Page 24 of My Alien Bughead (Supernova Casanovas #4)
Chapter 24
Lucía
Wiping the sweat from my brow, my arms tremble with exertion as I try to do four things at once. The Aliran lady in the video I’m watching continues her task with ease. Of course she does, the bitch has two pairs of hands. It’s easy for her to do four things at once.
“Pause!” I holler. The video freezes. Dismayed, I compare the mess in front of me to the Aliran’s neatly organized workspace and groan. My half-finished device looks nothing like her half-finished device and I very much doubt it’s going to work even if I do manage to finish it. Then again, it’s not like I have anything better to do with my time.
The Supernova is gone. We’ve called the UGC to beg for help but since we’re in the ass end of nowhere, the nearest ship will take four days to get here. Arnik doesn’t think we have that long.
We’re on our own. Hence me, clumsily following a “How to make a crylonite bomb” video I found on GalNet.
It was my idea. Technically, I’ve already changed raw crylonite into an explosive once and I remember most of the steps. How hard could it be to do it again? Especially since I’m using A-grade purified crylonite and not just some dodgy scrapings from a tunnel wall.
Turns out, pretty bloody hard. Not the replicating part. I’ve got that covered. But blowing up a wall with an improvised grenade is vastly different from creating something that can actually be used in combat without causing too much danger for the person using it.
In theory, we have enough crylonite to reduce this station to atoms. The problem is, we’d prefer not to be reduced to atoms along with it and since we only have a few escape pods and no ships, leaving isn’t an option.
The workshop door slides open as Arnik enters. “How is it going?” he asks, his voice betraying how strained and tired he is.
“Not well,” I admit, then point at the paused video. “That bitch must be cheating. Those components just don’t fit together the way she says. What about you? Any news?”
“Yes,” he says darkly, rubbing at the base of his broken horn. He must have washed his hands before coming here but I can still make out droplets of blue staining his clothes. Karetelan blood.
Toli and his gang of idiots actually ended up finding the saboteur, surprise surprise. The completely unremarkable Karetelan was hiding in the abandoned lower levels, with enough supplies to last him two or three days. However, he wasn’t very cooperative when we started asking questions. At one point, Arnik lost his patience and kicked us all out of the holding cell. I’m not sure what followed but I bet it wasn’t pretty. Yet I can’t find a shred of remorse within me for what he did to the saboteur.
“How long do we have?”
Arnik closes his eyes. “Less than a day.”
Fuck, that’s even less time than we thought. “The UGC ship is four days away. FrenCorp reinforcements are, what, forty-five hours away? Can we hold them off that long?”
“Doubt it. It’s QuantumTech. They’re as rich and powerful as FrenCorp, if not more so. They can afford the best. The spy claimed they’ll bring at least sixty top-class mercenaries. There’s no way we can hold them off for an hour, let alone a day. He also confirmed their orders are to kill everyone on the station. No witnesses.”
His back against the wall, literally, Arnik slides down to the floor and hugs his knees. “I fucked this up. I should have called FrenCorp earlier. I should have requested military personnel months ago. More weapons, more defenses and… I shouldn’t have chased Zarkan’s crew away.”
It’s difficult to argue with the male. We could really use a Voidstalker squad and their fucking cruiser right about now but I won’t rub it in Arnik’s face. None of this is his fault. “You couldn’t have known. You’re a foreman, Arnik. You’re trained to oversee mining operations, not military maneuvers. This is not your fault. We’ll get through this.” Somehow. I don’t know how but we’ll work it out. We have to, for all of our sakes.
We need a damn miracle. I know that miracles do happen. I’ve already seen it once before, when a Voidstalker squad rescued me from a slave auction house seconds before my new owner was about to have his way with me. That was a definite miracle in my mind and if it could happen to a mouthy bitch like me who’d done nothing to deserve it, it can happen to the hundreds of innocent, hard-working people on this station. I have to believe it because if I don’t, I’ll curl up on the floor next to Arnik and weep. I’m not a fucking weeper.
I do sit on the floor though, just to pull Arnik into a hug. For three years, he’s been the closest thing to a family I’ve had and I’m not about to abandon him now. “It’s going to be alright,” I assure him, a promise I don’t know how to keep. “How are the other preparations going?”
Wiping his nose with his forearm, Arnik gives me a shaky nod as he pulls himself together. “According to plan. Everyone who’s not going to fight is preparing to head down in the tunnels. The rest are getting things ready. The ore harvesters are stationed at the docks. Toli has rigged several large plasma cutters and power saws to work as personal weaponry. They’re slow and short-range, but better than nothing.”
“Definitely. The miners have all agreed to pilot their harvesters?” Our miners are the toughest bunch of beings I’ve ever met. They have to be. They do the most dangerous job in the entire mining process. Piloting those hulking harvesters through the asteroid field, they dig into floating rocks while constantly at risk of being crushed or worse, launched into deep space.
“Yes.” Arnik smirks. “They seem eager to cut into something that isn’t rock. Not sure how long that excitement will last, though.”
Probably until someone dies. But the harvesters are heavily armored, designed to withstand hits from small asteroids and floating debris. They should hold up against laser fire. For a while. “Good. Now, if only I could turn this bunch of crap into actual grenades, then we’d be laughing,” I attempt to joke but my voice falters. We both know how hopeless our situation is.
Closing my eyes, I send a quick prayer “to whom it may concern”, like my Nana always used to do. I can’t help but smile fondly at the memory of her. Too bad she isn’t here. She’d have her fists dug determinedly into her very hefty hips as she stared down the QuantumTech mercenaries. One look from her and they’d run away with their tails tucked between their legs.
“Please, God,” I pray silently, hoping someone, somewhere, is listening. “I know I already had my miracle but these people haven’t. I don’t care if I make it out but please protect Zhuse and her youngling and everyone else here. They’re good people. They just need a little help.”
There’s no response. Not that I expected one. Sighing resolutely, I glance back at the table. “I should get back to it. Those explosives aren’t gonna make themselves.”
Arnik smiles at me gratefully. “Thank you, Lucía. I don’t know what I’d do without you.”
“Spend less time dealing with bar fights?”
He laughs. “Probably. Maybe you should—” His comm chimes. Arnik looks at it, his eyes widening. “We have a ship incoming.”
A wave of panic washes over me. “Already? I thought we still had at least twelve hours! Shit, I’m not ready yet.”
Arnik grabs my arm, stopping me from frantically rushing back to the table. “It’s…it seems like it’s the Supernova. They’re back.”
My relief is palpable. Sniffling as tears flood my eyes, I look up to the ceiling. Someone has been listening and they’re delivering us a miracle. “Thank you,” I whisper. “Thank you so much.”
If Arnik thinks me talking to myself is strange, he doesn’t let it show. Perhaps he’s busy thanking his own deities, whoever they are. Taking a deep breath, Arnik nods to himself in silent agreement. “Alright. Let’s go meet them. We have a ton of groveling to do.”
“That we do.” Yes, we’ll need to apologize and beg for the crew’s help. Maybe even promise them money, since they aren’t paid by the UGC anymore. Still, they wouldn’t have come back if they weren’t going to help us and with them on our side, we at least have a chance, which is all we could hope for.