Page 35 of Alien's Eternal Mate

Lo scratched the back of his head. I resisted the urge to throw his filthy form in the water.

“If you track the water back to its source, you find Aebon portals. The portals correspond, allegedly, to water sources on the surface.”

“Aebon portals?”

“Areas of utter darkness that connect two places that can be very far from each other.”

My heart beat faster in my chest.

“The phenomenon you describe sounds like Voidspace. A side effect of a Superluminal drive which goes critical. Can you take me to one of these Aebon portals?”

The portals would not be able to get me back to my body, but if I could determine their source, I’d be one step closer to my goal. At the least, I could use a Superluminal drive to travel to a less primitive planet and seek help.

Lo’s lips drew into a tight line.

“I do not wish to anger you, but I don’t think I can take you there.”

Frustration tinged my voice when I loomed over him.

“And why not? Do you want more money?”

“No, that’s not it. The path to the portals is not an easy one. It requires crawling through cramped tunnels that I’m uncertain you would be able to navigate.”

I snorted, amusement tinging my frustration.

All those years of wishing I were bigger, stronger. Now that I have my wish, my size becomes a hindrance.

I decided to let the portals go for the time being. The sealed security door probably held something more useful, anyway. The hope that there would be any remnant of the superluminal drive that still functioned had been a long shot.

We made it to the security door after another twenty minutes of walking. The sleek green metal door greeted me with its stubborn refusal to open. A dozen pried open control panels dotted the walls, my earlier fruitless attempts to gain ingress.

Lo and I could not breach the door that day, or the day after that. I soon moved on to other areas of the ship, but every few days or so I would come back and try something new to get past the security door.

I sat in my chamber at the Sage’s tower one day, some six months after I’d transitioned into the alien body. I fiddled with a spanner circuit I hoped would allow me to get past the security door and discover the secrets which lay behind it.

“Gro?”

I looked up to see one of the apprentice Sages standing in the portal to my chamber.

“What is it?” I didn’t bother trying to keep the annoyance out of my tone.

“Your lifemate is here.”

I set the panel down, alarm growing inside of me. She never visited me at the Sage’s tower. Never.

“See her in.”

I don’t know why, but I stood up when she entered. We stood there staring at each other for a moment. She clutched a knapsack at her belly with nervous, fidgeting fingers.

At last she stepped fully inside, placing the bundle in a clear patch of the work table before me.

“Traders from the Old Mountain tribe glided in today. I bought you a gift.”

I clouded my gaze with confusion. We did not buy each other gifts. In fact, we barely associated at all despite sharing a dwelling. I slept before the fire and she in the bed upstairs.

“A gift?”

She nodded, and had trouble meeting my gaze. I unwrapped the bundle and found several oblong, purple skinned fruits and another cylindrical package.

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