Page 1 of Alien on the Moon (Thryal Mates #3)

Elena

Elena swore as the microscopic wire slipped out of her tweezers for the millionth time. She dropped her project, leaned back in her chair, and sighed loudly.

“Why can’t things just work for once!” she exclaimed, irritated. She’d been working on an improvement to the restaurant tech on Thryal for over a week, but things kept going wrong.

With another long-suffering sigh, she got up and dropped the microscope headset onto her small desk in the corner of the lab. With her hands on her hips, she looked around. Almost everyone had left for lunch, leaving the alien lab looking like a ghost town. She walked over to the snack table and grabbed a trima bar, similar to protein bars back on Earth.

Outside the sole window of the royal lab, the Thryal sun was shining brightly over the capital. As she munched on the protein bar, Elena spared a moment to admire the alien planet. She had come here with her sisters, following Carmen when she fell in love with the prince of Thryal. Now, her sisters were both happily married, and she felt more left out than ever before.

Elena bit her lip, watching as a royal transport pod landed and a bunch of Thryals rushed out. The sun made their trademark shimmery gray skin glow. If she could just figure this gadget out, maybe she would finally feel useful, and the royal engineers and scientists would consider including her on actual important projects.

Newly motivated, Elena returned to her soldering. When the wire obediently soldered into place, she let out a whoop of joy and sang exuberantly to herself.

Her middle sister’s laugh made her head snap up, the lenses over her eyes making the world spin for a second. Sofia snorted.

“Hey, Wall-E, it’s time for lunch,” she said teasingly.

Elena’s lips curved up, knowing her big blue eyes would be magnified ridiculously through the lenses, especially on her petite frame. She tugged the headset off and gave Sofia a playful glare.

“Wall-E was a technological marvel, so that’s not the insult you think it is,” she replied primly.

Sofia grinned. “Well, you know, a sentient robot saving space and all. I thought it was apt.”

“Technically, Wall-E was— You know, never mind. I’m starving. Let’s go.” Elena knew if she explained further, she’d be falling straight into Sofia’s trap of demonstrating her nerdiness. She knew her sisters loved her, but with her history, the teasing sometimes hit too close to home.

Sofia threw an arm over her shoulder—her way of apologizing—and led Elena to the royal dining room.

“Let’s go see what ridiculous outfits Carmen and Arccoo have on today. Shall we?”

Elena snorted, grateful for the change of subject.

“They really do get more absurd every day. It’s like she’s begging us to make fun of her,” Elena replied. Despite the ridiculousness, warmth filled her. Seeing her sisters happy after everything they’d been through was a balm to her heart. Sofia’s marriage was still new. She and Zaraq had just returned from their honeymoon to Earth. The way Zaraq couldn’t stop talking about it made her strangely proud of her home planet.

They walked into the dining room, the long table piled with colorful Thryal food. Elena perked up. The food here was still an experience, even though they’d been here for ages. Eating bright orange potato-like dishes never got old.

Carmen and Arccoo halted their conversation as the sisters entered followed by Zaraq. The ex-fugitive still had an element of roughness to him, which suited Sofia perfectly.

Sofia nudged Elena, and she covered her mouth to hide her grin. Carmen and Arccoo wore matching shimmery puke-green robes—robes!—with mustard-colored embroidery around the edges. I will never unsee this , Elena thought humorously.

“Hey, sis, how’s the lab?” Carmen asked.

Elena sighed and dished up some food. “It’s fine. Lots going on, though I’m not involved in much of it.” She cringed at how dejected her tone was. She was grateful for Arccoo letting her work in the lab, and it wasn’t his fault the others thought she was just there for decoration.

Arccoo frowned, his dark eyebrows casting a shadow over his violet eyes. Before he could say anything, Elena waved a hand and repeated. “It’s fine, really. They found a new fossil in the Gruiph Orbs. Did I tell you that?”

Sofia and Carmen exchanged their signature “our sister is going on a nerd tangent” look , which Elena studiously ignored.

“They just came back with it yesterday. You know how in our world stuff gets preserved in amber?” she directed to her sisters. “Here, it’s something called reactoim, which sounds too much like rectum to me, but anyway.” She paused to chew a bite of food. “It’s bright pink and harder than titanium, so it’s super hard to get the fossil out without destroying it.”

Though her sisters listened patiently, Arccoo seemed to be the only one interested. Elena deflated a bit. Carmen noticed and smiled gently at her.

“So, what are you going to do to get it out?” she asked kindly. Elena shrugged. She hadn’t been privy to that discussion, as usual.

One might think a degree in mechatronic engineering with a master’s in biomechanical studies would pave the way for her to be part of the team, but nope . Everything about her screamed “outsider,” as usual.

At least on Thryal, she could attribute it to being an actual alien to them, whereas on Earth, she had no such excuse. Her mouth twisted to the side. At least the tech in space made up for it, she told herself.

Elena was startled out of her thoughts when a knock sounded at the door. It was quickly followed by a tall Thryal female dressed in a high-tech space suit.

“Apologies for the interruption, Your Highness.” She gave a short bow, lowering her head in deference. Arccoo frowned.

“Stiya. I wasn’t expecting you back from Kheros so soon,” Arccoo said, his brows still furrowed in concern. Elena studied Stiya’s belt, the number of gadgets on it almost making her mouth water. Only the apparent seriousness of the situation kept her from blurting out a million questions.

“I’m afraid it’s not good news, my liege.” She looked around at the Flores sisters and Zaraq, tilting her head in question at Arccoo.

“They’re family. You may speak freely.”

Stiya nodded and sat on the chair Arccoo waved her toward. She ran a tired hand across her face.

“I fear that the terraforming project has run its course,” she began, looking pained. “Even the experimental compounds I took recently have shown no improvement to the crops.”

Arccoo swore softly, drawing wide eyes from all three sisters. The outburst was uncharacteristic for the normally composed royal. Elena was the first to recover, leaning forward eagerly in her seat, her food forgotten.

“Terraforming? Where are you doing that?” she asked.

“Kheros is our moon,” Arccoo said for everyone’s benefit. “We have a research team up there to find ways to expand our food supply and purify the air to make it livable.”

“Livable? Isn’t Thryal huge?” Sofia asked, having traveled around it a lot.

Arccoo smiled, though it was strained. “It is one of the bigger planets, yes, but our quality of life has been decreasing for centuries. There isn’t much else we can do that wouldn’t permanently alter the balance of nature with dire consequences.”

Carmen scoffed. “Didn’t stop Earth,” she said snarkily.

Arccoo reached over and took her hand in his. Elena guessed it was as much for his comfort as for her sister’s.

“Our tech is advanced, so we’re able to accurately predict the consequences of each of our actions. We’re reaching the upper limit of population and waste production.” He swore again. “The terraforming project is our last hope.”

“I’m sorry it’s not better news, Your Highness. Rylan is still hopeful, but I thought you should know.” Stiya sighed. “I’ll return in the morning. We still have a few things we can try…” She trailed off, her mouth twisting as if she could taste the half-truth as much as Elena could hear it. “We’re just running low on ideas. It feels like we’ve tried everything.”

“What seems to be the issue?” Elena asked, pushing her glasses up her nose. Stiya gave her a confused look.

“Elena is one of the brightest minds I’ve ever met,” Arccoo assured her.

Elena ducked her head slightly to hide her blush.

Stiya turned to her. “Our lab here did extensive experiments on soil we brought back on our first mission. We thought we’d identified the right components to add, but the practical application is proving difficult. We’ve set up a research station on the moon and started planting. Nothing’s taken so far.”

Elena hummed in thought, brushing a flyaway lock of hair back into her neat bun. The chestnut lock fell out straight away and she gave up, pulling it behind her ear.

“What about the atmosphere? Is it similar to here?”

Stiya shook her head. “Unlike the soil, which has high concentrations of nitrogen, the air is mostly carbon dioxide. Small doses are fine, but breathing too much of it is toxic. Our secondary mission, once we have the crops growing, is to facilitate forestation.”

“We’re hoping to relocate some of our population to ease the strain on Thryal,” Arccoo supplied.

Elena worried at her bottom lip as she thought. Could the atmosphere be causing the crops to fail? No, surely the scientists would have thought of that. Maybe the plants they were growing were just incompatible? If she had access to the research files, maybe she could…

Stiya stood, nodding to Arccoo. “If you have no further questions, I’ll take my rest.”

“Thank you, Stiya. I know the back-and-forth is taxing, so I appreciate you coming to inform me yourself.”

Stiya smiled and turned to leave.

“Wait!” Elena burst out, practically jumping out of her chair. Her mind was racing. Was this where she could finally make a difference and be useful?

Stiya turned, her thin eyebrows locked together. Elena’s will almost crumbled under the sudden attention of her family, both her sisters’ eyebrows high on their foreheads. She stood straighter. This is a great idea. Just say it , she pep-talked to herself.

“I want to go. To the research station, you know, on the moon. I think I can help. I mean, I know I can help!” she rambled out, ending with a wince. Way to play it cool, Elena . “What I’m trying to say is, it’s not like I’m being useful here, and if you’re low on resources…” She looked at Stiya, who nodded hesitantly. “I could finally do something,” she ended lamely.

Stiya looked at Arccoo. “If she’s as brilliant as you say, my liege, we certainly could use a fresh perspective.”

Arccoo nodded thoughtfully. “Thank you, Stiya. We will advise you of our plans before you depart.”

With that, Stiya left. After a moment of loaded silence, Carmen and Sofia spoke at the same time.

“What the hell?” Carmen asked Arccoo.

“I’m going with!” Sofia exclaimed.

Elena almost laughed at the matching expressions of shock on her brothers-in-laws’ faces. Before either of them could respond, she cut in. “I’m going alone, and hush, big sis. It wasn’t Arccoo’s idea.” She narrowed her eyes at her sisters.

Elena ignored Sofia’s petulant expression, though she couldn’t stop the slight smile at seeing Zaraq’s clear relief.

Carmen huffed. “What if it’s not safe?” she asked, more to Arccoo than Elena.

Elena rolled her eyes.

“Oh, like how jumping on a foreign craft and traveling through space with no experience was safe ?” she said, her voice rising at the end. “And how taking down a crime lord with some half-baked plan was safe ?” Elena raised her hand to stop Sofia’s outraged mumbling about her “well-thought-out and smoothly executed plan.”

Arccoo leaned back, regarding Elena. “How much experience do you have in terraforming?” he asked.

Elena calmed somewhat. Arccoo’s tone was steady, not judgmental at all. He was genuinely interested.

She sat down carefully, thinking. “Not huge amounts,” she admitted. “I did a semester on biodiversity during my masters, and my thermodynamics and chemistry classes gave me a good idea on what to look out for.” She took a deep breath. “Besides that, I’ve done a lot of reading on the theory of terraforming. As you know, Earth has its own struggles.” She ended with a shrug.

Arccoo looked at Carmen, slightly apologetic. “I think it might be a good idea. Stiya is one of the best, and if she’s losing hope… Like she said, maybe a fresh perspective is exactly what we need.”

Carmen chewed her lip. “But… you’d have to leave tomorrow! Don’t you want more time to think about it?”

Sofia snorted. “What’s to think about? A new place to explore, new people, possible ghostly moon-men?” Zaraq nudged her. Still new to the family, he had kept silent until now.

“I don’t think it’s a decision for anyone but Elena,” he said.

Elena beamed at him, completely contrary to the daggers flying from Sofia and Carmen’s eyes. To his credit, he took it in stride.

“I’ve seen what carelessness can do to a planet,” he said sadly. “Manmade or otherwise. If Elena thinks she can help, it’s worth a try.” The sisters’ glares softened, and Sofia laced her arm through his.

“He’s right,” Elena said. “Don’t you see? This is how I can finally contribute.”

Once again, a rare moment of silence consumed the dining room until her sisters let out matching sighs.

“Let’s go pack your stuff,” Carmen said, jumping up and holding a hand out to Elena. Elena’s shoulders sagged in relief. She by no means needed her sisters’ permission, but knowing they disagreed with her decision would have grated on her.

Carmen and Sofia kept her up late, claiming they needed to fit in bonding time before she went away. Once they left, Elena fell into a restless sleep and woke hours before she was due to leave. Finally, she stood with her pack over her petite shoulders. The hum of transport pods and spacecraft surrounded her family.

“You’ve got your snacks?” Carmen asked, gripping Elena’s hand tightly.

“Stop ‘momming’ me, sis.”

Sofia pushed past her older sister. “Camera? Comm device? I want to know everything, you hear me?” Elena shrugged off her tight embrace with a smile.

“Stop. I’ll be fine, and I’ll send pics.” She nodded to Arccoo and Zaraq, who both smiled encouragingly.

“I’ve sent word ahead, so Rylan, the head of the team, will be expecting you. I know you’ll make us proud, second sister-in-law,” Arccoo said.

Elena’s heart grew warm.

With a last wave, Elena stepped onto the spacecraft. Even after the time she’d spent in space and traveling around the galaxy, the tech inside still made her heart race and her eyes grow wide. She spared a thought to her academic nemesis back at college. Eat your heart out, Nick Powell.