Page 9 of Bred by the Alien Prince

Derek laughed nervously; you know the laugh a person would make when they know you’re about to ask them for money or ask them to do something shady. “Wow… uh…”

“I have a card with one hundred and twenty-five credits. I’m just short seventy-five. I swear I will pay you back—”

“How can you do that on a colony?” He questioned. “We’re not going there to get paid.”

“I’ll find another way.” Oh God, I was about to open the gauntlet. “I’ll do anything you want.” I cringed. Was he even gay?

He was silent and seemed to think about his words. “Anything?”

I hung my head low. “Yeah.”

“Isn’t this illegal as fuck?”

“Yeah, but it’s my only chance.”

“Maybe you can go see someone. There has to be a list.”

“Please,” I begged, oh yeah, I’m getting on that damn ship now.

“Okay.” He sighed, and I wanted to jump for joy over how easy this was, but a part of me knew nothing was ever this easy. I opened a doorway and had no one else to blame but myself for doing it. But it was still better than some random guy I’d never spoken to before, and Derek wasn’t bad in the eyes at all. Now that I saw him standing up, he was impressive in height and muscle tone, and his eyes glistened.

“I’ll pay the guy directly,” he said, and I wondered if he trusted everything I said. I doubted it. We were still strangers overall.

I entered the diner like my life depended on it. Mr. Shady came out of the bathroom with a smile plastered on his face, as if he could read my mind. He opened the door, and I hesitated before entering.

The place didn’t smell as bad as I thought.

“Before we give you anything,” Derek spoke up. “What will you do exactly, and how will this help him?”

“Fair question.” He pressed his back against the wall but thought better of it. “It’s the ID card. It’ll get him inside the port and access the required facilities. It’ll get him into the hotel and onboard the colony ship. I promise nothing else.”

“How will this get him on the ship?” Derek asked. “Surely there’s a roster, and they’ll see his name isn’t on it.”

“That’s not a problem. First of all, not everyone is gonna show up. So, not every space is gonna be filled. And number two, these rich tech gurus are lazy as hell. Just creating the ID is enough to enter him into the systems, and number three, they need as many bodies as possible filling the seats to say this whole thing was a success. They won’t turn him away.”

Shooting Derek a puppy dog look I used on my dad in the past. I was gonna hate looking at myself in the mirror in the morning.

“Fine.” He passed his credit chit.

“Only take seventy-five. I have the rest.” I said, but it did nothing to alleviate my guilt at lying to Derek.

“You made a wise purchase. Now stand against the wall,” he instructed, stuffing his credit chip reader in his long black coat pocket.

He took some pics of me and then went to work on his laptop. It took almost an hour to plop that plastic ID card into my hand. My picture was in the corner, with a reader chip, like a credit chip with my name. I showed it to Derek, who seemed to approve of the work and compared it to the real thing.

“The name is Cormac.” Mr. Shady blew out a thick cloud of smoke. "You can find me onboard if you need anything else,” he said, heading out.

“Come on, we better hurry before all this will be for nothing.” Derek headed back across the street, seeming disappointed in himself.

Yeah, he knew I was lying.

The moment I stepped inside the megastructure, I was struck by its breathtaking interior. The space was designed to resemble a small cyberpunk city, with towering buildings and a maze of interconnected walkways.

I saw shimmering silver industrial architecture everywhere I looked, which contrasted beautifully with the vivid neon lights that illuminated the space. The walls were adorned with intricate murals and digital art, which gave the space a unique and futuristic feel.

The air was electric with energy, and I couldn't help but feel a sense of awe as I explored this impressive architectural masterpiece.

Small silver and black drones flew overhead, most likely a security detail that monitored everyone checking in.

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