Page 13 of Interstellar Love Song (Villains in Space #3)

ZIGGY

“There’s something out there that can swallow an entire planet?” Micah gasped, clutching his chest, causing my borrowed core to pulse protectively inside him.

I sighed, realizing the “scarier than Stellarians” species I’d avoided telling him about for the last two missions was almost certainly the culprit.

Mostly because of what they’re colloquially called.

“Planet Eaters,” I mumbled, noticing Sedo shrink into themselves, as if not wanting to invoke the boogeyman. “That’s how they’re universally referred to, because no one knows what they actually are.”

Micah blinked at me. “How do you know about them?”

“Rumors. Cautionary tales.” I glanced at the Xuni. “I’ve been told not even star hopping will help you escape their clutches.”

“Have you ever seen one? Has anyone encountered one and lived to tell the tale? Is this what inspired Galactus?” It was clear my mate had abandoned fear in favor of scientific—and pop culture—exploration, which I greatly preferred.

Good boy.

“I haven’t encountered one, no…” I trailed off as a distant memory resurfaced. “Although, I may have felt one once.”

A close encounter I hope to never repeat.

Micah was staring at me expectantly, and Sedo seemed curious as well, so I sighed, knowing there was no avoiding elaboration.

“It was during one of my first missions for Astrum Force,” I faltered, remembering how proud I’d been to be given missions at all.

“My commanders sent me to the center of the Idichi galaxy as a scout—to investigate what they claimed was an enemy force rallying its troops against us. I disguised myself as a local Borque and took the Lodger, hoping to make observations as I passed by…”

“And what did you see?” Micah whispered, wide-eyed and incredibly invested.

Something I never want you to witness.

“Nothing,” I answered truthfully. “The only reason I knew something was out there was the sense of being watched. Of being… judged.”

“Judged?” Sedo asked, extending a vine to retrieve their discarded staff. “Can you describe what you experienced?”

I shuddered, recalling how I’d felt that day. “A deep unease, followed by a flash of pure terror, like the moment before a predator catches its prey… Only I was the prey this time. ”

A deeply uncomfortable role reversal.

“I bet that was weird for you, huh?” Micah chirped, most likely to force me to sit in the discomfort instead of running from it.

Dr. Micah never sleeps.

“It was an unprecedented experience, yes,” I begrudgingly replied. “But it was over just as quickly—as if whoever had scanned me decided I passed the test and could therefore live another day.”

The part I’d left out when reporting back to my commanders was how familiar this mysterious entity had felt. I’d been concerned Astrum Force Command might interpret this as sympathizing with the enemy, so I simply told them the enemy forces were no threat to our planet.

What if I’m the only one who’s safe?

“Do you think you could shield Stellaria, if need be?” I asked my mate, doing my best to keep my tone even and my emotions buried deep. “Even just to hide it from sight…”

Micah chewed his bottom lip. “That’s a lot to ask of a single person, Zig—even one who’s supposedly the most impressive creature in all the galaxies.”

If anyone could do it…

He paused before continuing through our psychic connection.

“Like… I bet it took a bunch of Eki working together to create the shields around Karn and Kanrienus… ”

I understood why Micah didn’t want to voice that observation aloud—since both planets were shielded specifically to protect them from others knowing of their existence—but I didn’t like this change in behavior from my sweet, sunshiney mate.

He’s learning to trust no one…

Just like me.

“Why would a faction feel the need to break away from Ekistron?” Sedo mused, running a slender finger over the grooves in their staff before glancing at Micah. “The Eki are not known for being tyrannical to their people.”

I watched my mate closely, curious how— if— he would explain.

“They wanted to live a simpler life…” he vaguely replied.

The Hy Phae furrowed their hairless brow. “Nuclei City is not only self-sufficient but progressive. Surely those wanting to live simply could find purpose within its walls.”

Micah stared impassively at our host for a full minute, clearly weighing his options, so I sent him a nudge through our bond.

“Just tell them, sunshine.”

Micah gaped in shock at my uncharacteristic encouragement to share intel, and the guru laughed.

“Ahhh… so you are a true stellar collision connection.” Sedo smiled softly. “Perhaps you can teach your kind what they have forgotten, Stellarian. ”

Forgotten?

Before I could ask them to elaborate, Micah followed through. “The Eki on Kanrienus no longer wanted to use their powers of matter manipulation. They probably felt it would work better for everyone if they followed their own path on a new planet…”

Unfortunately, they were wrong.

The guru stroked their chin, deep in thought. “I wonder if this faction was already less powerful through evolution. Lesser Eki, if you will.”

“Yeah, back on Ear—Gaia, we have ‘lesser supes.’ Their powers are almost nonexistent, but still enough to be considered…” Micah cleared his throat and shuffled awkwardly on his feet. “Useful. Most work for more powerful supes, like my family…”

A jolt of shame zipped down our bond, so I sent soothing energy his way. Yes, the Salah household employed some of these lesser supes— and Micah’s parents were horrid to them—but my stellar collision always treated them as equals.

Most likely because he knew what it felt like to be valued only for how “useful” you could be.

Sedo tilted their head. “And how did these ‘lesser supes’ feel about working for more powerful creatures?”

Their tone was mostly curious, but Micah still visibly cringed at the implications. “Well…” he dropped his gaze. “There was an attempted uprising recently, led by a group of lessers called The Resistance. Those who weren’t killed were rounded up and put in a re-education facility. ”

“Is that what they wanted—to be… re-educated?” the Xuni asked in a mild tone, presumably meant to set my mate at ease.

An interesting twist on interrogation…

“N-not exactly,” my mate stammered, clearly uncomfortable, but not indicating he needed me to step in.

“They wanted equality, and they actually found a way to achieve that on their own—by drinking a power-boosting serum. The facility they’ve been put in is set up like an academy and meant to help them learn how to control their newfound powers—so they don’t injure themselves or others.

They’ll be released once they can show they’re not a threat. ”

“A threat to whom?” Sedo’s mouth quirked, but I still didn’t get the sense they were judging.

Micah laughed humorlessly. “Those with all the power, of course.”

A loaded silence fell over the room, with the only sounds for several minutes being the leaves rustling outside and the distant murmuring of those standing in line to speak with a Hy Phae.

I wonder how long these seekers will wait…

Growing more unwashed by the hour.

My stellar collision finally spoke again. “As much as I don’t approve of the rampant classism that occurs on my home planet, I understand the underlying motive of creating the academy. But what’s happening with these planets disappearing makes no sense! Why destroy those weaker than you? ”

It was a fair question when compared to how supes on Earth—and Stellarians everywhere—operated.

“Technically, the rogue faction of Eki weren’t weaker,” I offered, intent on puzzling through this with him. “For all we know, they were the ones who created the shield hiding Kanrienus from sight?—”

Shit.

Now I’m the one with no filter.

“Kanrienus was shielded?” Sedo gasped before growing thoughtful. “Interesting… I was under the impression that only Eki could sense anything existing behind their shields…”

That explains why Micah could sense Karn.

But how did ? —

“How did the Planet Eater thingie know it was there, then?” Micah threw his hands into the air before switching to mind-speak once again.

“Do you think someone tipped them off, Zig?”

That had not occurred to me, and it concerned me that it hadn’t.

In what multiverse am I the trusting one in this relationship?!

Instead of immediately replying to my mate, I pointedly addressed the Xuni, “Was there any further evidence sent from Kanrienus?”

Because otherwise, we are done here .

“Whoever sent the missive included their last words.” Sedo closed their eyes and dipped their head. “We only wanted to be free.’”

Free?!

Free from who…?

A chilling thought occurred to me that had my deeply ingrained distrust roaring to the surface once again.

Right where it belongs.

I reached for Micah before remembering the manners he’d now deeply ingrained in me. “Thank you for your time, Sedo. We will return if necessary.”

Which is doubtful.

Micah opened his mouth, no doubt wanting to add more pleasantries, but I was already star hopping us back to the ship.

“Zig!” he squawked. “I was going to offer to return if they needed our protection!”

Extremely doubtful.

“Despite their appearance, the Xuni are fierce warriors,” I scoffed, already adjusting the controls to fly us off this planet as quickly as possible. “Stellaria knows why they waste their time running this little psychic circus of theirs.”

“Maybe they enjoy helping others,” my stellar collision huffed, flopping into his captain’s chair. “I didn’t pick up on anything other than helper vibes in there.”

Oh, really ?

“Then why were you being so… withholding?” I growled, oddly affected by the idea of my spot of sunshine turning as gloomy as me. “That’s my job.”

Micah cackled and propped his feet on the dashboard. “Don’t worry, Space Daddy. Commander Babygirl isn’t interested in making your job obsolete.” His grin faded. “I wasn’t trying to be withholding—I just didn’t want to mention anything that might put Pedro’s home planet at risk.”

My chest grew warm. “It’s because you are such a natural caretaker.”

And you’ll be an even better father.

Micah blushed. “I’m just doing my best, Zig. For as shitty as my parents were, it was drilled into my head since I was young that ‘ heroes help!’ So that’s what I do.”

He makes it sound so simple.

It wasn’t until we’d flown through the thick yellow cloud surrounding Xuniaa YS that he spoke again. “We need to tell Leeloo about what we’ve learned?—”

“No!” I barked, more forcefully than I meant to. “I’m sorry, Micah, but I think we may need to investigate this more on our own before we talk to Leeloo.”

Micah turned to face me with a fire in his eyes that I found equal parts arousing and terrifying. “Are you implying Leeloo and the Eki had something to do with destroying Kanrienus?!”

Ah, fuck.

I completely understood his fury. It was exactly how I’d felt the first time it was suggested to me that the old Astrum Force Command was corrupt. The Eki were his people now, so of course, he would take any accusations personally.

Tread carefully, Ziggy.

Blowing out a slow breath, I carefully clarified, “I’m not saying that, sunshine—I’m simply exercising caution. If it helps, I also think we need to gather more intel before speaking to Honnor and Astrum Force again.”

My olive branch seemed to work, so I attempted to get us back on track. “Your suggestion that someone may have tipped off this Planet Eater gave me an idea.”

“What kind of idea?” he asked, scientific curiosity replacing his wrath.

Thank fuck.

“Intel gathering,” I hedged, entering the coordinates for a planet we’d visited once before. “From a neutral source.”

“Like The Knowledge,” Micah seamlessly followed the trajectory of my thoughts, now that his emotions had settled.

His intelligence is just so fucking attractive.

“Exactly.” I smiled proudly at him, wondering if I should look into getting another certificate while we were there. “Let’s head to Kaalanesea to see if any intel about Planet Eaters exist in their library.”

Micah frowned. “But how? I mean, you can walk in there as Earthling Ziggy—since you were disguised inside the twin kings last time—but they saw me. I can’t… I can’t use a skinsuit like you can…”

Oh, sunshine .

His disappointment was a palpable thing, but the last thing I wanted was for my partner to think I planned to leave him behind on the ship.

Never again.

“I actually do have a disguise for you, babygirl,” I purred, rising from my chair. “Only it’s not a disguise…”

Micah rolled his eyes. “Spill, Space Daddy. Ya boy is way too nosey for this flavor of suspense.”

I grinned and star hopped to my skinsuit closet, laughing when my “nosey” stellar collision appeared beside me a moment later.

Right where he belongs.

“Very well,” I chuckled, opening a drawer containing items that didn’t require carbonite or other specialized storage.

“What is it, what is it?!” he clapped his hands like an excited child before gasping. “Oh my fucking gawd, Zig! Is that… am I…”

I shook out the glittering robe and held it up to him. “Yes, Micah Salah—you are officially an Eki space wizard.”