Page 16 of Dark's Savior

Aly shot up from her seat as some of the vomit hit her boot. She, in turn, felt her stomach begin to twist violently at the sight of the upchucked liquid. She put a hand tightly over her mouth and backed away as Cilia shouted and pulled Jamie from her seat. Jamie hurled once more, this time in the direction of the wall as Cilia held her and patted her back.

"Well, shit," said Davis. "So much for keeping attention off ourselves."

Cilia turned her head toward him, her face now as red as Jamie's had been. "Shut up."

A strange sound emerged from behind them, like that of a slow, rumbling hiss. Aly blinked and looked around to find the aliens around them watching. And laughing.

"Dammit," Cilia muttered. "I'm going to take her back," she said to Julian and Kate.

"I'll come and help," said Kate, rising. When Julian grabbed her arm, she merely said something in French to him, and he let her go.

Mark stood up as well. "I'll go too. Think I've had enough already. You coming?" he asked Aly.

Aly should probably just leave too, but she shook her head instead. "I think I'm gonna stay a bit longer."

Mark nodded and left with the three women. Once they were gone, Julian sighed, muttered something unintelligible, and forced down his drink.

So much for that.

Aly sat back and watched as the others drank in silence. She caught Ethan looking at her and raised her brows. "What?" she asked.

Ethan shrugged. "You gonna have another, or you just gonna sit there?"

Aly crossed her arms but said nothing. She didn't feel anything yet and wasn't sure if that was good or bad. Ethan bumped his mug against her shoulder.

"Here, just give it a taste."

Aly smelled the earthy odor in the mug and flinched. She looked at Ethan then back at the mug and took it.

What the hell? She already knew it was going to taste bad.

She took a quick, generous swig then plopped the mug back down on the table. The liquid went down thick, and the taste wasn't far off from that of grass and saltwater. Aly choked and coughed again, her eyes stinging, feeling someone patting her back.

"Dammit, we don't need another one getting sick!" Julian said.

"Sorry, Captain," Ethan said, patting her back harder. Aly sat straight and brushed his hand away.

"So, how does it taste, Smith?" Ethan chuckled.

Aly recovered herself, wiping her eyes. "Tastes just about as good as you look, Hathfeld."

Even Ethan smirked as Davis laughed, and Julian gave her a warning glare.

"What could possibly make this appetizing to anyone?" Aly said aloud, then felt her face heat as she looked around.

"Nothing. This is probably just the only piss-poor choice of beer they got, by my guessing." Davis took another swig and was able to do so without making a face. Ethan and Julian followed suit.

Aly had started to laugh a little when she turned her head to the side and caught sight of two figures by the entrance, and her laugh quickly turned into a sharp inhale of breath.

There he was, as if just appearing from nowhere. The nillium from the bridge. And beside him was—

"Think that's it for me," Ethan said, wiping his arm across his mouth. "It was a nice shot, Captain, but I think I'll pass next time."

He and Davis both rose. Aly opened her mouth to get their attention, but it was too late. The two figures had already gone to the back of the room, out of sight.

"I guess we’ll be seeing you at the old station," said Davis.

Julian rubbed his forehead and sighed, too tired to try and get them to stay. "You got it." He took one last pull from his mug then set it aside. "Aly, you coming?"

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