Page 28 of Craving Stardust

Let’s face it, I’d offered to help him fix it, but I’d be useless other than handing him tools.

As he got to work on what looked like landing gear, I walked hesitantly around the perimeter of his damaged alien spaceship. It was a strange mix of metallic, sleek lines and jagged, broken edges that looked as though they’d been torn during impact. Could they be repaired well enough for the ship to fly?

Countless dents and scratches covered the silver metal, though none appeared to pierce through to the exterior. All the "glass" was intact—assuming the clear panels were made of glass. Even from where I stood on the ground, they looked thick, but what did I know about stuff like that?

A shiver tracked through me as I took in the strange, foreign symbols etched onto the side of the ship, symbols that seemed to pulse with power. While my lover might seem just like me other than his green skin and accent, he wasn't human like those born on this planet.

It was both fascinating and terrifying that he could make his way here and survive such a horrific crash. That he could love me, make love to my body. That we could come together and fall for each other just like humans did every day here on Earth. We were the same—yet we were vastly different.

Despite its small size, the ship appeared incredibly advanced, with strange, glowing panels and intricate machinery lining the interior I could barely make out through the front glass.

“You can look inside if you want.” Lordek lowered a narrow set of stairs and waved to them. “You can’t hurt anything, so feel welcome to touch.” He grinned. “Just don’t start the engines.”

“It’s amazing. I’m stunned.”

“It’s just a simple ship. It suits me. It’s taken me on many wonderful journeys.” His voice deepened. “It brought me to you.”

“I was walking down the road, going to a costume part, when I saw your ship blast across the sky. You crashed and I ran to you right away. I was scared but I was equally fascinated.”

“I’m so glad you found me. So glad you rescued me.”

I smiled, though I know it held more sadness than joy. Our time together had been too short. We’d done our best to stuff a lifetime into it, but it would soon be over.

With wide eyes, I climbed the stairs and stepped into a six by six foot chamber in the front of the ship. The bridge, I assumed, if the sci-fi TV shows I’d watched were anything to go by. One big chair took up the center, and the walls were covered with buttons and screens that flashed in a rhythmic fashion. A large windscreen took up the front section of the ship, with a pointed metal nose beyond. In some ways it was much like an airplane, yet in others, it was strangely alien, just like Lordek.

I took in the details of the ship's interior with appreciation, admiring how much further ahead his tech was compared to ours—or what I knew of ours. Earth ships could travel to the moon, but as far as I knew, no manned crafts had traveled farther than that.

The feeling of being in an alien space vessel was foreign yet thrilling at the same time. I reached out and touched the wall. I was doing something no other human on Earth had done, touching an alien spacecraft. Well, unless the rumors about Area 51 harboring alien vessels were true, and no one really knew anything about that.

It was cool to my touch and felt like anything else on Earth. Shouldn’t it feel different in some way?

When I climbed back out of the ship, Lordek was hard at work on one of the wings. He’d removed several panels and was busy tinkering with the delicate machinery inside. I could feel his concentration from where I stood, and a wave of admiration swept over me. He was so smart.

He motioned for me to help, and I ran over. “I need a tool that looks like this.”

Something similar to a hand-held computer hovered beside him, its glassy screen showing a schematic of the wing. At his request, a tool appeared on the screen.

“I think my grandfather had something similar.” I rushed to the bench and started opening drawers, inspecting everything inside. With two tools that looked like they might fit what he was looking for, I returned to Lordek.

“Yes.” He took one and leaned near, giving me a quick kiss. “You’re amazing.”

“You’re the one fixing a spaceship. I’m just hanging out, trying to look good.”

“You’re beautiful. More lovely than anyone I’ve met before, and it’s more than your gorgeous surface. You’re strong and resilient. Incredibly brave. I admire you so much.”

“I don’t feel that way right now.” Actually, I wanted to cry.

“I’ve traveled through over thirty galaxies during the past eight years, and I’ve never met anyone as special you.”

“I’m just a normal woman.” My face heated at his praise. “You’re wonderful. I’m glad I had the chance to meet you.”

Our smiles fell, both of us reminded that he’d have to leave soon, that we’d never see each other again.

“Who helped me to her house when I was pretty much unconscious.”

“Me,” I said softly.

“And I’m much bigger than you.”

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