Page 36 of Alien on the Moon

Yelping, she leaped to her feet in disgust, covering her nose as a putrid odor filled the room. She and everyone in the immediate vicinity fled.

“Oh, that’s foul,” Sofia said, approaching from down the hall. She wrinkled her nose at the smell. “What happened?”

Elena refused to meet her sister’s eye. “Squig popped.”

“Gross.” She craned her head to peek into the lab window. “Do you know what’s wrong with them yet?”

She shook her head, resisting the urge to scream in frustration. “I have no idea.”

Sofia squeezed her sister’s shoulder. “Hey, I’m sure you’ll figure it out. You’re the genius. Remember?”

“Not feeling like one right now.”

Her older sister sighed, looking resigned. “Look, we’re going to head back to Thryal soon, but Arccoo wanted to talk to you in private before we left.”

Closing her eyes, she took a deep breath in and out. Best just to get it over with. “Where is he?”

Sofia furrowed her brows in concern. “Are you sure you want to go now?”

“I’m not a child. I can handle myself if it’s bad news,” she snapped, feeling a bit childish for it. Her older sister was just the messenger. None of this was her fault.

Sofia put her hands up in a placating gesture. “Yeah, I know that. I actually was going to suggest that you change first. No offense, but you reek. What are those squigs made of?”

“Spite and cruel mockery, I think.”

She sniffed her shirt. The squig must have gotten some of its juices on her when it burst because the shirt smelled awful. But she was heading in for what was inevitably going to be a frustrating conversation, so she was feeling petty. “I’ll stay in this. If I have to suffer through the bad news, Arccoo should be just as uncomfortable.”

Sofia smirked and patted Elena’s shoulder. “It looks like the squigs aren’t the only things full of spite. He’s in his room. I’ll take Carmen somewhere far away.” She sniffed again, her face twisting in disgust. “Very far away.”

Feeling like a prisoner on death row, Elena made her way to Arccoo’s room. He sat waiting on his bed, expecting her. Carmen wisely seemed to have already cleared the area.

When she entered, he wrinkled his nose. “Ugh, what’s that smell?”

“The scent of someone doing their duty, Your Highness,” she said, unable to keep the bitterness from her voice.

He gestured for her to sit down at his desk chair.

Arccoo sighed, looking incredibly tired. She knew she wasn’t being fair to her brother-in-law. He had the literal weight of his planet’s future on his shoulders, but she believed in this project and needed him to believe in her.

He scrubbed his face. “Look, Elena, I’m trying. You have no idea how hard I’ve been working to buy you all more time, but we need results.”

“So, what? You’re just pulling the plug?” She crossed her arms, digging her fingers into their soft flesh. The physical pain was enough of a distraction from her growing anger.

He shook his head. “Not yet. We’re giving you one more chance. Then, unfortunately, we’ll have to switch to Plan B before it’s too late to avert disaster.”

“Don’t you believe in me?” Try as she might, she couldn’t keep the hurt from her voice.

“Of course, I believe in you, little sister,” he said, looking almost equally pained. “You have one of the brightest minds in the galaxy. I know that, if given enough time, you’d figure it out. But we don’t have that time, and the royal council is pushing me to end this project.”

Getting to his feet, he opened his arms, offering a hug. A petty part of her considered rejecting it, but she decided against it. This wasn’t really his fault, after all. He was fighting for the project as much as she was.

She wrapped her arms around his chest. He gave her a squeeze and then made a disgusted noise. “You really should change your shirt,” he said. “Or burn it.”

Rolling her eyes, she stepped backward and gave an exaggerated bow. “As you wish, my liege.”

“We’ll be leaving in about twenty minutes. Carmen and Sofia will want to say goodbye.”

She nodded and headed for the door. “I’ll be there.” Pausing, she turned back to him and gave him a weak smile. “And there’s no hard feelings. I know you’re doing your best, and above everything else, we’re family. Nothing will ever change that.”

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