Chapter 17
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
He didn’t really give me much of a choice.
I couldn’t escape his grasp, even if I wanted to.
Something about taking the choice away from me helped, and I felt the anger dial down into a simmer.
I leaned against him, still not ready to look at him, but not ready for him to let go, either.
The pressure of his tentacles wrapped around me was grounding, and I slowly felt myself relax.
“Thank you,” Aster murmured.
“For what?” I grouched. I was still pissed. Sue me.
“For speaking up for us.” He leaned his head against mine, his voice low and a little uncertain.
“We have never faced this kind of backlash before. Sure, some planets resented our involvement, but they all knew we were there for a purpose. The majority accepted our help graciously. Only small factions opposed us. Never an entire planet. If we felt you could fix it on your own, we would leave, but…”
“But we can’t be trusted to do that,” I said, resigned.
“I know. The entire planet knows about the issues with the environment. We call it global warming. Scientists warned us for years about the ice caps melting and the effects of deforestation, that kind of thing. We’ve done little things, and there have been efforts made for renewable energy, but it’s slow.
Humans are greedy, and if the plan messes with their ability to make money, they’re going to fight against it. ”
Turning to face him, I leveled him with a look. “I don’t think you’re going to get the kind of acceptance you want. Not from everyone. If you’re going to save the planet, it may need to be by force.”
Sad resignation filled his face, and he nodded. “I fear you might be right. I know before you opposed the idea of meeting with our leaders, but I feel like it is important for them to hear from you. They’re already going to want to speak with me since I went against their wishes.”
“How?” I frowned.
“By sharing your message worldwide. I used something called the internet. Travis showed me how.”
Well, fuck. Now the entire world was going to think I was a traitor.
I guess, in a way, I was, but I didn’t see it that way.
I was still trying to help the human race.
I just didn’t agree with the way they were doing things.
I thought the plan the Krezikians offered was decent.
We’d get backlash from oil tycoons and billionaires who exploited the planet’s resources, but it’d be better for everyone in the long run.
“Are you going to get in trouble?” The idea of that made my stomach clench uncomfortably.
Aster just shrugged. “Possibly. They could remove me from my position, send me back home. Who knows? I believe it depends on how well your message is received. If it does help as I hoped, they may just reprimand me for going against their orders. Hopefully, it helps.”
“Will me talking to them help?” I still didn’t think I was the right person to be the voice for all the humans, but I didn’t want Aster getting into trouble.
He was trying to help me. And… I liked him.
I liked seeing his bright smile every day.
He was doing everything he could to make this life-changing event easier for me. I didn’t want him to go.
Aster considered it, his head tipped. “Perhaps. They tend to keep themselves removed from the people so they can maintain neutrality and focus on the problem we came here to fix. It is my job to worry about the people. Mine and several others like me on each ship.”
My eyebrows shot up. Aster told me he was the go-between for his leaders and the humans, but he never told me how important his job really was.
The leaders were focused on the planet itself, which was their main reason for being here.
It was Aster’s job to help the humans understand and figure out what to do about it.
And even with a job that important, he put my needs first, going against orders to make sure I was heard not just on the ships but worldwide.
I wanted to ask why he cared so much about me, but I was a little afraid of the answer.
I saw how he hovered, how far he’d go to make me happy.
I wasn’t ready to face that yet. I might not ever be.
He was sweet, but his people still abducted me.
And depending on how things went, they could be the reason all power was taken away from us.
If the aliens felt like we couldn’t be trusted to take care of the planet, why would they let us remain in charge of it?
Instead of focusing on my feelings for Aster, I focused instead on the issue at hand. I might not be able to have a future with Aster, but I could make sure he kept his job in the meantime.
“Alright, Aster. Take me to your leaders.”
Turns out, it wasn’t as simple as going to a different ship to meet the leaders.
They weren’t even on the planet. Whenever Aster met with them, he met via video conference.
But once they heard I wanted to speak with them, they wanted to meet me face-to-face.
Which is how I ended up on a smaller ship that was leaving the fucking planet.
“I think I might be sick.”
Aster snickered, rubbing my neck. “Breathe, Enzo. It is nothing like those take-offs we’ve seen human spaceships achieve. That looks painful. This will be just like driving your human cars.”
The take-off wasn’t the only problem, though it was on my mind. If it wasn’t so hard to deal with, why were there so many damn straps keeping me in my seat?
No, the idea that I was literally going to space was what I couldn’t wrap my head around.
I gave up the space adventure idea when I was a kid who sucked at math and didn’t have the patience for reading.
How the hell did an engine maintainer end up on a spaceship, actually leaving the damn atmosphere?
“Are we ready, Fesall?” Aster asked politely.
The pilot, who was almost as big as Trevuk, merely grunted in reply.
It was just us for this trip, which was probably below Fesall’s pay grade.
He seemed like the type of dude who’d run face first into danger, not play taxi for a human nobody who opened his big stupid mouth just to make his alien coworker happy.
Lover? It was only one time. Did that count?
I let the title thing distract me as we left the hangar bay of the ship I’d been living on for the past week.
With a decent view out the front window, I took in my first actual view of the massive ships that hung over major cities.
I got strong Independence Day vibes that first day, and it still hadn’t gone away.
Big disc-like ships that stretched for miles.
Lots of little ships darted in and out of the hangars, bringing back more military, as the submarines were eventually evacuated.
I was still pissed about that. Who the hell shoots at ships full of allies?
The smaller ship turned away from the view, pointing skyward instead.
Aster, the big liar, was wrong about it being like driving a car.
It was jarring, leaving the planet, and it felt a little like I was being crushed in my seat for a few seconds.
But that’s all it took. It took minutes instead of hours to get as far as the International Space Station.
We bypassed that on our way to the mothership.
Seriously. A freaking mothership. It was larger than the ones over the city, and a little intimidating, honestly.
It was lucky that the Krezikians weren’t dangerous.
A ship that size? They could probably take out the entire planet in a matter of minutes.
“Holy shit…”
Aster made a happy sound, smiling at the sight. “I like our ship, but I love visiting this one. It is a work of art.”
“You could say that,” I croaked. I wished I had my phone so I could take pictures because a few pictures of that and humanity would fall in line from fear alone.
Docking in the hangar was just as easy as leaving the other ship, but a lot more intimidating. What if they didn’t close the doors correctly? I could be sucked out into space and die. What if a window cracked? Shouldn't I be wearing a spacesuit?
“Relax,” Aster whispered soothingly. “You are safe. It is just like our ship, only bigger.”
“I think I’d kill for your kind of relaxed optimism. You’re sure it’s safe for humans to be up here?”
He chortled, releasing the buckles keeping me strapped to the seat. “You’re perfectly safe. I would let nothing bad happen to you. Now come on. It’s better on the inside.”
He practically dragged me off the transport ship, smiling at everyone he passed by.
It took a few minutes, but once we were out of the hangar with the big ass doors that opened straight to space, I felt like I could think past the fear.
And he was right, it was a nice ship. Surprisingly busier than the one we’d been living on, with Krezikians darting around working.
“Why are there so many more people on this ship?”
“The leaders’ ship is too large for a croxud to maintain. They prefer smaller ships. So everything here is monitored by Krezikian engineers. Like your job with the plane engines.”
I snorted, shaking my head at him. “I’m not an engineer. I’m not that smart.”
“You underestimate yourself. I happen to think you’re very smart,” Aster said, his chin lifted defiantly.
It wasn’t worth arguing with him about, so I just accepted the compliment and moved on. Aster led me to a blue circle on the floor. When I frowned at it, he waved a hand around us.
“Could you imagine trying to get somewhere quickly on this ship? It would take too long. These make things quicker.”
That sounded too good to be true. I shot Aster a suspicious look.
He laughed, pushing me into the circle and shifting his lower half to his human legs so he could join me.
It wasn’t that big, probably better for just one person, but Aster didn’t seem to mind.
He moved in close, pressing himself up against my back, and pressed a button on the railing to our right.
Have you ever been to the bank where they send things to you through those little suction tubes outside?
It felt a little like that, except without any bottle around me to protect myself.
We shot through several floors before running along the ceiling for a while, cutting through walls.
This wasn’t the only transportation thing, and I saw people flying past us on their way somewhere else.
I was pressed so hard against Aster to stay away from the edges of the blue circle, I was a little worried I’d shove him out of it.
But despite the weird angles we twisted in, it never felt like we were anything other than standing in place.
Aster’s arms encircled me and he squeezed tight, whispering soothingly in my ear. “You’re safe. I’m here.”
When we finally stopped, I wasn’t sure if I was more happy to get off the stupid ride or to get free from Aster and all the confusing feelings he stirred up inside me. Maybe both.