Alien Freak - Calista Skye Page 0,63
so on, I just wanted to clarify.”
I lean back. “I haven’t actually had time to think about it. But the Elder in Verv said that I should resist the Bululg. Everyone must assist me, he said. I’m not sure how to get started, though. I can’t go back to Earth, and the only Earthlings in space are the harvested girls that are either dead or slaves or pregnant. Seems like it would be hard to create a Resistance movement from that.”
“Perhaps,” Koyanara says in a thoughtful voice. “But sometimes we must work with what we have, where we are. If you are mad at the Bululg, there’s a good chance you’re not alone in that.”
I tap my lips. “Zaroc must have friends, too. Allies. Right?”
Koyanara snorts. “He has friends until they learn he’s hunted by the Gurandu. At that point, they all mysteriously vanish from his life. Which is understandable, if cowardly. They don’t want to be caught in the crossfire. And they know the Gurandu will get him. Sooner or later.”
The seed of a plan starts to come together in my mind. I wonder what he’ll think about it.
The swirls of hyperspace give way to the regular stars, the console beeps, and Zaroc comes up from below.
“I’ve never seen a cleaner engine room,” he marvels. “It must be better than new. And we’re there already? I expected this to take hours. They must have upgraded the hyperdrive, too.”
He sits down and grabs the controls, piloting us towards a windmill-like object in space, spinning slowly.
“What’s that?” I point.
“That’s Cromp Base, a spaceport that’s seen better days.”
“It looks weird.”
“The base is only the hub in the middle. The long wings are mirrors. It’s a failed power station, I think. It didn’t work the way the inventors thought, so they converted it into a trading post to try to make at least a little bit of money off it. I think they succeeded at the ‘little bit’ part. But it should be safe enough. If we are to have any hope of escaping our hunters in the long term, we have to upgrade this ship so it can actually fight. This is the place for it.”
He aims the ship at a small opening right in the middle of the gigantic windmill blades, then powers down, and we’re inside the docking bay of another space station.
Zaroc comes over to me, takes my chin in his hand, and gives me a passionate kiss right on the mouth, while at the same time reaching down behind me and squeezing my butt.
“You made me feel like I have a future. I see a light now, too.”
He turns and zips down on the elevator, leaving me speechless and aroused.
“He takes after his grandfather,” Koyanara chuckles. “Wildly inappropriate in the most breathtakingly fantastic way. Go after him, girl. He’s yours now.”
Cromp Base is much smaller than Kur Station, and nowhere near as fancy, but it has a more wholesome feel to it. There’s a lot of machinery everywhere, as well as a faint smell of oil. Further away in the docking bay I see the bright flashes of someone welding.
“Is this a shipyard?” I ask when I catch up with Zaroc’s red back.
“Looks like it’s being transformed into one,” he says, casually taking my hand and keeping it in his. “Not a bad idea. They should have enough energy for that.”
The trading section of the station is small, with narrow stalls along one street as opposed to the normal shops in Kur Station. The aliens are just as weird as everywhere else, but here there are no gangs and no furtive glances being sent in my direction. They look, sure. Especially at Zaroc. But after a brief glance, they all return to their own business.
Zaroc’s hand is warm around mine as we walk along the metal walkways and corridors.
‘He’s yours now,’ Koyanara said.
Actually, I really wouldn’t mind that. Not at all. This is the best man I’ve ever met, no doubt about it. He probably shouldn’t have abducted me, but with a life like he’s had, a little bit of bad judgment can maybe be forgiven. And he’s done what he could to make amends.
I squeeze his hand, and he smiles down at me. Yeah. I could get used to this.
Zaroc asks a stranger about directions, which is proof positive that he’s not a man from Earth, then turns and walks back to the docking bay.
“I should have asked sooner,” he says. “The person we seek is back