AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“Good. Do you need someone to help you?”
D’Aakh snorts derisively. “Omni and Lyriana would just spend all of the time bickering with each other. Tareq would mope and sigh constantly about being apart from his mate. So would Faelin, for that matter. And, no disrespect,” he smirks, casting a glance at me, “the humans don’t know anything about the ship’s systems. They’d hardly be of any help.”
He’s right. I could barely change a lightbulb back home. Fixing a spaceship is way beyond my area of expertise.
Zarkan laughs. “Yes, I suppose you’re right. Keep me updated.”
“Yes, sir,” D’Aakh replies with a hint of irony in his voice. He nods to me in greeting before marching out of the bridge.
I hover in the room’s entrance way until Zarkan waves me in. “What can I do for you, Nikolai?” His voice, like always, is kind and approachable. I don’t think I’ve ever heard him raise his voice. I surely hope that our conversation won’t be the first time.
“I need to tell you something. But first, promise me you’ll hear me out until the end before making any decision.”
Despite my rather bold request, Zarkan smiles. His lizard features and mouthful of sharp, needle-like teeth had made me feel rather nervous when I first met him but I’ve gotten used to them now. No matter how scary the Lakhartans look, they’re widely known to be the most honorable species in the entire galaxy. So much so that Zarkan couldn’t join the group that was infiltrating the slave market disguised as slavers simply because every species knows that a Lakhartan would never participate in something so heinous.
“Have I ever not heard you out fully, Nikolai?” he asks, his voice lacking any kind of malice.
“No,” I admit. On the way here, I was continuously wondering what would be the best way to ease him into the subject. Now that I’m standing here, I give up, deciding the straightforward approach is probably best. “We have a stowaway,” I announce. When Zarkan offers no reaction other than prompting me to keep talking, I relax a little. “One of the escaped slaves from the Arcade must have snuck on board the Supernova.”
His lips quirk as he fights to contain his amusement. “How could that have possibly happened?” he asks, his tone clearly teasing. “I thought you were guarding the airlock the entire time?”
“You know damn well I wasn’t,” I grumble. “There were injured people nearby. I couldn’t just stand there! I left the damned airlock to go and help them.” I would have made a terrible soldier. “I was still trying to help them when Lyriana eventually dragged me back onto the ship.” Literally dragged me back. I still hate her for it.
“I know, I know,” Zarkan placates me with a smile. “So, about the stowaway? Where are they?”
“That’s the thing.” I sigh, rubbing my forehead. “She’s hiding in the maintenance walkways. I’ve only seen her twice.”
Zarkan shifts in his chair. It’s a massive version of a regular office chair with an indent for a tail. “Have you spoken to her?”
“I’ve talkedather,” I reply, cringing as I remember my fucked up attempt to force her to communicate with me. “She’s frightened out of her mind. She ran away both times she saw me. Now, I know what you’re going to say. That we should find her and help her, right? Well, I think we shouldn’t.”
He cocks the scales that form his brow, examining me with amusement. “We shouldn’t help her?”
“No, of course we should help her, but… We should leave it up to her if she wants to be helped. She seems heavily traumatized. If you send the crew after her… I’m not sure she’ll ever learn to trust us if she’s dragged out of hiding by force, even if it is for her own good. All I’m asking is that you leave her be. I’ll try talking to her again and perhaps in time I’ll be able to convince her to come out, but it should be on her own terms.”
“I agree.”
My mouth is open, ready to present more arguments to support my case but Zarkan’s response takes the wind out of my sails. “You do?”
“Yes, I do,” he says, his smile sincere. “We’re not just a bunch of arrogant brutes who whip out their guns at every possible occasion, Nikolai. Well, most of us anyway,” he adds, chuckling. “I see your point and I completely agree with it. I’m the last person who would want to add to this poor female’s trauma. As long as she doesn’t pose a danger to anyone on this ship, she can keep hiding wherever she wants to.”
I’m rendered speechless. “Okay, well, that’s… Um, thank you?”
“You’re most welcome. I’m glad you’re stepping up to take care of this female. You have a kind heart, Nikolai. I know you feel you aren’t as capable as the rest of the team and don’t contribute enough but I’m truly grateful to have someone with your compassionate nature on board.”
My cheeks flush fiery red and I’m all but tearing up. How often had I wished for my damned father to tell me something like this? I had to get kidnapped by freaking aliens to find someone who accepts me for who I am! “Thank you, Captain,” I manage to mumble. “I should go. I have a little patient to tend to.”
“Of course. Say hi to Ellen from me.”
I make my way to the infirmary, my spirits soaring and my soul truly warmed by Zarkan’s words. It’s always this way for me now. I anxiously go to see him having convinced myself he’s going to treat me the same way my father did, then Zarkan calmly dispels all of my worries, leaving me feeling surprisingly uplifted.
What’s the American phrase? Daddy issues? I have a shitload of those.
I suck in a deep breath to steel myself before entering the infirmary. This time, I tell myself I’m not a pretender. I’m here to perform a simple procedure. One I would have done even back on Earth. I’ve gone over the tools and medications I’ll be using three times. I’ve marked the containers in Cyrillic in case I get too nervous to interpret the Omnispeak symbols. I’ve got this.
Despite the pep talk, my smile feels forced as I approach the little girl sitting on the examination table. Her smile is wide and completely trusting. “Hi, Nikolai!” she practically bellows. Ellen throws in a wave for good measure before her adorable face scrunches into a tiny scowl. “I asked Mama about the blue and green humans and she said there weren’t any.”
“Did she? But your mama comes from a different part of the planet than I do, chipmunk. She can’t know what kind of humans live there.”
