Page 42 of My Alien Bughead
“Spend less time dealing with bar fights?”
He laughs. “Probably. Maybe you should—” His comm chimes. Arnik looks at it, his eyes widening. “We have a ship incoming.”
A wave of panic washes over me. “Already? I thought we still had at least twelve hours! Shit, I’m not ready yet.”
Arnik grabs my arm, stopping me from frantically rushing back to the table. “It’s…it seems like it’s the Supernova. They’re back.”
My relief is palpable. Sniffling as tears flood my eyes, I look up to the ceiling. Someone has been listening and they’re delivering us a miracle. “Thank you,” I whisper. “Thank you so much.”
If Arnik thinks me talking to myself is strange, he doesn’t let it show. Perhaps he’s busy thanking his own deities, whoever they are. Taking a deep breath, Arnik nods to himself in silent agreement. “Alright. Let’s go meet them. We have a ton of groveling to do.”
“That we do.” Yes, we’ll need to apologize and beg for the crew’s help. Maybe even promise them money, since they aren’t paid by the UGC anymore. Still, they wouldn’t have come back if they weren’t going to help us and with them on our side, we at least have a chance, which is all we could hope for.
Chapter 25
D’Aakh
I wake up tothe sound of hushed conversation.
“I know you have to go,” Z’Ree says, “but I’m worried. Don’t they have their own doctor?”
“I’m sorry, my jewel,” Nikolai replies. “There is a doctor on the station, but if a fight breaks out, they’ll have their hands full. I have to help them.”
I’m overcome with relief. Zarkan must have decided to help the station. Watching Z’Ree and Nikolai, my demand to be released from my restraints dies on my tongue as I see Nikolai lovingly caressing her stomach. It’s still flat but then again, they’ve onlybeen together for a few days. It looks like they didn’t waste any time getting knocked up.
“I’ll be back,” Nikolai says. “I promise.”
Z’Ree’s tears make a tinkling sound as they fall to the infirmary floor. Kissing Nikolai desperately, she then pulls back and demands, “You’d better. Now go, before I change my mind and tie you to the bed like D’Aakh.”
Nikolai chuckles as he heads for the door. “That sounds like a plan for later. Love you.”
As the door swooshes closed behind him, Z’Ree sighs deeply. “Love you too,” she whispers.
She turns just in time to catch me staring at her. I feel like a creep for listening in to their conversation but since I’m still tied to the damned bed, it’s not like I could have walked away to give them privacy.
“How are you feeling?” she asks. This time only a single crystalline tear rolls down her cheek before it clinks to the floor. “Still in pain? You should rest some more.”
Yeah, like I’m about to rest while the rest of the crew fights. “I’m fine,” I say. Z’Ree cocks an eyebrow, piercing me with her unnerving purple stare, so I amend, “Alright, I’m not entirely fine. But I can fight.” Probably. Right now, I’m not even sure I’ll be able to stand up but I’ll find a way to get to Lucía even if I have to crawl.
“D’Aakh, you really should stay here. You are anything but fine. The stimulants are still wreaking havoc in your nervous system and we can’t even give you any pain killers. Not to mention, your energy levels are completely drained through lack of nutrition. You have no reserves to take from anymore. You’ll just collapse again.”
She’s not entirely right. I still have one place to draw energy from, a new place I’ve only recently discovered. My feelings forLucía. “Z’Ree, please.” I try to reach for her but the wretched cuff on my wrist holds me back. “I love her.”
Z’Ree’s eyes widen. “Lucía?”
“Yes. And she’s in danger. Please, I have to be with her. I know you’d do the same for your mate if you weren’t pregnant. Congratulations, by the way.”
She smiles absently as she caresses her stomach. “Thank you.” Her smile falters as she looks at me again. “I know how you feel, D’Aakh, trust me. But you’re not well enough to leave here. This is how you’ll feel if you leave this room.”
The soft, nearly imperceptible humming coming from her stops. Pain hits me like a hammer to the face, my whole body screaming in agony. Gritting my teeth, I push through it. “It’s…fine.” I grunt, inhaling a few deep breaths to stabilize my voice. Stabilizing my voice is about all I can manage right now but I'm determined to push through the pain. “I’m fine. I will be fine. The pain is nothing. I can live with it. What I can’t live with is Lucía getting hurt or…” Mzr’s lifeless eyes flash in front of my own causing me to clench my fists, wincing at the sudden bout of pain coming from my finger joints.
“D’Aakh…”
“Z’Ree, please. Please, I need to be with Lucía.”
Z’Ree sighs. Then, to my immense relief, she starts undoing the restraints on my ankles. “You’ll get me in trouble.”
“Nonsense. You’re the hero who saved us all from that neutron star. No one will say a thing against you.”
