Page 26 of The Bully Alien

"No."

"You're back to being a—"

"Bitch?"

"I was going to say bully," he says mildly.

I snort. "I just..."

To my horror, my eyes are welling with tears.

"Fuck," he grumbles.

I snort and almost laugh. "Don't tell me that you don't like to see even Earthling females cry."

"Yeah, that might cross species," he mutters. "Don't cry. I thought bringing you out here would be a good thing, not upset you more."

"I know. You were trying to help, and I... Thank you. And thank you for telling me about your planet. You didn't have to, especially with how I've been treating you."

"I was the one who plowed into your first."

"I thought so!"

He blinks a few times.

"I wasn't sure if I walked into you or if you had me, but I thought it was you, and... It doesn't matter. None of the past matters."

"That's not true, and you know it," he says mildly.

I wince. "Why can't the past just die?"

"I wish, but I'll never forget my home planet. I'll never forget my people."

"They have no idea you're here."

He shakes his head and then holds up a finger. He crosses over to an area of the spaceship that we hadn't explored in depth. Then, he comes back over, holding something that is definitely FUBAR'd.

"What's that?" I ask.

"A communicator."

"Let me guess, that's how you communicate?"

"Yes."

"It can't reach across galaxies and universes, can it?"

"Sure it can."

"It can!"

"Yes, but it's broken, remember?" he reminds me.

"But that it's possible..." I can't help beaming at him. "Why don't you work with top scientists to get this technology here on Earth?"

"I can't."

"You can't? What do you mean you can't?"