Page 12 of The Alien's Major Dilemma

“No, stop broadcasting your emotions at me. It makes it hard to think!”

“I’m not broadcasting anything!”

“Yes, you are! Knock it off!”

They were shouting at each other and Cooper realized between deep breaths that they were trying to deflect other emotions into anger.

Marissa was scared. The strong, professional Major Ozark might have been trying to find his weaknesses, but beneath all of it, she was terrified.

So was he.

Because everything she’d said was true and he was suddenly responsible for keeping both of them alive.

He needed a plan. An actual plan that they could both be part of and not just his vague attempt to try and fit in with the locals.

“What do you want?” he asked.

She blinked at him and he knew she wasn’t expecting this approach.

“Isn’t that supposed to be my question?”

“I think I’ve been pretty clear with my overall mission statement. I want to know how it fits in with your personal one. We’re going to be here a while so I thought I might be able to help. So, what is it? Own a farm? Read a hundred books in ayear? Go to space in a giant egg? Seriously, I’m willing to help, you just have to tell me what you want.”

She laughed and he grinned. That was the sound that soothed his soul. Whatever else he did, he was going to do his best to keep making her laugh.

“I never thought about going to space in a giant egg but you do seem to have the equipment for that,” she said. “Right now, my stated purpose is to escape and go home. Until I’m able to accomplish that, I would like to learn more about my captor and his people. And what he or they know about what happened to Captain LaGrange.”

“Ah, I should probably do something about the escaping part,” he said and turned to the closest control panel. A quick press on the button started the process to close the blast shields. It also folded a bunch of his work equipment back into the walls, but he didn’t think he’d need it for a while.

The top of the ship closed over them like a high arched dome and everything above his head became translucent.

“How is it still so bright?” she asked.

“I have it set to preserve as much natural light as I can,” he said. “It helps me keep track of time. So, now that there is absolutely no chance of you escaping without my permission, what would you like to do next? I’ll warn you, I’m still pretty light on supplies but I can pick some fresh food up soon.”

“What do you mean by soon? We’re in the middle of the desert.”

“Well, for values of middle, really. We’re actually in the beginnings of the mountains so there’s caves and stuff nearby.”

“Are you planning to forage for stuff in the caves or something?”

“Oh, no, there are people living in the caves. Not officially insurgents, but they’re not exactly nice people, either. So in a dayor two I’ll go and borrow one of their vehicles and get what we need from town.”

“What about the truck you stole from the base?”

“It’s not exactly inconspicuous,” he said.

“So you’re going to give it back?”

He gave her a look and knew she’d only asked to be funny.

“I’ll leave them a note with the GPS coordinates that will be delivered after I leave.”

“When do you expect that to be?”

The question made him uncomfortable and he didn’t really want to think about it. He’d have to soon but it could wait. And he could swear he'd already answered this question.

“I don’t know yet. I’m waiting to hear back. It could be a while.”

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