6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6

Nikolai

My heart is heavy as I approach the bridge, my mind still reeling from the look of absolute terror in the unknown female’s eyes. Yet, I can’t keep her a secret from the crew any longer. Well, I could easily but I’m not going to. I want them to accept me as a valued member of the crew and as such, trust simply cannot be built on secrets.

Captain Zarkan is a good man. He’s older than the rest of his former squad. Faelin told me that Zarkan was way past the age where he could have been promoted into a less dangerous position higher up in the UGC ranks, but he’d refused. He wanted to be out here, helping people, not sitting behind a desk in a cozy office.

According to Faelin, Zarkan is wise and prudent, never prone to rash decisions. In other words, he’s nothing like my father. Still, my chest tightens as I approach the ready room on the bridge that he’s made into his office. How many times have I approached my father’s office like this, only to be scolded and kicked out?

The door is open and I can see Zarkan and D’Aakh, the ship’s technician, deep in discussion. “... failing,” D’Aakh says, his tone somber. “There must be a structural issue somewhere but I haven’t been able to pinpoint the exact location yet.”

“Are we in danger?” Zarkan asks, concerned.

“Not unless it gets worse. For now, the critical systems are running smoothly.”

“Good. Do you need someone to help you?”

D’Aakh snorts derisively. “Omni and Lyriana would just spend all of the time bickering with each other. Tareq would mope and sigh constantly about being apart from his mate. So would Faelin, for that matter. And, no disrespect,” he smirks, casting a glance at me, “the humans don’t know anything about the ship’s systems. They’d hardly be of any help.”

He’s right. I could barely change a lightbulb back home. Fixing a spaceship is way beyond my area of expertise.

Zarkan laughs. “Yes, I suppose you’re right. Keep me updated.”

“Yes, sir,” D’Aakh replies with a hint of irony in his voice. He nods to me in greeting before marching out of the bridge.

I hover in the room’s entrance way until Zarkan waves me in. “What can I do for you, Nikolai?” His voice, like always, is kind and approachable. I don’t think I’ve ever heard him raise his voice. I surely hope that our conversation won’t be the first time.

“I need to tell you something. But first, promise me you’ll hear me out until the end before making any decision.”

Despite my rather bold request, Zarkan smiles. His lizard features and mouthful of sharp, needle-like teeth had made me feel rather nervous when I first met him but I’ve gotten used to them now. No matter how scary the Lakhartans look, they’re widely known to be the most honorable species in the entire galaxy. So much so that Zarkan couldn’t join the group that was infiltrating the slave market disguised as slavers simply because every species knows that a Lakhartan would never participate in something so heinous.

“Have I ever not heard you out fully, Nikolai?” he asks, his voice lacking any kind of malice.

“No,” I admit. On the way here, I was continuously wondering what would be the best way to ease him into the subject. Now that I’m standing here, I give up, deciding the straightforward approach is probably best. “We have a stowaway,” I announce. When Zarkan offers no reaction other than prompting me to keep talking, I relax a little. “One of the escaped slaves from the Arcade must have snuck on board the Supernova.”

His lips quirk as he fights to contain his amusement. “How could that have possibly happened?” he asks, his tone clearly teasing. “I thought you were guarding the airlock the entire time?”

“You know damn well I wasn’t,” I grumble. “There were injured people nearby. I couldn’t just stand there! I left the damned airlock to go and help them.” I would have made a terrible soldier. “I was still trying to help them when Lyriana eventually dragged me back onto the ship.” Literally dragged me back. I still hate her for it.

“I know, I know,” Zarkan placates me with a smile. “So, about the stowaway? Where are they?”

“That’s the thing.” I sigh, rubbing my forehead. “She’s hiding in the maintenance walkways. I’ve only seen her twice.”

Zarkan shifts in his chair. It’s a massive version of a regular office chair with an indent for a tail. “Have you spoken to her?”

“I’ve talked at her,” I reply, cringing as I remember my fucked up attempt to force her to communicate with me. “She’s frightened out of her mind. She ran away both times she saw me. Now, I know what you’re going to say. That we should find her and help her, right? Well, I think we shouldn’t.”

He cocks the scales that form his brow, examining me with amusement. “We shouldn’t help her?”

“No, of course we should help her, but… We should leave it up to her if she wants to be helped. She seems heavily traumatized. If you send the crew after her… I’m not sure she’ll ever learn to trust us if she’s dragged out of hiding by force, even if it is for her own good. All I’m asking is that you leave her be. I’ll try talking to her again and perhaps in time I’ll be able to convince her to come out, but it should be on her own terms.”

“I agree.”

My mouth is open, ready to present more arguments to support my case but Zarkan’s response takes the wind out of my sails. “You do?”

“Yes, I do,” he says, his smile sincere. “We’re not just a bunch of arrogant brutes who whip out their guns at every possible occasion, Nikolai. Well, most of us anyway,” he adds, chuckling. “I see your point and I completely agree with it. I’m the last person who would want to add to this poor female’s trauma. As long as she doesn’t pose a danger to anyone on this ship, she can keep hiding wherever she wants to.”

I’m rendered speechless. “Okay, well, that’s… Um, thank you?”

“You’re most welcome. I’m glad you’re stepping up to take care of this female. You have a kind heart, Nikolai. I know you feel you aren’t as capable as the rest of the team and don’t contribute enough but I’m truly grateful to have someone with your compassionate nature on board.”

My cheeks flush fiery red and I’m all but tearing up. How often had I wished for my damned father to tell me something like this? I had to get kidnapped by freaking aliens to find someone who accepts me for who I am! “Thank you, Captain,” I manage to mumble. “I should go. I have a little patient to tend to.”

“Of course. Say hi to Ellen from me.”

I make my way to the infirmary, my spirits soaring and my soul truly warmed by Zarkan’s words. It’s always this way for me now. I anxiously go to see him having convinced myself he’s going to treat me the same way my father did, then Zarkan calmly dispels all of my worries, leaving me feeling surprisingly uplifted.

What’s the American phrase? Daddy issues? I have a shitload of those.

I suck in a deep breath to steel myself before entering the infirmary. This time, I tell myself I’m not a pretender. I’m here to perform a simple procedure. One I would have done even back on Earth. I’ve gone over the tools and medications I’ll be using three times. I’ve marked the containers in Cyrillic in case I get too nervous to interpret the Omnispeak symbols. I’ve got this.

Despite the pep talk, my smile feels forced as I approach the little girl sitting on the examination table. Her smile is wide and completely trusting. “Hi, Nikolai!” she practically bellows. Ellen throws in a wave for good measure before her adorable face scrunches into a tiny scowl. “I asked Mama about the blue and green humans and she said there weren’t any.”

“Did she? But your mama comes from a different part of the planet than I do, chipmunk. She can’t know what kind of humans live there.”

Ellen’s tail flicks from side to side as she considers it. She looks up at her mother, Nala, who merely rolls her eyes. “I guess it’s possible,” Nala eventually agrees, smiling down at Ellen, before turning to face me. “Russia is the land of endless possibilities, isn’t it?”

“Absolutely! Just like the U.S. is the land of the free,” I tease her back, pleased to see she’s a little more relaxed. She only joined the Supernova crew a few days ago and it wasn’t exactly under the best of circumstances. After years of being exploited, she’s heavily distrustful of strangers. It’s a good thing that she has Faelin to slowly chip through the walls she’s built around herself.

Faelin grins widely at all of us, always in a good mood. “Your planet sounds interesting! It’s too bad that we can’t go for a visit.”

I shudder, my fists clenching at my sides. I wouldn’t go back to Earth even if someone held me at gunpoint. Nala seems to share the same sentiment. I break the uncomfortable silence by changing the topic. “Let’s get on with the procedure so you can get back to playing, Ellen. Agreed?”

Ellen’s teeth are biting at her top lip, her tail wrapping around her body in what must be a protective manner. Nala sits down beside Ellen to comfort her. “It’s alright, sweetheart. It won’t hurt a bit. Right, Nikolai?”

“Absolutely not. You won’t feel a thing, I promise.” I grab a handheld scanner and approach Ellen, hating how she cowers back into her mother’s chest. The girl has been through some terrible trauma in the past few days and I hate adding to her discomfort but the tracker she’s wearing has to come out. “Ellen?” I ask, pretending to look under the bed. “Where’s Fluffy today?” We’re all getting used to seeing the little alien pet that follows her everywhere. It’s rare to see them apart.

Her expression brightens a little. “He’s sleeping. He ate sooo many seka rolls and his tummy is huge!”

“Hmm, really?” I hum, gesturing at Nala and Faelin to continue the conversation to keep Ellen occupied. As they recount a story of Fluffy finding his way to the kitchen, I run the scanner over Ellen’s shoulder to confirm the tracker placement. It’s still in the same spot. A tiny capsule broadcasting her position to anyone with the right receiver.

D’Aakh assured us that it’s just a short-range transmitter, incapable of broadcasting a signal strong enough to reach outside of the ship, let alone between solar systems, but he still recommended removing it. Nala immediately agreed, wanting to erase any trace of their previous owner from both of their lives.

Ellen is so consumed by the story she doesn’t even notice me administering local anesthetic. I’ve triple checked that the substance is safe for her. Sure, the label claimed the anesthetic is safe for pretty much every species in the entire galaxy, but I’ll be damned if I’m giving something I haven’t personally verified to a patient, let alone a child.

I nod at Faelin and he gently places his large hands on Ellen’s tiny shoulders, holding her in place. She grins up at him. “Wasn’t it funny how Fluffy rolled off the chair? He always runs and jumps and today, he couldn’t move!”

“It sure was,” Faelin replies, his tireless adoration for the girl shining brightly in his eyes. He only met Nala and Ellen a few days ago, yet they already act like a family.

He slightly tightens his grip on Ellen’s shoulders, and I’m quick to bring the scalpel to her skin before she notices anything. The extraction device is semi-automatic. I hold it to the incision and guide it to retrieve the tiny capsule before sealing the small cut with an alien version of tissue superglue. The entire procedure doesn’t last longer than three seconds. I promptly wipe away the few drops of blood from Ellen’s skin and set the tools aside.

Faelin smiles at me gratefully, easing his hold on the girl. Nala looks relieved more than anything. Ellen hasn’t noticed a thing. And me? I’m elated. My first successful procedure as a doctor on a spaceship! Call me Leonard fucking McCoy!

Sure, my elation will only last until I remember everything I haven’t learned yet and that someone could end up dying on this very examination table with their insides torn apart by a laser shot. Still, I try to ignore the foreboding and enjoy this good feeling while it lasts, no matter how short the moment is.

Ellen is surprised when we tell her the procedure is done already but she’s excited she gets to go play. “Just take it easy on the shoulder,” I say, the warning aimed more at her parents than at her. I can’t imagine a four-year-old remembering such a thing. Not for long, anyway.

“Yes, yes,” she replies, impatiently. “Will you play with me, Faelin?”

“Uncle Omni will play with you for a bit, chipmunk,” Nala tells her. “Faelin and I need to…talk.”

Ellen pouts. “You talk all of the time!”

“Yes, they do,” I agree, chuckling as Nala pierces me with her deadly glare. “And they’re very loud talkers!” I add, practically laughing at them both.

“Alright, that’s enough,” Nala says, herding both Ellen and Faelin out of the infirmary. “Thanks,” she mutters, leaving before I can say anything else.

I clean the tools I’d used and put them away, determined to return to storage room 18-C as soon as possible. My mind is reeling as I try to figure out what I’m going to tell the mysterious female if and when she shows up again. What could I possibly say to get her to trust me?

Glancing over at the door has me sighing. It looks like I won’t be leaving just yet.

“You’ve been avoiding me for long enough,” Astra says, glaring. The women on this ship are mean. “Tell me what’s wrong with me! You don’t get to just scan someone, frown, and say ‘oh’ without explaining what’s happening! I’m sure that’s fucking illegal or something.” She marches over and grabs the lapels of my coat. “Tell. Me. Am I sick? Am I dying?!”

She’s right, I should have handled this better. At the time, I had other problems on my hands and didn’t want to discuss a potential pregnancy in front of a curious four-year-old. I’m not having the birds and bees talk with Ellen, thank you very much. “You’re not sick and you aren’t dying,” I assure Astra, pointing at one of the machines. “Why don’t you lie down over here and I’ll do a proper scan this time?”

“If I’m not sick, then why do I need a scan?” she questions as she begrudgingly obeys.

The machine hums for a few seconds before displaying the results. I love this machine. It’s like a CT scanner on steroids, without any of the drawbacks. It takes all kinds of scans and even compares the results to templates for any given race it has in the database. That way, it can point out irregularities like foreign bodies or internal growths that aren’t supposed to be there. Right now, it’s pointing at one particular growth in Astra’s abdomen.

The initial scan was right. She’s pregnant.

How am I supposed to tell her? I never took the “Clinical Communication Skills” class! O, bozhe! (Oh, god!) What if it’s not good news for her? She’s only been with Tareq for how long, three weeks? I doubt they’ve talked about starting a family yet.

I draw in a deep breath, doing my best to look calm and composed. I doubt doctor McCoy had to deal with announcing to ladies that they’re pregnant. Although, with Captain Kirk around, he probably did.

Astra’s eyes are closed, her expression tight with worry, and I realize I’m an idiot for scaring her like this. “You’re pregnant,” I announce simply.

She stares at me in disbelief. “I’m what now?!”

“Pregnant,” I repeat. I angle the screen in her direction and point out at the tiny dot in her uterus. “This is an embryo. It’s very early on, two or three weeks tops.”

“Yeah, three weeks tops,” she smirks. “I hadn’t been with anyone for ages before meeting Tareq. Oh my god, I’m going to have an alien baby? I didn’t even think it was possible. But of course it’s possible, Ellen is here. Oh god, is our baby going to be as adorable as she is?”

I smile at her babbling word vomit, happy for her. I probably should warn her not to get too excited. At this point, there’s a large chance that the embryo won’t prove viable and her body will expel it. However, I can’t bring myself to dampen Astra’s spirits.

Her thoughts seem to be heading in the same direction, though. “Will it stick?” She places a hand over her abdomen as if to protect the millimeter sized life growing inside of her. “I mean, Ellen is proof that it’s possible, but can I still…lose it?”

“There’s no way to tell for sure. This is why I was hesitant to tell you so early on.”

She sighs, still watching the tiny dot. “Can I do something? You know, to help the baby, the embryo or whatever, to grow well and not…go away?”

“Plenty of rest, nutritional food, and avoiding stress can’t hurt, but if it’s not meant to be, there’s nothing either of us can do. As advanced as alien technology is, nothing can fix a non-viable embryo. I’d tell you to relax and leave it to nature, but I realize how ridiculous that sounds.”

“Yeah,” she scoffs, “relax. Thanks. Can you like…print me a picture? Or do aliens not do that?”

“I think they mostly just save the picture to their datapads, but I’ll print it for you if I manage to convince the stupid machine to do it. This thing is an absolute menace. I’ve figured out most of the technology here, including the assisted surgery room, but the fucking copy machine is giving me nightmares.”

Laughing, Astra jumps off the scanner table. “Don’t you just press the orange buttons? The aliens seem to like that color.”

“There are three orange buttons and none of them does what I want,” I grumble. “How about I save the picture to a data chip and you can try to convince the machine to print it for you? I have something else I need to do now.”

She gives me a curious look, but nods her acquiescence. When I hand her the data chip, she’s deep in thought, absentmindedly stroking her stomach. “Thanks,” she mumbles.

“No problem. You can drop by anytime if you have questions or just want to make sure everything is alright. And…congratulations.”

“Thank you,” she repeats, her mind miles away. Mine is too, namely in storage room 18-C.

I’m certain the stowaway will be back. Unless she wants to sneak into the kitchen or to any of the occupied rooms, she won’t find water anywhere else on the ship. I won’t try to trap her this time, but I will be there to talk to her.