Page 10 of Stolen By the Alien Mercenary

He wasn’t there, I couldn’t ask him what was going on, and it still felt to me like his information was the only one I could really trust. Not that I didn’t like Mandy, and I was certain she wanted what was best for me. She didn’t know what that was the same way I did. What I really wanted was to talk with him, to have him explain it to me.

My companion fell silent when she realized how rudely I was ignoring her, but she didn’t say anything, she just watched. There were a lot of words exchanged already between Nick and me, Mitnick. But the more I read back, the more I realized that I had never outright said anything that could make him think I thought he was a human. I’d definitely only called him Nick.

When I raised my head with a frown, Mandy placed her hand on top of the tablet. “What’s so important on there?” I felt a little silly when my instinct was to yank the tablet back and clutch it against my chest. That was my lifeline, my portal to information on the place I had found myself in, and my one way to contact Nick. I didn’t want to lose it, no matter what. Her mouth curled into a smile. “I knew you were stubborn, but I can see Mitnick has his work cut out for him.”

Hesitating a moment longer, I admitted to the talks we’d shared on there. He’d made me feel safe by openly talking of the quadrant, of the many aliens and cultures. He’d satisfied my curiosity on whatever topic I’d broached, and my investigative mind needed that; needed to feel in control of something so I could adapt, heal.

When I’d confessed, Mandy started grinning for real, and shaking her head while she was doing it. “I can’t believe he managed to go around Asmoded’s back and circumvent his orders. We should have known he was far from helpless, locked behind a simple force field. That man lives and breathes technology.”

I still didn’t understand why they’d locked him up, but maybe it was as simple as he’d disobeyed an order, or because they considered hiding me smuggling. I’d learned by now that this was a mercenary ship, and they did function a little similar to a military ship in some regards. At least, that’s how it came across to me, and that made sense.

Mandy rolled a shoulder when I asked point blank, “I’ll tell you, but then you promise me that we’ll put this out of our minds for a bit. Since you seem much better, I suggest we go on a little shopping and sightseeing trip. Sound fun?” I did like the sound of that, though I obviously had no access to currency. But to see some of the strange alien world I was in? I liked that idea very much.

Chapter 7

Harper

I straightened my shirt for the third time while I paced across the med bay, anxious energy coursing through me. Mandy’s proposed outing was going down today, as we’d apparently just made it into ‘port’. AKA, we’d reached a huge space station floating in space next to a giant debris field. Nick had told me about it before. Strewn, it was a shipyard, a place where new ships got built all the time, but also a huge trading hub for parts, recycled pieces of shipwrecks, and much more.

Yesterday, after Mandy had proposed the trip, I’d been tingling with excitement to go. But today I didn’t feel anywhere near as happy; I still had no word from Nick on my tablet. They’d taken him to the brig and whatever they’d done this time, it had made him unable to use a computer to reach me. It made me restless and worried. I missed him, even though I kept telling myself it was silly to get attached to a guy I’d only seen once and spoken through a device for only two days.

“Take a deep breath,” Dravion said quietly from where he was perched behind his cluttered desk. Today, he’d forgone the white doctor’s coat, which he usually donned when he worked in his lab. The sleek black armor he wore over his top half was identical to what the rest of the crew wore, and it had startled me to see it. Beneath the bulky coat, he hadn’t looked so damn buff, but he definitely was.

“That’s easier said than done,” I grumped at him and I caught a rare hint of a smile on his serious face. I planted my hands on my hips and spun to face him. “I just want to talk to him, okay? Did you see him? His hands were bloody. Did you at least heal him?” That was a detail my mind had conjured up last night when I tried to fall asleep, and it wouldn’t leave me. He’d been hurt in that fight; what if he was still hurt?

“Yes,” Dravion said patiently, his many tentacles moving in a gentle, undulating wave. The motion was hypnotic, calming, and I stared at it a moment longer as the tension left me. “I took good care of him yesterday as soon as possible. Don’t worry.”

I ran my fingers through my hair, still startled by how long it had gotten. Okay, so he wasn’t hurt right now. I still couldn’t get over the fact that they wanted to keep him out of my way so that I could heal more. That should be my choice, although, granted, he’d been very intense and feral when I’d seen him. The situation warranted it, and I could see how it made everyone nervous.

“Yes, stronger,” Dravion agreed. I hadn’t vocalized my thoughts, but it felt like he was answering them. “You do not need to be bothered by a male in mating heat just yet. When you have settled in, Mitnick will get his chance. Not yet.”

Frustrated, I clenched my fists and turned to face the doorway. Well, if they wouldn’t let him see me, maybe I could go and see him. Mating heat… Those words made me nervous, but again, also made me feel excited, even a bit aroused. He was sexy, and the more I’d mulled over what I’d seen, the more intrigued I’d gotten.

“Are you ready to go?” Mandy asked, popping up in the doorway dressed in jeans and a jacket; ready to face the outside world. In comparison, my leggings, sweater, and soft slippers seemed wholly inadequate. At least her presence meant a pleasant distraction, not just from my thoughts on Mitnick, but also the feeling that the other shoe was about to drop. This was too good to be true, this rescue, and I struggled to trust it.

I nodded, checking to make sure that the tablet they’d given me was securely tucked in the purse Mandy had provided. I wore the strap crossed over my chest to make absolutely sure nobody could yank that thing away from me. If the space station was anything like a city, and Nick had told me it was a big floating city in space, there would be pickpockets.

Giving Dravion a glare for his last words, which just made me feel like they were still treating me like glass, I headed for Mandy’s side. Then I froze when I discovered two big, looming shapes in the hallway behind her. A pair of guards, dressed in sleek black armor that outlined their impressive physiques, armor just like Dravion wore this morning.

I recognized them, vaguely, but I had no names to place with their odd, alien faces. The biggest one was also immediately the scariest to look at; his head was shaped almost exactly like that of a shark. That included a huge maw with rows upon rows of triangular teeth, gray skin, and a pair of beady, black eyes. When he angled his body a little more to the side, I could see a sharp fin rising from the center between his shoulder blades. Sharkman, well then, that took the cake as far as aliens went.

The other one was almost normal in comparison, a little shorter, a little more slender, though still bulky with muscle. His skin was green and his hair had this odd, leafy texture, but his face was roughly shaped like a human. That helped.

“This is Jaxin and Tas,” Mandy said, her hand settling on the small of my back to offer me a steadying presence. “Jaxin is the Weapon Master on the ship. He and Tas will watch our backs while we wander Strewn’s markets.”

The green dude, Tas, offered a formal salute and nod but he kept a polite distance. This shark guy, Jaxin, stepped closer and offered me a stern, cool look before he started a long-winded speech about security protocols that he expected us to follow outside the ship. I wasn’t paying the appropriate attention, distracted by the sight of the enormous weapon he was cradling in his arms. It looked like some kind of sci-fi gun, but it was so big it looked impractical to be hauling around.

Not much later, I was following them out of an airlock and onto the busy docking arm of the space station. One of many such arms, they stuck out into space in every which direction from a central, round hub, like it was a giant, alien spider crouching next to a huge debris field. I gaped at the sights, from the transparent ceiling that protected each docking arm, to the endless sight of spaceship wrecks in the distance. I caught sight of the many aliens and had to hurry to snap my mouth shut.

I had never seen so many colors, so many odd shapes, and freaky, alien faces all together. I recognized some of them, like the Krektar I’d run into aboard Batok’s ship. He’d also had several green or blue aliens that worked as his servants. The Xurtal and the Ulinial; I’d learned that from Nick. He’d shown me pictures of the most common species with a bit of an explanation, and when I started picking them out of the crowd, my nerves settled. It really helped me to know what to expect.

We had to exit the dock past a security station, but they let us through without comment. I stared a little because I was curious to notice the scanners in their hands, which they mostly just casually waved around at anyone who came and went.

The market was even more dazzling, and I found I had no taste for it. Shopping should be fun and exciting. I’d loved it on Earth, but here, I was just confused most of the time. The clothing was all different: strange sizes, with strange holes for wings or tails. Stuff with four sleeves or even eight… And it was embarrassing to be gawked at by all the vendors, who clearly thought two human women were something extremely exotic.

At least I wasn’t the only one who was uncomfortable; Mandy was frowning after we’d managed to struggle through another crowd and hit a narrow alley mouth. “I didn’t realize how hard it would be to buy stuff that fits us…” she said with a sigh. “I thought Strewn outlawed slavery?” The last was a question she directed at Jaxin, who’d remained stoically quiet at our backs, his glare and his enormous gun usually enough to dissuade anyone from trying something.

He shrugged, then glared at an alien with gray skin and a rhino horn protruding from his snout when he wandered too close to us. “Sure, that doesn’t mean those passing through don’t covet what they can’t have. Some unscrupulous trader would be happy to snatch up a pair of females if the opportunity presented itself.”