Page 10

Talros and I await our shuttles in the Terran spaceport.

I’ve bought us both a drink, some alcohol from an alien planet I’ve never heard of.

Its fruity burn helps calm my nerves. I’ve finally sold my shit hoverclunker to a scrap yard and made enough credits to pay off my ticket to Abr and celebrate.

“I wish there was an Abr for dudes so you could travel the stars like you want,” I say to Talros as I set my empty glass down, savoring my light buzz.

He smirks and shakes his head. “And have to marry a princess and take that hit to my pride? No thanks. Some guys would go for it just for bragging rights and the rain of credits. It means a lot to me to be capable of caring for a woman.

“ But, seriously, don’t worry about me. You just find yourself a good guy who can properly take care of you. Avoid Ginarigons and Talhuskins. Klaphos are deep in battle. Vinym require inoculations before sex.”

I cringe.

“There are a few things that probably aren’t in your catalog,” he adds. “Jorbiun flip a switch when they get angry and throw quills that hide near their spines. Drathious control fire and can breathe it out like dragons.”

I sit forward. These things aren’t listed. “I imagine they don’t tell us, so we’re not scared off.”

“Right.” Talros arches a blond brow. “Just a compulsion to help you avoid unnecessary vulnerability since I won’t be there to beat their asses for you and tell you which ones I approve of.”

Chewing a cheek, I consider his suggestions. “Alright, fine. I’m sure I don’t want to hear it, but you’re right. I should. Keep going.”

“Amphirs can kill a human with a handshake. Our discharge harnesses can handle starships, but a powerful Amphir could still kill you with the wrong touch.”

I look down at the threads embedded in my skin that cover my body, a requirement for all starship technicians and engineers. It took three months to heal from the procedure and three years to pay it off.

Talros continues. “Mindor, the furry blue guys, will pack up around you. So if your mate dies, you will belong to the next in his chain of command, whoever that is. Leosanti have a tendency to burn our retinas when they ignite. I hear Isonians are worse. So to be with them, you’ll need special glasses or eye augments. ”

I’m certain this is the side of Talros that his gentle ex-girlfriend from reception struggled with.

“How do you know all this stuff?”

“Remember a few years back when they sent me to work at the Pieris spaceport? I was assigned to an intergalactic military crew vessel. Spent a couple of years on that Ultra Violent .”

While he was gone, Ether Aerospace Engineering sent me to Jupiter Base up north to learn hoverpad and thruster design for mass transports with an emphasis on battlefield durability. But I always wondered what he went through. Talros never wants to talk about it.

“I’m sure you’ll get picked,” he continues. “But what if you don’t win and don’t get picked? I mean, you will. But do you have a backup plan? Are you coming back?

I hate to tell him the truth, but I don’t have the energy or desire to manage lies. “There’s an assistance program after the race. I can work for Abr for as long as I need.”

Deep down, I hope I’m picked. The money would be great, but it isn’t the bond I want.

Yet as I think through Tal’s warnings, I’m not sure I’ll find a single species that’s safe for me.

Venom, quills, moodiness, fireballs, electric arcs, he can’t help himself and continues listing all the species he knows and the plethora of ways they can kill humans.

“Not deadly, but Talhuskins and similar species like strange beds like those made of sticks and pebbles.”

That would definitely kill me. It suddenly makes the memories of sleeping in my car seem like sleeping on a throne.

But I’m committed. I’ve worked too long and hard to save up for the race.

Mindor would be safe enough. Leosanti retinal burns would suck, but I’m familiar with augments. I can take a zap, so Amphir is still on the table. And Ferrim still sounds like a fun place to live, even if they’re still recovering from a recent battle. Who isn’t?

“Now boarding the shuttle to Alien Bride Race.” The announcer repeats it.

“That’s you,” Talros grins. “Mine leaves just after yours. I’ll be right behind you, just on Catalyst Five.”

I sigh and get up from my barstool, then swing my stuffed satchel over my shoulder. “I guess this is it.”

He stands and draws me into a hug. “Promise you won’t forget me.”

I return his hug. “Same for you.”

Talros smiles. It’s a little lopsided today, like he isn’t completely thrilled. “Confidence, Jovie. And demand respect. No more letting others take advantage of you.”

“It’s not like I did it on purpose,” I admit.

“Verity and Elwin and everyone else took advantage of your kind heart and amiability. This is your chance to start fresh. You are worthy of respect. Understand me?”

I nod and swallow against an unexpected ache in my throat, knowing this is likely the last time I’ll see Talros. “You’re a good friend.”

He draws me into a hug and squeezes me hard. “Please don’t make me have to burn the last of my credits to come save you.”

I playfully swat his side, but he doesn’t let go.

Talros chuckles. “Alright, alright. I’m just teasing. Have fun. You deserve it.”

I lean back and pull up my digital Abr ticket on one of my gauntlets. “Don’t settle just to avoid loneliness. That will just be a different kind of misery.”

“Yeah.” Talros waves as I cross the hallway and get in line with other women taking the shuttle to the lunar base.

A woman in a dark blue uniform trimmed in silver and sporting an Abr badge with wings scans the ticket on my gauntlet and motions me toward a door.

I walk down the ramp and get a glimpse through the glass at the shuttle that will carry me to my future.

It’s a beautiful silver LTS-495 called Half Moon.

It catches a glint of sunlight in a way that makes my heart skip a beat.

Several staff members help future racers into hibernation cells stacked in rows around the perimeter of the shuttle. A woman guides me to a pod with an open door. I’ve been to Catalyst Five before but never in a hibernation pod.

“Please,” she says, lifting a hand toward the cushions. “It will go much faster and allow you to get some rest and nutrients before the races so you can enjoy them to your full potential.”

She’s a kind-faced brunette with blue eyes. I want to trust her, but I’m suddenly confronting the reality that my life is about to change, and it’s making me hesitate.

“If I don’t win, do I get to do what you do?” I ask.

The woman eyes my gauntlets. “You would likely be assigned to Abr shuttle maintenance. But yes, if you aren’t picked, there are many options for employment. It takes a lot of people to operate the race events and produce the shows that air daily on the holo.”

“I won’t have to come back to Earth?”

She shakes her head. “You can request other options if you wish. We do have intergalactic agencies that help get males interested in the games. Perhaps you could work for that transport’s maintenance crew.

That will be up to Ohni, who is the new Abr lead coordinator.

Now, if you will please, get in. I have other racers to get set up. ”

“Sure.” I climb into the pod and let her belt me in.

She connects an intravenous port to an arm, which makes me drowsy.

As I drift off to sleep, she packs my bag into a chamber beside me and closes the glass door over my body.

Blue light fills my hibernation cell, paired with a soft whir.

The moment it locks, I slip away into waves of restful sleep.

I wade through the heavy darkness, savoring the silence and the relaxation spreading through me. After some time, the ink warms, and a beacon of green light grows in the distance. Gunfire lances through my tranquil space.

What the heck? What’s happening? Wake up, Jovie. Something’s wrong!

A man runs toward me. “I can’t. The engines are down. The ship’s not responding! I need help!”

Am I dreaming? I’m not sure. Instinct takes over. “What’s the problem?”

He starts to run past me, then stops, sees me, and collects me with muscled arms, crushing me against his toned body like an overdramatic soap opera. “There’s no time!”

It’s not Talros. The man doesn’t have identifiable features that I can lock on to. The image is hazy.

I have to be dreaming.

Still, panic surges through me when the warbling alerts sound. I squint back in the direction we’ve come from. “Tell me what’s wrong! Let me help!”

“There’s nothing you can do. It’s too late.”

“Hey, fucknut! Get your sexy ass in the game and focus! I would rather go down fighting than accept any situation is hopeless! Talk to me!”

A glass wall I don’t see coming shatters around us, and we fall head-first into the void. The man who carries me lands on something metal and straightens. His eyes are electric green. Strings of pale green light zing through the air, fading out into the darkness of space. “You saved me.”

“What?” I try to push back, but he won’t let go. “I didn’t do a fucking thing! You caught me. And who in the hell are you? Where are we?”

The man just stares down at me. “I hear you. I hear your Storm. You are upset.”

“Storm? Look, I’ve probably screwed myself blending alcohol with sleeping meds for this transport, so I know you’re not real.”

“I’m real.” His virile body heaves a breath and starts to glow. “So are you.”

Stars, I hope so.

This is a weird dream. A haywire thruster control module makes more sense than this.

He reaches up to my face and runs a fingertip over my bottom lip. It feels so real that I close my eyes and try to memorize the gentleness of the touch.

“What do you feel?” he asks.

“Like I’m tripping balls on a bad mix of drugs.”

He chuckles. “And?”

“You.”