Page 14 of Space Daddy’s Guide to the Galaxy (Villains in Space #2)

14

ZIGGY

“What is the point of me saying we might let them live if you just kill everyone we interrogate?”

I finished rinsing shampoo from my Earthling hair before peering around the frosted partition of the Lodger’s single occupancy shower stall.

Single occupancy despite my best efforts.

“The point is that they tell us more if they think they might be released.” When Micah’s pinched expression told me it had been a rhetorical question, I sighed. “I allowed the lone survivor of Theo’s massacre to live.”

And Theo, let’s not forget.

It was Micah’s turn to sigh as he refocused on bathing Pedro in the large basin we’d apparently bought for this purpose.

I thought it was to hold my weapons.

My mate had handed me the baby sling upon arrival before practically throwing himself in the shower, muttering about “itchy trigger fingers” while he aggressively scrubbed himself clean.

For once, I didn’t mind being the one on baby duty, because it gave me time to think.

Assuming we’d run across more ‘mercenaries’ at the next Muonova, I’d simply picked a random direction before getting us back on the Intergalactic Highway. Then, I’d reactivated the Lodger’s cloaking device and put us on autopilot while I contemplated our next move.

Learning multiple alien species had hired Hydrassians to scout for karnilian was jarring enough, but the revelation this search involved Pedro confirmed the creature was the reason Irathians had attacked Stellaria.

Which means we can’t return until we’ve unloaded the asset.

I would have preferred to consult with Honnor and Bron on these new developments, but my maker had promised to contact me after the battle, so the least I could do was be patient.

But what if…

“What the fuck?” Micah muttered under his breath, leaning down to take a closer look at the soggy ball of fur in the basin.

Pedro appeared to be enjoying themselves—splashing and cooing in an oddly baby-like way—so it didn’t seem like an emergency.

Plus, I have zero interest in participating in “bath time.”

“Hey, Zig? Can you come look at this, please?”

Sigh.

Turning off the water, I grabbed a towel and wrapped it around my waist before exiting the shower stall. With how tiny the bathroom was, this put me directly above the basin, so I crouched down to better see what had Micah concerned.

“Sooo, Pedro’s fur is thick as fuck and layered, which is probably why I didn’t notice this until now…” he murmured, attention fixed on parting the fur on the creature’s chest.

I sighed again. “If you’re going to show me the defensive tentacles Pedro has, I am well acquainted.”

And still slightly annoyed they caught me off guard.

Micah glanced up and smiled sweetly. Deceptively so. “Mmhmm… and have you noticed how Pedro hasn’t felt the need to flash those tentacles since you started playing nice?”

Another rhetorical question, I presume.

“Although…” He chewed his lip, already puzzling through the next problem. “It’s weird they didn’t activate their defenses when the first Hydrassian showed up at the Muonova. Pedro was clearly uncomfortable…”

I frowned down at the creature splashing around the basin, remembering how they’d been curled up in the sling while I’d shopped for guns.

Until I lured them out for some “enrichment.”

“They did…” I murmured. “It was a different sort of defense mechanism—similar to how novas are taught to curl inward to protect our core while our tendrils are still developing.”

My stellar collision had abandoned his task in favor of gaping at me in awe. “Is your core more fragile than your tendrils?”

I shifted uncomfortably at the thought of sharing my secrets, but sternly reminded myself Micah would never use this intel against me.

Even if he is powerful enough to kill me.

“Yes,” I haltingly replied. “The only way to destroy a Stellarian is to tear our core to pieces and return us to the stars.”

Micah sharply inhaled, and I cursed my thoughtlessness, realizing exactly which traumatizing memory I’d just invoked.

“It’s over quickly, sunshine, and relatively painless,” I lied, attempting to calm his growing panic by sending soothing energy through our bond. “It’s also an injury that’s easy to reverse if a piece of that core happens to be permanently lodged inside our perfect mate.”

That did the trick as he snapped back to scientific focus. “The piece of you inside me is from your core?” When I nodded, he beamed. “That’s my favorite part of you! So pretty…”

To my absolute horror, I blushed. “Yes, well… a Stellarian has little control over the colors our true form displays. It’s most likely a combination of our makers’ hues and other genetic factors?—”

“It’s okay to be a pretty boy, Space Daddy,” Micah purred, making me blush harder and scowl down at Pedro. “Is that the only reason I’m able to glow for you?” he added, barely audible.

My gaze snapped to his face, sensing… sorrow in our bond. “Yes,” I answered truthfully, knowing full well that wasn’t what he—what either of us—wanted to hear.

Because you’re not a Stellarian.

Now my sorrow joined his, but it didn’t change how I felt.

“You are still my mate,” I firmly reminded him. “My stellar collision.”

Until I return to the stars.

“I know, Zig.” Micah smiled gratefully although he sounded tired. “I guess I just feel like the odd Earthling out in our alien polycule.”

Alien polycule?!

He snickered at my horrified expression, even if I had to admit it was an accurate assessment of the unprecedented relationship he and I had with Gabriel.

It also gave me an idea.

“If I left more of my core inside you—similar to how the twins were created…” I casually mused, attempting to mask how feral the idea made me. “I wonder if that may allow you to access some of my abilities, like?—”

“Real tendrils?!” he shouted, accidentally startling Pedro into stillness. “That would be way cooler than the wannabe tendrils I made?—”

“Your tendrils are perfect!” I snarled, eliciting a squawk from Pedro, who then blinked up at both of us with concern.

Do they… think we’re fighting?

While I could admit I’d felt called to protect and comfort Theo’s stellar collisions during our recent excursion on Earth, I could at least blame that reaction on the resonance we shared.

Yet, here I was, suddenly compelled to stop a random, newly-hatched alien with zero connection to me from being upset.

What is happening to me?!

Before I could tamp it down, my resonance hummed soothingly, causing Micah’s chest to glow in response.

Then, so did Pedro’s.

What.

“Oh!” Micah exclaimed, gently pawing at the creature’s layers of fur once again. “That’s what I wanted to show you. Our baby is glowing!”

Our.

Baby.

I could only stare, slack-jawed, at the reddish glow emanating from the center of Pedro’s chest, pulsing in time with their happy trilling sounds.

“Do you think there’s a Stellarian in there?” Micah whispered, looking far too invested in the idea.

For science, no doubt.

Unleashing an invisible tendril to hover over Pedro, I discreetly tested the air for the minuscule energetic surges certain creatures gave off, but I sensed nothing more than the usual vibrations found among my fellow space travelers.

Which doesn’t mean much, considering how insidious some of us are.

I cleared my throat and warily glanced at Micah. “It would help if I could get inside and take a look around…”

He cocked his head, observing me silently for a moment. “Are you asking for permission?”

I huffed, not appreciating how observant he was at this moment. “Well, yes. I can’t ask them, so it seemed the polite thing to do.”

Micah smirked. “So polite.” He returned his gaze to Pedro and ran a hand through their soggy fur, eliciting another happy trill. “If you promise to be as quick as possible, and gentle… I just don’t want?—”

“I promise, I will be quick and gentle.” It was my turn to smirk. “The opposite of how I am with you.”

He huffed as his cheeks darkened. “Not in front of the baby, Zig!”

Resisting the urge to remind him this creature had no idea what we were saying, I focused on my assignment from Commander Babygirl.

Undetected— temporary— infiltration.

First, I sedated Pedro with my sleep powers, similar to how Honnor had when we took a blood sample, before carefully snaking a tendril down their throat. I couldn’t exactly ‘see’ inside their body while doing this, but with how sensitive my tendrils were to touch, scent, and vibrations, I was confident I could get a useful reading of some kind.

Oddly, the deeper I traveled, the more energetic resistance I came up against while also feeling compelled to keep going—to reach whatever was luring me in.

I need to find it.

An offhand comment Honnor had made about “an odd breastplate formation” had me branching out once I reached the chest cavity, sending tendrils shooting off in various directions to locate the source of the glow.

I need to make it mine…

Fuck.

I was having a difficult time ignoring my natural instincts to take over, but I chalked it up to the now-outdated Stellarian mindset of complete subjugation as the only option when it came to our vessels.

That’s not who you are anymore, Ziggy.

It’s not why you’re here ? —

I froze as the source of the red glow suddenly washed over me, unobstructed by Pedro’s natural defenses. It was an almost maddening amount of energy, vibrating my synapses with the promise of ultimate supremacy

So. Much. Power.

All mine…

With a gasp, I snatched my tendril out of Pedro’s slack mouth and put as much distance between us as possible in the tiny bathroom.

“What happened?!” Micah hissed, his panicked gaze darting between us like he didn’t know who to attend to. “Is everything okay?”

My chest heaved, my tendrils roiling beneath the surface as I locked them down tight. “There’s something in there, something more powerful than anything I’ve ever encountered. I need… I need to…”

I need my maker.

Honnor must have sensed my distress, as the alert lighting built into the walls began flashing, indicating an incoming message from Astrum Force Command.

Thank fuck.

“I don’t think Pedro is a danger to us, sunshine,” I soothed, wanting to be clear before I disappeared. “But if you could get them settled in the weapons… the nursery and then meet me in the cockpit…”

“You got it, Zig.” He nodded resolutely, gently lifting a still sleepy Pedro from the basin and wrapping them in a towel. “You can count on me.”

Thank. Fuck.

I star hopped away before my mate could fully pick up on how shaken I was, stopping in the bedroom to pull on some clothes before heading to the cockpit.

Once there, I sat heavily in my captain’s chair and dropped my head into my hands, running through a few of the breathing exercises Micah had taught me.

What in Stellaria’s name was that?

I would have preferred to wait until my capable partner rejoined me, and for my frazzled nerves to return to baseline, but when an urgent call came through, I immediately answered.

“Ziggy?” Honnor’s recognizable armor filled the holographic screen above my dashboard, and I breathed a sigh of relief to see it looked intact.

“We have a problem,” I croaked, uncharacteristically uncaring if I sounded weak and helpless.

I need help.

“We do,” my maker agreed with a nod before flipping open their visor to show me their true form beneath. “It appears that asset of yours is made of karnilian.”