Page 2 of Alien Abduction for Professionals
"A half of your Peritus hours," Havel replied. "Which is about twenty IG clicks."
He's explained the intergalactic time system to me before, but I found it very confusing. Since no species wanted to agree on which planet's rotation to use as a day, they averaged the amount of waking and sleeping hours most sentient species need. One IG day was about 27 Earth hours, while ten IG days made up an IG week. I kept getting mixed up with all the numbers, but luckily the guys had done their research and knew how to convert times and dates to what I was used to.
"Aaaaaand we're out of the nebula," Xil announced. Everyone breathed a sigh of relief, me loudest of all. The danger of puking was over.
"You better get changed," Matar told me. "You showing this much skin might be dangerous, even on a station like Kitt-Y-6."
Yes, it probably was a bad idea to go shopping while wearing nothing but my panties and a flimsy bra.
* * *
I metthe guys at the airlock. Xil had parked us in the station's spaceport and bought us an electronic parking ticket valid for something like six Earth hours. Enough time to explore. The guys had been making plans for days about what they wanted to show me.
"Ready?" Matar asked me and took my hand.
I nodded. "Let's go shopping."
He slapped his tail on the ground, a gesture that I'd learned is close to him rolling his eyes. All three males didn't seem to think much of shopping, but I'd assured them that it was an essential pastime for Peritan women. I may have accidentally let them believe that it was necessary for us to survive...oops.
"Remember the lesson," Xil told the guys. "We show Trish the best shops and will buy her whatever she looks at for at least thirty Peritan seconds. Some things we can buy in front of her, others we will have to do in secret to surprise her later."
"You know I can hear you, right?"
Xil ignored me. "We do have a budget, so let's avoid the more expensive places. No trip to the exotics market for you, Havel. We can't afford that."
It was kind of sweet how they'd planned this entire trip with the same academic fervour they'd shown during the abduction, probing and mating. I knew they loved me, just like I loved them, and it wasn't all just because we were part of Professor Katila's course.
"Matar, Havel, remember that this excursion won't be filmed for the IGU," Xil reminded them as if he'd read my mind. "We will have to write a detailed report later on, so maybe make some notes. We don't want to disappoint the professor."
His last sentence was dripping with sarcasm. None of us was thrilled with the arrangement, but it had been the only way them pass their Alien Abduction for Beginners course. In return for a 'good' grade, we agreed to act as a case study for Professor Katila's Alien Abduction for Professionals class. The guys were given lessons every week that we then had to put into practice. This, taking me into a public place, was the very first one since we'd signed the contract.
To be fair, the lesson wasn't technically about going shopping. That was just a bonus. No, they were supposed to expose me to other aliens without becoming jealous. They were also told to make sure I felt safe and didn't panic, but I didn't see much chance of that happening. I was buzzing with excitement, and there was no space for fear or worry.
DEPRESSURISING COMPLETE, the computer announced, and the airlock doors slid open, revealing a massive hangar full of spaceships.
It was big enough for at least four football pitches, maybe more. The ceiling was so high that I couldn't see how far it reached. All around us, the noise of engines, machines and aliens talking in dozens of languages pushed against my ears, making me stumble back. I hadn't expected it to be quite this intense. Even though I was sure those ships ran on a fuel not found on Earth, the air smelled of oil and petrol.
Xil put his hand on the small of my back and gently pushed me forward, out of the Jade and into the chaos of Kitt-Y-6.
Circling around strange-looking space ships, we hurried out of the hangar to a sleek elevator.
"Hop in," Matar said with a grin. He seemed just as excited as me about being on the space station.
As soon as all four of us were inside the spacious cabin, the doors closed and a holographic...thing appeared in the centre. It was clearly alien, but I wasn't sure what gender, age, or even what materials it was made from. It resembled a block of yellow gelatine with several slits all around it that could have been eyes, mouths or something altogether different. It bobbed gently up and down and grew in size every few seconds before constricting again. Breathing? Without that movement, I would have assumed it to be some kind of artificial intelligence, but I instinctively knew it to be sentient. The being looked the same from all sides, so I wasn't sure if I was looking at its front or back. I supposed it didn't matter.
"Shopping platform three," Xil requested, clearly used to this alien's strange appearance.
"Have you completed your immigration forms?" the being replied in English. Well, it probably didn't, but I heard English, so that was all that mattered.
"We have," Xil confirmed and lifted his hand, pressing a button on his wrist communicator.
The gelatine blob vibrated, then turned from yellow into red.
"Invalid forms. You will be taken to a secure location."
I stared at the guys. This sounded bad.
"There's been a mistake," Xil argued, his voice calm and collected. "Check them again. Everything is as it should be."
