Chapter 12
CHAPTER TWELVE
It took some serious pushing on my part and two days of negotiations before they finally put a communication monitor in each room.
People were warned that if they were used to cause trouble, their privileges would be taken away, but I was pretty sure the freedom to call their families eased the tension by a lot.
I also had them install a type of email function on the monitors that let them send messages to me directly.
They had some issues with the phones connecting to the ship's systems, and it was more of a pain in the ass than it was worth. It was easier to update the communication monitors to have that function. That way, if they needed something, I could get it to them as soon as possible without any glitches. The emails started piling in, and I got several requests for video calls so they could see exactly who they were talking to. They didn’t trust an alien not to be impersonating me.
Some messages weren’t in English, though, so I eventually had to face the dreaded translator.
“Is it going to hurt?”
Fimai, the alien doctor who wielded the terrifying needles, gave me a flat look. “It is a needle, Enzo. It will sting a little.”
I whimpered, sinking in on myself. I was once again sitting on one of those stupid infirmary beds, preparing to get a shot I didn’t fully agree to.
I asked if I could just find translators amongst the military members, but Trevuk didn’t trust the translators to be honest. He wanted all communication to come from me directly.
I still didn’t understand why I, out of every person they nabbed, was the person who ended up in this position.
When I felt Fimai’s hand on my neck, I jumped straight off the bed, whipping around with my hands up.
“Maybe we should do this some other time. I’m sure you’re busy.
” I was ignoring the fact that the infirmary was basically empty.
Now that the basic needs of the military on the ship were being met, there were a lot fewer confrontations and injuries.
“I know I’m busy. I should get back to it… ”
I took a few hasty steps backward before booking it towards the door. I might’ve gotten away too, if Aster hadn’t been on the other side. He made an oomph sound as I slammed into him, knocking us both to the ground.
“Shit. I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to–”
Fimai snapped something in Krezikian. Maybe I would’ve seen it coming if I’d just sucked it up and got the damn translator, but because I was a big chicken, I could only yelp as Aster wrapped me in his tentacles.
They were tight enough to keep me where I was but not tight enough to hurt me.
It was like being in a bear hug with a lot more limbs.
Aster’s human hand cupped my head, holding it against his chest. “Close your eyes, Enzo. It will be over quickly.”
I had the passing thought that his translator was getting a lot better before a sharp pinch in the junction of my neck and shoulder made me whimper. I couldn’t jerk away with the way Aster held me, so I was stuck feeling it as a freaking chip was implanted in my neck.
“There, all done,” Fimai said, her voice sarcastically soothing, like she was speaking to a little kid. I’d glare at her if I wasn’t completely trapped.
When a minute passed and Aster hadn’t released me yet, I shifted enough to look up at him with a frown. “Uh… you can let go of me now, buddy. I’m good.”
There was a layer of reluctance in his movements as he slowly withdrew his many limbs. He helped me to my feet, brushing imaginary dirt off my clothes. The ship was consistently spotless. I didn’t think I’d seen even a speck of dirt since I got here.
I reached up to touch my neck, yelping when Fimai smacked my hand away with one of her tentacles.
“No touching. Humans take longer to heal. Leave it alone.”
“How do I know it’s working?”
She and Aster both snorted. I looked between them with a frown, and Aster spoke up to explain.
“Fimai has only been speaking in Krezikian since the insertion of the translator chip. You might be answering us in your language, but you understand us just fine, no?”
I hadn’t even realized that she, and now Aster, were both speaking in their own language. That was insanely fast.
“I thought it’d take longer to start working,” I murmured thoughtfully, reaching up to touch the chip again and getting another smack to the hand as a result.
“Human technology might need time to work, but ours does not,” Fimai said primly. “If you don’t stop touching that, I’ll put one of those cones on you that I saw earth animals wearing after they were treated medically.”
Horrified, I gaped at her. Was she threatening to put a cone of shame on me to keep me from touching the chip?
Aster chuckled, steering me back into the infirmary and over to a mirror on the wall. “Look, but don’t touch. See? It is the same as mine.”
Well, aside from the redness from the irritation. I assumed that’d go away once my body got used to a foreign device living under my skin. But yeah, it was the exact same size and shape as his.
“How do I say things in your language?”
“The translator will supply the words you need as long as you make the request for it. It will become second nature once you are used to the language, but it might be slow at first until you grasp it,” Fimai explained, cleaning up the infirmary as she spoke.
She was constantly moving every time I met with her.
She was the one who explained the nutrition bricks to me so I could share the information with everyone else.
She didn’t have patience for nonsense, but I got the feeling she’d be a powerful ally if I didn’t manage to drive her off with my fear of needles.
Thinking about Krezikian, I tried to say hello. It felt a little like there was a word on the tip of my tongue for a while before the translator finally supplied me with what I needed. Aster beamed at my attempt, plucking a cup from one of his tentacles that I hadn’t noticed and handing it to me.
“That deserves a reward. You were very brave. I went down to earth and picked this up for you since you said you missed it.”
I stared at the cup, surprised. He went down to earth, which was a dangerous trip right now while the humans were still pissed about the invasion, just to pick me up coffee?
“I don’t know what to say…”
He tipped his head with a frown. “That happens sometimes. The translator needs time to work. The word you’re looking for is ‘thank you’.”
He saw my hesitation as a language barrier, not me being stunned silent by the thoughtfulness of the action. I wasn’t sure if anyone had ever been that thoughtful before. At least not to me.
Who exactly was this guy? And why was he so determined to take care of me?
That question was left unanswered, and once Fimai was certain I didn’t have any adverse reactions to the chip, she sent me on my way.
I followed Aster out, sipping slowly on my coffee.
It was a simple coffee with cream and sugar, but it wasn’t the instant stuff the Krezekians procured for everyone, and it was exactly what I wanted.
I still couldn’t find my way around the ship on my own. Three days wasn’t enough time, especially when I never went anywhere without an escort. Usually Aster, though that morning he’d been busy, and Trevuk had escorted me to the infirmary before heading to do his own work. Now I knew why.
“Thanks again for this. I appreciate it. But… isn’t it unsafe to go down to the surface right now?”
The pamphlet may have soothed the tension on the ship somewhat, but we couldn’t explain that kind of thing to people on the surface.
Aster suggested sending out a message to everyone, but his request was denied by the higher-ups, saying it had to go through human government.
Which meant no one knew anything right now.
“It was fine,” Aster replied with a dismissive wave. “I used my human disguise.”
That… did not make me feel any better. They might be able to make themselves look human, but they don’t act human.
Aster’s translator chip was getting better, but he still said some weird shit sometimes.
And while they did some preliminary research before arriving here, they didn’t know how everything worked.
I didn’t want him getting hurt just to get me coffee.
Which begged the question: Why the hell did I care?
He and his people abducted me and every other member of the military they could find.
They were still plucking people up regularly to ensure their safety.
I should have been pleased by the idea of someone getting the jump on him or another alien who was dumb enough to go to the surface.
But I just couldn’t think that way. Yeah, they came about it the wrong way, but they were only trying to help.
I saw on a few of the monitors how they were already working on replanting forests and cleaning up the oceans.
They wanted to save the planet. They didn’t want to hurt anyone.
And Aster… He’d gone out of his way to take care of me from the moment we met.
He made sure I was fed and had everything I needed while I worked, checked up on me often, and jumped to fulfill any request I asked of him.
He fully backed my idea for letting military members communicate with their families, even though he’d initially been against it. He supported me and encouraged me.
He wasn’t bad. None of them were. Aside from Fimai, who had direct access to needles and wasn’t afraid to use them, none of them scared me.
Not even Trevuk. He was intimidating, sure, but he didn’t want to hurt anyone.
He just wanted to keep his people safe. I felt the same way about mine, so I couldn’t begrudge him that.
There was a word for this, wasn’t there? Was this Stockholm Syndrome? They could be buttering me up to their cause, so I was more likely to side with them. But I told them already that I wasn’t anyone influential. I was an engine maintainer. I wasn’t special. So why keep me around?