Her Alien Protector: A Sci-fi Romance

Part 45

Ava

Kayla places two bowls of fruits and vegetables onto a table in the helm and calls us for meal time. "I've run tests on everything, either foraged or raised in the lab, and it's passed our safety tests."

All five of us—Firefly's crew as Tarak affectionately calls us—gather around the table. I grab what looks like a berry and pop it into my mouth. A bitter taste floods my mouth. Gross. These wild plants might pass safety tests, but the taste is awful. Crunching sounds come from Tarak as he eats—I shiver—some sort of rodent he discovered (and hunted) while helping Kayla forage our meal from the planet's surface.

"I have a proposal," says Kayla, nibbling a bright-colored fruit. "After we finish eating, I want to go on an expedition to explore the ruins with the glyphs."

It takes me a minute to realize what ruins she is talking about; it is the ruins I found and recorded with Rigel.

"Such an expedition will need to wait until I finish recovering parts from the Hydra fighters," says Tarak.

"I don't need you to go with me. I'll take a drone. I can be back before nightfall."

"No, Kayla. Safety first. Hoomans must always have a partner with them," says Tarak.

Tarak and Kayla growl and hiss at each other. My heart races. In an attempt to keep my heart from breaking out of my rib cage,

I take a deep breath. Okay, I know my heart can't do that, but it feels like it might. It is only a domestic spat, it is only a domestic spat, it is only a domestic spat.

I need to distract myself, so when I notice Dylan ignoring the colorful fruit Kayla put in front of him, I seize my opportunity.

"Eat your meal, Dylan."

Dylan growls in the exact way that Tarak does. Ugh. So much for a distraction.

"Can I be excused," Dylan asks.

Still in their growling-hissing fit, Tarak and Kayla don't even notice Dylan.

Dylan growls, and—Gross!—now he is showing me his incisor teeth.

I can't take it anymore. "You are excused, Dylan."

The boy leaps out of his seat, runs across the helm, and into the corridor. Glow Ball chases after Dylan, but the animal arrives when the door between the helm and the hallway closes. Poor Glow Ball peeps, pawing at the closed door.

"Where is Dylan," growls Tarak, looking between Dylan's empty chair and the closed door where the rahoni peeps.

"I said Dylan could be excused," I say, going to Glow Ball, picking up the rahoni, and hugging him. The buzzing translator in my ear gets me to refocus on Kayla and Tarak.

"You cannot go, Kayla. We have a safety protocol. Hoomans must always have someone with them when exploring a planet."

Is that all she needs?

"I can go with her," I say, and suddenly, everyone is looking at me. "I'm the one who discovered it, so..."

Tarak growls.

"I can escort them," says Rigel.

Kayla points at Rigel's wrapped-up wing. "Rigel, you need to stay on the Firefly and heal."

Rigel's feathers flutter. "Yes, but–"

Tarak bangs his fist on the table. "Your order is to stay on the ship, bird!"

"Among my kind, our wing bones and feathers regenerate fast, so if we can unwrap my wing–"

"Do you need work to do, bird? Someone broke the turret," says Tarak, poking a finger into Rigel's chest. "Fix it!"