Was that why I’d taken on this job in the first place? To escape everything?
I suddenly felt a peculiar warm sensation at the back of my skull. I assumed it was the sun’s rays poking out behind the clouds, or more pessimistically, the burn of an oncoming headache.
“Levi?”
Zat’tor’s gentle voice pulled me back. He examined my face, searching for answers about why I’d spaced out.
“Sorry, I got distracted,” I said.
It was only when Zat’tor withdrew his feelers that I realized it washimtouching me. He’d never stroked me with his feelers before. What was he doing?
Just as I opened my mouth to ask, Linn’ar approached me with a worried expression.
“Levi! Oh, could you please help us?” he asked.
Poor Linn’ar was as stressed as I’d ever seen a Maeleon look. His feelers were pale and drooped against his back, and his pointed ears lay flat against his cheeks like a sad dog’s.
“Sure, Linn’ar, I’ll try,” I said. “What’s going on?”
Beside me, Zat’tor went stiff. He must’ve instinctively understood his fellow Maeleon’s struggle, whatever it was.
Linn’ar fussed with his claws. “It’s Jaeyoung. He hasn’t spoken to me in hours, and he hasn’t come out of the den.”
Had the effects of the fruit knocked him out? Or had he jacked off so hard that he passed out? Knowing him, both seemed implausible. If any human could withstand the effects of an alien aphrodisiac fruit, it would be him.
“Have you looked inside?” I asked.
“No,” Linn’ar replied sadly. “He scolded me each time I offered to come in.”
“How often was that?”
Linn’ar drooped like a wilting orchid. “Every ten minutes until he stopped answering...”
He was probably sick of being bothered, but I didn’t mention that to Linn’ar. His concern over Jaeyoung was genuine and wholesome.
“Don’t worry. I’ll see if he’s okay,” I told Linn’ar, who brightened instantly.
“Thank you, Levi.”
“You two stay here,” I said, nodding at Zat’tor. “If Jaeyoung isn’t feeling well, he won’t appreciate a whole gaggle of onlookers.”
Zat’tor made a grumpy, disappointed face but stayed put.
“Hey, I’m coming in,” I warned before entering the den.
I didn’t know what I expected to see, but it wasn’t Jaeyoung folded upside-down with his back against the wall. He was fully dressed in his hardsuit. He was red in the face, sweat trickling down his skin. His brows were knitted together and his eyes were clenched shut.
I blinked in confusion. “Good morning?”
He slowly peeked one eye open. “Levi,” he said, his voice hoarse and low.
“Captain Levi,” I reminded casually. “So, are you—”
Jaeyoung cut me off with a venomous jab. “If you were a true captain, you’d do a better job getting us off this planet.”
My jaw dropped. He’d been curt with me before but never outright rude like this. I was honestly taken aback.
But was he wrong? I hadn’t raised a finger to help fix the ship. I didn’twantthe ship repaired.
