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Astra’s eyes are closed, her expression tight with worry, and I realize I’m an idiot for scaring her like this. “You’re pregnant,” I announce simply.
She stares at me in disbelief. “I’m what now?!”
“Pregnant,” I repeat. I angle the screen in her direction and point out at the tiny dot in her uterus. “This is an embryo. It’s very early on, two or three weeks tops.”
“Yeah, three weeks tops,” she smirks. “I hadn’t been with anyone for ages before meeting Tareq. Oh my god, I’m going to have an alien baby? I didn’t even think it was possible. But of course it’s possible, Ellen is here. Oh god, is our baby going to be as adorable as she is?”
I smile at her babbling word vomit, happy for her. I probably should warn her not to get too excited. At this point, there’s a large chance that the embryo won’t prove viable and her body will expel it. However, I can’t bring myself to dampen Astra’s spirits.
Her thoughts seem to be heading in the same direction, though. “Will it stick?” She places a hand over her abdomen as if to protect the millimeter sized life growing inside of her. “I mean, Ellen is proof that it’s possible, but can I still…lose it?”
“There’s no way to tell for sure. This is why I was hesitant to tell you so early on.”
She sighs, still watching the tiny dot. “Can I do something? You know, to help the baby, the embryo or whatever, to grow well and not…go away?”
“Plenty of rest, nutritional food, and avoiding stress can’t hurt, but if it’s not meant to be, there’s nothing either of us can do. As advanced as alien technology is, nothing can fix a non-viable embryo. I’d tell you to relax and leave it to nature, but I realize how ridiculous that sounds.”
“Yeah,” she scoffs, “relax. Thanks. Can you like…print me a picture? Or do aliens not do that?”
“I think they mostly just save the picture to their datapads, but I’ll print it for you if I manage to convince the stupid machine to do it. This thing is an absolute menace. I’ve figured out most ofthe technology here, including the assisted surgery room, but the fucking copy machine is giving me nightmares.”
Laughing, Astra jumps off the scanner table. “Don’t you just press the orange buttons? The aliens seem to like that color.”
“There are three orange buttons and none of them does what I want,” I grumble. “How about I save the picture to a data chip and you can try to convince the machine to print it for you? I have something else I need to do now.”
She gives me a curious look, but nods her acquiescence. When I hand her the data chip, she’s deep in thought, absentmindedly stroking her stomach. “Thanks,” she mumbles.
“No problem. You can drop by anytime if you have questions or just want to make sure everything is alright. And…congratulations.”
“Thank you,” she repeats, her mind miles away. Mine is too, namely in storage room 18-C.
I’m certain the stowaway will be back. Unless she wants to sneak into the kitchen or to any of the occupied rooms, she won’t find water anywhere else on the ship. I won’t try to trap her this time, but I will be there to talk to her.
Chapter 7
Z’Ree
I found myself drawnto the same hatch over and over. I know it’s stupid. I know it’s a trap. He’ll be waiting there for me and this time, he won’t let me go. But my dehydrated brain has this ridiculous notion that the human might actually be a good person. As if good people just walk around mercenary ships and slave markets.
The bottom line is that he has the water I desperately need. I’ll figure out the price for it later.
There’s a piece of paper glued to the inside of the hatch. Who in the galaxy still uses paper? Curious, I peel it off and bring it closer to the light.
It’s in Omnispeak and it looks like a child wrote it from how misshapen the symbols are. A child, or someone who’s just started learning the language.
“I am sorry for scaring you,”the sign reads. “There’s food and water for you just by the hatch. Take it. I will not interfere. I’d like to talk to you but I will wait until you are ready.”
I blink at the paper, unsure what to think. It must be a trap, a trick of some kind, but to what end? I rub my forehead, the dull pain behind my eyes intensifying. I need to go out there. I don’t have a choice.
While exploring, I came across a long abandoned locker room, but when I tried the tap in the bathroom, there was no water. It was the same with all of the unoccupied rooms on the lower floors. I know it’s probably a safety measure to prevent the system from losing water, but damn it! I’d give my right eye for a leaky tap.
It’s a somber thought. I’d be lucky if all the human asked for was an eye in exchange for some water. But I’m tired of running. Of hiding. To be honest, I’m tired of absolutely everything. I’m just...tired.
Accepting my fate, I open the hatch, peeking into the dark storage room. The human is not hiding this time. He’s sitting on the opposite side of the room, reading from his datapad and mumbling something to himself. If he notices me, he doesn’t let it show.
Just like the note says, I see bottles of water lined up right in front of me. I could just extend my hand and snatch one. I almost do, but then I hesitate. What if he’s trying to drug me? Or poison me? I’ve had a master like that before who consideredit great fun to watch his slaves curled up on the floor in pain, puking their guts out.
I sit just inside the hatch, watching the water as if it could give me the answer I need. When I raise my eyes to the human, I flinch. He hasn’t moved from his spot, but he’s looking at me now.
