Page 15 of Alien Abduction for Professionals
"Good thinking. Not that we'll go back to Kardar any time soon, but better to be prepared. I think she'll enjoy the challenge. Did you also add the Peritan books we downloaded during our research phase?"
Havel nodded. "Those and some of their films. For entertainment, if we're ever busy."
"I'll never be too busy for her," Matar said, but he shut up when I shot him a dark look. As our engineer, he was responsible for keeping the Jade in shape. With me flying the ship, it was Havel who'd be most likely to spend time with Trish during difficult periods.Not that I was planning to get into any space battles any time soon, but our bumpy ride to Kitt-Y-6 had shown how quickly a situation could escalate.
"I thought you'd have started by now," Trish said, stepping into the room.
"We've removed the furniture," I grumbled, aware that this wasn't going as planned. I didn't care about Professor Katila's grades anymore, but I didn't want to disappoint Trish. She deserved to be the happiest female in the galaxy.
"I can see that," she quipped. "Wasn't the bed supposed to stay?"
"We'll return that once we've decorated the floor and walls," Havel explained. "How was the lesson?"
Trish shrugged. "Quite enlightening. Is it true the father of the bride rubs his scent all over the nest?"
I exchanged a look with the guys. From the way she said that it was clear that she didn't approve.
"Sometimes," I hedged. "It's not necessary. Was the lesson about Kardarians in particular? Did they use us three as an example again?"
"No, but I was given a book that had a chapter on you. Well, your species. It said how important this ritual is for you, which is why I'm surprised that you're not finished yet. Or at least further than... this." She laughed. "Do you want me to build you a nest instead?"
"No," all three of us said, completely aghast. A female building her own nest? I'd never heard of such a travesty. It would make her males the laughing stock of the entire planet. And Kardarians loved to laugh about each other. We'd never hear the end of it.
"Then what's the problem?" Trish asked.
I sighed and pointed at our three holo notes. "We can't agree on a plan. We all have different ideas, and none of us wants to back down."
"That's kind of adorable. How about I pick and choose bits from each of those plans? I'll try and make it so each of you has the same amount of input. I don't want you to fight over this."
"That would be great," Havel nodded before I could say anything else. "If you open the menu on your communicator, you can open a blank sheet of holo paper. Then just drag and drop the parts you want."
He fiddled with his own communicator and all our notes transformed into strange scribbles. That had to be her human way of writing. It looked ugly.
Trish sat on the floor - we should have left at least a chair in the room - and started reading through our plans. There was nothing for us to do but wait.
I wasn't a patient male. In fact, waiting was torture. I sat by her side to peek at her notes, but she turned her back to me.
"Don't look until I'm done. And don't you dare try and influence me."
She knew me too well.
"I'll get us some snacks," Matar volunteered. I hoped he meant Piki cakes by that. We'd given one to Trish earlier but hadn't taken any for ourselves. I'd make sure that she got most of them, but an occasional treat for us males was fine, too. Right? Or was I supposed to save them all for our female? Maybe I should. Before the kidnapping, I may have asked Professor Katila about that, but no klatting way was I going to contact her now.
My communicator pinged, signalling our time on Kitt-Y-6 was almost over. I suppressed a scowl and paid for a second parking period. We still hadn't ordered any supplies besides some basic pillows. Those wouldn't do for Trish's nest. Plus we needed to stock up on more food and fuel. In all the excitement earlier we'd lost track of those essentials. Shopping with Trish hadn't been the only reason we'd come to the space station.
I occupied myself by scrolling through the station's virtual catalogue, adding supplies to my basket. They'd be delivered to our ship before we left. At least now that I'd paid for a second parking period, we wouldn't have to pay a surcharge for fast delivery. And maybe... yes, we should take Trish to a restaurant. If she wasn't too scared to set foot outside the Jade again. I wouldn't think any less of her for that. It was a sign of her inner strength and resilience that she was sitting here with a smile on her face despite the ordeal she'd gone through just a few hours ago.
Just in case, I reserved us a table at the Outer Ring Restaurant. I'd never usually go there - it was way too expensive - but Trish deserved to be spoiled.
By the timeMatar returned with Piki cakes and a tray of fresh fruit, I'd finished ordering supplies. Now, all we had to do was get the items we needed for our nest.
"I'm done," Trish announced and looked up from her note, smiling happily. "How do I translate this back into Kardarian?"
Havel reached out and touched her holo paper, flicking it to his own communicator. As soon as it landed there, it turned into our own alphabet. He sent copies to Matar and me, and we studied what Trish had compiled.
"Perfect," Matar exclaimed. "I think this is better than any of our plans."
Trish grinned. "Sometimes, it takes more than just the sum of the parts. Do I get some cake as a reward now?"
