Page 1 of My Alien Pirate

1

A New Frontier

"All hands, brace for impact!" Captain Rodriguez's voice cut through the cacophony through the ship's speakers.

I frantically scanned my data screens, my heart pounding, trying to figure out what was happening. A brilliant flash of light flooded my main viewscreen in the lab, momentarily blinding me. When my vision cleared, I gasped in horror. A massive rift had opened in space before us, swirling with otherworldly energies.

"All decks, lock down!" the captain's voice shouted through the comms.

The ship lurched, and I was thrown across the room. As I tumbled through the air, I caught a glimpse of blackness through the window to the hallway. It wasn't supposed to be dark was my last thought before everything in my world went black.

I didn't know how long I was unconscious, but acrid fumes clawed at my throat, jolting me awake in a fit of violentcoughing. The stench of scorched metal and melting plastic assaulted my nostrils, each breath causing my stomach to revolt.

As lucidity flooded back, I became aware of something smooth and cold pressed against my cheek—the cool, slick surface of metal unaffected by fire; a stark contrast to the chaos around me.

My eyelids rebelled against my attempts to open them, sealed as if by some industrial strength super glue. Fingers scrubbing at my face, I realized my cheeks were wet with tears streaming from my abused eyes. As I finally wrenched my lids open, a world of swirling darkness greeted me, punctuated only by wisps of ominous black and grey smoke.

Disorientation gripped me as I fought the rising tide of panic in my chest. My surroundings were a mystery, but one thing was terrifyingly clear: I needed to escape. The air grew thinner with each passing second, devoured by unseen flames whose hungry crackling echoed through the haze. Questions raced through my mind: Where am I? How do I get out?

Survival instinct took over. I forced my trembling body onto hands and knees, each movement a battle against the oppressive heat and my unexplained weakness. Desperately seeking any hint of coolness—a lifeline in this inferno—I began to crawl. Every inch forward felt like a small victory as I crept away from the encroaching flames, praying my chosen direction led to safety.

Suddenly, a bright light pierced the bellowing clouds of smoke.Thank you, Jesus! It must be someone from the rescue crew!

"I'm here!" My voice croaked alarmingly as I tried to call out to my savior. Panicked at my weak attempt to make myself heard, I began crawling faster toward the light. Toward my salvation.

Without warning, my head banged into a hard surface, causing my hands and knees to splay out under me. A squeal left my throat in pain and surprise before a thickly gloved handappeared in front of me out of the darkness like a mirage in a desert of smoke. Crying out in relief, I gripped the huge hand and allowed myself to be hauled to my feet. A mechanical voice said something in my ear I couldn't understand but a moment later, I was whisked up into strong arms. Whisked way up. This guy was enormous! I was no petite damsel, and he plucked me up like I weighed nothing at all.

Thanking my lucky stars, I tucked my face into the strange fabric of the fireman's suit in an effort to block out some of the smoke that continued to roil around us. The fabric had an almost metallic feel to it—like aluminum foil, but soft as silk and pliable. I latched onto my rescuer like a baby spider monkey and tried to breathe as he quickly moved through the darkness until the smoke began to clear.

Since being chosen as the xenobiologist for this mission to the New Earth colony, my ability to manage overreaching anxiety had definitely leveled up. I attributed my newfound ability to go with the flow to 'exposure therapy'. Every day, I was introduced to something I'd previously been unaware of during my isolated life in my lab on Earth. Something I not only had to use, but which would likely save my life.

"SpaceCon, you sneaky bastards," I had thought more than once, a mixture of awe and frustration washing over me.You've been holding out on us earthbound mortals. The tech on the Phoenix was light-years beyond anything I'd ever imagined. Each new discovery was like unwrapping a gift, albeit one accompanied by a hefty user manual and the pressure of life-or-death consequences.

It was a shame none of us would ever get to share our knowledge. This mission was a one-way trip. The thought should have sent me spiraling into an existential crisis, but surprisingly, it didn't. I found myself pondering this emotional detachment as I floated through the ship during my off-hours.

The thought of never returning to Earth should have been scarier, but, ultimately, I decided I really had nothing to lose. I had no family left—just empty spaces where loved ones used to be. I basically lived in my lab, a sterile cocoon that had become both my sanctuary and my prison. No close friends would miss me; my social circle had shrunk to the size of a petri dish over the years. Hell, I'd even made the decision not to have a pet, the loneliness of an empty apartment less painful than the guilt of neglecting a living creature.

Heading out into the vastness of space? Why not?It seemed like a big adventure, a chance to finally break free from the monotony that had defined my existence. Until now.

Now, with alarms blaring like banshees and my eyes streaming tears that burned like acid, adventure took on a whole new meaning. And then there was this—this space suited fireman carrying me toward…what? Where was he taking me? As my brain synapses finally started firing again, I tried to figure out who this was and where he was taking me. We weren't a small crew, but I didn't remember meeting anyone this size in training. I surely would have remembered.

"Hey, you can put me down now," I told the giant carrying me, trying to inject some authority into my voice despite feeling like a puny rag doll in his arms. "I'm okay. Really. I can walk."

The golden faceplate of his suit helmet dipped toward me for a second, a brief acknowledgment that felt more dismissive than reassuring. Then he looked up again and continued on, not slowing his pace one bit.Notputting me down.

Annoyance flared up, temporarily overriding my fear.I'm a scientist, dammit, not some helpless civilian!Fueled by this indignation, I poked him in the chest...and nearly broke my finger. It was like poking a brick wall.Ow! What the hell?He must have some kind of body armor on under his suit.Great, my knight in shining armor is actually made of armor.

Sucking my sore finger into my mouth, I took a moment to look around at the clearing air around us. And blinked. Once. Twice. My brain struggled to process what my eyes were seeing. Nothing was familiar. Nothing. This was not the USS Phoenix.

The sleek, white, sterile corridors I'd grown accustomed to over the past months had vanished, replaced by... what exactly? Some kind of black, onyx-like material. That would have been fear inducing enough but then I caught a glimpse out of one of the portholes breaking up the solid wall of black. I fought against the spots teasing the edges of my vision. You will not pass out, Nova! You will not! Even though the view I was trying to process was of a purple sky with bright orange suns sitting halfway up the horizon. Suns, plural.

My hands flew to my mouth, an attempt to stifle the scream building in my chest, my hard-earned go-with-the-flow attitude evaporating like water on a hot plate. The calm I'd cultivated over the last few months crumbling to bits, leaving raw, primal fear in its wake.

Oh God, where am I? What's happening?My heart raced, each beat a thunder in my ears drowning out even the persistent alarms.

As panic threatened to overwhelm me, I struggled in my rescuer's arms, a new question erupting in my frantic mind – was he my savior or my captor?

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