Page 42 of Alien Peacock

“Gigori? It’s an asteroid. It was first hollowed out by mining. Then it was owned by an eccentric alien, and then it was abandoned. It was discovered by a military pilot, and some friends of mine moved in.”

I trace my finger on his massive chest, enjoying the firmness of the muscle and the smooth skin. “What will they say when you bring me there?”

“I think they will say ‘hello’. Possibly ‘greetings’.”

I lightly slap his chest. “Hey, you know what I mean! Is it a secret base? Will they want strangers there?”

“The owner of Gigori will not mind it. I promise you that. Now I have to wonder what happened with Cerak and the food.” Arelion lifts me off him and uses me as a counterweight to get to his feet in one smooth move of pure strength.

I’m not used to being manhandled this easily, as if I had all the mass of a piece of styrofoam. But I can easily learn to like it. “You don’t think they have bathrooms somewhere, do you?”

He puts me down, giving me a peck on my forehead. “I think I saw some things like that in one of the rooms. Six doors down.”

We get dressed and go back into the corridor. Right outside the door someone has placed a tray with strange-looking items on it.

“Ah, the food,” Arelion says and lifts it. “Typical synthetic stuff, but it should be nutritious enough. Probably not too tasty. I’llbring it to the control room while you look for those facilities you need.” He nods down the corridor, then strides off in the opposite direction.

I’m left on my own in the eerie, blue light of a Bululg spaceship. I know there aren’t any aliens left aboard, but still my skin crawls as I quickly find the sixth door and confirm that it does indeed have an alien bathroom of sorts. At least there’s water that seems to not be too full of chemicals. I freshen up as well as I can and return to the control room.

“There you are,” Bari says, meeting me with her bushy tail wagging. “Finally another girl. These guys get really boring after a while.”

“Someonegets boring,” Cerak says in his metallic voice. “We weren’t bored until you showed up.”

Arelion is leaning back on a console and eating a crisp-looking, brownish square that’s got wisps of steam rising from it. “Try the food. It won’t kill you.”

I normally wouldn’t touch food made in a Bululg ship, but I am hungry, and it could be argued that this ship no longer belongs to those cruel invaders of Earth. Certainly we took full possession of their holy room just now, and that feels like a nice victory.

The food is bland and must be immensely processed, but I can’t live the rest of my life on the energy bars.

“Is this a good ship?” I ask, chewing some flavorless rolls. “I mean, compared to your old one?”

Arelion picks another piece of food from the tray. “I like that it doesn’t smell of trash. We haven’t tried the weapons, though. And while we’re in hyperspace, we can’t.”

“Would you be willing to sell it?” I ask. “I mean, I obviously can’t buy it. But the Earth Resistance may be able to. I can think of several ways to use a Bululg ship against the Bululg.”

“And I can think of several ways that this is a terrible idea,” Cerak scoffs metallically. “Starting with the fact that you’re really wanted by the Bululg. They know you’re up to something important. That’s why they attacked us. I asked the computer on this ship. Next time, they’ll come at you with many ships, full of armed Fresks.”

“I would consider it,” Arelion drawls, ignoring Cerak’s objection. “I will still need it for a while. After my mission, I’m sure some kind of sale could be arranged.”

I take a swig of semi-sweet juice, feeling better aboutmymission. This flying saucer is the fanciest spaceship I’ve seen. With transportation like this, we might be able to track down Tara in an easier way.

‘We?’ No, I can’t expect Arelion to drop everything and help me. He would obviously be a great asset. And of course I shouldn’t need him to help. I can do it on my own. But it can’t hurt to ask.

Maybe. At some later time.

“All right. How far are we from Gigori?”

- - -

We’re still hours away. When we’re done eating, Arelion and I find a dark room where we lie down on the floor. I crawl close, and he folds his wings around us both. It makes me feel warm and incredibly safe.

Arelion falls asleep right away, his breathing almost alarmingly slow.

Damn it. I never thought I would meet someone like him. I always saw my whole mission as a desperate and nearly suicidal attempt to find Tara. I expected trouble and obstacles all over the place, with enemies and Bululg allies hiding behind every door. And I’ve had a lot of those already. But with Alerion beside me, I felt confident. Until the Bululg showed up, but even then he turned a hopeless situation into a serious victory. And then the celebration of that…

I push my knees together as tingles shoot through me. That was incredible. Some of it was relief from having been saved from what I thought was certain death, but most of it was because it washim.

Dare I think that this can actually last? It’s probably not a great idea to start hoping for that. We’re both on separate missions. I’ll just be grateful for this experience and make the most of it. Maybe some of his friends on Gigori can help me instead. I should make friends everywhere.