Page 73 of All You Need is Alien Love
I clear my throat. “Sorry to interrupt this new friendship forming right in front of me, but why don’t we stick to murder as a last resort, ‘kay?” A strong sense of resolve builds in me. “I want—no, Ineedto duel Fuckface Fabio. He deserves some serious payback for all the trouble he’s put me and Kai through. This duel is about reclaimingmydamn honor and trouncing thisdouche canoe once and for all.” I flex my mechanical tentacles to make my point.
Mal high-fives one of my hands and then one of my new appendages.
Ellie sighs and mutters, “Foolish men.”
I flash her the puppy-dog eyes I know she can’t resist. “Pretty please let me kick his ass, Mama-in-Law?”
She runs a hand down her face. “Ugh. Fine. But don’t take too long. If things turn sour, use whatever underhanded method you need to in order to take him down.”
“I’ll also work on getting details out of him on where Kai’s been taken,” I offer.
Ellie crosses her arms. “Fine. Although, I still reserve the right to end Fabian if need be.” She growls. “Or anyone who tries to hurt me or mine.”
“So fierce,” I whisper in admiration.
Agent Catengi suddenly appears in the doorway. “We have this building locked down, and all the intruders we took down have been safely contained in the holding cells. Have things gone according to plan?”
I nod. “We’re getting ready to follow them now.”
He arches an eyebrow at me. “Care to explain what that… device you’re wearing is all about?”
“Probably better not to. Less culpability,” I say.
“What was life even like before River came into our lives?” Mal wonders aloud.
“So much less interesting,” Nirblob immediately answers.
He and Ellie nod at each other in mutual agreement, and frankly, I love this new era of friendship for them.
Agent Catengi takes it all in and clears his throat. “Yes, well then. I will stay here as we planned, and Zugo and I will begin the interrogations.” He holds up the hand where his telepathic psy-enhanced parasitic symbiont resides. “My team and I willcontinue to monitor the situation while you all are gone. Don’t hesitate to call us if you need reinforcements.”
The rest of our team soon rejoins us, and we all take our positions on the transporter platform, ready for Phase II of Operation CHAOS, as Agent Catengi fires up the transporter for us.
“Once you’re gone, I will temporarily deactivate the transporter. This is a one-way trip, everyone. We don’t want any hostiles trying to come back while we’re vulnerable without our core support team present.”
I give him two enthusiastic thumbs up. “Thanks, Bax.”
His expression becomes even more solemn and serious than usual. “Be careful, all of you.”
I lift my right hand in the V-shaped Vulcan salute. “Live long and prosper.”
His lips twitch and he mirrors my hand movement. “Live long and prosper, my friend.”
Agent Catengi is a bit of a no-nonsense hard-ass, and his face rarely shows much in the way of emotion, but we’ve become buds over the last few weeks, especially once we realized we shared a mutual love for all thingsStar Trek.
That was a total trip!
I only hope we get a chance to watch more episodes together after all of this is over.
The transporter beam’s pillars of light surround us, and I feel that familiar sucking sensation before we’re whisked to our destination.
I stagger a little bit when we arrive outside the Valley of Fire base.
It’s dark but the sounds of attack inside the base are loud enough for us to hear through the thick cement walls.
Nirblob pulls out his transmitter-like device and programs something into it quickly. “Mwahahahaha. My Galactic-Level Invasive Terminal Control Hack program is ready.”
I blink at him in confusion. “Your what now?”
