Page 24 of My Alien Bughead
Hearing Lucía’s voice somewhere nearby, my mind blanks. “Great job, guys!” she praises the stupid bugs. “One more power converter then we can restart the fusion reactor. Then we’ll have enough power for all of your environmentals to run smoothly. You’ll have the perfect home for your youngling before it hatches.”
I snort. As if we need more bugs on board. For some reason, though, the rest of the crew is enchanted by the idea of having a “baby” around, even if it is a Serramorph baby with claws and pincers sharp enough to tear through flesh.
At this point, the Serramorphs staying on board the Supernova and keeping their ridiculous biosphere operational is a done deal. No one cares about my objections. Especially after I was forced to admit that, despite the removed bulkheads, their makeshift biosphere doesn’t threaten the structural integrity of the ship and the power required to run it is miniscule given our reactor’s output.
It might all be true but, still. Why the fuck do we need a waterfall or a pond and grass and trees and universe knows what else on a freaking spaceship?
Sucking in a deep breath from my inhaler, I notice that the stimstick inside it is almost empty.Frowning at the end of yet another stimstick, I wonder, how many do I have left?
There aren’t any more in the ship’s infirmary, I made sure of that. They probably have some in the station’s infirmary but it’s not like I can casually break in there.
A cargo ship arrived yesterday, carrying supplies for the station and some of the parts we need to fix the ship. I curse myself for not adding stimsticks to our order. I could have done it without anyone noticing but I really thought the ones I took would last me longer.
When did I use this one up? The last I remember, it was nearly full. This…morning? I check my wrist-mounted comm, surprised to find out it’s evening already. What did I do all day? I fixed stuff, of course, but…
No matter how hard I rake my brain, I can’t recall any details. I look down at the tools in my hands, then check the corridor identification number on the wall before me, mildly confused. What am I even doing here? This corridor wasn’t on the roster today, was it?
Lucía’s voice rings from somewhere below again. “Alright, guys. I don’t know where the jerk in charge is but we can handle a test run on our own, right? Tink, have you finished those relays? Groot, Yoda, Alf, you’re on wiring check. Spock and Chewie, you two monitor any power fluctuation from that panel down the corridor. We’ll only use five percent of the normal charge, just to check the circuits’ integrity. Everyone ready?”
Like a moth to the flame, I’m drawn closer to the sound of Lucía’s voice. Quietly, I descend the ladder to the lower levels and peek around the corner, my breath catching.
The corridor is far from hot, yet sweat beads on Lucía’s forehead and chest. Her practically bare chest. She’s stripped off the top half of her coveralls, tying the sleeves around her waist and now all that covers her chest is a thin white tank top, soaked with sweat and covered in black smudges.
As my eyes lock onto her nipples, clearly visible through the semi see-through fabric, I swallow around a lump forming in my throat. My cock hardening, I want to step back or look away but my body refuses to put more distance between me and the human. If anything, it wants to move closer to her.
With her attention fixed on the panel in front of her, Lucía doesn’t notice me ogling. As soon as Cai translates the Serramorphs’ chirps as affirmatives, Lucía nods, then flips a switch.
My ahni detect the sudden change in the electromagnetic field surrounding us as a soft wave, running through the walls and filling the dead corridor with life again. The charge is weak, just a fraction of the usual power coursing through the conduits but it’s a welcome change.
Until a dangerous spike starts building up inside the relay station immediately behind Lucía’s back. My heart nearly stops as I feel it coming, growing to dangerous levels and searching for a place to discharge.
My body doesn’t wait for conscious thought. I’m running before I even realize what I am doing.
Lucía cries out as I collide with her, sending us both sprawling onto the metal floor. I do my best to roll us mid-air and absorb the brunt of the impact, but her elbow still slams into the wall as we fall.
She opens her mouth to scream at me, no doubt, but before she makes a sound, an arc of lightning surges between the two panels above our heads, right through the spot where she was standing just a second ago.
Sparks fly from both panels, and a sharp stench of burning wires reaches my nostrils. I jump up to check on the panel, but Lucía shoves me away. “Get the fuck away from that,” she snarls.
I just saved her life, yet there’s not an ounce of gratitude in her voice.
“You’re welcome,” I snarl back at her before pushing her shoulder out of my way. “Let me see. We need to cut off the—”
“I know!” she snaps, flipping the switch, the sparks dying immediately. Smoke continues to billow from the hatch on the other side of the corridor, but Lucía pays it no mind, glaring at me instead. “I know you hate me but what the fuck, D’Aakh? Are you trying to kill me now?!”
I step back, confused by her outburst. “Kill you? I just saved your life!”
“Saved my life?! You were the one to put me in danger in the first place!” Before I can react, she strides over to the burning panel, a thick cloud of smoke wafting from it as she yanks it open. “Just as I thought,” she spits out. “So, are you trying to kill me, or are you just an incompetent idiot?”
“What the fuck are you talking about, female?” Surreptitiously, I check her head for signs of blood. Perhaps she has a concussion?
Furious, Lucía gestures inside the panel. “This! None of these circuits were supposed to be live yet. These corridors weren’t on the repair roster for days. They were supposed to be cut off from the main grid until we could assess the damage. They can’t hold the level of charge we just tried to put through them!”
“Oh, so you made a mistake and nearly killed yourself in the process.” I scoff. “Why doesn’t that surprise me?”
“Imade a mistake?!” Lucía shrieks. “Me? I haven’t touched this panel all day and neither did the Serramorphs!”
Her words finally register. “Are you suggesting it was me?” I retort incredulously. Never in my life have I made such a rookie mistake as connecting an unverified circuit to a live one. How dare she even suggest that?
