Page 17 of My Alien Sunshine

The bird-like alien cocks his head on an impossible angle, snapping his beak again. His feathers are light blue with a red crown cresting his head, a sign of nobility among his people. It’s fake, of course. I can see the paint peeling away from his feathers from where I stand. He’s a vain bastard, but he likes money and he isn’t indebted to Drayth, which makes him my best chance of getting off this station.

He waves his friend away. “Get lost, Geshrin.” The sounds coming from his beak are chirps and squawks, but my translator nodes don’t have any trouble converting them into actual words.

It’s insulting. Everyone can understand this damned bird guy, but nobody can be bothered to download English files into their nodes?

After I was abducted and given my nodes, I thought I wouldn’t have any trouble communicating. How very wrong I was! Although I could understand everyone, nobody could understand me. Not that it would have helped me. They ignored my begging as they—

No. Those are not memories I want to relive. Ever.

Regardless of the memories I’m trying to block out, the facts remain. I was kidnapped from Earth, enslaved, pregnant with an alien’s baby, and on top of dealing with all of that, I had to teach myself OmniSpeak so that I could talk to my fucking masters. My mother always said life’s tough, but I’d appreciate it giving me a fucking break from time to time.

“How can I help you?” The click-clacking of Chirrak’s beak breaks me out of my somber thoughts. He preens in front of me, smoothing out his long feathers on his wings. Show-off.

“I’d like to book passage for two on your ship. You’re leaving tomorrow morning, right?”

His demeanor shifts from flirty to businesslike. “We are. We don’t normally take passengers, though.”

“I’ll pay.”

“Hmm. Let me check the manifest.” He taps at his datapad, studying it for a long minute. No way he’s taking that long just to look if there’s space on his ship. “You’re high-risk cargo, female.”

Ah, so instead of checking the manifest, he’s been checking my data out and discovered Drayth’s subtle directive forbidding me from leaving the station. It’s not an official flight ban from the station’s authorities, but it’s enforced just the same, if not more. “That’s why I’m willing to pay you triple the normal rate. Plus, a little extra for the danger.” I can only hope my funds will cover it.

Chirrak cocks his head to the side again, and I hold back a wince. If I did that, my neck would snap. He tosses back the rest of his drink. “You said two passengers?” His eyes scout the room as he tries to find my companion.

“Yes, two seats. Myself and one extra. How much?” I ask, barely keeping the impatience from my voice. I don’t have time to haggle with this glorified peckerhead. The more time I spend with him, the bigger the risk of someone reporting me to Drayth.

Chirrak taps on the datapad, then slides it in my direction. I fail to stifle the gasp. “What?! That’s outrageous. I could buy a fucking ship for that money!”

“Buy a ship, then,” he replies with a shrug. “This is my price. It includes getting you off the station without your master’s knowledge and, for that, I believe my demands are justified.”

He’s not wrong, but fuck! Even with what I stole from Faelin, I don’t have that kind of money. If I had more time, I could find someone else, someone who’d hopefully ferry us away for a more reasonable price, but I can’t wait. Even now, Ellen is probably playing with “Uncle Krell”. It won’t be long before he asks her to sit on his lap or to change in front of him. I can’t let that happen.

“I can give you half,” I offer. It will eat up almost all of my savings. We’ll be homeless and with barely anything to eat, but we’ll be free. “As for the rest…maybe we could come to a different arrangement?” I let my cloak slip from my shoulder, revealing bare skin.

Chirrak clucks. For the Kah’Rakh, it’s a sign of excitement, which eases my worry, slightly. I don’t particularly crave having sex with this guy but his species have small cocks and are usually done quickly. Nothing like the two-cocked, aggressive Ataxi. Nothing like Drayth.

It took me a while to learn to pick my customers wisely or, to at least ask for extra money if I’m taking it up my pussy and my ass at the same time.

I step closer, letting Chirrak examine the goods. I need him. I keep repeating to myself, because all I want to do is to strangle him.

“Good,” he caws, and I hastily wrap my cloak around myself again. I don’t need other patrons getting any ideas. Or the older Zyderi female, who’s already glaring daggers at me for being her competition.

“Be at this spot in four hours,” Chirrak instructs, bringing up a station map on his datapad and pointing at an intersection near the docks. “You and your companion. My people will smuggle you off the station. My ship will leave on time. If you’re not there, you’re not coming.”

…And this bastard keeps all of my money, I read between the lines. I grit my teeth. “Just to be clear, you agree to safely deliver me and my companion to the Tungr station,” I reiterate, knowing I have to be precise. Chirrak will adhere to whatever terms we agree on, but I cannot leave any wiggle room for him to extort me later. “You will provide us with a cabin, food and water. I will provide my services to you, just you, not your crew or any other passenger. My companion is off limits. No one touches them.”

“You’re a tough female to deal with.” Chirrak lets out a squawking laugh. “But I agree with your terms, with one exception. I’ll take half of the payment up front. With that, we have a deal.”

At that, it feels like a boulder the size of a doomsday asteroid has been lifted off my chest. We have a way out. Finally. After nearly five years, I can finally take Ellen out of here and start a new life.

Dizzy with the combination of relief and hope, I don’t pay much attention to my surroundings. I traverse the well-known streets without thought, forgetting that I should be avoiding my regular haunts to escape a certain red alien.

The thought comes back to me just as someone grabs my hand and pulls me into a side alley but by then, it’s already too late. Rough, calloused hands grip me tightly as I glare up into the face I both feared and yearned for.

Fuck! I’m in trouble.

Chapter 11

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