Page 28 of Stripped By the Alien

My entire body shakes as oxygen floods back into my system. My head and ears ache.

Strong arms keep me upright when my knees threaten to collapse. I cling to the front of his armor without meaning to. My head is about to burst with the noise of the ship, now that I can hear again.

Above me, the giant alien lowers his head. His chest heaves and his eyes shoot green fire. A deep, furious growl vibrates through his entire body.

I don't understand a single word he says. But the tone is perfectly clear. He's angry.

Very, very angry.

One arm stays wrapped around my waist while I struggle to get my breathing under control. Every breath hurts. My chest burns, and my legs feel unreliable. The chamber still seems to sway around me. When I try to take a step back, my knees threaten to give out, and the only thing keeping me upright is the massive arm supporting me.

Despite myself, it makes me feel safer. He saved me again.

The giant alien towers over me, antennae rigid and mandibles spread. His chest rises and falls as heavily as mine, but much slower. Then he starts speaking. The growling words come fast and forceful while he points toward the membrane behind us, then toward me, then back toward the opening again. Whatever happened out there clearly left an impression.

I watch the gestures for a moment before attempting a response.

"Look," I say, still fighting for breath, "in my defense, I had no idea your ship had doors that opened directly into space."

The answer appears to have exactly the wrong effect. His mandibles spread wider. Another stream of angry alien words follows. The volume rises enough that I instinctively lean back, which immediately reminds me that I'm still pressed against his chest armor.

Before either of us can continue, a familiar voice drifts into the chamber. "That appears to be an expression of frustration."

I turn toward the sound. Lucius comes buzzing through the membrane entrance, followed by the lobster, who keeps up on the ground. The little drone hovers in place as though nearly getting ejected into vacuum is an ordinary afternoon activity. Behind him, the lobster watches the scene with eyes on stalks.

Relief washes through me so strongly that I almost laugh. "Lucius."

"Captain Ellis," the drone replies. "I am pleased to report that you remain alive despite your ongoing commitment to catastrophic decision-making."

I give him an angry glance. "You watched that happen."

"No, Captain. I made a diversion for these people, so that you could escape. I didn’t know you’d go outside, but I gathered from the general talk that you had done exactly that."

The giant alien says something sharp and points directly at the drone.

Lucius immediately turns toward him and answers in the alien language.

Everything stops.

The giant alien freezes. The lobster freezes. I feel my stomach drop as I stare between them.

The alien points at Lucius again. Lucius points his manipulator at himself.

A rapid exchange follows. Neither side sounds happy, but they are unmistakably communicating. The metal lobster begins clicking her claws together with obvious delight while I try to process what I'm hearing.

Finally I manage to find my voice. "Lucius?"

The drone rotates toward me. "Good news. I have achieved partial translation."

For a second I think I might hug him. "You can understand him?"

"Only fragments," Lucius says. "His language is not as complicated as it may sound. I understand enough to confirm that he is currently explaining how profoundly irresponsible your actions were."

The giant alien growls another sentence and jabs a claw toward the membrane behind us.

Lucius pauses to listen. "He would also like it noted that he nearly died retrieving you. I take this to mean that getting back in was a low-percentage thing. Because he can plainly exist in a vacuum much better than you can. But likely not for long periods."

My eyes lift to the enormous male still holding me upright. Up close, I can see the damage on his armor and the tension running through his entire body. Whatever it took to chase me into vacuum and bring me back, it clearly wasn't effortless.