Page 47 of My Alien Angel
“You’re cynical because your life has been shit, but that doesn’t mean you’re right.”
“Yes, it—” Null’s expression hardens as he looks over my shoulder. Before I can blink, he has a gun in his hand, pointing it at a tiger-like alien standing a few steps behind me. “The hood,” he hisses at me and I hastily pull the hood down so it covers my face. It’s too late, though.
“What is Genixarian filth doing here with a human?” the tiger man asks, stepping closer, seemingly not caring about the gun Null has aimed at him. I quickly discover why when another alien, dressed similarly to the first, flanks us from the other side. This one is cherry-red, tall, huge, and carries a freaking hammer.
“I think we’ll take her off your hands,” the red alien says. “If you know what’s good for you, you’ll just leave quietly.”
Sucking in a startled gasp, I squeeze the grip of my gun tighter. I might have had qualms about shooting at people on board Eldri’s ship since they were just doing their jobs, but my conscience won’t weep over knocking these thugs out.
The tiger-like alien watches curiously as I sidle closer to Null. “You’d be safer with us, human,” he says. “We don’t dabble in slavery.”
Why the hell do they want me, then? “No, thanks. I’m good right where I am. Now, ifyoucould just leave quietly, that would be great,” I say, my trembling voice betraying my fear.
The red alien laughs. “She’s feisty. She’d fit right in. Why don’t we just kill the asshole and leave? I’m tired of this place.”
A third alien joins us, a similar jumpsuit marking him as part of their group. How many of these fuckers are there? More importantly, how many can we take out before they overpower us? I don’t want to be the reason Null dies, but I also really don’t want to become a slave.
“Just wait a minute, Faelin,” the third alien says. He has two bug-like antennas sticking out from his bald head. Their tipsglow muted yellow and seem to move from side to side, which would be a super cool sight if he wasn’t trying to kidnap me. “Silthar just told me these two were asking around about the crew of the Supernova. I, for one, am curious why a Genixarian,” he spits the word out like an insult, “of all species would be asking about us. Especially one with a human in tow.”
My jaw drops. “You’re Omni’s crew! Oh my god! That’s so fucking amazing. I was beginning to think we’d never find you. You need to help Omni! He’s—”
“Not here,” the antenna guy interrupts. “You’re attracting way too much attention. Let’s speak on the ship.”
To my surprise, Null rumbles, “I’m coming with her.”
The trio looks at him with thinly veiled disgust. What’s up with that? I mean, sure, Null isn’t the friendliest person around, but why would they hate him on sight?
The red alien smirks. “Our captain splattered the brains of the last Genixarian on board the Supernova all over one wall of the bridge. Eager to join the decor?”
“I promised to keep the human safe,” Null replies, unaffected by the, frankly, nauseating threat. “You three look like random thugs. What proof do we have that you’re even from her friend’s crew?”
The red and tiger aliens seem taken aback, but the antenna guy cocks his head to the side, the glowing tips of his antennae shifting from yellow to blue. “Interesting,” he muses. “I’ve never seen a Genixarian act like you. What are you?”
“That’s none of your fucking business.”
Seeing the situation is about to get out of hand unless someone who isn’t overflowing with testosterone intervenes, I step between the bulky aliens. They’re all ridiculously taller than me and under different circumstances, I’d enjoy being surrounded by so many hunky males, but right now, my only concern is Omni. “Oi!” I yell, low enough to not gain the attention ofeveryone on this floor but loud enough to bring them out of their cock-measuring contest. “Let’s focus on what’s important here, which is rescuing Omni. So, how about we shelve the Testosterone Olympics for a later date? Null has been nothing but helpful, so if you could be less of a dick to him, I’d appreciate it.”
“He’s a Genixarian,” the red alien protests.
“Is he, though?” the one with antennas says mysteriously but doesn’t expand. Null doesn’t react, either, aside from glaring at the three interchangeably. “Let’s talk on the ship. Null,” he smirks, “can join us. He knows how stupid it would be to try anything against a Voidstalker squad.”
Null sneers. “Lead the way, bug.”
Pulling the hood lower to make sure my being human doesn’t cause anymore incidents, I roll my eyes. Why is it that guys are the same everywhere, regardless of their species? The galaxy needs a female hand. Imani would wipe the floor with these morons with just a single glare over the rim of her glasses. All I can do is blabber them into submission.
Chapter 35
Omni
It’sgeneralknowledgethatbeing an ex law-enforcement officer in jail sucks. When you’ve put as many people behind force fields as I have, you have enemies everywhere. So far, I’ve been kept in a private cell, first aboard the blockade ship and then wherever they took me for my trial. Not that there was a trial. As a former Voidstalker, I’ve been dutifully court-martialed and sentenced to spend the rest of my life on Osseri 5a, a lovely ice world where temperatures drop disturbingly close to absolute zero during the nights and only rise a little above standard freezing point during the day. Themoon, however, does have a wealth of mineral riches available, and since mining droids don’t function well at such extreme temperatures, the UGC built a prison mining colony there. Because obviously, living beings just thrive in temperatures where air freezes solid in your lungs.
As I board the transport, my hands, ankles and even wings are cuffed so tightly I’m reduced to shuffling forward with tiny steps. Seeing several familiar faces, none of them friendly, I realize that Osseri 5a, as lovely as it sounds, won’t be my final destination. There’s no way I’ll reach it alive. Entering the cell, I sigh audibly as the cuffs are removed remotely and whisked away by a service droid into a slide out compartment in the side wall, leaving only the shock collar around my neck. It’s good to be able to move my wings again, not that the cell is big enough to fully extend them.
The cell across from mine is occupied by none other than Garresh, who looks simply dashing in his vomit-green jumpsuit. I have to say, the color suits him far better than me. The remaining cells are filled with his crew and a dozen or so other criminals who are probably no better than him. Only the worst of the worst get shipped off to die on freezing rocks in space. The worst of the worst, and me. Having Fin on the ship when I left Earth might have saved me from getting blown to smithereens, but it landed me with the exact same charges as Garresh and his gang. Yes, he’s kidnapped more people, but what does it matter if you have a hundred consecutive life sentences or just one? The result is the same.
The worst part is that I don’t even know what happened to Fin. None of the guards would tell me. At best, they’d ignored me when I asked about Fin and the other missing humans. At worst… Well, let’s just say that the collar around my neck isn’t just for show.
Seeing Garresh here, even though it pretty much guarantees my premature death, gives me a modicum of relief. If theyarrested him, they must have caught his ship and rescued the humans. It also means someone must have told them about the Eclipse Raider in the first place, and that someone could have only been Fin because some asshole officer, who I’m pretty sure was Garresh’s contact, knocked me out the moment I opened my mouth. Fin must have been the one to save the day, which means she must be alive and well.
