Page 27 of Stranded with the Alien

The alien looked down at himself and shrugged. He seemed supremely untroubled by his half-naked status but she wasfinding it distracting. She searched her bag and pulled out one of the vacuum-packed SDF regulation T-shirts.

“It’s all I have,” she said, offering it to him.

He opened the packet and shook out the grey cotton top with a frown of disapproval. Kara understood his misgivings. At least it didn’t have ‘Space Defense Force’ emblazoned across it. This one simply had a motto.

Semper Fortis. Always valiant.

The Vraxian ripped holes in the back of it.

“Hey!” Kara bristled. “If you don’t want it you can just…” she trailed off as the alien pulled the T-shirt over his head, slipping his arms through the sleeves and his tentacles through the rips. “Ah. Okay, I see what you did there.”

The T-shirt was extra large but even so it was stretched taut across his pecs and shoulders.

Not that it was a bad look.

Kara folded her arms and adopted a brisk, business-like tone.

“Right, we have to make a plan. My beacon is broken and there’s no way of calling in a rescue. So for the time being we’re stuck here. We need to make some ground rules so we can co-exist. And our first priority is to find food and water.” She stopped. “You have no idea what I’m saying, do you?”

An idea struck her. She looked round the cave and found what she was looking for. The case from the Viper. Grabbing it up, she dropped it at the Vraxian’s feet.

“I found this. In your ship.” She watched as the alien opened it. “What is it?”

The alien didn’t answer straight away. He gazed at the syringe, his mind a whirl.Vannla’s Sword.How had this survived?

He lifted it out carefully and uncrewed the top to reveal a long needle that glinted in the sunlight. Thank Ayanlesh, it was intact. But was it worth wasting on the human?

Technically, he didn’t need her anymore. The fact that she’d found this meant she’d cleared enough debris off the Viper to gain access to the cockpit.

She must have done it while he was unconscious. A laudable effort, but it did mean her labor was no longer required. She was now just a burden on the remaining food and water supplies. The smart move would be to dispatch her.

And yet he was unaccountably intrigued by her. The human had forgiven him for the unforgiveable. She had accepted hisfarnor.On Vraxos, this was of no small significance.

And she’d saved his life. He couldn’t ignore that. She had saved him, after he had saved her. Honor dictated they were now in each other’s debt. It was an affront to the gods of Vraxos to preserve a soul only to sacrifice it on the altar of selfishness at a later date.

And that’s all?

He tried to ignore the voice inside his head. The one that told him he could rationalize it all he wanted but for some unfathomable reason he was drawn to her.

Yes, something about the female seemed to provoke his senses. He could scarcely deny that after what had happened earlier. And yes, it was unnatural and wrong.

But it was temporary. His aberration would right itself once he got off this spirit-forsaken planet. He had to believe that.

His train of thought was interrupted by the human.

“So? Is it medicine? Suicide shot? Recreational drug?”

The alien shook the syringe carefully.

“Dan’a lesh garon sharja,hooman,” he explained.

She looked at him blankly.

He pointed at his mouth, then her forehead.

She still didn’t understand.

So he stabbed her in the neck with the needle.

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