Page 90 of Stripped By the Alien

The drone lowers an inch. “If I have a year, maybe. If not, then no. There’s too much, and nearly all of it is irrelevant. But I’ll try, especially now that it seems your life depends on it. And the fate of Earth, it seems.”

“So no pressure,” I try to joke, but it comes out flat because there’s nothing funny about this.

“Oh, I don’t respond to pressure, one way or the other,” Lucius says. “I will work as fast as I can- oh.”

The membrane opens a bit and an eye on a stalk carefully pokes through. “Captain Ellis? We have… something for you.”

“Come in,” I tell them as I stand up, pleasantly surprised about hearing my name from an alien. It's Krix'vorr's doing, I'm sure.

A servant creature with three thin arms cautiously comes inside, its one eye looking quickly around. “There is fabric for the Chief Harrower, but he bid me bring it here. May I? Thank you. Thank you.” The alien being drops a thick wad of paper-like material on the bed, then hurries out, profusely thanking me all the while.

I grab a corner of the roll and rub the dark red material. “Not quite paper, but not much better. What do you think?”

Lucius zooms over and points his sensor cluster at the fabric. “The closest I can think of is wax paper, but this is not quite as stiff. It should be somewhat pliant. If you use it as a wrap, you can fasten it with small pieces of tape. It’s my opinion that this is the best semblance of clothing you have had since the minefield.”

“That’s something, at least. Can you help?”

It takes a few minutes, but by the end I’m wearing a wrap that’s actually not that stiff and ungainly. It isn’t even transparent, which is an improvement in itself. The crimson color is also quite fetching after the green tape.

“Not bad,” I finally state. “At least I’m mostly covered.”

“Very pretty,” the drone agrees. “Would you like me to make some insignia on it?”

I arch my eyebrows. “Can you?”

The drone extends his small manipulator arm and gets busy by my shoulder. “Captain’s bars, squadron symbol, Space Force badge, pilot wings. All just drawn on, but this material holds a line well. Just for the morale, Captain.”

I look down on my shoulder. The symbols are just scraped into the fabric, but they’re accurate and unmistakable. “Thanks.”

“I will be on my way,” the drone announces and flies over to the membrane. “I won’t emerge again until I have an answer for you or it becomes clear to me that no answer can be found.”

I take a deep breath. “Lucius. Can you do it? What’s the probability?”

“I can’t even make an estimate,” the drone admits. “Because it's going to take time, and the outcome is not certain. Make any decision you need to, Captain.” The membrane opens and he flies out.

I get what he means by that last part: he has nothing that will help, and he doesn’t think he’ll ever get it, so he’s telling me to be ready for the worst option.

“Shit,” I mutter. “This is looking better and better.”

Some food is delivered, and I force myself to eat most of it. I may need energy and a clear head sooner than I think.

Another servant creature comes and gets the dirty dishes. Just as it is about to leave, it squeaks “The Chief Harrower asks you to come to the entryway.”

So I make my way through the corridors to the organic airlock. Krix’vorr is already there.

“The Inquisitor is expected,” he says. “And I think he should see us together.”

I get it - Brax’tok should see that we’re a unit and not easily broken apart. It’s a show of strength on Krix’vorr’s part, and it’s also a strong sign of his regard for me. He’s basically saying that this is his ship, and he sets me highly enough to receive important passengers with me beside him.

“Thanks,” I say softly. “You didn’t have to do that.”

“And everyone knows it,” he says with a tight smile. “That’s also a reason.”

The Inquisitor is smart enough to not make us wait. He strides aboard and greets Krix’vorr like a fellow high-ranking official. “Permission to come aboard, Chief Harrower?”

“Permission granted, Inquisitor. We’re honored to have you aboard.”

It’s my first close-up look at the Inquisitor. He looks young, not much older than Krix’vorr, and he has the same powerful build. His eyes are searching and cold, but I don’t detect any particular menace in him. That’s probably one of the things that makes him dangerous.