Page 2 of Alien's Eternal Mate
“Get moving. And for fuck’s sake, keep your damn mouth shut, human. Riel is just looking for an excuse to make you take ten steps into an eight-step airlock.”
“Now, see? That’s so much better. You could learn from your friend, Riel.”
The red-scaled guard shoved me hard into the wall and squeezed my arm until my fingers went numb.
“You’re asking for it, Reed.”
“Doctor Reed. And I’m begging for it. Who’s going to give it to me? You? I don’t think so. Gowron has plans for me.”
His face twisted into a mask of pure hatred. He shoved me ahead of him while Riel laughed.
“And you thought I would be the one to throttle him. You owe me ten credits.”
The metal corridor below us reflected our images in reverse. The size difference between myself and the Vakutan was nothing short of staggering. I looked like a young child compared to them.
We passed by an observation port, where the green-white marble of Novaria shone like a jewel in the sky. The Alliance battle station was on the furthest range of its elliptical orbit. At its closest, Novaria would have dominated the view completely.
A short walk later brought us through two security checkpoints. The guards gave me a dirty look, even the human. Especially the human.
Species traitor. When the aliens come for you, you will know then how right I really was.
The vakutan guards ushered me through a set of wide-open doors and inside a spacious, half-moon shaped orbit. The Vakutan sitting behind the desk’s pink skin showed how venerable he truly was, even beyond the way his scaled skin sagged here and there.
And yet, even this old, decrepit Vakutan could snap me in two without breaking a sweat.
The old man lifted his yellow eyed gaze and snapped it on me. Unlike the others of his kind, General Dowron’s gaze didn’t emanate hate. His eyes gave me nothing, in fact. I wondered if he ever showed emotion at all.
“Good morning, General Dowron. Perhaps you should look into the incidence of brutality in your ranks?”
“Brutality, Dr. Reed? We’ve seen to your every need. It would not be so on one of the prison worlds.”
“And if you sent me to one of them, you would have nothing to threaten me with, would you?”
I rolled up my sleeve and showed the red mark, already deepening into a bruise.
“Your man assaulted me without provocation. I’ll be filing a formal complaint.”
“Without provocation? You human germ?—”
Riel made a go for me, but Dowron shut him down quickly.
“Enough. Leave us.”
The vakutan guards gave me an extra venomous glare before departing. I waved cheerfully at them. The doors slid shut and Dowron sighed.
“Making friends, I see.”
“I have no friends, and desire none.”
Dowron snorted.
“That’s not true, doctor. I’m your friend. Or the closest thing you have left in the Galaxy, now that Blue Dawn has been stomped out for good.”
I kept my amusement to myself. I knew there were other cells, out there somewhere.
“Cut off our head, and like a hydra we will grow two more in its place.”
“This is not an attitude I appreciate, Doctor. It was my hope that putting you with other men of science might help you overcome your prejudices. Your intellect is far too valuable to be wasted on such illogical opinions of aliens.”