Page 35 of Alien Peacock

I bounce to my feet and hammer on the door with the stick. “Let me out!”

Damn it. It’s locked.

My tendency to overthink goes into high gear. He’s going to invite them in, negotiate to sell me t, and get as much out of this as he can. It’s what any rational person would do. I can’t even blame him.

Well, it doesn’t change much. I was hoping to knock one or two Bulug out with the stick, but that was really only for my own pride. Their whole ship will blow up when I get inside it and activate my implant and its tiny antimatter warhead.

Bari comes trotting from one of the cabins. “Oh hi. Not going with the Bululg?”

“I don’t think I can choose that option,” I tell her tightly. “I am being sold as we speak. Can you open this door?”

She touches it with one paw. I get a feeling that endless packets of information are being exchanged between her and the door, but all I hear is another beep.

The door slides open.

I raise the stick to whack the first alien I spot. But there’s nobody there, and the room is dark.

Both airlock hatches are open. Beyond there’s an eerie blue glow. It must be the interior of the Bululg ship.

I can actually just walk in there and start raising hell.

Stepping into the airlock, I peer into the alien ship. It’s dimly lit and the walls have a strange, beehive-like pattern. To my knowledge, nobody from Earth has ever been inside a Bululg ship unless they’ve been in a cell, on the way to the auction block up in space. I should make the most of this opportunity.

I step out of the airlock and into the alien ship. The floor feels soft, but the gravity is normal enough. I’m able to breathe the air, despite the sharp chemical smell.

There’s no reason to wait. I walk fast along the curved, organic-looking corridor.

“Shit!” I almost stumble over an alien curled up on the floor. He's moaning in pain, and I recognize it as a Fresk, one of the goons that serve the Bululg. They're hired for their muscle, not their brains. But this one is out of action. What the hell is going on here?

I pass another Fresk, flat out on his back, wheezing softly.

Now I hear sounds. Thin yells and something that sounds like pleading. Is that how Bululg negotiate the buying of an Earth female?

I follow the corridor as it snakes through the ship until it ends in a round room with walls that look like space outside. In the middle there are many small seats and consoles with all kinds of weird controls on them.

Arelion dominates the room, his feathers black, with angry, red tips. His back is to me, and in one hand he's holding a small Bululg alien, lifting it by its thin neck. “And the weapon controls?”

The Bululg squeaks and points with a long, thin finger. “There!”

Arelion studies the panel, then drops the Bululg to the floor. “All right. Run along now. Our old ship is now yours. It’s a fair exchange.”

The Bululg scurries away, only giving me a quick glance as he passes, while I point my stick at it to make sure it stays at a distance.

“What's going on?” I demand, spotting two other Fresk aliens as they laboriously get to their feet.

“We have a new ship,” Arelion rumbles. “I'm not a fan of the decor, but it looks clean enough. It should take us to Gigori with no problems.”

I raise my stick again in case the two Fresk get silly ideas. “Did you fight these guys?”

“If you call it a fight,” he scoffs. “I took a chance that the Fresks weren't trusted to carry weapons aboard a Bululg warship, and I was right. They were somewhat surprised when I came bursting into the airlock and made my way here. Possibly I hit some of them too hard, but a few broken bones seems fair payback for what they wanted to do to us.”

I’m not sure I’m hearing this right. “You took over the ship? All byyourself?”

His feathers fade back to their regular blue color. He studies the controls, prodding them with one finger. “I had some help from Cerak?—”

There’s a ripping sound. One of the consoles seems to split open, and a small Bululg comes out. It runs towards Arelion, raises a big gun, and fires several shots. There are many unpleasantbangs before the Bululg stops and aims straight at the blue giant’s face.

In reflex I swing the fighting stick, channeling all my fear and frustration into the move. The end of it catches the Bululg behind its knees and knocks it off its feet.