Page 71 of All You Need is Alien Love
River
I really fuckinghate that Kai convinced me to let him be bait in this whole operation, even though I don’t think Fabian or Adeline will hurt him—he’s too valuable to them. It’s still dangerous.
Watching him being whisked away in the transporter with a phaser to his head fills me with fear, anxiety, and pure, white-hot rage, much like Princess Leia must have felt when she watched Han Solo being taken away from her and frozen in carbonite.
And, of course, my hubby-boo knew exactly how I was feeling at that moment. The fact that he once again delivered Han Solo’s infamous line to me before he disappeared into the transporter light just makes me all that much more determined to see our plan through to the end.
“Fuck, I love him,” I say, unable to keep the note of longing out of my voice.
Mal makes a mock gagging noise. “Galactic gods, you two need to get past this newlyweds phase and stop being such lovesick fools. It’s grossing me out.”
“Dude, don’t be jealous of my and my boo’s happiness just cuz my uncle’s not falling at your feet like others have in the past. Don’t be a petty bitch.”
Mal’s cheeks flush. “When all this is over, I’m going to convince him to be mine. So hurry up and get to rescuing my brother.”
I know he’s trying to give me his version of a pep talk, so I straighten my back and draw on every ounce of confidence I possess. “You bet your sweet ass I will!”
Nirblob comes sailing into the transporter room on his roller skates and heads straight for the main computer terminal, where he scans the screen.
“Aha! It appears as though Adeline tried to sabotage the transporter system by administering a virus so we can’t follow her.”
Nirblob throws his head back and laughs. “Mwahahaha. Little does that foolish woman know. She is up against The Evil Lord Nirblob. Her virus is no match against my ship’s superior security system.”
He continues to cackle a bit maniacally to himself as his gloved fingers fly across the keypad.
Once again, I’m totally glad he’s on our side.
“Well, thank goodness we followed your advice and let you sync up the Alliance mainframe with your ship’s computer.”
Ellie grumbles a bit at this. Originally, she’d been against the idea. If Nirblob turns against us for any reason, he would have complete control over our system, but I trust that Nirblob has left the Dark Side of the Force behind and is an ally through andthrough. More importantly, he’s a true friend and an avid fan of my work. There’s no way he’d betray me—especially if it meant he’d never get another new Lord Vardox and Captain Starblade fix for the rest of his life.
When I vouched for him in front of everyone at our Town Hall meeting, I think it touched the little green guy’s heart. Ever since, he’s really gone above and beyond to help us and prove his commitment to Operation CHAOS.
And I’ve begun to realize why his head is so huge. It’s to house that massive, extremely ingenious brain of his. He’s really the perfect partner in crime because he knows how to bring a lot of my wild notions to fruition. I already have a ton of ideas for once we survive all of this, but I suppose I’ll probably have to run them by my boo first so I don’t get myself into trouble. We just need to get him back first.
“Do we have the coordinates for where they went?” Ellie demands, pacing in agitation.
She may put on a tough front, but she loves her sons something fierce and is just as anxious as I am when it comes to Kai’s safety.
Swallowing down my fear, I focus on the trust I have in him. He’s such an amazing, capable captain in his own right. Kai didn’t volunteer for his role in all of this without any forethought. For now, I have to believe he’s safe and waiting for me to come riding to the rescue like we planned.
Nirblob takes a moment to scrutinize the screen, tapping the keypad a few times. “It appears they were transported to a location within a short distance of the Valley of Fire base, no doubt where their scouting vessels landed in preparation to invade our second facility.”
“Just like I predicted,” I murmur.
On the one hand, I’m relieved to see things playing out just like I anticipated. On the other hand, I can’t stop my heart fromracing with worry and fear. No operation is foolproof but failure is not an option because Kai’s life is on the line.
Ellie grimaces. “So, about this duel Fabian has called for…”
I give a weak laugh. “Uh, yeah. Didn’t see that one coming. The guy’s a few solar panels short of a spaceship, if you catch my drift.”
Ellie’s mouth sets in a grim line. “He’s gone off the deep end, yes, but that makes him all the more dangerous. It’s harder to know how he’ll behave.”
“Regardless, the duel he called for won’t even be considered legitimate since River and Kai have already completed the Sanctioning Ceremony,” Mal offers. “What’s the point?”
I grimace. “He probably just wants an excuse to try and beat the crap out of me.”
Or kill me.
