Page 15 of Space Daddy’s Guide to the Galaxy (Villains in Space #2)

15

MICAH

I got Pedro dried off and put down for a nap as quickly as possible, but I still ended up needing a recap on the tea in the cockpit.

Since I guess they couldn’t wait for me to get started…

“Wait a min…” I spun in the second captain’s chair we’d installed—the one I usually ignored in favor of Ziggy’s lap. “You’re telling me Pedro has a gemstone inside them? Like a… like a troll doll?!”

Unsurprisingly, all Stellarians involved in this holographic video call stared at me blankly.

“The only trolls I remember on Earth were those in ancient legends…” Bron mused. “Then again, I haven’t visited the planet in at least one thousand years, so circumstances may have changed.”

I snorted, imagining the space dads disguised as humans in the Middle Ages. “The trolls I’m talking about weren’t real. They were these little plastic dolls with crazy colorful hair and little gems embedded in their belly that you’d rub for good luck.”

This explanation apparently only confused the issue. “Good luck with vanquishing your enemies?” Honnor asked. “Because that would match why karnilian is so sought after…”

“No!” I cackled before the rest of their statement caught up. “Wait. Karnilian helps you vanquish your enemies?”

Well, fuck.

The space dads glanced at each other. “Many believe it does,” Honnor carefully replied. “More specifically, many believe the stone bestows courage, strength, protection, and good luck on whoever owns it—or on whoever has a Hydrassian in their pocket to tell them who will be victorious in battle.”

A shiver ran down my spine at the memory of the first Hydrassian Zig had killed at the Muonova—how they hadn’t corrected me when I asked if their rituals could not just predict but determine who would win.

“Is that why the Hydrassian was searching every gem stall on Stellaria?” Ziggy asked. “To make predictions for the Irathians’ attack?”

Bron chuckled smugly. “Obviously not. Otherwise, the Irathians would have known not to attempt something as pointless as invading Stellaria.”

“And that Hydrassian claims they weren't working for the Irathians—or anyone else, for that matter,” Honnor added before growing thoughtful. “At least, not in the capacity you recently experienced…”

Apparently, Zig had already told them about the gaggle of mercenaries we’d encountered—and eliminated—at the Muonova.

Since the debriefing started without me.

“Do you have the Hydrassian in custody?” I piped in, stubbornly determined to be included.

“Of course,” Honnor absently replied, distracted by an incoming message on their Celestial Cube. “Although, they haven’t provided much intel—aside from confirming Pedro was most likely the asset the Irathians were after.”

“I’d like to talk to them,” I boldly continued, swallowing the urge to ask for permission or apologize for my demands.

Or to remind them Pedro isn’t just an asset.

Honnor cocked their head at me but then nodded once. “Very well. I’m connecting the feed to their holding cell now.”

Oh, okay…

I hadn’t expected my request to be granted this very minute, but I was hell-bent on at least looking like I knew what I was doing.

Gotta be useful.

“More questions…?” The Hydrassian we’d seen at the bazaar was suddenly displayed as a hologram floating over the dash, all six snakeheads squinting at the camera.

“Until you give us something we can work with, yes,” I snapped in the trade language, too annoyed by the entire situation to play games.

Ziggy cleared his throat and shifted awkwardly in his chair, and I had to fight a smile at the distinct horniness flavoring the air.

Space Daddy likes me in Commander Babygirl mode.

The Hydrassian sneered. “We already told your superiors we were simply answering the call of the karnilian on your planet—that it had been so long since we heard its song.”

At this point, I realized Hydrassians spoke in the royal “we,” probably because of having multiple heads. I was still wondering if each head was a separate entity with different thoughts—and whether they meant it literally when they said they could hear the karnilian’s song—but asking how their abilities worked would only make me look even more clueless than I already was.

Fake it ‘til ya make it!

Refocusing, I channeled my inner bad bitch to continue the interrogation. “And how many of your fellow mercenaries happened to be searching Stellaria alongside you?—”

“WE ARE NOT MERCENARIES!” the Hydrassian boomed, and it was only thanks to my deeply ingrained supe instincts of Big Dickery that I didn’t flinch.

“Hmm…” I hummed in a bored tone. “That’s odd. We encountered no less than six Hydrassian mercenaries in a neighboring Muonova, with at least one working for the Irathians… the same Irathians who recently attacked Stellaria—where you were found sniffing around.”

It doesn’t look good, dude.

The prisoner sighed heavily, seeming to understand they needed to start talking or face the thunder. “We assume those so-called mercenaries,” their voice dripped with disdain, “are from a younger generation of Hydrassians. With karnilian growing scarcer by the day, some have claimed there is more money to be found tracking down the stone than waiting for it to appear on our doorstep in exchange for our talents.”

Okay, so Hydrassian Millennials also believe in hustle culture…

“We’ll ask you one more time,” Ziggy joined in with his skerry Space Daddy growl. “Why were you on Stellaria looking for a stone you know full well is illegal in our galaxy?”

The Hydrassian huffed, clearly offended. “We were sent to Stellaria to shop for basic ritual supplies. The instant we left our ship, we felt the pull of karnilian from… somewhere nearby. That was when we began searching for it.”

So their witchy bitch senses are only so exact.

Good to know…

“What were you planning to do with the karnilian once you found it?” I asked. “Since you claim to not be associated with the Irathians or any other third party species seeking the stone for personal gain.”

A blast of pride from Ziggy had me sitting up straighter, even as I kept my gaze locked on our subject.

What I wouldn’t give for the twins’ mind-reading abilities right now.

The Hydrassian was silent for a moment, observing me with the same level of intensity—as if they were trying to sus out how much I knew as well.

“We were hoping to get it somewhere safe,” they carefully replied. “As mentioned, karnilian is rare nowadays, and the source of the stone even rarer.”

“Trols,” I filled in the blanks as confidently as possible, using deductive reasoning to finally name what Pedro was.

Our furry little alien troll doll.

“Yes.” The Hydrassian nodded all six heads in unison. “We have not seen a Trol in at least a few hundred years—not since their planet disappeared.”

Disappeared?!

“Disappeared?” Ziggy stepped in as my anxiety skyrocketed.

“That is what the elders say.” Our tea-spiller shrugged. “Historically, our planet had a direct link with Trols, along with contracted trade agreements so we could ethically harvest the stone for our rituals. However, one day, communication simply… stopped. When an envoy was sent to investigate, there was reportedly nothing at the coordinates except empty space.”

Well, fuck.

The plan had been to return Pedro to their planet once we figured out where it was, but now, it sounded like there might be no way home for our baby Trol.

“How would one harvest the stone? Ethically, of course…” Ziggy pressed in an oddly fervent tone I’d never heard from him before.

At least, not outside of the bedroom.

Now the Hydrassian was squinting at Zig with obvious suspicion. “The only ethical way is to cut out the karnilian from the Trol after they die of natural causes. Otherwise, you are essentially removing the very piece of their essence keeping them alive.”

“Oh,” Ziggy choked out before growing silent, and it took everything in my power not to react to the uncharacteristic anxiety I could now feel coming from him through our bond.

“Well…” I cleared my throat, redirecting the Hydrassian’s attention back to me. “That explains why it’s become a scarce resource.”

“Indeed,” they softly replied. “Especially as each stone can only be used for a single ritual before turning to dust itself.”

Well.

Fuck.

Now, the silence was heavy on all sides, and I wasn’t sure what else to ask—not until I debriefed with the others.

“Thank you.” I smiled grimly at the Hydrassian. “This was extremely helpful.”

“You are most welcome.” The Hydrassian inclined their heads respectfully. “We only ask if you find the source of the karnilian we sensed on Stellaria, you guard it with your lives.”

That’s the plan.

The feed to the holding cell cut, replaced by holograms of Honnor and Bron, who appeared equally grim.

“Well done, Micah,” Bron attempted a cheerful tone. “You acquired more intel from the Hydrassian than we were able to.”

I almost pointed out it was probably because I wasn’t using the Stellarian strong-arm method, but I bit my tongue. “Yeah… Well, I just want to be useful.”

“You are always useful!” Ziggy vehemently hissed as he sexily glared at me. “You are useful simply by existing.”

Oh.

Okay, then.

Honnor cleared their throat before piping in, “You all should return to Stellaria as soon as possible ? —”

“No!” Ziggy barked, displaying an increasing level of aggression, even for him. “We are not bringing a beacon of war to Stellaria’s doorstep—not when we haven’t identified every species hunting for it. For… them.”

“So you would rather send out a beacon from your lone ship rather than allow our Star Units to protect you?” Honnor gently asked.

Ziggy looked like he was fighting one hell of an internal battle, so I stepped in, assuming my Space Daddy had a good reason for wanting to keep the situation as is.

“I could create shields for Pedro,” I offered. “When mine is activated, Ziggy can’t even smell me, so maybe it would also block the song of the stone?”

Honnor nodded thoughtfully. “Yes, that could work. It would be helpful if we could test its effectiveness in some way ? —”

“Send us the Hydrassian you have in custody,” Ziggy interrupted, staring down his maker as if they might say no. “Give them whatever ritual supplies they need and then Star Hop them to my ship. I would like to ask the elders of their planet some questions.”

Now we’re talking!

I was ridiculously excited about the idea of visiting a new planet as the badass team we were, but I attempted to keep my cool while the space dads deliberated.

Wouldn’t want to ruin my bad bitch persona.

“Very well,” Honnor agreed, and I fist pumped in response. “And now that we know what sort of creature—what sort of situation—we have here, we will start gathering intel on our end.”

“While creating a distraction…” Bron added in a mischievous tone I’d come to realize all Stellarians possessed.

Shit-stirrers, all of them.

When Honnor turned to their partner with an expectant stare, Bron elaborated, “I’ll simply leak that a few Irathian survivors managed to escape with the asset. Let their planet be the target for a while.”

Ice cold.

“Were there any survivors?” I grinned, already knowing the answer.

“No.” Bron chuckled. “Worthy opponents for Stellarians are almost as rare as karnilian.”

“Be careful of imperial blind spots,” Ziggy murmured under his breath, but before I could reply, he raised his voice and addressed the hologram. “I’ll send our current coordinates so you can transfer the prisoner to our custody.”

The space dads signed off and the line went dead, leaving us in silence once again.

“Zig…” I swiveled my chair to face him. “What happened when you were inside Pedro? Are you okay?—”

“Nothing,” he snapped, abruptly standing and staring straight ahead to the endless galaxy beyond. “I’m fine.”

He obviously wasn’t, but I knew from experience, my man only talked through his issues when he was good and ready. So I begrudgingly gave him the space he needed and nodded once before following him from the cockpit to prepare for our new prisoner.

And for whatever comes next.