Page 25 of Uncovered By the Alien Commander

I gasp, recognizing it at once. “That’s a scoomer inhaler,” I answer, unable to conceal my surprise. On most stations you’d see disheveled scoomer addicts lost in a haze of bedraggled abandonment. So addictive and destructive it’s illegal in all but the most decrepit cesspools. “Why do you have one?” I inquire, my eyes widening as I gaze up at him.

Kaanus looms over me, placing a hand on my shoulder that makes my skin crawl. “One?” he laughs, making the blue tint on his scales shimmer brighter. “Oh, Tyrxie the Mutalisk’s Hammer is loaded with them.” He reveals, his amusement still painted on his expression.

My mind reels at his revelation, the implications both dangerous and unsettling. “We’re scoomer smugglers?” I blurt out, my eyes piercing his, my voice louder than I intended.

I need to get off this ship.

“Sometimes,” Kaanus quips before he stalks off to pace around the cramped bridge. “When the opportunity presents itself... You don’t know what it’s like being captain of a mercenary ship. The constant need for credits and resources is exhausting.” He hangs his head, giving it a subtle shake, with a hint of shame that catches me off guard. “And when the jobs dry up, you have to make... tough decisions.” His head lifts toward me and I think he’s staring at me. “I hope one day you will understand.”

Understand what? Being captain of a ship?

An awkward silence hangs heavy in the air as I struggle to comprehend what he’s revealing and how I should respond toensure my survival until we reach Omega Flux Station. “Why are you telling me all this now?” I finally ask as Kaanus retrieves a plain polymer bottle from beside his captain’s chair, taking a generous swig.

He wipes his mouth with the back of his hand. “I’d get you a bottle, but after last time, I doubt you’d be interested,” Kaanus gestures towards me with his drink, to which I shake my head in refusal. “That’s what I thought,” he scoffs before taking another mouthful. “To answer your question. Trust is why.” He retakes his seat across from me at the briefing table. “When we reach Omega Flux Station, I want you to accompany us when I negotiate a price for my scoomer. You watch my back, I watch yours. A proper part of the crew. Like the rest of them.” He takes another long draft of his drink before adding, “Void, I’ll even increase your cut to two percent. Can’t say fairer than that.”

I gasp at his offer, quadruple the credits I earn now, and with a more important role on the crew, maybe things would get better around here? A new respect earned? I’m tempted by his generosity, which surprises me. But as he knocks back more booze with his unreadable eyes gawking in my direction, a sense of unease creeps over my skin, rippling down my spine. “Very generous, Captain. Of course, I accept.” The lie spills from my lips with automatic smoothness.

Can I escape before this scoomer negotiation?

Kaanus springs upright from his seat, a smile crossing his face. “Excellent, this is a new beginning for us, Tyrxie, one built on trust and respect,” he approaches with his arms outstretched, yearning for an embrace, while I’m only yearning for escape. I rise from my seat, suppressing my erratic breath as he draws closer, towering over me.

He wraps his arms around me in a tight embrace, the scent of his alcoholic smell hanging heavy in the surrounding air. I place a tentative hand around his broad back, feeling the hard scalesbeneath my fingers. “My little Tyrxie,” he murmurs, almost a moan. His hot breath on my neck stiffens my spine as my body tenses up. “Isn’t this nice, just you and me, together?” I squirm and push back, attempting to break his suffocating hug.

Gasping for air, I reach for my knife, desperation clawing at me. In an instant, Kaanus releases me, and I stumble backward out of the bridge room, heart pounding in my chest. As the Captain calls after me, “Get plenty of rest. You’ll need it.”

Rest for my escape from him.

Chapter 12

Xandor

Briefing

Tyrxie’s petite hips swayas she exits the cargo hold, denying me her intoxicating scent. She strides with an unusual confidence, igniting a storm of conflicting emotions within me.Confidencefueled by hatred and anger directed at me?Her parting words linger like a bitter taste, cascading through me with unexpected potency. Once again, I find myself pondering what I might have done to elicit such intense feelings from her.

I release a long breath at this impossible puzzle. She’s an enigma that plagues my thoughts. To one such as me, her arousal is as obvious as the sun on Klendathor. Yet she demands I leave her alone. The contradiction is maddening. Why can’t she just give into her nature as the Gods intended? But she defiesthem, and herself, a baffling anomaly that twists my heart and consumes my mind.

But why?

I didn’t intend to seduce the strange female, only to question her. However, the closer I am to her, the more her scent overcomes my senses. Those captivating green eyes sparkle with the hues reminiscent of Tusker’s moons, draw me in with an irresistible allure. I’m overwhelmed by an unusual longing to take away her pain and mend her fragmented spirit. But whatever ails the female’s mind is beyond my abilities to cure.

Perhaps the little human is right. It’s best if we maintain our distance. It’ll be hard on such a tiny confined ship with nothing to do all day, but I won’t have to endure it much longer.

“Mammaloid mating behavior, extremely inefficient. Yes?” Job interrupts my troubled thoughts. I hadn’t even noticed the absence of his clanging repairs, being so ensnared with Tyrxie. Job regards me with a tilted head and twirling antenna, as if attempting to decipher what the void just happened.

I chuckle at his interest. “There’s no mating here, friend,” I reply, a smile tugging at my lips as I glance down at the diminutive Glaseroid, barely reaching half my height. “That’s the problem.”

Job shakes his flat and narrow head as a strange frown creases his expression. “You both display typical mammaloid signals. Yes?” he remarks, his tone questioning. “Glaseroid mating much simpler. During egg season, females choose a suitable male. No guessing. Yes?”

“Simpler, perhaps,” I concede, “but not nearly as entertaining.”

Job scoffs in response, “Ridiculous, more like. Yes?” he retorts, hefting his bolt gun once more before turning back to his repairs.

I tear my thoughts from Tyrxie as my obsession is bordering on the shameful. It’s Noroth’s condition which is the pressing matter. It is an offense to the Gods that he may rest with the ancestors in such a dishonorable way. With purposeful strides, I exit the cargo hold and make my way towards Mod’s lab, where Noroth is likely located.

My long legs carry me there in mere moments. I ignore the oppressive sensation of the dull gray featureless walls pressing in around me. The lab door slides open with a smooth swoosh to reveal the lab that is more akin to a macabre collection of specimens and samples arrayed in murky and inky jars.

Mod startles at my entrance. “Oh, very good, another giant mammaloid. You also half crushed? No?” he quips, his voice dripping sarcasm, but the words do not register as my attention focuses on Noroth sprawled out on a metal bench beneath the tiny Glaseroid. Noroth rolls over, his drowsy blue eyes meeting mine, a pained smile etched on his flat face, prompting elation to sore within me, that he yet lives.