Beep beep—that’s the one!
I grinned as Ziggy picked it up, only to grow impatient as he lingered on testing its heft, pressing buttons, staring down the scope, and generally takingforeverto hand it to me.
“C’mon, Zig,” I whined, reaching for my prize with grabby hands. “I wanna—hoooly shit!Jesus, that’s heavy…”
He snickered as I almost dropped the deceptively light-looking gun. When I glared, Ziggy gracefully moved behind me, curling his body around mine to demonstrate how to support its weight.
Maybe I can just balance it on my erection…
I sighed before letting him take it back. “Yeah, I don’t think this one’s gonna work for me—not unless I hold it with my tendrils.”
Ziggy tensed, and I wondered if maybe it was considereduncouthfor Stellarians to use their tendrils for anything other than tasting emotions or disemboweling enemies.
Or making babies…
“Youlook badass holding it, though.” I gave him an exaggerated once-over. “It kind of reminds me of something Bowie would’ve used as a prop during hisSpiders from Marstour.”
Put your ray gun to my head.
My stellar collision’s face lit up, but he tried to play it off with a scowl. “Actually, it was called the Ziggy Stardust Tour, althoughZiggy Stardust and the Spiders from Marswas only one of the albums being promoted.”
Such a hot boomer.
“Wait…” I feigned ignorance, as if I hadn’t mentally cataloguedeverypiece of personal intel this alien had ever spilled. “Wereyouthe inspiration forThe Man Who Fell to Earth?Or a starry-eyed groupie, touring with the band?”
Ziggy rolled his eyes as he paid the gun merchant with the usual, yet-to-be-explained handful of skeletal remains that passed for currency around here.
It’s probably better not to know.
“The Man Who Fell to Earthdidn’t come out until a few years later, but it was based on a novel from a decade prior.” He cleared his throat, squirming awkwardly once again. “However, Ididtour with Bowie for a bit. In a way…”
What?!
“You did?” I yelped, my eyes nearly bugging out of my skull. “You never told me you were a Bowie roadie!”
“I would hardly call myself a roadie, Micah,” Ziggy murmured distractedly, searching his utility belt for where to attach his shiny new ray gun. “I was simply stalking the tour in my true form until we made it to Kansas City. That’s where I found this skinsuit.”
My chest tightened as I remembered the heartbreaking story he’d once shared. How he’d stumbled upon a dying Midwestern boy who had never been accepted by his family—who’d thought Ziggy was an angel delivering him to heaven.
A heaven he’d already been denied entry to because of who he loved.
“And then, once the tour arrived on the West Coast, IsensedI should stick around,” Ziggy hurriedly continued, unsurprisinglynotwanting to linger on that moment of vulnerability. “Make that area of the country my home base while I created my superhero identity.”
Star Hopper, the Deathball player.
I quickly conjured up a holster for his new toy, earning me another coveted smile. “Were you…. picking up on Theo’s resonance?” I hesitantly asked, not wanting to reopen old wounds but curious if Ziggy knew what was happening at the time.
My heart swelled with pride again as he carefully considered his reply instead of shutting down like he had in the past when his wayward parent was brought up.
“No, I don’t believe resonance was to blame,” he finally replied once we were out on the glittering Stellarian streets again. “It was more like a… gut feeling. An intuition, perhaps? I would call it the sixth sense I’ve developed over the years from hunting my prey.”
Hot.
Before I could coax him into more horny war stories, we reached our destination—a shimmering pearlescent door set in an otherwise nondescript building.
As nondescript as this yassified planet can be.
The instant we stepped through the door, a Stellarian materialized before us in true starry form.
