Page 31 of Space Daddy’s Guide to the Galaxy (Villains in Space #2)

31

ZIGGY

Micah had only been gone for a few minutes when I felt his anxiety spike, but I refrained from charging into battle on his behalf..

He told you he could handle this, Ziggy.

It was a struggle, but I refocused as best I could on feeding Pedro leftover hatini, too distracted to care when they threw their spoon on the floor, as usual.

A natural behavior of certain species at this age, apparently.

My thoughts drifted to the concept of Micah as an Earthling child. Unsurprisingly, the Salahs had barely any family photos in their home while I was there, aside from professional portraits lining the hallways, but Micah displayed more candid snapshots in his bedroom, taped above his desk.

I knew this because as my mission on Earth drew to a close—and Micah and I had grown closer—I’d started sneaking into his bedroom in the middle of the night in my true form. At the time, I’d credited my overwhelming need to be close to him as simple curiosity, and the evidence supported this belief. When I wasn’t watching him sleep, I focused on examining the sentimental possessions he had on display, determined to decode why I was drawn to this seemingly random Earthling.

My stellar collision all along.

We’d learned the truth about stellar collisions during our first adventure together and saw this harmony in action in the rebel hideout on the moon. Thanks to the different auras of various True Stellarians, Micah was able to identify which had taken full control of their skinsuits versus those coexisting with an equally aware host.

While I’d only melded my consciousness with Micah’s once since then, I was happy with our current arrangement. The piece of my core that remained inside him served its purpose by allowing me to get a better read on his feelings—when he wasn’t purposefully burying them.

I’m one to talk, I suppose…

Due to the piece being so small, I couldn’t read his thoughts. Even if I could, however, I most likely wouldn’t take advantage of this unfettered access out of respect for his privacy.

I do have some morals.

Those morals were hard to remember at the moment, as I anxiously awaited my mate’s return. Micah may have insisted he wasn’t suspicious of the Eki, but that didn’t change the fact my most precious treasure was currently alone and unguarded among creatures I didn’t fully trust.

Having Pedro under my watchful eye was appeasing me to some extent. Despite the fangs and other defensive enhancements I hadn’t seen since I’d cornered the Trol in the air vent, they were just a baby. A baby who needed my protection.

A baby who could make me extremely powerful…

Stop it, Ziggy.

As with every time these intrusive thoughts crept in, I tried to put as much distance between myself and the karnilian as possible. With how small our rooms were, the best option was to step outside, but I didn’t go far. I left the door cracked as I leaned against the door frame—not only to keep an eye on Pedro, but discourage them from making another hole in the wall to reach me.

Maybe they could gnaw through the shields trapping us in this city…

My gaze lifted to the ceiling high above us, extending my powers to subtly push against the invisible barrier, testing for weaknesses. Unsurprisingly, there were none, which begrudgingly impressed me.

Who is keeping the shields in place?

Leeloo? Or is it a collective effort?

My thoughts wandered to an offhand comment Honnor had made when we first met on Apotelesma. It was in reference to their fellow True Stellarians—how they’d all discovered their true purpose, not just by coexisting with their vessels, but by tuning in to each other.

They called this connection “the collective well.”

There was a similar concept on Earth called the collective unconscious, coined by the Swiss psychotherapist Carl Jung. It referred to the matrix of objective experiences shared generationally by all humans, as opposed to the subjective experiences of one’s personal life. He claimed it was the reason anthropologists discovered universal archetypes and mythologies in civilizations that otherwise had no physical contact with any others.

I had noticed a similar phenomenon during my travels among various alien species, but with how common trade between planets was, I’d always assumed that was how stories traveled as well.

What if certain species are more psychically connected than that?

I thought of the first time my resonance was sung to me—by Theo when we finally met on Earth. While I was incredibly overwhelmed at the time, I later marveled at how I recognized a tune I had never heard before.

A Stellarian’s resonance was unique to them, a combination of their makers’ resonances being passed down to their offspring. Stellar collisions were your perfect match, but everyone on the same wavelength also responded to the harmony of the family unit—sometimes in a platonically affectionate way, sometimes as something more.

I’d been told unrelated Stellarians could hear another’s resonance, even if they didn’t respond to it, which gave me an idea for the present moment.

Perhaps a little experiment is needed.

First, I scanned the hoods of the Eki passing me by, confirming Micah’s observation that they seemed more interested in their own lives than mine. Then, I slowly allowed my resonance to build in my chest—starting with the low purr I demonstrated while in bed with my mate.

I noticed a few Eki closest to me cocking their heads inquisitively, but the evidence was inconclusive. So I increased the volume and intensity to what I would use to catch Micah’s attention across the room.

This caused more Eki to turn and stare directly at me.

How is this possible?!

I had been too panicked yesterday to fully absorb what the cave paintings implied, thanks to discovering that Leeloo—the entire planet—knew I was a Stellarian. Now, I had no choice but to consider what we’d seen. If the timeline was to be believed, the Eki had landed on Earth prior to the Lacertus and Stellarians, which suggested their DNA may be part of the supe soup.

This wouldn’t have surprised me. Micah desperately wanted to continue his training with Leeloo because he suspected the similarities between their powers went deeper than pure coincidence.

It was closer to synchronicity.

Another pillar of Jung’s core concepts.

I abruptly stopped resonating, and the Eki who’d noticed continued about their day. This supported Micah‘s belief that they meant me no harm, despite knowing what I was. Either way, I was still unsettled while also aware enough to know a large part of my restlessness was because I was separated from my mate.

Another experiment will help.

This time, I resonated from the piece of myself within Micah, hoping to internally remind him of our connection, wherever he was. I expected a comforting squeeze in return, but the panicked pull I felt instead had me immediately realizing something was wrong.

With a growl, I unleashed countless tendrils—fully visible—uncaring how the locals might react. Those in my path leaped out of the way, but no one countered with an attack as I snaked my way through the streets in search of what was mine.

Only to not register a single trace of my mate.

Why can’t I track him?!

My receptors being blocked reminded me of when Micah put up his shields in self-defense. This was all the confirmation I needed that he was in danger, and the only solution was to blast our way out of here.

With pleasure.

Maintaining an air of outward calm, I retracted my tendrils and slipped back inside our room to quickly pack up our belongings. Then, I placed Pedro in the nanny bot’s baby sling and led the droid back to my ship before leaving them both in the cockpit behind the lockdown doors.

Which are hopefully strong enough to keep the Trol from escaping.

That no Eki had attempted to block me from boarding the Lodger implied Leeloo specifically, along with a small collection of minions, perhaps, were who I was up against. I couldn’t be sure if their intent was to separate me from my stellar collision indefinitely, but the solution was obvious.

I’ll simply smoke them out.

Resolutely climbing into the gunner's cockpit, I aimed for the closest uninhabited pile of rocks before disintegrating them with a rocket-powered grenade.

Just a warning shot.

As I’d hoped, this finally got the Eki’s collective attention. I smirked as they all began scrambling for cover, although why they still weren’t engaging in combat remained a mystery, as Leeloo suddenly appeared with a frightened looking Micah in tow.

Appeared out of thin air.

As if they’d star hopped…

“Ziggy, stop!” Micah shouted, his voice muffled between the cockpit dome and his shields. “I’m fine. Leeloo just needed to contain me long enough to talk.”

Contain him?!

All at once, I realized the Eki had turned Micah’s own technology against him, shielding my mate against his will, trapping his powers inside a prison of inorganic material.

No.

They’re trapping the piece of me in there.

I grabbed the intercom mouthpiece and snarled into it. “Release his shields, Leeloo.”

“No,” the Eki replied defiantly.

Oh, you want to play that game?

I pivoted in my seat, aiming the guns at a row of buildings. While I took no pleasure in killing innocent civilians, if it was between them and my mate, I would destroy this entire planet—blast it into oblivion until no one remembered its name.

“Permission to come aboard,” Leeloo called out, causing me to pause and remove my finger from the trigger.

That was… unexpected.

I grabbed the mouthpiece again. “Only if Micah comes with you.“

The Eki inclined their head. “Of course. We will meet you in the cockpit.”

Wait, what?

Without thinking, I star hopped to the cockpit, hoping to arrive before Leeloo got near Pedro.

Unfortunately, they beat me there.

“Ah, so you figured out star hopping does work within Nuclei City’s shield.”

“I…” I glanced down at myself in confusion before glaring at the Eki who’d effortlessly infiltrated my ship.

“You assumed we had stifled your powers,” they coolly replied, “instead of considering that the shields over our city might be for our protection—against any species capable of star hopping.”

“Only Stellarians can…” I began before Micah gave me a look that successfully silenced me.

Leeloo chuckled. “So quick to argue when, only moments ago, you witnessed another species star hopping…” They made an amused sound. “I know you will not want to hear this, Zig-ee, but the Eki were the first to do it.”

They were?

I opened my mouth to argue—true to form, apparently—but then closed it again as Honnor’s words from days ago flashed in my memory.

“Perhaps you shouldn’t make assumptions, my child. You know better than most that not everything is as it seems when it comes to alien species.”

Siiiiiigh.

“I simply want to talk.” Leeloo’s tone turned gentle—soothing—but I still wasn’t pleased with the terms.

My ship, my rules.

“Remove. Micah’s. Shields,” I gritted out.

“No,” Leeloo sighed, sounding more exhausted than anything. “Before you opened fire on my city, Micah was working on removing the shields himself.”

Oh.

My mate had the nerve to look embarrassed, despite his impressive skills. “Yeah… Apparently, dissolving shields is part of Eki Powers 101, but I’m struggling over here…”

“Is that why I felt your panic?“ I carefully asked, accessing the piece of me inside him to gauge his true feelings on the situation.

More embarrassment, but no fear.

Good.

He dropped his gaze. “I started panicking when I realized we were the ones behaving like a threat to the Eki, not the other way around. Aaaaand you blowing shit up didn’t help.”

Not sorry.

“Rational thought is often overshadowed by protective instincts when one’s stellar collision is threatened.” Leeloo huffed before chuckling self-deprecatingly. “I should know.”

Wait.

I crossed my arms. “Next, you’ll be telling me the Eki invented stellar collisions.”

“Not invented, no… That would be our common ancestor.” When I squinted, they cocked their head. “Are you finally understanding, Zig-ee?”

I wasn’t. In fact, my thoughts were as confused and jumbled as they had been when Micah and I discovered the truth about Stellarians at The Knowledge.

Not the whole truth, apparently.

“Zig?” Micah’s familiar voice cut through my growing anxiety, just as it had then, and when I met his gaze, he smiled encouragingly.

Supporting me, as always.

Unconditionally.

“I don’t understand,” I sighed before nodding at Leeloo. “But I’m willing to… listen.”

In the interest of playing nice.

You would think nothing could surprise me at this point when it came to learning about Stellarians, but sharing a common ancestor with the Eki was the most unexpected intel yet.

Assuming it’s even the truth…