Page 4 of Saved By the Alien Mercenary

I turned the indicated corner, which Mandy had helpfully marked by tying a green sash around the nearest handhold. Then, I was staring at the large open doors leading to the mess hall. They had briefly shown it to me and pointed out the food replicator set in one corner. Supposedly, freshly cooked meals were served at set times, and I was free to partake of those. But Mandy, pregnant herself, had assured me that the replicator could make some basics to take care of my needs in between mealtimes.

The mess hall was lit only by some dim lights along the edges of the ceiling. The ship was in its night cycle, which matched the night cycle of the Finix. That was no coincidence; most ships and ports ran on Strewn’s cycle—the massive shipyard. There was nobody inside, which suited me just fine. I was still a little dazzled and tired from chatting with four women for hours on end. I was pretty sure they’d done a better job interrogating me than the Naga captain had. I was also certain that was no coincidence, but I had nothing to hide.

Beelining for the food replicator, I scanned the buttons to peruse the selections on offer. It was a much fancier machine than the one I had on the Finix. I couldn’t afford a chef or spare the space for more than a tiny galley. Our food options were nutritious but very limited. I expected much more from the machine when I started looking, and was sorely disappointed almost immediately. There were snacks and drinks, but most of them weren’t geared toward a human. I did not fancy the Sivian Bloodworms that topped the list—a clearly popular choice. They were considered a delicacy on any Rummicaron world, but I wasn’t about to try them.

Humming to myself, I began eliminating the choices that definitely wouldn’t agree with me. That left two different types of energy bar, porridge, or Haras sticks. What I really wanted was a bite of the chocolate I had stashed beneath my bunk on the Finix. It was hard to come by, and I had been rationing out each expensive bite, but a day like today deserved some chocolate. At least I wasn’t dead. Now I just had to convince the scary snake captain to give me back my ship and let me be on my way. Every delay was going to cost me at the end of the line, and we were already late with this shipment.

A sound jerked my attention from the machine and made my skin break out in goosebumps. It had sounded as though there were another person here, but the mess hall looked empty. My eyes locked on the metal rolling hatch that separated the galley from the room. It appeared closed, but now that I was looking at it, I realized it was cracked slightly at the bottom. Was someone on the other side?

“Hello? Anyone there?” I called out. If the chef was in, would he be able to fix me a sandwich? I’d much prefer that over any of the options I did have. Abandoning the food replicator, I made my way to the hatch to get a better look. Oddly enough, I wasn’t scared. Honestly, if any of these supposed pirates wanted to harm me, they would have done so already. Instead, they had fed me, given me a room and fresh clothes, and followed that up with a medical check-up of my baby and access to more food. This was not a bad situation, save for my lack of choices right now, but I was going to work on that tomorrow, when I wasn’t hungry.

When I got to the hatch, it became obvious it was completely dark on the other side, but I was convinced someone was there. I wasn’t sure how I knew, sixth sense, a scent I’d caught maybe, but someone was there. “Hey, are you the chef of this ship?” I asked. Leaning closer, I pressed my hands onto the empty, pristine counter so I could duck my head and peer under the edge. Instantly, I caught an eyeful of fur on the other side. There wasn’t a whole lot of light coming from the mess hall, but it was just enough to know that it was blue. There weren’t a lot of blue, hairy aliens to pick from in the Zeta Quadrant, so I was pretty sure I knew what species this guy was: Hoxiam.

If I were smart, I’d turn on my heels right this instant and bolt. Hoxiam were known people-eaters. They had huge maws that could open wide enough to swallow my head whole, and the appetite to back up that kind of desire. The Hoxiam were banned from pretty much every sane place, or at the very least, required to wear a slave collar to control them before they could set foot anywhere. The sane thing to do would definitely be to get out of here as fast as possible.

Unfortunately, my stomach was the one in charge right now. It rumbled very loudly and obnoxiously, and I found myself awkwardly laughing as I patted it, feeling hollow inside, a fresh wave of nausea coming on. I had no clue where the nearest bathroom was, so I fought to hold it in. “Sorry to bother you, sir. Could you help me get something to eat?” In another idiotic move, I patted my stomach and drew attention to its round curve and my obvious pregnancy. Way to go, show the always-hungry flesh-eater that I was an extra tasty snack right now. “I’m eating for two, and nothing on the machine appeals…”

There was nothing but silence for two drawn-out seconds, and then I heard a whispering noise followed by a low growl. The voice that spoke to me through that hatch was deliciously low and hoarse, and it made my clit tingle. It was a wildly inappropriate response to a guy’s voice, and I’d never experienced it before. Some wires must have gotten crossed after all of today’s chaos, combined with the silly pregnancy hormones. “What are you craving, gravid one?”

Gravid one? Seriously? That was the worst thing I’d ever been called. “Gravid” was a little too close to “gravity” if you asked me, although intellectually, I knew all he meant was that I was with child. So, score one for the sexy voice, minus one for the weird name-calling. I was so flabbergasted that I blurted out what I really wanted, even though I knew there was no way they’d have that—or give that to me. There was only so much “charity” they’d give a random pregnant human. Chocolate, expensive as it was, wouldn’t be part of that deal. But that’s what I asked for.

The husky chuckle made my clit pulse and my nipples perk. “Chocolate? One moment.” I heard more rustling as he began moving around in the dark behind the hatch. It was very tempting to lean back down so I could peek, but I was certain I did not want to offend the possible chocolate-giver/Hoxiam who could eat me if he felt like it.

When something that sounded suspiciously like a plate sliding over the counter reached my ears, my stomach did a happy dance. Or maybe that was Junior attempting another round of exercise. “I made cakes. Will that do?” A plate slid from under the edge of the hatch, and I caught sight of a very large hand covered in a fine blue pelt. He withdrew his fingers immediately, but the image of that large paw and thick digits had engraved itself on my brain. If the rest of him was in proportion to his hand, he was huge.

Then I saw the cake and discovered that, though small, it was a rich chocolate, even better than a hard piece of 70% that would’ve been awaiting me on the Finix. I dug in without shame, moaning in delight as I bit into the soft, gooey center. All I could focus on were the amazing flavors and how this was exactly what I’d been craving. When I discovered that my strange Hoxiam companion had slid a cup of fragrant tea over too, I nearly burst into tears from pleasure. It smelled like ginger, and wouldn’t that be exactly what my mom would suggest I drink for the nausea? How had he known?