Page 29 of My Alien Sunshine

Ellen cautiously places her hand a few inches above one of the pipes running along the walkway walls, then shakes her head. “This one isn’t hot. But this one is,” she adds after testing another one, showing her teeth in a wide smile. They aren’t as pointed as a pure-blooded Syndoran’s, which only adds to her cuteness. “This one isn’t. This one isn’t. Oh, here, look, this one is really hot!”

I arm myself with patience. If it was just me, I’d already be halfway to the hangar, but I can’t blame a child for acting like a child. “Yes, this one is really hot,” I agree, “so we better stay away from it. And remember, we have to be quiet.”

“Oh, right, quiet,” Ellen whispers, pointing her flashlight all around. “Like a mouse.”

I don’t know what a mouse is, but for both our sakes, I hope it’s a really stealthy animal. “Yes, like a mouse. Let’s go.”

I’m not sure what deities hold their protective hands over us, but somehow, we make it to the hangar without alerting anyone to our presence. Ellen stays quiet for the most part but when she does forget herself and starts telling me about something she suddenly finds interesting, like a multicolored wire or pipe that’s squeaking, no guards hear her.

Like I’d hoped, there’s a shuttle docked in the middle of the small hangar. It’s a simple shuttle without hyperdrive, which means we can’t use it to actually get ourselves out of Drayth’s reach, but we can use it to get off this ship and wait for the Supernova to come and pick us up. It’s a rather simple plan, but I found that simple works the best as there are fewer things to go wrong.

I tell Ellen to wait by the hatch while I search the hangar for guards. There are none. The shuttle looks operational and a quick check reveals that it’s fueled and ready to go. The hangar bay door controls are accessible from the cockpit. Everything is great. Maybe too great.

Even simple plans can go wrong. Terribly, horribly wrong.

As I exit the shuttle to fetch Ellen, a door opens on the other side of the hangar and several guards enter. I jump behind a crate to hide, hoping they’re just on a regular patrol and will soon leave. That hope dies when I overhear their conversation.

“... the tracker. Somewhere around here.”

“Alone?”

“Not sure. Be ready. And find the little bitch!”

I stifle a growl. I should have known Drayth would put a tracker on Ellen. I only checked for a collar, satisfied to see she wasn’t wearing one. The tracker is probably subdermal, a tiny device implanted under her skin so long ago she wouldn’t even remember it happening.

I could make it to the shuttle and take off, but I dismiss the thought before it even fully forms in my mind. I came here to save Ellen and I’m not leaving without her. I’d never be able to live with myself, not to mention look into Nala’s eyes again.

Knowing my hiding spot is about to be discovered, I do the only thing possible—draw the guards’ attention to me. “HEY!” I yell, waving my arms in case they missed my large body emerging from the shadows. “I’m over here! ELLEN, RUN!” I add, hoping the girl will listen.

The guards are quick to draw their weapons. Shock sticks and stunners, I notice. They probably don’t want to damage the master’s “merchandise”. The thought fuels my rage. Nala’s daughter is no one’s fucking merchandise!

With a roar, I launch myself at the nearest guard, taking him by surprise. Bones crack as he collides with a cargo container. He groans and wheezes as I move to attack another, but I don’t bother checking on his injuries. He’ll probably live. Or not. I don’t give the slightest shit.

The second guard is a massive Okri. I mean, the Okri are large in general, but this one is the biggest one I’ve ever seen. And I’ve seen a lot of them since they’re often hired as guards because they’re strong and good at following orders.

The Okri grunts as my fist slams into his stomach, but he doesn’t budge. The motherfucker is heavier than me, which means I can’t beat him by sheer force. As I try to sidestep his punch, pain lances through my thigh and I collapse on one knee. More pain stabs at my back and arms until I’m lying on the cold metal floor.

The fuckers with their shock sticks don’t stop shocking me until I’m on the brink of passing out. It’s embarrassing, really. I’d hoped to last longer, but what can one man do against thousands of volts frying his muscles? At least I gave Ellen a chance to run.

I’d hoped to make this a stealthy mission. Get in, grab the girl, and get out with Drayth none the wiser. Now, my squad mates will have to fight to get us out of here. And they will. I have no doubts about that. They will come. We always come for each other.

“Did you find her?” a grating voice pierces through the pain clouding my mind.

“Not yet, sir. She crawled into one of the vents.”

Drayth’s fancy leather shoes come into my view. “Then go after her, idiots!”

“But sir, we won’t fit.”

“Go after that fucking child or I’ll grab a knife and make you fit!” Drayth yells and most of his subordinates scatter like flock of spooked birds. “Blood and bones,” he curses to himself, his shoes clicking closer. “I swear the little bitch is more trouble than that fucking mother of hers. Should have sold them both years ago. Not even human slaves are worth this much hassle. And now,” he says, the tip of his shoe poking my cheek, “who the fuck are you?”

I spit out blood, pleased to see how nicely it stains the leather. Of course, it earns me a kick to the stomach, but it was worth it. “Fucking bastard!” Drayth yells, grabbing the shock stick and burying it into my back. My vision wavers, but I don’t lose consciousness. Sometimes, I’m too tough for my own good.

“I’m your worst nightmare,” I croak when he stops sending electricity through my body. “There’s a dozen more of us on your ship just waiting to take you down. Watch the shadows, Drayth. The second you close your eyes, one of them will move in and slit your throat.”

“What a bunch of karli crap.” Drayth kicks me again, but I grin. I heard the hint of fear in his voice. He doesn’t know who I am or how I got on this ship. His lack of knowledge scares him, because if I got on board, who’s to say others didn’t too? And a friendly fellow like him? I bet he has dozens of powerful enemies.

Drayth leans closer to snarl at me. The many rings on his bone mohawk shine in the light, but I’m beginning to think he didn’t actually earn those kill marks himself. He’s good at giving orders and organizing things, but he’s a coward. Even now, all it takes is me baring my teeth and he jerks back.

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