Page 14 of Across The Stars
“You feeling ok?” Salukh asked.
I took a deep breath and shook off the sensation as I fitted my sleek helmet over my head. Salukh locked his on as well and hummed a tune into the coms to test them. I shook my head and then pressed a small round disc on the underside of my wrist, manifesting black material over my hands like a second skin.
“You think they’ll feed us?” Salukh asked. “That creamy ice dessert is addicting. Do you think it has addictive ingredients in it? You think that’s why so many humans eat all the time? You know, it’s all they talk about. I can’t imagine any of them fasting like we do every Alak’hamuhn. I heard food is just a money-making industry and they put things in it to get you addicted so you—"
“You’ve been watching those holo-vids of those men in masks talking again, haven’t you?”
“They’re entertaining. They have so many questions. And you know what? No one answers them! It’s driving me crazy. Like, who was the moth man? You think he was some alien race we don’t know about? And—"
“Silence, Salukh,” I sighed. “We’re not here to eat or care about Earth matters. This is the Nexus. We just need to talk to the mayor. Once he’s aware, we’ll go back and speak with the council.”
“Big day for us, huh?”
I led the way down into the lower half of the ship via a ramp that descended from the bridge. Coming to the metal door leading to the outside, I raised my chin and tapped the side of my helmet, which lit up the border of my visor signifying its link to Atom. The tinted barrier also helped me see in the too-bright environment of the Nexus. The white, artificial lights weren’tideal for valerians and I was never able to adjust without a painful headache to follow.
“Atom,” I said into the coms. “Open the door. Let’s get this over with.”
“And lockdown the ship when we leave,” Salukh added. “We don’t usually park in the public docks and I don’t want any humans poking around inside my girl.”
“Understood,” Atom answered.
Solukh had always referred to the Irlos as “his girl” and I let him. He loved my ship as much as I did and on shore leave, he typically handled what maintenance crews were supposed to just so he knew everything was in top shape.
The door in front of us hissed as the hydraulics began to lower the ramp for us to exit the craft. Outside, the docking bay of the Nexus was vast. A few dozen docking stations and platforms were lined up on the entire level. Transport shuttles and cargo carriers as well as drones and human scout vessels were parked at their respective stations. A group of ten or so men met Salukh and me at our ship, all dressed in gray pants and seamless, matching blazers with high collars.
Humans were a very diverse species. Their skin ranged from deep brown to the palest of pinks and they each seemed to dawn different hair colors and markings on their flesh, whether artificial or not. For a time, I thought they looked interesting, but after seeing them so many times, I realized just how unappealing they were, both in appearance and nature. They were fast to develop their technologies, but even faster to let them destroy their societies over and over. And there were very few that had any spiritual awareness. They couldn’t agree on much and yet they were easily influenced by just about anything. Their usefulness was in their DNA. They shared such similar genetics with us that it was probable they could help with valerian healthand reproductive problems. It was just taking longer to advance in that field than anyone had hoped.
Salukh and I descended the ramp to the white platform to meet the group of men. One of them was older. I could tell by the wrinkles on his face and the fogged-over color in his eyes. Felix Martin. He was a communications expert and I’d dealt with him on more than one occasion. Behind him, a few of the men were armed and I couldn’t blame them. Asking for an audience to discuss a possibly hostile alien race wasn’t exactly comforting and humans were a twitchy species. Being so new to the galaxy, they believed everything to be dangerous, as they should.
“Captain Vahko,” Felix said, inclining his head. “We’re sorry for putting you in the docking bay rather than the private port, but your visit was unexpected.”
I was a head taller than the man. Although Felix was a shorter model of his species, valerians were larger than most humans anyways and built with much more resilience. Valer’s gravity was higher, therefor our bones were denser, our skin was tougher, and our strength greater in lower gravity. I was also aware that humans had an aversion to physical contact and a real fear of disease and sickness in all its forms. We found that wearing complete body coverings put the humans at ease.
“We’ll escort you to the mayor,” Felix said. “He heard your transmission and he’s eager to know what’s going on.”
We began to walk, being led through the docking bay. Humans all around turned their heads to look at us. Salukh bathed in their stares, puffing out his chest and walking with purpose.
“Technicians are searching for the issue with our scanners now,” Felix said. “We should have the systems cleaned out within the hour, but it would help to know what kind of energy signature we’re looking for in the future. I’m sure mayor Blaine would like a much better explanation.”
“I’ll explain everything when I see him,” I spoke through my helmet, my voice a little skewed by the relay speaker. “Nothing is wrong with your scanners. They just need to be programmed a little differently.”
I looked over the heads of the humans that were beginning to crowd the platforms, gauging the distance to the lifts that would take us out of the docking area, when I felt something hit me in the side. There was a sharp, feminine gasp as someone bounced off of me. I instinctively stopped and grabbed the human’s arm when I realized they were about to fall over and found myself clutching a female as she caught her balance.
She was pale with a soft, oval face and hair the color of the bioluminescent moss on Valer, which was tied into a high ponytail. Two wide eyes stared up at me, uniquely organic in color, and her naturally pink lips were parted with surprise. Tiny, needle-like sensations began to flutter through my palm and spread rapidly through my entire body until my second heart thumped in my chest. It was so quick and sudden that I barely had time to process it, but it was there and it was obvious. Warmth flooded my veins. Her scent filtered past the extra sensory abilities of my helmet and it infected me. Sweet, subtle hints caressed my lungs and made me forget for a split second where I was and what I was supposed to be doing.
Not good.
I straightened and removed my hand from the female’s arm when another one dropped her bag loudly on the floor a few paces away. I realized I was being gawked at and raised my chin without a word before turning to continue toward the lifts.
“I’m terribly sorry, captain,” Felix said as we walked. “New recruits are clumsy in space and I’m sure your escort left them a little shaken.”
I should not have cared. I needed to talk to the mayor. The only thing distracting me from that task was the flurry ofodd sensations that was rushing through my body. I wanted to look back at the human female. My eyes ached to do so, but I refrained, closing my hands into fists.
“I thought so,” Solukh muttered through the coms, using our native tongue.
“Thought what?” I said.
“You just surged.”
