Page 36 of Alien Prince's Fated Mate

“It’s what I’ve been looking for.” My fingers trembled as I reached toward the metal surface. “A way to end it all.”

Tharon grabbed my hand. “Be careful.”

“Too late for that now.” I pulled away from his grip. “We need to find a way in. Help me look for an access panel.”

We circled the pod slowly, the device’s lights growing stronger near certain sections of the hull. My hands skimmed over the metal, feeling for seams or catches that might indicate a door. The surface felt cool beneath my fingers, familiar somehow.

“Here.” I stopped at a section where geometric patterns caught the light differently. “There’s something...”

My fingers found the edges of a hidden panel, muscle memory from years of Temple integration guiding my movements. The device hummed, resonating with dormant systems beneath the metal.

“Stand back,” I told Tharon, though he hadn’t moved from his protective position behind me.

I pressed the device against the panel, letting instinct guide me. A series of clicks echoed through the pod’s hull, followed by a hydraulic hiss. The door started to move, then stuck with a grinding sound.

Tharon stepped forward, muscles bunching as he gripped the edge. Metal groaned as he forced it the rest of the way open. Stale air rushed out, carrying centuries of silence with it.

Emergency lighting flickered reluctantly to life as I stepped toward the entrance. Tharon’s hand on my shoulder stopped me.

“Let me go first.”

I wanted to argue, but the intensity in his expression made me pause. He moved into the pod with predatory grace, checking each shadow before gesturing me forward.

The layout struck a chord of recognition in my mind - similar to the Temple’s familiar corridors, but older, purer somehow. This was what it had all looked like before the crash, before the Temple started replacing its damaged components with living tissue. My fingers traced patterns in the dust coating a nearby console.

“I feel like I know this place,” I murmured. “Even though I’ve never been here.”

“How?” Tharon examined everything with careful curiosity, his movements precise despite the growing darkness in his eyes.

“The Temple... it’s built on the same basic design. But this is older. Original.” I moved deeper into the pod, drawn toward what I knew would be the command center. “The Temple has modified itself countless times. But this... this is how it all started.”

The main console stood intact, its dark screens reflecting the device’s pulsing light. Familiar symbols mixed with ones I’d never seen before, their patterns calling to something deep in my memories of integration.

I settled into the command chair, letting my hands hover over the controls. “I can access it. I just need to...”

The device interfaced differently than I expected. I was used to being physically connected to the Temple’s network, metal jacks bridging the gap between flesh and machine. This was older, simpler in some ways but more complex in others.

“What exactly are you trying to do?” Tharon asked, examining a bank of auxiliary controls.

“Find a way in. The Temple built layers of protocols on top of the original systems. I need to...” I frowned as another attempt failed. “I need to unlearn everything they taught me.”

“Why?”

The question made me pause. “Because the Temple changed everything to suit its needs. This is pure. Unchanged.” Igestured at the console. “See these symbols? In the Temple, they represent pain protocols, ways to control the girls they connect with. But here... here they mean something else entirely.”

The device showed new interface options as I spoke, responding to my growing understanding. Each failure taught me something, each setback revealed another piece of the puzzle.

Tharon explored further into the pod while I worked, his occasional questions helping me think differently about the systems. Hours passed as I delved deeper into the programming, stripping away layers of Temple conditioning to find the original commands beneath.

Minutes stretched into hours as I worked, testing every combination I could remember. Sweat trickled along my back, frustration building with each failed attempt.

“I don’t understand.” I slammed my palm against the console. “I should be able to interface with this. I was connected to the Temple for years.”

“Connected how?” Tharon asked.

I touched the newly-healed spots on my skull where the neural jacks had been. “Physically integrated. The priests embedded metal contacts directly into our brains. It let us merge with the ship’s systems, become part of its consciousness.”

“And this pod requires the same integration?”

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