monks.
Then we walk towards our new ship, which we’ve set down a good distance away because Zaroc isn’t sure if the engines are so powerful they could blow the trees down.
“That was nice,” I state, yawning. “I hope the new ship has soft beds.”
“If not, we’ll get some. It’s our home from now—”
Zaroc suddenly grabs my arm and pulls me behind him.
“What?” I whisper, looking out from behind his back.
There’s someone standing there, in the dark, over by the trees. Two aliens. One very large, the same size as Zaroc and obviously humanoid. The other is much smaller.
“Hi!” the small one calls.
In English. And with a very girly voice.
“You must be Averie!”
I step out from behind my husband, but make sure to keep one hand on his arm. “I am Averie.”
It’s another girl. A human from Earth. But not someone I recognize. She’s wearing a black jumpsuit and looks very military. Her dark hair hangs down her shoulders.
“I’m Mila,” she says and takes a few steps forwards, while the big alien stays put. “This blue walking mountain is Xan’tor, my husband. I’m from Earth, too. Um… can we talk?”
37
- Zaroc -
“Renerak saw you,” the female Mila says in Interspeech with a little more of an accent than Averie’s. “A friend of ours. Big as a house, voice like a hundred foghorns? He helped you when a gang of Bululg attacked you on Kur Station? Of course he was seriously surprised to see another Earth girl walking around, especially with a gun on her hip. Because you didn’t look like a captive. So he told us, and we asked around.”
I keep one hand on Averie’s thigh and one on a small Star Marshal gun I have discreetly hidden under the chair. The interior of our new gunship wasn’t made for socializing, and Xan’tor is a little bit of a worry. I’ve heard of him, as a shapeshifting mercenary who takes missions for the Bululg. He now claims to have changed his business completely, but I didn’t escape the Gurandu for so long by trusting everything people say.
“We didn’t expect the Xrarar monks to know anything, but you never know,” Mila continues. “They’re the worst gossips in space, apparently. So we asked them, and it turned out you were here, in their monastery! So Xan’tor and I jumped in our ship, and here we are.”
Averie shifts her position on the hard bench, made for transporting police officers or possibly prisoners. “That’s incredible! That guy who helped us on Kur Station was really scary. But then he just walked away after, not asking for anything. Who are you, though, Mila?”
She takes a deep breath. “That’s a long story. The reason I am here now is that I’m the leader of the Earth Freedom Army in space. Well, I say leader… actually, we’re only two girls so far, my sister Emma and me. And I’m not sure she’s all that lead-able. Anyway, we need more people. People who want the Earth to be free again. Free forever. Would you be interested, Averie?”
Xan’tor stirs. “Prince Zaroc, I wonder if you and I wouldn’t be better served by taking a walk outside. This room is too small for us non-Earthlings.”
“Very well.” I place the gun on the table in front of Averie, muzzle pointing discreetly at Mila as a subtle warning, then step out of the ship behind Xan’tor. I think my venom is more than good enough defense if I need to take him down. But I doubt it will be necessary. He’s a famous general, and not known for fighting dirty.
“You are recently married,” Xan’tor rumbles, stretching his back as we walk slowly across the lawn. “Congratulations are in order.”
“Thank you. How long have you been married, yourself?”
“Oh, just under a hundred days.”
“Your wife is very attractive. She has much the same roundness as my own Averie.”
Xan’tor stops and looks around. “They are indeed somewhat similar. Huh. I expected a monastery, but here I see only a chaos of stones. Is it underground?”
I chuckle. “Less than a day ago those stones formed a tower five thousand hands high. Then our enemies arrived, Averie faced them on her own, and the result is this.”
“And you both are still alive. Yes, it is my impression that Averie is just as capable as my wife.”
“She is remarkable,” I admit. “And she looks so innocent and harmless. In the beginning, I thought she weakened me. I have recently come to realize that I got it backwards: she strengthens