Page 1 of Protected By the Alien Commander

1

Olivia

100 years in the future…

~THREE CLUBS, THREE DAYS, ONE MOON AND ENOUGH BOOZE TO CHOKE A BUFFALO, OR YOUR CREDITS BACK!~

I snagged a full tulip glass of cheap champagne from the serving bot and spun to my friends Emma, Miranda, and Ava with it held high and a grin pasted on my face. This three-day Moon booze cruise was gonna be a good time! Even if I had to fake it.

“Olivia.” I turned my head towards Miranda as she said, “Thank you again for doing all the legwork to get this private cruise for us!”

I grinned. It was nice to be appreciated for your skills.

The space cruiser was smaller than I had expected, but the lounge was big enough to dance and enjoy the booze. I had to keep tearing my eyes away from the ship’s arched windows that gave a view of the black sky and the countless pinpricks of light beyond the ship.

“Oh, Emma,” cried Ava, “it’s about time you got that good raise. I swear that law office would fall apart without you. I’m surprised they even let you have a day off.”

We had to shout to be heard, not because of the Top 40 hits blasting out of the hidden speakers, but because the ship’s engines whirred with a high-pitched whine.

Ava shook her long, blonde hair, and I gulped my champagne to hide my face. I didn’t want to ruin their happiness. It was one of the reasons I suggested this cruise. But I couldn’t help but compare my life to theirs and how it was lackluster in comparison. Why did I suggest this idea to celebrate their successes?

Oh, right. I had been bored and mad at my boss.

Emma beamed and clinked her champagne flute—made of plasticine, not real glass like the high-end cruises. “Thank you! George, one of the lawyers I clerk for, told me to take the day off. He is so nice to me!”

My eyebrow rose before I could stop myself, and I shared a look with the other girls. Emma was so clueless that he had the hots for her. If a man that great with such a good job had paid me attention, I’d have snapped him up in a heartbeat.

Ava opened her mouth, but I stepped on her foot. This was not the moment to pester Emma about going after George. Again. We’d already heard this same argument from Ava at least twice a month for the years we’ve been friends. Time to change the subject. “I’m so happy we’re all here for a weekend vacation!”

“I know, right?” said Emma. “It’s too bad your boss is such a dick. And he chewed you out for his own instructions before your holiday too. Why haven’t you left yet? I can’t believe you haven’t applied for the job at—”

“And you, Miranda, didn’t you message you had a reason to celebrate too?” I did not want my lackluster career discussed. At all. Especially not when their lives were rocketing upwards and mine was so stagnant it had pond scum growing on it.

Miranda had her glass bottoms up, which she quickly finished, then motioned the servitor to hover back with another tray of drinks. “I do! A spot finally opened up in the Paradise Dome of Denver!”

Loud hollering and screams greeted her announcement, as they should have. Every major city had several residential domes. All cities were domed unless you wanted to die horribly, but the quality of the life in the dome varied wildly depending on which one you could secure a spot in. Waiting lists were huge for the best ones. Miranda had been on that dome’s waiting list for as long as I’d known her.

“Did you get on one of the top floors?” asked Emma. “The apartments with two bedrooms and your very own servitor?”

Miranda nodded as she picked up another glass of blue liquid, complete with a curly straw. “I requested a two-bedroom, but I don’t know for sure. I’ll find out Monday. Honestly, even if it’s a basement apartment with one bedroom and a broken-down servitor, I’ll take it. Just being in the dome means I can buy a house there!”

I downed my drink as Miranda told us all about the things the latest Rosie model could do besides vacuum the floors. Grimacing, I looked down in my glass. The champagne had an aftertaste of roast beef. Maybe this cruise I had picked out had been too cheap if the food synthesizer was this bad. At least we wouldn’t be eating on the ship, and we’d only be on it for the trip to and from the Moon.

I glanced at Ava, but she didn’t have her “tasted a lemon face” on, so she had either poured out her champagne as she did with discounted drinks or had gotten something top shelf from the knockoff Rosie servitor. Hopefully, no one else would notice. Only I could have messed up picking out a cruise line for a Moon booze cruise.

“How long will it take us to get to the Moon? Just a few hours, right?” Emma asked.

I shook my head and opened my mouth, but Ava beat me to it. “It takes longer than that to get to the Moon!”

Ava was getting on my nerves. She had her good days and her bad days, and I had hoped a fun booze cruise would have her in one of her better moods. “It will take about twelve hours, then we’ll tram hop to the different clubs, and the same time back to the Space Elevator.”

“You know everything, Olivia. I’m glad you’re here with us. You’ll keep us out of trouble!”

Yeah, great. That’s me, ol’ fuddy duddy. Only I hadn’t realized I was such a stick in the mud until Ava said so.

Miranda turned to me. “What club are you most looking forward to? I can’t wait to go back to the Spinner. Those anti-grav floors are fun!”

“And yet so old school,” interjected Ava. “Anti-grav has been around for decades. The Yertle is cutting edge with different planet environments!”

I ignored Ava. Hopefully she’d get the hint to stop being such a killjoy. “All of them sound great, but the Spinner sounds the most entertaining. I have no idea how people dance floating, but I’m willing to find out!”

“Oh, that’s right, this is your first time off Earth, isn’t it?”

“It is! I mean, I’ve been on the Space Elevator before, who hasn’t? But actually going through space to the Moon? I can’t wait!”

“It’s always better when it’s someone’s virgin trip off-planet,” Emma replied. “We can hold you by the hand and make sure you have a good time.”

I grinned, then fell sideways into the wall.

I noticed it was cool and smooth as I slid down it, staring back at the surprised faces of my friends. A throbbing green, wispy, space-gas-type thing appeared outside the lounge window. Was this normal?

Considering the looks of horror of my friend’s expressions, I didn’t think it was.

“What happened?” Emma asked, but she was speaking slowly, as if her words were drawn out.

I tried to stand up, but I couldn’t seem to get all my body parts to move. And my eyes blurred. The world went fuzzy around me. And I was shaking, like a marble getting tossed around in a box. And then—?

Uh-oh.