Page 11 of My Alien Sunshine

Her smile is bright and completely sincere. “I’d be sad if you didn’t.”

“Me too.” I pull Nala into me, wrapping my arms around her body protectively. She fits perfectly. “You’re so amazing,” I sigh, enamored by this beautiful piece of perfection lying beside me. “Can we meet again?”

Nala stiffens, and I want to punch myself. I’ve pushed too far.

“I…uh…” Nala makes a feeble attempt to wriggle out of my arms, but I don’t let her go yet. “I’m not sure that’s a good idea,” she says. There’s a moment of hesitation before Nala’s body stops resisting and sinks welcomingly back into my embrace, relaxing as if it wants to see me again even if her mind says otherwise.

“I will not force you to do anything, Nala. I enjoy your company and simply wish to spend more time with you, but I won’t do anything you don’t want. You know that, right?”

“I do. It’s just…everything is complicated. Can we talk about this later?” She grabs my cock, which is already half-erect. A few strokes of Nala’s nimble hand later and I’m as hard as if I hadn’t just had sex just a few minutes ago. “Will you let me repay the favor now?” she asks, her sultry smile back in place.

I know she’s pulling away, changing the topic to avoid promising me anything. I’m probably not the first customer who spoke of having a relationship with her after good sex. I get that she doesn’t trust me yet, but I’m a patient male. Mostly. Alright, I’m not a patient male at all, but I will be if it means getting closer to my Nala. And if sucking me off will make her feel more in control, who am I to refuse?

The morning comes too soon and I find myself waking to an empty bed. The fact that Nala is gone doesn’t surprise me. The fact that Tareq’s money is also gone, also doesn’t surprise me.

Face palming myself and cursing over being so incredibly stupid, I roar in frustration. I don’t blame Nala for stealing the money. Of course she stole it, especially after I left it just lying there like the idiot I am.

I vividly remember living the kind of life she does now. Back in the slums, I would have stolen the money, too. Hell, I wouldn’t have just stolen the money, I would have slit my mark’s throat after stealing his watch, his comms and his shoes, too. Good shoes are worth a fortune to people who have nothing. I guess I should be happy Nala isn’t a violent person at heart.

As I locate my clothes, my brain struggles to figure out what to do next. If Nala had asked, I would have given her all of my money. However, this wasn’t my money and I don’t have enough to repay Tareq for what I lost. Will he be mad at me?

The longer I think about it, the more worried I am. Things are different now that we aren’t an official UGC squad anymore. We are no longer bound by a common employer, orders, or a tight chain of command. We’re just a bunch of people with common history who chose to remain together even though we no longer have to.

If I fuck up too much, will they kick me off the ship? Get rid of the hybrid with a criminal past? I’d like to think they would never do that, but I can’t be sure. This was a huge fuck up.

I need to get the money back.

I don’t believe Nala stole it to buy herself a new dress or a new can of edible paint. She must desperately need money and if that’s the case, I can’t just take it from her. We’ll have to figure out a compromise. Whether or not she likes it, she will have to ask for my help.

With my mind settled, I head back to the Supernova.

The crew is gathered on the bridge and most are grinning at me when I arrive.

“Have fun?” Lyriana asks, punching my shoulder teasingly. “You’ve been gone all night.”

I shove her away from me, my tone equally teasing. “Miss me?”

“Always, you big red brute. Did you find any good pussy on this backwater station?”

I roll my eyes at her shenanigans. “Nothing that would interest you.” Lyri likes both males and females and she would no doubt love to spend a night with a human, but there’s no way I’m sharing Nala with her. “So, what’s new? How much longer are we staying here?” How long do I have to woo Nala and convince her to join me aboard the ship?

Captain Zarkan stands from the console he’s been working at, watching us all with a broad smile. He’s older than the rest of us and I know that in a way, he considers us to be his children. He’s the one who ended up saving me when I got in trouble back on Yoka 5.

The authorities had sentenced me to a decade of forced labor, strip-mining an asteroid in the middle of nowhere. Technically, it was a death sentence. No one survived there for longer than a couple of years. Most less than that. Zarkan managed to get my sentence reduced and had me transferred to a UGC holding facility. He visited whenever he could, helping me to get my life in order. To find a purpose.

When they released me, I immediately applied for the UGC forces and quickly worked my way to the very top, becoming a Voidstalker, then eventually I was accepted into Zarkan’s squad. Until I met Nala, I’d considered that to be the best day of my life.

“Our transmitter has been altered,” Zarkan says, “so now we’re the official owners of the Supernova.” His words are met with a round of cheerful applause. “Now, we just need to purchase supplies and redesign the rooms to make them more comfortable. There’s another matter, though.” Zarkan’s voice grows more serious, his slitted eyes narrowing. “Cai?”

The computer responds almost immediately. “D’Aakh and I have been going over the logs of previous flights. My previous captains have always wiped them clean, but there are ways to restore wiped memory banks. D’Aakh’s exceptional skills allowed us to recover a portion of the data.”

D’Aakh’s two antennae twitch in a sign of embarrassment, but he quickly shakes it off. “The data is fragmented,” he explains, “and it will take time to go through it all, but we discovered that at least one of the previous slave groups was delivered to this station.”

Frowning, Tareq wraps his arm around Astra’s shoulders and pulls her into his chest. “I thought slavery was banned on the Farpoint Gateway? It’s not a part of the UGC but the local laws forbid owning other sentient beings, do they not?”

“They do,” Zarkan agrees. “However, as we all know well, the criminal underground thrives in all locations.”

“So, are we going in to kill these assholes or what?” Omni demands, stretching out his wings.

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