Page 46 of My Alien Jewel
“I’m ready. Is D’Aakh there?”
“...’m here,” D’Aakh’s voice crackles through the comm. “You’ve … good time getting there. Did you open … hatch?”
“Yes, I did, but the wires all look the same!” The panic rising up inside of my stomach seeps into my voice.
D’Aakh calms me. “It’s alright. I’ll tell … what to do. Grab the … screwdriver first.”
Groaning, I look at the tools he gave me. There are three different screwdrivers. “Which one?”
“The biggest one,” D’Aakh repeats slowly. “The biggest … Got that? I’ll repeat …thing for you. …n’t worry. Now, the leftmost wire. Left… wire. Release the top part.”
It takes ages. Even without the interference that forces D’Aakh to repeat every step two or sometimes three times, rewiring is a tedious job. Some nuts are screwed on so tightly I struggle to loosen them. The damned wires all look the same, even though D’Aakh claims they’re easy to tell apart.
One of my tools flies away into the vastness of space after I wrongly reattach it to my tool belt. Fortunately, D’Aakh says I don’t need it anymore, so I just shrug and wave it goodbye.
“That’s the last … You should be done,” D’Aakh says.
I cock a brow as I see a loose wire flailing around. “Are you sure? There’s one wire that isn’t attached. I repeat, there’s—”
“Yeah, you need to weld that one to the hull.”
“I need to do what?!”
D’Aakh chuckles. “Weld … simple.”
I clutch the spanner in my hand. I’m smashing that stupid Krestilian’s head the second I get back inside. I know nothing about welding! He could have explained it to me back on the ship instead of through a patchy radio. Or at least, given me a heads up.
Nikolai’s voice comes through. “... laughing at her, you jackass. Z’Ree, welding … isn’t that difficult. Even I … do it. You can handle …”
“Thanks. So, what do I do?”
“Just … the wire and … to the hull. I repeat, just grab … and hold it to … The tool … like a gun. I repeat, like a …”
My brain takes a moment to patch the sentences together to form a coherent message. “Right, a gun,” I mutter, finding the required tool. “I’ll grab a fucking gun and shoot you both with it when I get back.” I know I volunteered for this, so I shouldn’t becomplaining, but I’m on edge. I’ve been out here too long. How much radiation has hit my body already?
As it turns out, welding really is pretty straightforward. I attach all of the tiny wires sticking from the end of the big wire to the hull, then cover everything in another layer of whatever it is the welder melts and spits out. When I’m done, I give the wire a tug. It holds. I’m a welding expert!
“I’m done. Any other surprise assignments?” I snicker as I straighten up. My back and arm hurt from being hunched over the hatch for…how long? An hour? Too fucking long.
“Nope. … done. Head back. And hurry.”
A huff out a breath. Great. Another run across the ship’s hull. “Yeah, don’t worry. It’s not like there’s anything to see here, anyway. You know, I kind of expected the neutron star to be more, I don’t know, flashy? But it’s just a big black splurge over a black background. Very underwhelming.”
“Yeah? Switch to the spectrometer view.”
I don’t know what that means, but the option to do that is flashing on my wrist display, so I press it. Instantly, the darkness of space is replaced with a jaw-dropping spectacle.
Stunned, I watch colorful waves collide with the Supernova. Bright blue dominates the view, but I can see flashes of pink, purple, red, and countless other vibrant colors, all swirling around me like particles of dye swept into a tornado.
I don’t know how long I’m standing here with my mouth wide open, simply taking in the sight. I grew up surrounded by colorful crystals of all shapes and sizes. The memories of my home planet have been the pinnacle of beauty in my mind for years, long after we were forced to leave. But this…this surpasses it tenfold. It’s magnificent. Otherworldly.
Deadly.
“Is that…is that the radiation?” I ask, my voice trembling. “Is that what I’m seeing?”
“Yes. You … hurry … dangerous … hurry … Z’Ree!”
Out here, where I’m no longer shielded by the ship’s hull, the interference renders the radio nearly useless. It’s much worse than it was on my way down, which means we’re getting closer to the neutron star. The beautiful flares I’m seeing will soon kill me and everyone else on board.