians so they lived in peaceful symbiosis. Both the Sirians and the Earthians often found the other race attractive probably due to the fact that they looked quite exotic to each other but Ethan himself never gave it much attention. This wasn't the first Earthian base he was stationed near nor was Evie the first Earthian girl he'd seen but he'd never been attracted to any before that way he was attracted to this girl. He wasn't looking for this type of complication in his life.

He looked around the camp. Some of his team had little tents set up, the others preferred to sleep out on the ground by the fireplaces they used to cook their meals. Like every day they were doing their martial routines at one or another point of the day keeping in form. To get rid of the uninvited thoughts invading his mind Ethan got into doing press-ups. Maybe if he tired his body enough his mind would switch off?

The Sirian chief was grateful when the orders came for him to go on patrol. He's been waiting for some distraction that would stop him from going to the base, something he was more and more inclined to do with every passing day only he couldn't find a viable excuse to do so. Of course, now he had a perfect one as he had to inform Norton of his plans and for once it wasn't a nuisance as sure enough Evie was present during their talk. She wore her usual army patterned shorts and a white top but her hair was left loose on her shoulders and it was slightly damp as if she’s just come out of the shower. Ethan had to employ all his willpower so that not to stare at the girl and imagine her in the actual shower.

‘Of course captain Nacher.’

Commander Norton wasn’t surprised. The Sirians’ job in this region was to patrol the area and inform both their own and Earthian headquarters about any moves that the rebel army was making. For the last decade there was more and more tension between southern and northern Sirians. They had been at war for dominance over the mineral-rich territories for ages now. The war that brought some parts of Sirius to ruin some time ago and forced lots of people to migrate to other parts of the continents. They had had a considerable time of peace for some time but in the last ten years the tensions started to grow again. Thus the patrols were necessary and quite often the South Sirian militaries were stationed near the Earthian bases to keep them safe.

‘Just inform us if anything happens on the front line as usual.’ Norton asked.

‘Of course, captain. We are leaving right now but I’m taking only five people with me. The rest of my crew shall be at your disposal. We shall come back in about six days.’

Was he mistaken or did he see a hint of disappointment in Evie’s eyes when he said that he was leaving? Ethan shook his head in disbelief. He must have imagined it. He passed his news and left the base hastily.