Page 5 of My Alien Bughead (Supernova Casanovas #4)
Chapter 5
Lucía
The Supernova is super cool. I don’t have words for it. It’s just so damn cool I want to jump up and down like a kid at Christmas just from looking at it.
It’s smooth and sleek, nothing like the bulky, unwieldy cargo haulers that usually dock at the station. It’s bigger than a hauler too. In fact, the Supernova barely fits into the massive space of our docking bay.
Just as Arnik said, there doesn’t seem to be any damage to the outside of the ship. No blast marks, dents, or jagged holes. In fact, at first glance, the Supernova appears to be in top shape, not a sensor array out of place. It’s only after I cross the ramp connected to the ship’s main airlock and enter the inner corridors that I see that the poor thing is most definitely not in good shape.
When treated properly, electricity is a reliable and excellent tool. When left to run rampant, it raises havoc and turns deadly in an instant. The situation must have been truly dire for the ship’s technician to choose such a drastic solution.
The corridor walls are charred and the wiring is clearly fried. It’s either melted into a useless mush or burned beyond recognition. Almost all of the lights are broken, their contents scattered. Someone’s swept most of the shards out of the way but some still crunch under the thick soles of my work boots. I really hope Nala gets some shoes for her daughter because there’s no way she’d be able to move around this ship barefoot at the moment.
Since the ship’s generator is offline, the ship is hooked up to the station’s systems. The air filtration pipes hum as they pump air through the vents but the stench of burned wiring is too ingrained to filter out fully. The few unshattered lights cast an eerie glow along the damaged corridors. One flickers on and off like something out of a horror film, adding to the creepy vibe but also helping me snap out of my shock.
It only takes a few seconds to find the right screwdriver from my tool belt and soon I have the wall panel next to the flickering light open. It reveals yet another mess of burned wiring.
This particular light is part of the emergency system. Therefore, its insulation is better than the rest of the electrical units, which saved it from total destruction. However, melted plastic from somewhere above the unit has dripped down onto the contacts of the ion sphere array. It’s caused the magnetic field holding the ionized plasma to fluctuate, hence the flickering.
Not wanting to electrocute myself, I flip the switch down on the panel to turn the light off, then carefully clear the melted plastic away from the contacts. After a bit of cleaning and re-insulating, I flip the switch back on and voila! The light works.
I feel the satisfied grin on my face as I put the panel back in place. Fixing stuff brings me so much childlike joy that I already want to throw myself into the next task. It’s both a blessing and a curse that there’s a multitude of broken things around here.
The sound of shards crunching under boots announces someone else’s arrival. “Well, it looks like my ship is in good hands,” a low, grumbly voice says.
I turn around to find a massive alien standing just a few steps away and realize he must have intentionally stepped on the debris to announce his presence and not startle me. How thoughtful.
I’ve met several Lakhartans while out in space, since a lot of them work for the UGC. Still, the Supernova’s captain is definitely the largest I’ve seen so far. He towers a good foot or so above me and I’m not a tiny thing myself. He’s also nearly twice as wide as me even though I’m not lacking in that department either. In fact, the years of strenuous physical labor have made me strong and muscular.
My body is that of a hardworking woman, rather than a willowy supermodel or a curvy sex icon and I’m perfectly comfortable with that. I’ve never cared what others think about my appearance, and since I was taken from Earth, it’s mattered even less.
The vast majority of aliens have never seen a human before. I can look however I want and they still consider it normal. Sexy even.
I haven’t spent the past four years celibate, either. Most of the interest from the males probably stemmed from the desire to fuck a new, rare species so they can brag about it to their friends but as long as they weren’t being jerks about it, I didn’t refuse their advances. After all, they were all new species to me too, and I was curious about their cocks.
I have no regrets. I probably won’t sleep with an Ataxi again, since they’re rather aggressive and quick to shove their secondary cock into your ass without any preparation, but the rest? Chef’s kiss.
That’s also how I know that the Lakhartan in front of me has a massive cock hidden inside a slit between his legs. And that his cock has hard scaly ridges that rub in all of the right places in the most delicious way. Plus, instead of balls there are several keratin nubs placed strategically around the base of his cock. I have no idea what the evolutionary purpose of those nubs is, but damn, if they don’t rub the clit in the best fucking way possible! And…
My eyes widen in mortification and blood rushes into my cheeks when I realize I’m fantasizing about my employer’s cock while he’s standing right in front of me, waiting for me to say something.
I’m totally killing it with my first impressions today!
“Um…” What was he saying? Damn, I can’t remember. “I’m Lucía Nores,” I say instead, hoping he hasn’t asked me a question. “Foreman Arnik said you needed someone to help with repairs.”
Dipping his head in greeting, he replies, “I’m Captain Zarkan. Welcome to the Supernova, Ms. Nores. Foreman Arnik spoke very highly of you and I’m happy to have you on board. As you can see,” he gestures to the damage surrounding us, “there’s a lot of work to be done.”
“I can see that. I assume we will start with something more substantial than lights, though? Reactor, life support, engines?”
Zarkan graces me with a toothy smile. “Exactly. We’re just organizing a team to secure the maintenance walkways and access the engineering section of the ship.”
Secure? That’s an odd thing to say. Before I can ask about it, Zarkan adds, “I understand you must be wary about working with a group of strangers, Ms. Nores, but I want to assure you that you will be completely safe here.”
Oh, so that’s why the captain himself came to greet a lowly drone like myself. To make sure I wasn’t afraid of his people. How sweet. “Thank you, Captain. I appreciate your assurances but they’re unnecessary. I met some of your crew out in the marketplace and after talking to Astra and Nala, I am not concerned about you being slavers. Plus…” I hesitate, not wanting to pry but I’m too curious to keep my mouth shut. “Tareq mentioned something about your crew being Voidstalkers?”
Meeting the UGC’s equivalent to Navy Seals on steroids is almost as exciting as working on a spaceship. What I don’t understand is why they didn’t request help through official UGC channels or at least announce who they were when approaching Alevvo? That would have surely assuaged Arnik’s concerns. Maybe they’re on a secret mission?
Zarkan takes a few seconds to think before answering. “It’s a little complicated. We used to be Voidstalkers, yes. We disobeyed a direct order on our last mission and in doing so, violated one of the most important galactic laws, which has officially labeled us as outlaws.”
He speaks in a strictly neutral tone, but his scales darken a little. I’m not overly familiar with Lakhartan non-verbal language but I think it might signalize embarrassment. Or sadness?
“It was all for a good cause,” he adds. “We chose to save lives instead of blindly following bureaucratic rules. But the truth is that we’re wanted by the UGC, which is why I had to be a little vague when explaining our situation to Foreman Arnik.”
“Well, that just makes me like you even more. People who break rules to save lives are my kind of people.” Tucking my tools back into my belt, I add, “I’m ready. By the way, what did you mean by ‘securing’ the walkways? Do you have some radiation leaks or something?” I really hope not, because I hate working in those clunky protective suits.
Zarkan rumbles out a laugh. “No radiation leaks, as far as I’m aware. We have bugs, though.”