Chapter 9
EDIE
We all walk down the long white hall together, laughing as Laura continues to tease Tracy about the invisible worm.
Up to this point, we haven’t been around anyone else on the ship besides the captain and the scary one, ViN.
I have to tug on Kristen when a large, gray man … alien sex god starts walking our way.
He nods his head at us and continues on his way, like we’re a normal sight to see walking around.
“I’m in love and he can just take me now.
I don’t give a shit about what he is or where he comes from.
I’m gonna have his babies! Girls, we’re walking in the wrong direction …
the alien gladiator is going the other way. I wonder if he has any friends?”
“He does, Mistress Kristen, but he is off the mating market as one of your own has already claimed Master Rafe as her own. You will all meet Mandy later because she and Rylie are planning a meet-and-greet for you this evening.”
“I hate her already and now my heart is broken. If there is a planet of them around, you can just drop me off there, Destiny. Being with my own race is highly overrated.”
Even Destiny laughs as we practically drag a drooling Kristen down the hall as we chase those green lights showing us where to go.
Somehow, I’ve gotten to the front of our group, and just as we’re approaching a huge door, it opens on its own.
I stop dead in my tracks at what’s in front of me, making Laura almost plow me over.
“YOU!”
“Greetings, little morsel.”
“Where the hell did you come from and how did you get here?” That’s when I see the captain standing beside him, and not in a friendly way, more as a guard.
He looks over at the captain, then at me. “It is complicated.”
“Are you sick? Is that why you’re here in medical?”
The captain is the one to answer me. “He is healthy, Miss Edie, just a basic check-up, no different from the ones you and others are scheduled to have yourselves. Now, if you will excuse us, I need to return to duty once this one is assigned to his.”
“Are you going to be staying here?”
“I am not sure of that answer yet.”
I watch as the captain pushes Falon along, and I don’t know what to think. “How in the hell did he get on this ship, and why didn’t anyone tell me?” I say to the air around me.
Then my mind registers how damn colorful they are as they walk down the hall together.
They’re close in size, one a bright ass purple, slim and with an ass to die for.
The other is a mix of blue and gray, his shoulders so wide he almost has to walk sideways as his ponytail sways back and forth with that arrogant swagger of his.
I find myself standing in the hall, not sure whether to go in or follow Falon.
“Destiny, why didn’t anyone tell me he was on board? ”
“I was not aware you wanted or needed to know. Do you have any grievances against this particular male?”
“Ummm, no, not really. I was just shocked to see him here. Will he be going with us to this new place?”
“That is still being determined, Mistress Edie.”
Half in a daze, I walk into the massive medical chamber and have to hold back a scream when a tall, bluish-yellow man-alien thing with scales down his face suddenly greets me.
“Mistress Edie, if you will step up here for me, I will start getting your basics down and your file started. By the way, I am LeX. Are you feeling alright?”
“Yes, please forgive me … too many shocks at once. My brain is still trying to play catch-up.”
I just stare, shaking my head slightly when a beautiful young girl comes bouncing up. Cute, with curly hair, bright eyes, and a killer smile, she’s looking at scaly dude like he hung the moon.
“LeX sweetheart, if you want to start the scans on Laura and Kristen, I will finish up here. Hello Edie, I’m Rylie.”
I watch as he lovingly kisses her cheek before they switch the pad things in their hands, and my heart jerks slightly.
“So, is there any family history or anything we need to know?”
“Excuse me?”
“Sorry, I tend to get caught up in the paperwork. Let me start somewhere else and work back to this. Do you know how long you guys were on Deapra?”
“Not exactly … three, maybe four years? But it could be more or less than that.”
“Where were you from originally?”
“Georgia.”
“That explains the accent. Were you on any medication back on Earth that you remember?”
“No, didn’t have the money for it if I’d needed it.”
“What about your parents or siblings?”
“Couldn’t tell ya, just put a big question mark down, it will save time.
That’s how I always did it, and honestly, I’d prefer not to talk about it as it has no meaning here.
For the most part, given the circumstances, I was lucky not to have gotten sick often.
Now, the others … Tracy has bad allergies, and Kristen hurt her knee a few years back and it still bothers her.
Also, Laura’s skin is overly sensitive, and she breaks out easily. ”
“Thank you for that information. I’ve logged it in their charts and hopefully they can help with yours as well. I will set the med unit on basic scan; it only takes a few minutes to complete. It seems that Tracy just informed LeX that you often get headaches.”
“Yeah, just figured it was a lack of something in the food.”
“It could have been as all of you are underweight, but so far, for the most part, you’re all healthy considering the circumstances.”
“Can I ask you something?”
“Please do, that’s why we’re here.”
“You and the Doc are an item?”
“We sure are. He’s the blessing I never knew I was missing.”
“Were you taken from your home like us?”
“No, I was one of the few hundred who were launched in a pod when Earth evicted the human race. I am or was diabetic, ended up in a coma, and would have died if LeX hadn’t saved me.”
“So, all of us came to be here under some sort of distress?”
“Yeah, I suppose you’re right. I was … am one of the lucky ones to have found my purpose and my soulmate on the other side of the stars.”
“Forgive me for being so snippy, Rylie. I’ve been in survival mode for so long that I never dreamed others were experiencing the same thing. Aliens were something you read about in a book or saw on TV; they weren’t real.”
“Take my word for it Edie, you aren’t the only one questioning her own eyes or mind. We’ve all struggled in one way or another, but you have to find the positives and push forward. Honestly, what other choice is there? Unless we figure out time travel, we can’t go back.
Your vitals and blood work look great, and the few things that are low we can correct with vitamins and some good food. Take the next few days and simply relax, all the other stuff floating through your mind will answer itself in time, it always does.”
“Are we allowed to walk around?”
“Absolutely, as far as I know, you have free rein of the ship. If you get lost or just want company, Destiny is a wonderful listener, but don’t forget you are not alone. Besides myself, there’s Mandy, Qwin, and Ember, and all of us have been in a similar situation to what you are now.”
“Thanks, I appreciate that. I feel like I’m having an out-of-body experience.
Yesterday at this time, I was washing dishes, trying to figure out what we were going to fix for dinner since the cave-in had blocked one of the storage rooms. Today, I woke up in luxury, was served coffee, had a change of clothes and a holographic girl sat on my spoon.
If you’d told me this whole thing was nothing but a dream and I’d been in a nuthouse for years under heavy medication, I probably wouldn’t argue. ”
“Edie, you are slightly overwhelmed, and that’s all normal. You might even be a little crazy, but what girl isn’t, so that excuse is out. You know stress only makes things harder to figure out, so stop pushing yourself so hard. Things always work out no matter how much we worry.”
“Doesn’t stop us from doing it, though.”
“That’s true. It looks like you’re free to go, but Kristen will be here a little longer. We’re going to look at that knee a little deeper, and Laura is breaking out in hives as we speak.”
I step out of the medical thing and walk over to where Tracy is standing. “You wanna take a walk with me?”
“Nahh, you go on. I’m going to hang out in here for a little bit because this crap is fascinating. I think I’ve found my calling in life.”
“Well, don’t hit any buttons that might accidentally turn them into mindless bimbos.”
“So, in other words, make sure they remain the same?”
“Yep.”
“Don’t get lost since we’re supposed to meet up with Ember later, something about makeovers.”
“I’ll find ya.”
I walk out of the medical area and roll my shoulders, not really sure why I feel so anxious on the inside.
Deciding one direction is as good as the next, I turn left only to find that the halls all look the same.
I pass a few more odd-looking creatures, they nod as they walk by, and I try not to stare.
Humans might be common in their world, but horns and scales are not … or were not common in mine.
Shockingly, I turn a corner only to find the Captain and Falon standing in front of a set of crates. Stepping back around the corner, so I can hear what they are saying, I’m eavesdropping like a kid trying not to get caught by her parents.
“You are expecting me to simply have blind faith in you, Falon. A self-proclaimed pirate who has willingly admitted he is the male you go to when you need something.”
“My word is all I have, Captain.”
“That is normally not good enough for me, and if it were not for Destiny’s extreme safety measures. I would never allow you to be in this storage area. How did you obtain your set of skills, Falon?”
“I wish I could say I stole them, but I, along with several of my brothers, were taken from our parental units right after birth. Murgul, the youngest, got the worst of it, but the species experimenting on us selected each of us for different procedures.”
I hear him click something metal together. Click, click…
“That is how I obtained these little accessories.
Once I stopped fighting their advancements as they called them, the neuroprocessor they inserted into the back of my skull integrated with my brain.
If things had not come to pass in the order they did, I may have become the weapon they were trying to fine tune.
At one point, my mind became so integrated in their code that I even forgot who I was.
It took time, but finally Slavic and my sire arranged a detonation in the mines, freeing as many of us as they could. Kallen, my brother’s mate, was able to get me unhooked, and when I realized what they had done to me, I became a monster they could not control.”
“This is the Aynar your brother Slavic spoke of?”
“The very ones.”
“So, you all have been in hiding or on the run ever since?”
“Yes, we survived by picking off other ships’ cargo; therefore, the pirate designation. We did not even know our mam was alive until recently when we were reunited due to a Velgriddix ship we attacked and disarmed.”
“We have much to learn about the Void and the species it holds in secret from the rest of the solar system. How willing are you to help us with this endeavor?”
“As long as you keep your promise and send the provisions to my mam and her extended family, I will tell you all I know and help where you allow me. I have no loyalties to the many monsters who lurk behind the Veil.”
“You know it was foolish of you to jump onto this vessel, right? Things could be a lot worse for you right now because I am not one who easily trusts.”
“Captain, I could not let her leave without me.”
“I wish I could say I would have done something differently, but I almost died retrieving my mate in the vacuum of space from a failing pod. Females will push a male to his breaking point and beyond, but they are worth it in the end. I have duties to tend to, and now you have a job to complete. I would imagine that with your unique skill set, you will have this particular issue finished in no time.”
“I am happy to earn my keep, Captain EvO.”
“We will see.”
I practically run down the hallway trying to find somewhere to hide so that the captain doesn’t catch me standing in the hall listening.
Ducking into a deep recess in the hallway, I tuck myself against the wall, waiting until I hear the captain’s footsteps going in the other direction.
And even though I’m curious about what Falon is doing, I decide to head the other way.
My mind cannot handle more of him right now.