Page 2 of My Alien Bughead
He chuckles. “That’s true. You’re my least favorite human when you’re starting bar fights.”
“It wasn’t a bar fight! It was…a heated discussion.” That ended up in a fight. You see, I have a temper. I’d blame it on my Latino heritage but the truth is, I’m a bitch and I don’t take shit from anyone.
I’m fine with people talking shit about Earth and humans in general, because let’s face it—humans suck. However, when someone belittles the engineering skills I’ve worked so hard to obtain, I don’t hold back.
Most folks on this station know not to piss me off but sometimes there’s just no way around it. Small communities are like that. We argue, we throw a few punches, then we hug it out like best friends the following day. There’s no ongoing stress over anything and Arnik knows it.
“Sure, sure, a heated discussion,” he snickers, then scrunches his nose as he sniffs at the air around me. “Ancestors, you stink! I know your species has barely evolved past walking on all fours, but we do have such things called showers here, you know?” he teases, nimbly dodging my punch.
“You were the one who messaged me to come immediately, so suck it up. I’ve spent six hours in furnace 2, fixing the fucking engine again.”
Arnik’s expression immediately darkens to serious. “And? Is it working?”
“Would I be here if it wasn’t fixed? Come on, man, you’ve known me for three years. You should know I don’t leave until the job is finished.”
“I know, I know.” He rubs the base of his broken horn. He never told me the story behind that, but he always touches the stump when he’s nervous or concerned. And he seems nervous as hell right now. Since he’s a Zyderi, the alien race closest in appearance to humans, if you discount the horns and the third boob the females have, his expression is easy for me to read.
“Everything is fine, Arnik,” I reassure him. “The furnace is up and running again. You don’t have to worry.”
Sighing, he sinks into his worn chair. “I always worry. Even more so now.”
“Because of that new vein you found?” I prompt, hinting that I know rather than just suspect.
Arnik stiffens in his chair, his eyes widening in alarm. “Where did you hear about that?”
“Nowhere, but I’m not stupid. I put two and two together. You did find something, didn’t you? On one of the newly scanned asteroids? Do you really think the station will be in danger if someone finds out you’ve discovered a new crylonite vein?” It seems a little far-fetched.
When Arnik doesn’t reply, I shake my head. “Seriously? You won’t tell me? Come on, Arnik, you know you can trust me. Besides, who am I going to tell? I have no affiliation with any other species and I’m probably the only human in this part of the galaxy. It’s not like I can call my folks back on Earth to share the news. Even if I could call home, if I told them I’ve been working with aliens for the past four years, they’d threaten to ship me straight off to a mental asylum. That’s if the United Galactic Congress didn’t have me arrested for contacting a ‘primitive’ planet. My loyalty is to you, Arnik. So, spill it. Where’s this new vein?”
Arnik heaves a defeated sigh. “Everywhere, Lucía. It’s not just one vein. With the new scanners FrenCorp sent in the last supply shipment, we re-scanned the entire belt and we found new, crystal clear veins on every single asteroid. Even here.” He jabs his finger down toward the floor. “We’re literally standing on a fucking fortune here, Lucía. And if word gets out about it before FrenCorp sends their security personnel here, we’re dead.”
Chapter 2
Lucía
“Dead, really?” A shudderruns down my spine. “You think pirates would—”
Arnik shakes his head. “This isn’t just about pirates anymore, Lucía. With the money we’re sitting on here, other corporations will come, too.”
“But FrenCorp has mining rights to this asteroid belt granted by the UGC! They can’t just take it.”
“They can and they will. The UGC can threaten to fine them and issue any number of other punishments but thecorporations won’t care. They will come and they will take this place. And we’re the only ones standing in their way.”
“Jesucristo.” Fuck, now I understand the need for secrecy. I don’t want to die in a war between mega-corps. “But FrenCorp is sending people here, right? People with guns who know how to use them?”
We have a total of three “guards” on this station and they mostly deal with petty crimes. I doubt they’ve ever had to use their guns against actual people. Not that we have many guns here.
It’s kind of ironic, since we mine and produce weapons-grade crylonite that’s used to make all kinds of laser weapons, but we don’t keep any arsenal at hand. It’s rare for stations like ours to get attacked. Pirates and mercenaries usually target cargo haulers as they travel through space. Taking over an entire station is too risky and requires more people than their crews tend to have. It’s what made Alevvo station feel safe. Until now.
“I sent a coded message to FrenCorp with the last crylonite shipment,” Arnik says. “I can’t risk contacting them directly and having the message intercepted. They should receive it in a few days. I assume they’ll be quick to send both military personnel and equipment here once they know. We just have to keep things very quiet until then.”
“Right.” I suck in a deep breath to calm myself. I’m not a fearful person but the thought of someone destroying our peaceful little community scares the bejesus out of me. “I’ll keep my mouth shut, don’t worry. But this wasn’t why you called me here, was it?”
Arnik’s expression tightens even further. “No. We have a problem.”
“Oh? Another problem? Perfect.”
“Mmm.” Arnik clearly shares my sentiment. “An unknown ship is arriving at the main dock as we speak. They claim tohave engine trouble and have asked for a place to dock while they work on repairs. I’d send them away but without working engines, they’re as good as dead. And according to the Universal Assistance Protocol, we’re obligated to help them.”
