Page 9 of Alien's Love Child

The recycled air of the ship tickles my nose as I wake. Across the cramped cabin, Paraxan's massive form hunches over a maintenance panel, his fur catching the small light from above.

"Morning," I say, swinging my legs off the bunk. "Early riser?"

A grunt is my only answer. The Odex's claws click against metal as he works. He's huge, as most Odex are. Eight feet tall and easily three hundred pounds. The fact that he's on board makes it pretty obvious why Rena needs to make such careful weight calculations.

"You know, been meaning to ask. Why'd Jesse need to hire muscle with someone like you aboard? You could snap a person in half without breaking a sweat."

Paraxan's shoulders stiffen. "Too old for fighting. Past my prime."

"Really? Because from where I'm sitting?—"

"Past. My. Prime." His claws scrape against the panel with more force than necessary.

I lean back against the wall. "Right. My mistake."

The maintenance shaft door sticks as Paraxan tries to close it. Without seeming to exert any effort, he yanks it shut with a single pull, the metal groaning in protest.

"Heading to the kitchen now. Making breakfast." He lumbers to his feet, ducking to avoid hitting his head on the low ceiling.

My stomach turns as I notice the amount of fur floating in his wake. "You cook often?"

"When crew lets me. Good at it."

"I'm sure you are." I watch more fur drift down, imagining it coating whatever he's about to prepare. "Very... thorough."

He pauses at the door. "Coming?"

"I'll... catch up. Need to get dressed first."

Another grunt, and he's gone. I eye the fur coating my blanket and wonder if the ship stocks antihistamines.

I step into the corridor just as Rena rounds the corner, her face scrunching up in a violent sneeze. "Achoo!Oh man, he's cooking again, isn't he?"

"If by 'he' you mean our resident furball, then yes." I brush some stray Odex fur off my sleeve. "Does the air filtration system ever catch up?"

"Achoo!Considering he's the one who maintains it? Never." She wipes her nose with the back of her hand. "I see you've had the pleasure of meeting Paraxan. Don't let the strong-silent routine fool you – he's been watching over Jesse since she was knee-high."

"Family friend?"

"More like inherited crew. He served with Jesse's parents back when they were running their own operations. When she struck out solo, he tagged along." Rena leans against the wall, sniffling. "Though these days he mostly stays aboard, tinkering with the engines or shedding in the kitchen."

"Retired?"

"Not officially. But you've seen how Odex are about admitting when they're past their prime. I think that's why he switched crews – Jesse's parents were probably pushing him to hang up his tools."

My mind drifts to the way he'd effortlessly yanked that maintenance panel shut. The strength still evident in those massive arms. Pride keeps the old warrior going, refusing to be put out to pasture. There's something admirable in that – the determination to remain useful, to protect what matters, even as time marches on.

"Speaking of the kitchen..." Rena's nose twitches. "Want to grab breakfast in the mess? Fair warning – his cooking's amazing, but you might want to check for stray hairs."

"Sure, I could eat." I follow Rena down the narrow corridor to the mess hall, ducking under a low-hanging pipe.

Taluk sits at the small table, his red scales catching the overhead light. His eyes narrow as I enter. "Great. The new guy."

"Play nice," Rena says, sliding onto the bench.

"Why should I? We were doing fine without him." Taluk stabs at his food. "What, I'm not good enough muscle anymore?"

I settle across from him, keeping my movements slow and deliberate. "You know, when I first joined the military, there was this veteran sergeant. Thought I was trying to replace him. Turned out we each had different strengths."

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