Coral

"Psssst." The hissing sound comes again, and I consider uncurling from my spot on the floor of the filthy place I was thrown by the big green alien.

It might be an air leak, something I'd welcome if I didn't want to get back to Drasus. I know I need to stay alive for him. I have to get back to him somehow, in order not to be bait.

Not that I have any idea how to escape this violently pink cell which means if I don't cover my eyes I'm retching again.

"Psssst!" The air leak is becoming more insistent.

I lift my head, groaning at the bright light.

There's nothing there. Nothing to indicate there is a problem.

"Up here, human." The voice is a low purr and I swivel my head to look at the ceiling.

It's a mesh, and crouched near one corner is a creature which looks like a rat. Small beady eyes, a furry face including whiskers, and a pair of rounded ears on the top of its head.

It is, however, blue in color. A bright teal blue.

Whatever the spiders stung me with, it's giving me hallucinations. I tuck my head back under my arm again.

"Human!" my hallucination calls.

"Go away."

"Don't you want to get free?"

Looks like I'm going to have a chat with my subconscious…

"Yes, I want to get free. I want to get back to the Sarkarnii, and I want to get back to my mate. I also want to find my friend before the spiders do something horrible to her. But I'm a human, without any weapons, stuck in a cell where I can't even see a door, let alone find it. And I'm talking to a blue rat, which is also my imagination."

"What is a r-at?" my imagination says.

I remove my arm. The creature is still at the corner of the mesh. Only now it's a peacock purple. Great. A color changing hallucination.

"Probably not you." I cover my face again.

There is a crackling sound and a thump. I look up to see the creature standing in the opposite corner to me.

It is not a rat.

It has to be around five feet tall, a biped that stands naturally on two legs. Two of its arms are folded over its furry chest and the other two are working on something square in its grip. It's dressed like something out of a pirate movie, with bandoliers across its chest, leather pants, and a bright red coat. Underneath, the fur continues to change all the colors of the rainbow. A pair of long white feathery antenna extend from the top of its head, and they twist and wave in a non-existent wind.

It would be sort of cute and sort of funny if I hadn't just met spider aliens and foul green ogre aliens. I'm not sure I want to trust anything right now.

"What are you?" I ask. "And what do you want?" I add.

Nothing in this galaxy is free. It's about time I started applying Earth principles to my dealings with aliens.

"I want you and I want the Sarkarnii. My name is Emilie."

"Well, Emilie. You can't have me or the Sarkarnii, no more than the horrid green giant or the space spiders from hell can have us. So, I suggest you go back up into the ceiling and leave me alone."

Emilie the not-rat stops what they are doing and its little nose sniff -sniffs at me. "Do you want to get out of here or not?"

"Yes, of course I do, and I'm not fucking space Shrek to do it." I'm on my feet, ignoring the nausea as far as I can. "Nor am I doing you any favors."

"I don't need any favors," Emilie says. "I was instructed by Draco to wait for him outside the Kirakos. But you came out first. Your signature was similar to a Sarkarnii in my database for some reason, so I came aboard." For the first time, their eyes glitter menacingly. "But it turns out you are human and now I want answers."

"You and me both." I sigh. "I want to get back to the Sarkarnii and to my mate, Drasus. I also need to find the other human captive the spider aliens have."

"Sp-yder?"

"Mostly black, long legs, jaws." I shudder at the description.

"The Bogarok are involved?" Emilie queries, working on their box again. "If they are working with the Habosu, this is not a good situation."

"Habosu?"

"The one who took you, brought you here. The one who is presently wondering if he can mate with you."

"He's doing what?" I gasp. "How do you know?"

"I have telepathic powers," Emilie says. "Most Lepke have such an ability, but mine is stronger than most."

"Do you know what I'm thinking?"

Emilie looks at me, huffs, then slaps the box against the wall. "My ability does not appear to extend to humans." Her whiskers quiver.

"Probably a good thing. You don't want to know what I'm thinking," I growl.

"If you're thinking about killing the Habosu, save your energy. He is the lowest of the low in their caste. He doesn't matter, and he knows he risks having his balls cut off if he touches you," Emilie says.

"He has balls?"

The furry creature chuckles, and I'm hit with the fact Emilie is female, a female rat space pirate. "He's all balls. Now stand back."

I look around myself. I can't actually go anywhere. But before I can say anything, there is an explosion of smoke, and the door to the cell slides back into the wall with a grinding thump.

"Come on!" Emilie grabs my arm and tugs me through the gap. "He might be ugly, but he isn't stupid, and he will not want to lose his only bargaining chip."

We're out in a wide corridor. It's a ridiculous red color which hurts my eyes even more than the bright pink of the cell.

"This way." Emilie races ahead and I'm running to catch up, panting at the exertion I'm unused to.

"Wait! I need to find my friend." I grab for Emilie's arm, grasping soft fur.

"You are the only human on board, and I didn't read any other life signs besides the bounty hunter Habosu."

My stomach descends into my boots. Not only am I at the mercy of assistance from a furry alien pirate, but I've lost both Drasus and Jade.

"What do we have here?" A voice booms out over what appears to be some sort of PA system. "A prison break?"

"Fak!" Emilie mutters. "I don't want to fight the Habosu. Come on." I'm grabbed by the arm and propelled at a punishing pace. "My ship is docked just…"

We come to a sudden halt. Stood between us and a round opening in the side of the ship is the big, green Habosu.

In his swollen hands is an enormous club which, as he claps it into his palm, the end crackles with energy.

"Trying to steal my prize, Lepke? There's only room for one bounty hunter in this quadrant and you are going to pay for your mistake. As for the little female, she's going to make an excellent bedwarmer for my client."