Page 29 of My Alien Jewel
Feeling completely out of place, I retreat into an empty corner, sliding down on the floor.
A Zyderi female curiously watches me from a nearby bed. She’s cradling her arm to her chest and winces in pain whenever she tries to move. She doesn’t talk to me, though, and I’m grateful for it.
There are too many people rushing around in here, too much noise. The smell of blood and antiseptic hanging in the air reminds me of way too many bad memories. Doing my best to ignore them, I curl up in the corner, close my eyes, and focus on my breathing. Nikolai’s voice guides me through the exercise and I can almost see his smile before the image is replaced by hisface covered in blood. A shudder runs through me and my eyes snap open.
“... think she’s in shock,” someone whispers nearby. Then the red-haired human crouches in front of me, giving me a bright smile. “Hi. You’re Z’Ree, right? I’m Astra and—Oh. Do you understand me?”
She knows my name. I’m taken aback by that simple fact. No one has bothered to learn my name in years and now two people know it? Or maybe more? It’s unthinkable.
Astra smacks herself. “Right. I’m an idiot. Of course you don’t understand me. Hey, Tareq? Can you come translate for me, please?”
I tap Astra’s hand to get her attention, then nod at her. I do understand her, even though she speaks a different language than Nikolai. I was merely too surprised to react to her question.
“You understand me?” she asks. When I nod again, she waves her Syndoran partner away and gives me another smile. “That’s great. Look, I won’t bother you for too long. I understand if you prefer to be left alone. I just wanted to give you this,” she says, sliding a brand new datapad in my direction. “Nikolai said you don’t speak much, so I thought you could use the datapad to write instead. You can also message me if you need anything. And I mean, anything.” She reaches forward to grab my hand, but stops herself before touching me. “Sorry,” she apologizes. “I’m a hugger but I promise to keep it down around you.”
I surprise us both by taking her hand and squeezing it lightly. “Thank you,” I manage to say, the words a little garbled but understandable. It’s still difficult to speak and panic grips me every time I open my mouth, but I’m determined not to rely on typing to communicate.
I’m getting my voice back.
“No problem,” Astra replies. “I also brought you some clean clothes. They’re going to be a little too large for you, since you’reshorter than me, but they’ll do until we can get new ones. I mean, you can stay as you are, if you want to, but I thought you might be craving a long, hot shower? And, well… The guys already figured out where you’re from, so there’s no need to hide anymore. You’re safe now.” She squeezes my hand. “Completely safe. We can take you wherever you want to go, or you can stay here on the ship if you want. There’s a ton of room here and the guys are all nice. Even D’Aakh and Lyriana, when you get to know them.” She glances at the Krestilian, who’s still working on the machine scanning Nikolai, and on the Zyderi female with the broken arm. “They’re sweethearts, really,” Astra chuckles.
The Zyderi female, Lyriana, scowls, tossing a pillow in our direction. Astra just laughs harder. “Love you too,” she shouts at her.
A warm, almost forgotten feeling spreads through my chest.
I like this. The bickering, the teasing, even the arguing that doesn’t end up in people hurting each other. It makes me remember my own family. How my parents sometimes squabbled, only to make up a few hours later. We were in hiding and in constant danger, but I remember how happy we were together.
These people have the same thing and I can’t help but feel envious. I want to be a part of it. Too bad I’m just a mentally unstable outsider who can barely speak.
“So, would you like to take that shower?” Astra asks. “D’Aakh said Nikolai needs to stay inside one of those healing machines for a few hours because of his head injury, so you won’t miss him waking up if that’s what you’re worried about. You can even get some sleep. We set up a room for you—”
I shake my head. “No.” It’s just a whisper, but it didn’t take as much effort to form the words this time. I’m getting better. Still, since I need to say more, I activate the datapad.“I would like to stay here, if I can,”I type.
When I’m done, the symbols shift into something Astra can read. I notice her symbols are vastly different from Nikolai’s symbols, which makes me wonder just how many languages humans speak.
“Of course. There’s a patient room in the back with its own bathroom,” Astra says, jerking her chin toward the back of the infirmary. “The guys will move Nikolai there once the machine deems him healed.”
That’s perfect. I want to stay with Nikolai. No, Ineedto stay with him.
I can’t even begin to explain my physical need to stay close to him. It’s not just that he’s the only person I know and fully trust on this ship full of strangers. It’s more. As if every atom in my body is drawn to every atom in his body. I can’t leave him.
“Okay,” Astra smiles. “Do you want me to show you around? And is there anything else I can do for you?” She stands up, still holding my hand so I’m pulled up with her.
“Y…yes,” I say, proud of myself for managing another word. The numbness I felt is still in the back of my mind, but it’s currently warded off by Astra’s bright and cheerful presence.
There is something I want done as soon as possible and I can’t believe I haven’t asked Nikolai to do it already. When Astra looks at me, I tap at the collar around my neck.
“Ooh, of course. My favorite procedure,” she grins. “Come on.”
Chapter 16
Z’Ree
Since everyone is busyeither helping Nikolai or keeping the ship afloat, Astra summoned the captain himself to help her remove my collar. I tried to stop her, anxious about annoying the most important person on board this ship. What if he hates me? Then he stepped through the door and I instantly knew nothing bad was going to happen.
The captain is a Lakhartan. I hadn’t seen him during my stalking of the crew, presumably that was because he spent most of his time on the bridge and I avoided that area, so I had no ideawhat species he was. If I had seen him, perhaps I would have been inclined to trust Nikolai a little sooner.
I’ve met hundreds, maybe thousands of slavers from all kinds of species, but not a single one was Lakhartan. It’s rare to find one even hanging around mercenaries or pirates but if there’s one thing you won’t see in this entire galaxy, it’s a Lakhartan slave trader. Their strong morals prevent them from engaging in such a heinous activity. Those same morals also drive them to protect the innocent, which is why they’re one of the most common races among the UGC’s peacekeeping forces.