Page 35 of My Christmas Alien Mate

The stars were getting closer, and I waited for the ear popping that I usually experienced on a plane when it began to rise, but nothing happened.

Suddenly, things became a blur. The ship took off so fast I was getting dizzy.

"Are you alright?"

"A bit dizzy," I confessed.

"You're doing great, no worry, the dizziness will fade."

And then we were in space.

My mouth fell open, and my eyes widened. A small gasp escaped my lips at the sight I had seen a hundred times on TV, the internet, magazines, you name it, but had never, ever, in my wildest dreams, thought to experience firsthand.

"Wow!"

"It's beautiful, isn't it?" he asked, staring down at Earth, which was swirling in white clouds and blue oceans. "I felt a connection from the very first time I laid eyes on your planet."

I didn't know what amazed me more, the sight, the realization that I was in space, that I had felt nothing when we entered and left the atmosphere, or that I was on an alien ship. Everything seemed like a dream.

Things became even more surreal when we passed the moon so close, I could make out all the little and big craters. Soon a beautiful, ginormous planet came into sight. Browns, whites, reds, and even blues swirled around it, making me think of a giant marble.Jupiter, I thought, recalling my little knowledge of our solar system, which I had brushed up on a couple of years ago to help with developing a space app that, unfortunately, went nowhere.

Behind Jupiter, another astonishing sight captivated me even more, a fleet so large, I didn't even attempt to count the myriad of ships in it. Most ships varied in size, and if I went by my computer game knowledge, I made out battleships, fighters, and transporters.

The bigger ships seemed stationary, although I assumed that to be an optical illusion, while handfuls of smaller ships flew in between and from one to the other like ferries shuttling people and goods from an island to the mainland.

"How… how did our radars not pick you up?" I asked, even though that was one of the furthest things on my mind, because holy crap, that was a lot of ships.

"Deflectors," Galexor said, never taking his eyes off the monitor in front of him. His fingers had picked up speed on it ever since we rounded Jupiter.

"It took us years to get a rover to Mars," I remarked, while digesting that our journey to Jupiter took less than a few minutes.

"Like I said, Class-D planet," Galexor pointed out with a wink.

"You know, I'm really offended that we're not even a C." I said, grinning.

"I think you're missing the point. Z is the most advanced planetary system, like the Galactic Union."

"You're kidding," I spat out, truly taken aback now. "Right? Please tell me you're joking."

One look into his face told me he wasn't.Wow, I thought, and here us humans were, thinking ourselves so superior.

"You'll have to teach me all the different criteria," I requested because I was truly intrigued.

"I will try, even though I'm not sure your little Class-D brain can take all the information," he snickered, winking at me again.

If there had been anything within reach I could have thrown at him, I would have. Instead, I had to content myself with sticking my tongue out at him.

"Exactly my point," he laughed.

I added my middle finger and his laughter only deepened.

I shook my head and chose to ignore him to take in the sight of the fleet slowly drawing nearer.

One ship stood out in particular. It was so big, our little vessel appeared like an ant next to a skateboard. There were no wings, no fin at the end—if that even was the end. Again, it reminded me more of a large boat than a plane or my imaginings of what a spaceship should look like.

As we flew closer, I noticed even more ships coming and going than I had previously assumed. It wasn't quite beehive traffic, but definitely more than on, let's say, a cruise ship being readied.

Our ship flew toward an open hatch and through a short, narrow tunnel before we entered a larger hangar. Drones and robots moved in on us the moment Galexor brought our ship to a standstill.

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